Last week I wrote about traditional shore lunches and that writing brought back memories of a few great shore lunches of my own that I would like to share. For seven years, I promoted a husband-and-wife fishing tournament that was a great success and Bents Camp on the Cisco Chain of Lakes is where most of the couples in that tournament stayed. Each year I would add a few new things to make this tournament more fun and always welcomed fresh ideas from others. The 3rd or 4th year one of the anglers and great friend Karl (THE WALLEYE KING) suggested we have a shore lunch mid-week, and he would take care of everything.

This shore lunch turned out to be an awesome idea and continued the last two years of our tournament. Tuesday night of that week, Karl and his wife Sue (CAMP COORDINATOR) told everyone to go out fishing early the next morning and at 11:30 we would all meet at an island Karl had chosen. This island was the perfect choice because it had a picnic table and a fire ring. When Monica and I arrived, Karl, Sue and Zeke (WILDCAT) already had the fire going and the cast iron skillet was heating the oil. Oh, and someone forced camp coordinator to have a cocktail while she was preparing the table. (Just joking, there was no force).

By 11:45 you could see boats coming from all directions. The only problem was, this island only had one small (BROKEN) dock, so 7 boats had to anchor out in the lake, coolers removed, livewells emptied, and everyone had to be shuttled to and from the island. Once everyone was on the island, all the fish that were caught that morning (Perch, Bluegill, Walleye and 2 Northern) were cleaned on top of a stump and then seasoned for the frying pan.

Karl made jalapenos stuffed with cheese and wrapped with bacon the night before and cooked them over the open fire for appetizers, then while everyone was snacking, Karl and his son Zeke cooked the potatoes and onions in a large cast iron pot and then fried the fish fillets. Let me tell you, there is NOTHING better than being with great friends, eating fresh fish cooked over a fire on an island.

Those shore lunches were all about good friends, good conversation, bad jokes, awesome food and the only two words that can describe those shore lunches are, GREAT MEMORIES.