<>It had been at least fifteen years since I had gone fishing in Longville Minnesota, and possibly even as many as twenty – I had been there only once previous with my father and his friend Al Wilner.  That one trip was likely during my late middle school years, before the three of us graduated to bigger trips and much bigger fish in the northwest territories of Canada.  The Canada trips were the highlights of my pre-adulthood life (and even today rank high on the list), and I will never forget the incredible panoramas, giant Northern Pike, shore lunches, and local Indian guides.  My sister and father had been to Longville several times after I left for college in 1990, but also had not returned for more than a decade.  It was in the spring of 2005 that my father suggested a return trip with the entire family, and recruited his friend Al to join the group – it would be our first fishing trip as a complete family (with the exception of a weekend spent on Lake Erie), and would now include Cecilia and Sarah’s husband Edgar.  Cecilia and Edgar were both relative newcomers to the sport of North American fishing.

Sarah, Cecilia, Edgar and I left Houston on a Friday afternoon, flew to Minneapolis, then drove three hours north to the small town of Longville.  My parents and Al had arrived the day previous, and were already checked into the Longville Inn Motel.  To my pleasant surprise not much had really changed in Longville since my last visit in the 1980’s, with the exception of better paved roads and a slight renovation to the motel.  Our parents woke up as we arrived at midnight, said a brief hello, then we all went to bed in anticipation of an early morning start. <> 

We woke up Saturday morning to cloudy skies but fair temperatures.  We had an excellent breakfast at a diner in town, then drove thirty minutes to Leach Lake where our charter awaited.  We were introduced to our boat guide, loaded up the vessel with the poles, bait, food and drinks, and were off by the mid-morning.  I must say that I was not disappointed by the fishing, as we successfully caught Perch, Northern Pike, and even an occasional Walleye.  My father was the first to catch a fish, and Edgar and I followed shortly thereafter.  By the end of the day we had caught enough for dinner and even extra to freeze and take home.  Despite a chilly afternoon and a few brief showers, everyone was satisfied and in good spirits from a successful catch.  We stopped for a few beers at a local lake-side pub, where we picked up a pontoon boat that Al had rented for an hour-long ride up an adjacent river where we had fished in previous years.  We cruised as far up the river as the weeds would allow, admired the mirror water surface and enjoyed the quite surroundings.  We returned the boat to the pub, then drove back to the motel for a brief shower before dinner.  A few pictures from the day: