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My girlfriend, Linda, and I took a much-needed vacation and headed up to Tmack’s place on Lake Hortonia in Vermont. I trailered the boat and brought our E bikes with us and looked forward to a great week with friends and family.
Saturday afternoon was spent setting up camp in our house and getting everything in place and putting the boat in the water on the dock.
Sunday, Linda‘s niece and her four kids arrive to join us for a few days and they were really the focus while they were there. I wanted to be sure that they had the trip of a lifetime and had nothing but great memories to bring home.
These kids love to fish and that was my focus to put them on some fish. We caught a bunch of mixed sunfish and after a while they wanted to try to catch a bass so I gave them a wacky rigged Senko and a Keitech swim bait to cast in 8-12 feet along the outer weed line. They did great and we hooted and hollered at every bass that they caught, they were thrilled.
Early the next morning, we gathered a bunch of worms by turning over the wet leaves, and that brought me back to when I was a kid finding bait to go fishing.
I took them back out again on Tuesday morning, knowing they were going home the next day. We repeated the same game plan and the kids had a ball, while I baited hooks and untangled rods. It was all about them and seeing them smile.
I got up at four the next morning and did a solo trip for a few hours before everybody got up. I caught a mix of largemouth and a couple of smallish pike on a whopper plopper and a spook.
After the sun came up, I went to the deep weed line and try to throw a deep crank bait, but that became frustrating clearing my hooks every cast, and switched to a drop shot and caught a few more fish on that before heading back in for breakfast.
The rest of the week was spent taking boat rides with Linda, letting her learn to drive the boat and have fun and going on some great biking trips on the camp roads and the D&H rail to trail system that runs into New York. That was a lot of fun and a great trail to ride on. We did 20 miles one day and we had a blast.
As usual, we ate well, with the usual burgers and hotdogs, but we also had lobsters one night, grilled swordfish, chicken and Linda made a delicious shrimp and crab soup one day as well.
We emptied a few beer cans and drank some wine and relaxed at and in the lake every day.
It was very relaxing to listen to the loons, watch the eagles and just chill out in nature together.
We also got to enjoy a Fourth of July concert from Todd’s daughter, Raya, who is an amazing singer, and she captivated an audience of about 20 anchored boats and 40 of us on shore at Todd boathouse Beach area. She did a great job !
We ended the evening by takingTodd’s pontoon boat to visit his friends up there and watch the fireworks from the competitive neighbors trying to outdo each other with their display.

All in all, it was a great vacation with sun, fun, fishing, family, love and great friends.

Life is short, make those memories while you can!





















Edited by Tall 1 (Yesterday at 08:29 AM)