It says something about the attraction of ice and the allure of fishing through it that Gene Merriam, upon retiring as commissioner of the Department of Natural Resources, did not go where many other Americans go when a huge weight has been lifted from their shoulders.
To Disney World.
Merriam instead came here, to Lake of the Woods.
The former commissioner, along with John Guenther, who recently also retired from the DNR as fish and wildlife division chief, last week were on the big slab of ice that covers the lake, losing themselves in the wonders of winter fishing.
And catching a few fish.
Indeed, whatever the disappointments of the current non-winter for most Minnesotans -- the lost opportunities for skiers, snowmobilers and snowshoers -- the business of providing fun in cold weather hummed along nicely here last week.
Not just for Minnesotans.
Near the rental shack where Merriam and Guenther dangled minnows in about 23 feet of water on Tuesday, four Iowans -- part of a group of 15 who make an annual January pilgrimage to Lake of the Woods -- had amassed a bucketload of eating-size walleyes and sauger.
"I caught this big one earlier this morning," said Lon Overton of Altoona, Iowa, as he held up a digital image of himself brandishing a monster walleye.
"Released him," he added.
Perhaps nowhere else in the world could Overton and his friends -- and Merriam and Guenther -- enjoy a similar experience. Unique in its fishery, Lake of the Woods also is unmatched in the myriad opportunities it offers winter anglers.
You can rent a fish house, replete with all necessary gear and bait, and even have a hot lunch delivered to your door.
Or, if you wish, you can motor onto the lake alone on your four-wheeler or snowmobile, or in your pickup truck, toting a portable fish shack, and set yourself up for a day of angling.
Chances are -- this is the best part -- you'll catch fish. Some will be walleyes, perhaps mostly in the 13- to 18-inch range. And some will be sauger.
There's also a chance you'll catch a trophy walleye in the 25-inch range.
I did.
At least I almost did.
That happened on Tuesday, about 8:30 in the morning, and I had only recently been dropped off at one of the 40 rental shacks owned by Sportsman's Lodge near Baudette.
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