26 Jan 14

Chapter 5

THE BIG LAKE AND CAMP 1958

Lake Winnipesauskee is in the center of the state of New Hampshire and is a glacial lake that is 182 miles around , 72 square miles in area, and with  253 islands.  It is just the type of place for two budding anglers to explore.  And explore we did!

There was and still is a 14 foot tin boat which was our craft of choice, not because there was a choice at that time, but because in 1958 it was our only boat.  It might have had a small outboard motor, but I know it did have two oars.  Over the years, this boat has been affectionately named “Putt” for the sound it makes when running.  Or, perhaps  suggesting that it is the little boat that could!  And it was/is.  I believe more fish have been caught from this little vessel than the totality of the tuna boats in all of the Atlantic and a good number in the Pacific.  Well, that is probably a fiherman’s exaggeration.

The Bell Camp consists of a main cottage, a maid’s cottage, and a guest cottage all on about 100 acres of big woods.  There is also enough waterfront to make most realtors salivate. The main cottage consists of a kitchen, one bath, a screened in porch, living room, and three bedrooms all with no insulation.

  The fireplace is a primary source of heat with some small electric baseboard heaters for really cold nights.

There is of course the obligatory boat dock and a small rocky beach.  The rest is pine woods, owls, deer, red squirrels, chipmunks, ducks, and loons.  I suppose there have also been the occasional bear and moose wander by.  The half mile road into the camp is of course dirt, and needs to be managed every year as runoff turns it into a roaring stream as soon as snow is out.  

Ice out on the lake is an entirely different matter.  Guesses and pools amongst the locals all around the lake are taken, and the winner actually guesses ice out not within days, but hours and minutes.

Over the years, there have been subsequent trips where chain saws, hammers and saws, and paint brushes were amongst the fishing gear.  At times even golf clubs were thrown into the back of a Suburban, pick up, or SUV.  The fishing gear itself reduced itself in volume as the years progressed.  After all when you are young, there’s no telling just what lure, line, or fishing rod you might need.  We have had to refill the wood shed on a number of trips and felled dead pines to replentish it.  Yes, we burnt white pine exclusively and almost steadily for the usual five days we were present.  And yes, it became a problem one year but I get ahead of myself. 

I recall that first year of introduction.  Small mouth bass, perch, and a few pickerel were the staple of the finny creatures to fall to our offerings.  There was a place called by the family as “The Spot” which was about 150 yards off shore of the property.  None of the locals knew where it was, but some could be found watching Abe’s grandmother with binoculars, row out in “Putt”, and then catch bass one after another.  The spot today is marked by GPS, but still produces good catches.  

On our excursion, we fished the spot a number of times with success using night crawlers and helgrimites.  I lost a “Large” fish at the black bouy across from the house and to this day I am sure it was a salmon, although the time of year was way wrong.  It struck, ran out about seventy yards of line and broke the lure off, all in the wink of an eye.  We found a small cove that had a few pickerel, and spent hours catching and re-catching them.  They were not kept because of their boney nature on the dinner plate.  And this was my introduction to the big lake in 1958.