Bill Speer

When one of my daughters-in-law was pregnant, I sent with my wife a gift to her baby shower. The gift was a fishing pole, and I promised to introduce the young one to the joy and peace of that wonderful pursuit.

Over time I have fished with all four of my granddaughters and I have enjoyed every minute of it.

And like any good grandfather, my goal was not to catch anything myself during those outings, but load the grandkids with lots of experience and fun catching a fish at the other end of the line.

If fishing were as simple as just making a cast and reeling in a fish, then it wouldn’t be fishing. Thus, the secret to a succesful fishing day with a young one is to find the right location where you believe your chance for success exceeds your chance for failure.

During my years in Northeast Michigan I had several of those spots. They were “can’t fail” sites I had discovered and generally speaking most every time I took people there to fish, they experienced success.

One of those spots for me was in Presque Isle County, at the Trout River Dam. A cast to the base of the dam, where the cascading water spills over the concrete wall and into the river, generally would result in a fish, or two, or three.

Over the years I put many a smile on a little one’s face with the success they were enjoying from fishing there.

Truth be told, the Herman Vogler Conservation Area (where the Trout River runs through) is one of my favorite places in all the world. When newspaper problems and concerns became overwhelming, many a time I would retreat to the river there for peace, tranquility and prayer.

It was, and still is for me, a very special place.

Imagine my surprise, and yes – even a little shock, the other day then when I picked up my Alpena News and read the story where Huron Pines officials were awarded a state grant to remove the dam from the river.

While I knew there had been talk to that effect and it was being studied, I missed where a decision had been reached.

I must admit that a little bit of me died after reading the story.

It isn’t that I am opposed to the project. Removing dams usually results in better fisheries, and I have complete confidence in the good folks at Huron Pines who have a stellar track record in improving habitats across the region.

One of the unique aspects of this dam is that it also acted as a barrier to sea lamprey from Lake Huron. Once the dam is removed, other ways to control the lamprey there will need to be implemented. And again, I have confidence that will occur as well.

It’s just that a little piece of “heaven” as I remember it will be gone, along with a fun fishing hole where kids could get their first experiences of fishing.

As I grow older, it is just another in a long list of things that have changed – some for the better, others not so much.

Thankfully there remain some very sweet memories from that area for me, including the mile-wide smile of a little girl with a fish at the end of her line.

Now that, my friends, is priceless.

Bill Speer retired in 2021 as the publisher and editor of The News. He can be reached at bspeer@thealpenanews.com.