Hallelujah I'm a bum

I have been unshackled from the bonds of gainful employment for about a month.

Like the man said, it's all good.

Actually, it's not *all* good.

But I don't think about disemboweling the boss as often as I did when I was a working stiff. Sometimes, when the bite is strong, I don't think about it for several hours in a row.

So I have been tooling around on water a lot. Mostly, I investigate the stretch of the Mississippi River that is near the River Ranch, my place in northeast Minneapolis. This time of year, the smallmouth bass are thick here. There are also a lot of channel catfish. Despite their preference for putrid baits that stink up my boat, I love kitties. So sporty, so willful.

I've also fished Cass Lake regularly this season, chasing walleyes (recent victims pictured here), northerns, and perch. I harbor dreams of catching a muskie at Cass in the next few months. I'm also scheming on boating a salmon or lake trout on Lake Superior.

Because my summer of being bum is passing at such an alarming pace, I figure I should start a blog.

In a future life defined by all manner of obligations, I will read this thing and, I hope, remember what is was like to wake up every morning, wondering only, "Where will I fish today?"

Or maybe I'll make the transition from "sport fisherman" to "subsistence fisherman."

That doesn't sound bad. Except for one thing: under the subsistence fishing scenario, I don't know if I'll be able to afford that garlic mayonaise Jen buys at Surdyk's. That shit is seriously delicious when spread upon fillets. I'm not prepared to give it up.

These are the dilemas of a Man of Constant Leisure.