Mike Schoonveld

As an angler who spends a lot of time on the Great Lakes, I have more fishing reels than most. Accordingly, I spend a lot of time removing old line and respooling with new.
Why? Because since ancient times – when lines were made from silk, linen, animal sinew and other natural materials – fishermen have known that success or failure often depends on the condition of their line.

The first time I ventured out on a Great Lake to troll for salmon was on a small boat with a small outboard.
There were three of us, each of us had brought our own fishing rod and a handful of lures we thought might be attractive to the fish. Other than the required safety gear, and what turned out to be a woefully inadequate net, that was about the extent of the tackle on board.

People are taught dozens of common-sense rules as they travel down the road of life. One of them is to don’t eat any food from a metal can that shows signs of swelling. Why? Because the can probably has spoiled food inside and could be contaminated with botulism toxins.
Good to know, but why put this warning in a column about fishing and other outdoor recreation?