The clock continues to tick as fishing memories return

It was Josh who recently brought me back to reality.

"Poppi, I had 3 hits today and scored a run," my 10-year-old grandson reported with glee.

There's always something exciting coming from his lips when I call him in California for the baseball report.

It feels as if it was yesterday when I held that little sprout in my arms moments after he came into this world. Unfortunately, I can't take him fishing and watch the joy unfold as it did with me when my father taught me the ways of angling.

This flash of melancholy came about after I discovered a box of pictures hidden in an alcove. I got down on the basement floor and sat there mesmerized for almost two hours, gazing at the black and white images that went all the way back to 1950.

When I was a lad of 13 there wasn't anything that could match the excitement of being in the boat with Irv and looking for muskies on a lake in Hayward, Wis. When that monster "gator" rose to the surface to strike the topwater lure, I found myself unable to breathe. My father yelled for me to set the hook but it took a couple seconds for me to act.

"Do it, do it," he yelled again, and I finally responded with a half-hearted attempt at showing that muskie who was the boss. Fortunately for me, I managed to get two hooks into the brute. It wasn't huge, but big enough for an adrenalin rush that I can still recall.

As I was growing up, I always seemed to have a affinity for jumbo bluegills and crappies.

The sun was hours away from rising as we pulled up to Deep Lake in Lake Villa. My father's penchant for getting to a fishing destination before the roosters awoke was a way of life in our family. I think I was 10 years old on this outing, strong enough to manhandle the outboard down the long pathway to the old wooden rental boat.

Irv unfurled his WWII rain ponchos, uncased the rods, affixed the reels, and woke me so I could schlep the entire load of cargo, including the 7 1/2 h.p. motor, to the water.

"We'll nail the crappies this morning," he declared.

And we did. He put a waterproof lantern just below the surface so the light could be seen near the bottom.

"This will bring 'em in," he said, and in a couple minutes his prediction came true. Every lift brought bigger crappies into the boat. Irv was pleased we had quite a few 15-16 inch fish. I was just as excited. We had a feast that night.

As the years moved on, I found myself in the Arctic, connected to a fish that wanted to take me all the way to Russia. It was one of those fairy tale Canadian lake trout, scaling out at more than 40 pounds. It wasn't the weight but the fight that had me sweating like a farm animal. It was a memorable battle that lives on in my dreams.

But the real corker was an afternoon in my leaky, wooden runabout on Lake Mendota in Madison, Wis. I was working in broadcasting there and was slowly learning the lake.

Irv had driven up from Chicago and wanted to sample some of the bluegill fishing. We hit the mother lode not far from the Governor's mansion. By the end of the expedition, we had caught over 50 jumbo bluegills, with many running a pound and just under that weight. We cleaned fish until 2 a.m., and then fell into bed laughing like two kids who just spent a day at Riverview.

These pictures I discovered are markers of much of my outdoor life. And I hope someday soon I'll be able to photograph Josh and I on a great fishing trip as well.

Now, if I could only find some black-and-white film . . .

Outdoors notes and fishing reportWatching nature unfold before my eyes is a wonderful event.I stood on the bank at a Fox River location and watched a huge, female smallmouth bass preparing to spawn. Sitting almost on the silt-laden bottom, this fish barely moved an inch. It looked as it was ready to fan a depression for a nest and then deposit its eggs. Just an hour before I stood over a stretch of water where I watched gigantic largemouth bass doing the same thing.Water temperature is the key element with this process, and that element was slowly rising. In both cases I felt fortunate to witness the genetic "passing of the torch," thereby ensuring the probability of good angling in years to come.Arrested: Florida Fish and Wildlife officials say Gary Finch, host of Gary Finch Outdoors, has been charged with five misdemeanor wildlife offenses allegedly occurring while filming one of his programs in March. Finch, 48, is charged with two counts of taking turkey within 100 yards of a feeding station, two counts of possession over the bag limit for wild turkey, and one charge of making a false statement in a license or permit application.Fishing updateFox Chain: If you're looking for walleye activity on the Chain, now may be the time to exercise your options. Look at current areas on Pistakee and Channel lakes. Some decent fish have been taken on live bait, while a few large fish were caught by fishermen trolling crankbaits. The bluegill action is outstanding on Channel Lake and Lake Catherine.Fox River: Keep an eye on the slack-water pools and side-channel mouths for smallmouth action. Fishing had greatly improved. Lake Michigan: Excellent perching out of Waukegan in about 50-feet, while Montrose Harbor and the Horseshoe areas in Chicago are attracting coho and perch alike. Mike Jackson can be reached via e-mail at angler88@att.net. His radio program is heard 6-7 a.m. Sundays on WSBC, AM-1240.