THREE RODS AND A CANE
For these backcountry anglers, navigating challenges on and off the water was the biggest reward of all
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Pete Kloppenburg shows off his first northern pike“Um, guys, I think I’ve hooked something,” said Pete Kloppenburg, sitting at the bow of our boat.
“Cool. Good job,” I replied, still staring intently over the stern, with my hand on the tiller. We were in a tricky spot by the main outflow of a small wilderness lake, and I was trying to keep us out of the fast current so we could cast into the deep water in front.
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Then Wes Nelson, the other member of our trio and an experienced angler, barked, “Set the hook! Set the hook!” A second later, he banged me on the knee and said, “Heads up, Scotty. He’s definitely got a fish—and it’s a pretty good one.”
I looked up to see Pete’s rod arced dangerously over, then exchanged glances with Wes. Whatever was on the other end of the line was about to deliver a moment none of us would forget…