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to protect s arms aga nst t orns. e carr e two s ng ro s, an wor

tackle box on h s back n the orm o a vest, the state fish ng l cense p n

tw s . t s t t a h a

e r; the only d s h p u -t- ousle v s n es o bu , o s ht es r d ca o y th t nly the heav est downpour m ht e ttr e e

t shad th m d ty k l le ,, at : . ..

OTW Fiction Contest Winner 201

y wore hikers and eans and to protect his ankles from snakes and long sle

-photo by Andy Nabreski

7/29/2019 My Lake

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rr

The shrubbery was so th ck and t ght that he was unable to find an open ng. A

machete would really help, he thought. A ter a short walk he was able to come

across a clear ng that sat beneath a large tree no ootpr nts, no spent tackle bags,

no tennis balls, and no empty spring-water bottles.

A cove littered with lily pads and fallen branches and some boulders, par-

t ally submerged, opened up to a larger body o water. Frogs scattered as Ty ap-

proached the bank, but they re used to use the water as an escape route. Sweat ran

nto h s eyes. He took a deep breath and told h msel to relax, but st ll h s hands

trembled. He considered his go to weedless plastic worm, keeping it simple and

basic to start out, but instead decided on an old reliable, a floating Rapala that he

named Sl ck and that was already cl pped onto h s number-two rod.

He ung the Rapala to a prom s ng-look ng spot, but t never h t the water. Itlanded n a tree and dangled ust below an overhang ng l mb. He took up the

slack and brought the lure to within a few inches of the branch. Ty took another

eep breath. A tug at the rod t p resulted n the treble hooks anchor ng n a tu t

o reener . F rst I screw u a cast Ive made a thousand t mes, now th s, he

sa d out loud to no one. He cked the rod harder and the lure r pped out o the

leaves and rocketed nto a shrub ust beh nd h m. He retr eved the lure and gave

thanks that it didnt end up in his eyelid as he removed the remaining greenery

rom the hooks.

Ty not ced rustl ng n the woods beh nd h m. He stopped what he was do ng

th nk ng only, bear. But as he squ nted towards the p cket ence o trees, t be-

came clear to him that it was the typical two-le ed ait of a man. y cursed to

himself. Here we go, he thought. Avoid conversation, avoid eye contact, turn your

back to h m, and make bel eve you dont not ce hes there.

ll t o ce called out rom the woods. y k t et d ted

t b ,, but he hed. th e h

s ok ... llo th r r en

,, eg h ....

Catch n anyth ng?

y cranked h s eyes closed and read ed to cast. Just got here.

Just want to let you know r end, you cant fish here. Its pr vate property.

hat

Yea, this is all private property, signs are posted. Im going to have to ask

you to leave.

y stepped away rom the bank and sat on a moss-covered log. All he coul

ocus on was the taste o puke n that nvaded h s mouth and throat. He attempte

to snort and spit to clear the taste, as he detached his water bottle from the cara

biner on his belt. The drink didnt work; the taste of puke was still fresh and h

sp t the mouth ul nto the ground.

Who says ts pr vate? Ty demanded.I say ts pr vate.

Well, who the hell are you?

I am the property owner. Th s s my lake.

Your lake

Yes, I own th s land, and that ncludes all the lakes, ponds, and waterway

conta ned there n.

All Ty could do was shake his head. I cant freakin believe itI ust can

reak n bel eve tun reak ng bel evable!

L sten r end, Im sorry.

Yea yea yea!

Howd ou find this lace, if ou dont mind me askin .

Google Earth

Google Earth?

atell , k , h .

nd t h

...

ed t hat ha to b l h ht

7/29/2019 My Lake

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On The Water page 4

Bas cally.

Whered you leave your car?

On Route 404, on a clearing, on the side

Might get yourself towed.

You dont th nk I know that

L sten r end, why dont you come to my place, Ill g ve you

a ride to your carthis way you wont get towed.

ys head throbbed and his lower back ached. All he could

th nk o was ly ng down and clos ng h s eyes. Can I have a

m nute?

Sure, the man said.

y took a ew deep breaths. He thought or a moment about theclose-by fish ng holes. It would be close to luncht me by the t me

he got to any o them; crowds, oggers, dog walkers, scream ng

kids would all be in full swing.

You know the reason I trudged all the way up here? Ty asked.

You know why I scouted out th s lake? Because, I figured I

o the work, if I can be a trailblazer and find a spot that nobody

else has the commitment and dedication to find and get to, that

maybe Id be rewarded w th five m nutes o peace and qu et!

L sten r end

No, you listen! Do you know we have a lake near my house

that I cant even fish? Ty spit again in the dirt. I pay out my

lungs n taxes but Im not allowed to fish n a lake n my own

town because I d dnt buy close enough to be part o the Lake

Community. You know I have to buy a permit to fish a postage-

stamp-s ze bank on the rez n the town I grew up n? I cant find

a fish ng spot where the Canada Geese arent ed wh te bread

unt l they are about to explode! Now, a ter h k ng through a

maze of sticker bushes and poison ivy, Im kicked out again!

L sten r end, Im sorry, the man sa d.

Do you fish? Ty asked.

I do. Im a fly fisherman. Its my passion.

Wait a minute, rien . What are you rich or something?

F gures! The world s or the r ch, a guy l ke me gets JACK.

Come on now. I worked or what I have.

Doing what?

I dont think thats any of your business.

