Dave Beck

Last week I had an unofficial class reunion. I need to call it that or I might upset some classmates who weren’t there. This reunion took place while fishing for walleyes on the Mississippi River. Spoiler alert: best reunion ever, even if the fishing wasn’t great. 

The first classmate to accept the invite was Dave. Since I am the one writing this and for purposes of eliminating any confusion, I am Dave1 and he is Dave2. Dave2 is a huge bird hunter and I have spent some time hunting with him and his dog Falco. Falco is a terrific bird dog and quick to steal your warm bed if you leave it for any reason. Dave2 offered that we either invite Falco or Guff. Guff is not a dog but rather another former classmate. I don’t know how he got his name, but I don’t remember a time when we didn’t call him Guff. So Guff won out because I have fished with him before and he brings awesome “sammitches” for lunch. Sorry Falco, a guy has got to eat.

Dave2, Guff and I met up at the back channel landing in Hager City. As expected, a couple hundred of my walleye brothers and sisters had the same idea to go fishing. It really didn’t matter because the goal was to hang out, catch up, and maybe boat a few fish, all in that order.

Guff started off the day by telling us about his trip to the sporting goods store to buy a one-piece fishing rod. He didn’t notice that it was a two-piece rod until he got home. It was a great story and a little foreshadowing because at that point I got too aggressive with a snag and my one-piece rod turned into a two-piece rod. It’s kind of funny when you think about it: you never break a crummy rod, you always break a good one. So Guff and I ended up with two-piece rods and as much as he complained, at least he could still use his.

Between stories and talking about our classmates’ lives while remembering those who were no longer with us, we caught a couple of fish. We didn’t deal with anything big. The couple of walleyes we caught weren’t even close to being legal and the majority of our fish caught consisted of saugers which weren’t plentiful either, but the action still kept our interest in between reminiscing. If you’re old enough to remember the song “Class of ‘57”, you have a pretty good idea of the boat conversation. For reference, I graduated long after that song came out.

When all was said and done, we brought home enough fish for a small fish fry provided there were plenty of potatoes. Even if we had all gone home empty-handed, it still would have been a great time. Catching fish also led to some friendly banter of who caught more, etc. We made plans to meet up again and as long as Guff agreed to bring the sammitches, he would edge out Falco for a spot in the boat. 

Didn’t get enough Dave this week? Visit “Outdoor Trails and Tales with Dave Beck” on Facebook for photos and video of Dave’s adventures. You can share your own photos and video with him there as well, or by emailing him at dave@piercecountyjournal.news Also, check out OTT content on Instagram @thepiercecountyjournal