Of all my childhood experiences, waking up before sunrise to go fishing with my grandfather still holds a vivid place in my memory. My grandparents would pick me up from my house and take me up to Chetek, WI to go fishing for a week-long trip. We would stay at a humble fishing resort and I would share a pull out bed with my cousins who lay sleeping soundly while I quietly rose and put on warm clothes to go out alone on the boat with my grandpa. I always wanted to fish for northern pike or some other monstrous fish, and my grandpa would humor me and let me just keep casting over and over until I grew bored, then gently encourage me to throw a hook and bobber in and try for crappie instead. Of course, pan-fishing was much easier for me as a child, and I would delight in pulling in dozens of smaller but easier to catch fish. We always ended our week with a huge fish fry, and he would proudly tell everyone that I supplied the most fish for the fry, if not the biggest.