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Lake Tahoe Fishing Trip, February, 2008
What beats any 'best' day at work? 

A fishing trip, with the most fish killing'est fishermen west of the Mississippi.  Many fishermen believe that taking pictures before the fishing begins is bad luck.  However, we had already snapped this photo before thinking of the possible consequences. 

Just to be on the safe side we took safeguard measures to ensure the fishing would be great.

First, a quick search of the coolers, and cabin, to ensure there were no banana's on board.  Finding a banana in a lunch bucket (often put there by a loving girlfriend, or wife) has been known to bring many great fishermen to their knees.  We were extra cautious on this trip and also searched for anything made of banana's (banana bread, banana yogurt, banana cookies, etc.).

You will also notice there were no bright 'white' fishing shirts being worn; as these have also been know to jinx a fishing trip to ruins. 

John begins the fishing ritual by biting the tail of the smallest minnow.  This is also known as tail-biting and should not be attempted by the faint of heart.  You will notice that John has his Safety Glasses on in the event the minnow gets overly aggressive. 
Weather-wise, this was one of the best, early February, fishing days anyone could have hoped for.  For some of us, I believe this is the 6th annual fishing trip.  Last year it rained and we were forced to wear raingear to stay dry.  There's a story there, but you would have had to been there to fully understand its magnitude; lets just say that Mickey Mouse rates pretty close to banana pudding. 
Fish on... and you won't have to guess who caught the first fish. Yep, ol' tail-biter himself; which goes to prove our theory on fishing rituals.
The deck-hand was quick with the net and the skipper also helped with the down riggers.  We had two down riggers and eight jigging setups.  There were plenty fishing lines in the water to keep the fish dizzy.  It was odd how the back of the boat seemed to catch the majority of the fish.  Maybe the fish were so dizzy from the buzz of the flashers that they bit the last thing in the lineup.  Hard to tell.
I'm not sure what was going on here, but my guess is that a fish had just been caught and it didn't make the running for the longest. 
Alan caught this fish in shallow water (around 75 feet) and it was a whopper to reel in. 
Yup, it's a whopper alright. 
I realize it looks like the deck hand is preparing to 'walk-the-fish'; but in reality, this technique is used to stretch the fish just prior to measuring. 
And here is the catcher and the catchee.  You will notice Alan is wearing his favorite fishing hat, no white shirt, and he is also banana free.  I have wondered at the monster fish he'd of caught if he would have partook in the tail-biting ritual earlier in the day.  
I count 13 fish in the cooler and I believe we caught a couple more before calling it a day.
And the winner is...  I believe I see fifty smackers in the hand.  Not a bad stake. 

I'm already looking forward to next years adventure. 

Hope to see you there.