Above is a shot of my nephew Cody with a Lake Scugog monster. Actually, there’s a pretty cool story behind the picture of this beginner fisherman.

Cody was going ice fishing on Lake Simcoe with his cousin Justin… no wait, they were going to Quinte… ah hell, they ended up on Lake Scugog. I asked them if they had enough gear and, of course, they said yeah. But when I asked them specifics… “Actually, we could use those!”

I sent them off with some rods, reels, a tip-up, a sled with the essentials and, oh yeah, my power auger. I thought that was quite ironic since they’re both big, young, strong oxen that could spin a hand auger through nine inches in seconds. But hey, if it’s got a motor and it’s young dudes that you’re dealing with? “That’s frickin’ awesome. We’ll take it!”

The wife, kids and I were out for the day and all of a sudden, the cell phone rings. Cody’s nearly in hysterics, and he sends us a picture of his Muskie. It freaked him right out, but he loved it! You got to like the youth and camera phones. They (phones) take crummy pictures, sure, but at least you have a record of the occasion. When I went out as a young lad, you had to bring a little camera, make sure there was film in it, and then wait six months before you had them developed. He caught the fish, took the picture, and we were looking at it before the fish even knew it was released!

Anyway, here are two young guys: Justin, an avid angler, and Cody, an occasional angler, loving our sport in the dead of winter. My point is if you get the chance to help someone (especially kids or young adults, somebody who is a beginner fisherman) out with gear, advice, or anything, go for it; it will ultimately bring them or keep them into the sport we all love.

By the way, they’re already going out again this weekend! Good luck you pair of punks—and don’t screw up my auger.