Outdoors: Two guys in a boat

Summer in Wisconsin presents many wonderful fishing opportunities. From my experience, most of those involve an average inland lake and two guys in a boat. Sometimes we’re after one species. Other times, we’re just after whatever is biting.

Typically, I pack three rods; one for panfish, one for bass and walleye, and a third for musky and northern fishing. Then, of course, I include a corresponding assortment of lures and enough bug spray to choke an armada of mosquitoes. I rely on my fishing partners to provide the boat.

Growing up, my dad and I would take off many summer nights after supper to fish the mighty Wisconsin River. We’d also spend plenty of Saturdays on lakes and rivers further north. The time we spent together on the water was about much more than catching fish. Mostly, it was about building our relationship.

Summer offered those golden opportunities to us, even the times when we shared only a few words together. I can’t speak for women, but most guys are just fine with silence, with experiencing the natural environment together. The same is true of the times I would take off with my brother-in-law to fish.

One trip in particular stands out in my memory. Scott and I were at my sister’s place, outside Rhinelander, and we took off together one summer afternoon. A few hours later – well, four, actually – we made it back to land, just in time for supper with a few fish to cook up. Our wives were not exactly impressed, and even less so when they asked what we talked about during those long four hours.

“Nothing,” we said, in unison.

Over the meal, we both tried to explain how we could spend four hours in a boat without talking about anything while having the absolute best time.

“We were both in our nothing box,” I said. My sister looked at me like I was crazy. My bride just started laughing.

A couple of years before all this happened we were given tickets to a “Laugh your way to a better marriage” seminar. The Fox Cities pastor who led the event explained his interpretation of how God wired men’s and women’s brains differently, and why. To make a long story short, he explained that women’s brains are hard-wired to various tasks, emotions, and life things. Signals are sent back and forth many times a day. Men’s brains are filled with boxes; work box, husband, daddy, fishing and most precious of all – The Nothing Box – the place where we can think about absolutely nothing. The nothing box is pretty much exclusive to men, he said.

So, here we are, two guys in a boat in a part of the lake our family can’t see. You might think we were in our fishing box. But that wasn’t the case. If you’re out fishing and don’t care if you catch or not, you’re in the nothing box, because whether a fish bites or not, it just doesn’t matter.

Now, if a lunker slams the lure you can easily jump from nothing box to fishing box. That’s perfectly acceptable, as long as you don’t let the boxes collide. That’s when things get murky.

And who needs murky when you’re “fishing?”

Rick Reyer is a lifelong hunting and fishing enthusiast. He is a retired broadcaster who lives in Wausau.