Fishing With Buddy Kenny

Buddy Kenny trying to get the fish from under the dock.. It was a nice pole bender!

Hello and welcome to the blog today.  It's Friday and a busy one at that.  After working this evening, I'll be taking off with the van and going to a parade tomorrow morning.  In the meantime, here's a recap of a fun fishing trip with buddy Kenny.  We used to fish together 20+ years ago and just got back together to do some fun angling.

On Thursday we took off and went to the fishing pond at the hatchery.  Due to all the recent heavy rains, the trout streams were bloated and murky.  I knew the pond would be in perfect condition.

So that's how they keep the plants looking so good!

On the way north, Kenny and I stopped at Pedretti's bakery in Elkader to get some cookies and sweet rolls for the trip.  That's where we encountered the guys with the golf cart and watering apparatus.

 Limited out by 8:00 AM...  and there nothing like a cold orange juice....
well, more like "Henry's Hard Orange Soda".

The angling action was swift, as expected.  I'd limited out first.  Shortly thereafter, Kenny got his fifth trout.  He caught some very nice fish - two that were much larger than mine.  It was fun and we've already decided to go back again soon.

A very friendly Muldovy duck watching the angling.

While fishing, this Muldovy duck watched every move we made.  He was particularly interested in my Danish roll and "Edgar" ended up enjoying a couple of bites.

The friendly Muldovy duck which I nicknamed "Edgar"

Woody at work

Woody was present at the hatchery and doing his thing.  Recently Gary, the hatchery biologist, had posted on Facebook that Woody is the one and only volunteer at the hatchery.  He is always present.  I kept him busy clearing sticks from the pond and he would bark until I threw them back out into the water.

Gary S, the hatchery biologist.  He does a great job maintaining a fun venue
for fishing men, women, and children of all ages.

Before leaving home, I had gotten up and cooked a ribeye steak and egg breakfast sandwich on a kaiser roll.  As you can see in the picture above, Gary got to the food first but Woody was able to eat the rest.  I assured Gary that on the next camping trip I'll bring some steaks and we'll have a feast.

The mascot of the Valley Fish Market

 After fishing Kenny and I crossed over to the Wisconsin side and visited the Valley Fish Market.  Please check out their link.  I picked up some smoked catfish that was to die for.  Kenny got a chunk of smoked buffalo.  The market also stocks many different Wisconsin cheeses.

Later Kenny and I visited Cabela's and did some shopping.  Fascinated by a jar of "Blackberry Salsa", I drank most of one container and ended up having to buy another.  It was tasty.

After cleaning the fish, Ken and I visited the meat locker in Edgewood and picked up some bargains including irregular sized Polish sausages, pork and pineapple snack sticks, and even some Philly steak beef brats.  Great stuff!

It was brief but enjoyable trip.  I'm looking forward to hanging out with Kenny again soon.  We had as much fun fishing on Thursday as back in the early 1990s!

Stay turned for some cool pictures from the Star Trek parade on Saturday.

Take care and thanks for visiting!  Happy and Safe Travels!

Brad, Jesse James, and Jennifer
Jones County, Iowa