Yeah OK, Ty sa d. So I d dnt spend my l e cheat ng

people out o the r l e sav ngs then I dont have a r ght to en oy

the beautiful places in the world.

L sten r end, I have what I have because I earned t. I own

th s land, and I can tell you to leave. Its not anyth ng personal.Listen I know you think this is yours, because you bought

it, but its not yours! I dont care what the law says, it doesnt

be ong to you!

I agree, but I do have the r ght to protect t rom people and

garbage and thats what I intend to do. If there is one lake left

unpolluted and not fished-out, then let it be on my land, let it

be my lake. Thats the way I want t, and Ive earned the r ght

to protect th s place.

You know what? Youre ust as full of it as anyone. Let me

uess, you made your money by manu actur ng BS con

oods, r ght?

The man did not respond.

I bet youve taken your pound of flesh out of the en

ment, more so than any poor slob that leaves beh nd

conta ner.

Sounds like sour grapes to me, the man said.

It is! My grapes have soured long agoin fact my g

are ranc d! Look, I dont care to be r ch. My w e and

need anyth ng more than what we need. The only wealth

is places like this, to come and spend a few hours fishin

no, the beaut ul places l ke th s are squatted upon by thpeople that shut out us guys. F ne. Ill ust h ke out o he

way I came n.

Come on now, why dont you come back with me an

a cup o co ee?

No thanks.

Well, at least let me give you a ride down to your ca

Ty thought for a moment. OK, Ill take the ride.

As Ty walked the tra l away rom the cove, he kept an

he water. Small areas called to h m a corner o deeper

on the banks wedged between boulders, a spit of water cro

with lilies, a submerged log about four feet from the b

about three eet o water that begged to be fished.

You know, people are the only l v ng th ngs that pollu

create garbage. the man said as they walked. Garbage d

occur n a lake naturally.

Ty d d not respond, he ust kept walk ng, th nk ng

ett ng to h s car as ast as poss ble.

Where do you usually do your fishing? the man ask

Places by where I l ve, that I can get to qu ck early

morn ng. I have a am ly, so I fish when they are asleep. Im

ally up at 4 a.m. and out before all the joggers and dog wal

So, youre fishing right in the middle of everything?

Yea, n magn ficent suburb a!

That has to be tough. You ever catch anyth ng?

I got a six-pounder out of Garrettsons Pond last July.

Really!

Yeascum rogg n! And I got another three five-pound

o Blues Lake, and I got three bonafied five-pounders out

Big Ol Rez so far this summer tooand a seven-pound

st perso Im hav ng a pretty good season.

Thats mpress ve! I wouldnt even th nk there were aleft in those waters, especially the hybrids. I thought the

be gone by now.

Oh theyre there, you ust gotta work your ass o the ge

The two men kept walk ng. Ty began to regret h s tant

You know what? Ty said. I would just once like to

up to a pond or lake and not see runaway snot weed fro

he ert l zer runo , or fish ng l ne and bobbers hang ng

rees l ke Chr stmas balls. Thats the problem, and that

I m so angry.

I understand, the man said. W

our name by the way?

You know, continued Ty,

seems, no matter what, I end up

more o what I dont want to see an

what Im look ng or.Not me, the man said. I see m

ach time Im by my lake. My lake

hurch. For me, th s s the secret o

Th s s b rth, l e, death, and renew

o Im excommunicatedI

allowed to be here? Im not part o

hurch

S lence re gned over the two me

er a short walk they approached a

ottage-style home.

Th s your place? Ty asked.

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7/29/2019 My Lake

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ebruary 2012 page 4

Yes.

N ce!

Does the ob.

The two men umped in the mans car and headed down the mountain road to

Route 4 4.

So, youre, marr ed? the man sa d.

Yup. You?

W dowed. You have k ds?

Two boysmy car should be ust up ahead on the right.

till there the man asked.

Yea, thank ully, Ty sa d. Even be ore the car stopped Ty was open ng the door

and had one oot out.Wa t a m nute, the guy sa d.

No offense but Im kind of behind the eight ball so far this morning

L sten, I know t doesnt take much to y nto some legendary body o water where

the fish have never seen a lure and fill a m ll on dollar boat w th fish.

What?

I know t takes qu te a b t o sk ll to catch fish n the pressured waters you men-

tioned.

Whats your po nt? Ty asked.

Can I make a deal w th you?

What k nd o deal?

Well, you can have access to my lake, the guy sa d.

On your mounta n?

Yea, ree re gn.

Really? Whats the catch?

Just stop in and visit with me when youre done. Stop in and have a cup of cof

ee, let me know how you made out. You can park n my dr veway, no need to h k

up the mounta n.

Wow! Im speechless, Ty sa d. Thank you.

Dont need to thank me. Get your car and follow me back up the mountain. I

give you a tour of the lake and show you some of the other ponds and streams.

How many ponds are up there? asked Ty.

Hal a dozen. Hurry up! The morn ng s gett ng old.Ty could barely steady h s hand enough to get the key n the gn t on. He tr ed

settle himself down as he attempted enter the traffic of Route 404. The man sat in hi

car on the roads de w th h s ashers on. Ty took extra care, allow ng a str ng o s x o

seven cars to pass be ore he would engage the turn across the oncom ng lane. H s m n

raced: catch and release only, no pollut on, no company, the lake would be a secret,

secret that he had earned a place he would treat as t was h s own.

He made a mental note too, that the first thing hed do when at the top of the mountai

would be to ntroduce h msel , and find out the guys name.

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