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Saturday, May 10, 2008
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Fish stories abound before lines hit water
Outdoors editor PEQUOT LAKES - It was all about the lines.
On Friday, hundreds - if not thousands - of people lined Trailside Park to help kick off the Governor's Fishing Opener.
The line for the picnic dinner in the park later in the day was equally as impressive, as were the lines of traffic in both directions on nearby Highway 371 - many of the vehicles with boats in tow.
And, of course, there were the lines - good-natured jabs - from the governor and lieutenant governor regarding the other's fishing prowess - or lack thereof.
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With Lt. Governor Carol Molnau (left), Mary and Tim Pawlenty walked through Trailside Park in Pequot Lakes Friday afternoon. The dignitaries were in town for the Governor's Fishing Opener festivities. Brainerd Dispatch/Steve Kohls
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All as they - and tens of thousands of fellow Minnesotans - prepared to wet their fishing lines Saturday morning.
Pequot Lakes and Breezy Point, co-hosts for the 60th Governor's Fishing Opener, were abuzz Friday as the communties welcomed Gov. Tim Pawlenty, first lady Mary Pawlenty and Lt. Gov. Carol Molnau and kicked off the 2008 opener. The three joined hundreds of media members, special guests and regular anglers Saturday morning on Pelican Lake for the Governor's Fishing Opener and the start of the state open-water fishing season.
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The Crosslake Townsquare Association's "Babe the Blue Gill" Oxtrot Oxen was a place to rest for Nova Kilbourne of Pequot Lakes Friday during the Minnesota's Governor's Fishing Opener Festivities in Pequot Lakes. Brainerd Dispatch/Steve Kohls
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The festivities were numerous Friday. There were events involving Breezy Point Resort's Whitebirch Golf Course, Wild Acres Hunting Club and the Paul Bunyan Scenic Byway. Gov. Pawlenty even threw out the ceremonial first pitch prior to the Pine River-Pequot Lakes high school baseball game Friday afternoon.
But during the recognition program just before the picnic dinner, talk turned to fishing. And as they have done the previous six years, the governor and the lieutenant governor drew a line in the sand.
"With me, the first lady and the lieutenant governor, there's a little competition that starts tomorrow (Saturday)," Pawlenty said. "It goes like this: The first fish caught, the longest fish and the most fish.
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Tim and Mary Pawlenty clapped during the dedication of the Purple Heart Memorial Friday at Trailside Park in Pequot Lakes. Brainerd Dispatch/Steve Kohls
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"I win every year, so I'm going to go easy on them this year," he said, drawing laughs from the crowd.
"You know how some people stretch things a little bit," Molnau said when getting her turn at the microphone. "The governor did beat me once for the longest fish, but that's the only time he's won.
"The first lady has had a lot to do with his success. The governor usually has some success in the morning, but in the afternoon, when he's trying to keep up, he has a problem because the first lady is doing other things and doesn't set the hook for him."
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Roland Sigurdson, a MinnAqua educational specialist worked with Mary Pawlenty on the fine art of filleting fish during the festivities at Trailside Park Friday. Brainerd Dispatch/Steve Kohls
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But Friday - and the weekend - was about more than high-profile friends/fishing foes exchanging humorous barbs.
"Why is this important?" Pawlenty said of the opener. "One, in Minnesota, people love to fish. And it promotes tourism and fishing. And we realize what that means to the state."
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Dru Sjodin's father Allan (left) embraced Gov. Tim Pawlenty at Dru's Garden at the Trailside Park in Pequot Lakes Friday. Brainerd Dispatch/Steve Kohls
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Said Molnau: "What we'll be taking away from here is the memories that will bring us back. From here, we'll have memories to take home.
"Everything has been perfect, including the weather," she told the crowd Friday at the park. "I don't know how you did that."
BRIAN S. PETERSON may be reached at brian.peterson@brainerddispatch.com or 855-5864.
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