The Platinum Ticket by David Beynon

The Platinum Ticket by David Beynon
Shortlisted for The Terry Pratchett Anywhere But Here, Anywhen But Now First Novel Prize

Friday 24 July 2009

Northward

Tomorrow the Beynon family heads north. Several times a year we make the trip to the north shore of Lake Huron to visit with the in-law side of my family. Sometimes we camp - sometimes not. Given the colder and wetter than usual conditions so far this year any camping will be done in a trailer already set up at a campground.

The weather forecast is ambivalent but I look forward to daily swims in Lake Huron (cold, yet refreshing), a little golf and a lot of fishing. I discovered a few years ago that Northern Ontario fishermen are a little snobbish when it comes to their fishing. Pike, muskie, pickerel (walleye) and trout appear to be the fish of choice. I was surprised to discover that bass are largely overlooked as a game fish.

My brother-in-law and I went out in his little tin boat - that's the boat up there at the top of the page - up the river that runs right by his front lawn. Over the course of a leisurely two hours we caught dozens of bass and even kept a few to eat. One of the reasons why bass might be over looked as a catch and eat fish might be the parasitic worms they get. The ones we ate after that initial run up the river did indeed have worms, but not many. Some folks painstakingly pull the worms, writhing, from the meat with tweezers. I'm not that patient. The worms cook up just fine in the frying pan. Can't even taste 'em.

Anyway - with the cooler weather this year the parasites should be at a minimum and we're all looking forward to a couple of bass and egg breakfasts.

We are bringing the lovely Willow on the trip and, to make the trip more comfortable, we've decided to rent a larger vehicle for the journey. We had reserved a Ford Flex (a really ugly car from the outside, but surprisingly spacious inside) but, I was informed yesterday, may end up with some sort of Lincoln SUV. As long as it is more spacious than the Impala we should have a decent trip.

A relaxing trip with the whole family - just what the doctor ordered. I may even get some writing done while lounging on the beach.

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