Mid-winter blues are a crying shame

Caller ID indicated my friend A.J. Paul was on the line. He occasionally calls during the week to discuss what guests will be on my Sunday morning outdoor radio talk show.

By the time the call concluded, I had to pat my eyes dry because they were filled with tears.

A.J. is a sentimental, old-school chap who, like me, enjoys fly fishing. He has also become quite adept at wielding spinning and casting rods. His pond is loaded with bass and panfish, and I occasionally fish it with him.

Watching him catch fish from his pond is a wonderful sight with the great skill he exhibits. And when he joined me for a muskie hunt on Ontario's Eagle Lake, he was like a kid in a candy store. On another excursion to the South Seal River in Manitoba, he was in his glory as hauled in trophy walleyes at a pace that could put younger anglers to shame.

So he calls the other day, and I immediately knew something was amiss.

Is everything all right A.J.?

His voice was choked with emotion. He couldn't answer my question. I kept probing, and all I heard were sobs coming over the phone.

Is Peg (his wife) OK, I asked? Are the kids having problems? Are you physically ailing? Still nothing, but more sobs.

So I stopped asking and figured if and when he was able to compose himself I would get a straight answer. I was patient, which is rare for me.

“I know you remember that this is a very special time of the year for me,” he stated. “I know your heart is in the right place because you've always been able to express emotion to me. But right now I'm having a very tough time.”

I was completely stunned by his behavior as I sat there waiting for him to explain.

“You've taught me so much about fishing. You've introduced me to hundreds of angling pros and personalities over the years, and I'm very grateful for all of that,” he declared. “But right now I'm coming apart, and it's very tough for me to make it through a day without crying my eyes out.”

And then the story came out.

“It always happens at this time of the year, with all the ice and snow present,” he said. “This is the time when I open my tackle boxes and take stock, or inventory if you will, of all the angling hardware in the boxes, all the hooks, jigs, floats, flies and, of course, the wooden and plastic lures. And like in past years I spied those beautiful Zara Spooks and Rapala minnows just resting there, not doing a doggone thing.”

I didn't have a clue where this was going. He went on.

“I'm trying to figure out how these wonderful lures fit into my life during these cold months. I'm wondering if there's anything I can do to ‘exercise' these loyal friends during the off-season. I'm ashamed that I haven't paid any attention to them, or cleaned them up or sharpened their hooks and fixed their little scrapes and chips. You know, lures like these have owies too.”

While he rambled on I thumbed through the Yellow Pages looking for the name of a psychotherapist who could bring A.J. out of his funk. When I said he should see the shrink and take his tackle boxes with him, he bristled.

“Never mind,” he replied, “I thought you would understand my dilemma, and all you managed to do was cause me to jam a hook in my thumb, a treble hook from my Zara Spook.”

And he then hung up.

Two days later he called to ask me for the doctor's name.

Two weeks later he called again and told me the doctor suggested he buy some new lures as a gift to himself, and consider himself cured.

I then asked him if I could have the old lures. All I heard was “click.”

Outdoors notesNext time you think you may be qualified to be an exterminator for a day, better think twice.A Lake Worth, Fla., homeowner attempting to smoke out a bee colony caused a fire that resulted in $50,000 in damages while failing to evict the troublesome bees.No one was reported injured by fire or bees, according to Palm Beach County Fire-Rescue.Fishing report:Santa has come early for area ice fishermen in the form of good catches.Fox Chain: Conditions on the Chain are excellent. Channel Lake crappies are inching their way up in size with #8220;satisfying#8221; numbers of 11-inch fish being taken from Channel Lake.The story is quite similar on Bluff Lake, where a few walleyes and lots of crappies are going for the minnow bite during evening hours. Some very nice bluegills are being caught on Pistakee Lake in 8 feet.Lake Michigan: Decent harbor fishing on the north side for perch. Action at 95th Street harbor is moderate.Mike Jackson can be reached via e-mail at angler88@att.net. Mike's radio program is heard 6-7 a.m. Sundays on WSBC 1240-AM.