Marlena and Chris took us on a mini holiday to Mazuria Lake District. To be exact they took us to place called Mojtyny. It is a small village where Warsaw chapter of Angling Association has their permanent, years around recreational camp. Place is just opposite to a lake or two joint lakes to be exact. Association has their own boats, dock etc., everything to make visiting angle feel like in fishing heaven. Shortly after reaching our destination we got settled in our little bungalow which we shared with Marlena and Chris. After organizing our equipment we were on the lake where we remained till late evening. The gate to their camp is closed at 10 pm so everyone has to be back by then. We took a break in the afternoon to go for a meal to local eating place called “Staskowa Chata”. Guy who owns it cooked for Pope Paul II when he visited Poland few years ago so one can only imagine the quality of food in “Staskowa Chata”. Enough to say that during our 3 or 4 day stay there we ate in “Staskowa Chata at least once a day. After meal we were back on the lake. One needs to say a thing or two about fishing in Poland. It is not like fishing in Canada, particularly in Bellevue where we have our cottage. Fish the guys go after in Poland is pike and that is a fish I couldn’t care less about in Canada. Few years ago I went pike fishing with Agnes (my daughter), within 4 hours I caught and released 50 fish while Agnes did the same with 25. In Poland to catch few in a day is not en easy matter so one might say that I am spoiled as far as fishing for pike goes. So instead of going after pike we (Limin and I since Chris went after pike) went after small fish like perch, uklejka, plotka, krasnopuiorka, krap to mention few (sorry I don’t know English name of those if there is an English name for them).
Next day we went fishing before breakfast, I caught 2 small pike which I proptly released but catching fish had nothing to do with me feeling s if I won a jackpot. It was being there, absorbing the views, smells and sounds on that lake. What a beautiful morning it was and what a beautiful lake it is. I have not been on a lake like this in Canada. His lake was big but not huge, it was meandering full of bays, little islands, little inlets. Don’t want to sound like Mickiewicz (Polish poet) but something like that one can only experience in Poland especially if one is and always will be deep inside a Pole. We fished whole day and the next. Actually the next was a bit different one. That day we finally found a place where one could enjoy constant action. We musty have caught (and released) couple of hundreds of small fish that evening alone. In Poland one is allowed to fish using live bait since it is not allowed in Canada I could not say no to the opportunity of doing it. Using live small fish I caught two pike, one of them fair size but I let both of them go while keeping some of the bigger small fish. Next morning Limin prepare them “Chinese way” and they were fabulous. We all enjoyed them a lot. That day in the evening I got drunk like a skunk. It all started very innocently. We just got together with some of Chris’ friends, had a drink or two or three and lots to eat. By the time we finished it was not very late yet and we were not very drunk but……I had to go to washroom. While going there I was passing a group of people when suddenly I heard in Polish” Hey mister Canadian would you drink with us?” Well, to make long story short I said yes and if it was not for Marlena who eventually rescued me from myself I would probably developed alcohol poisoning. We drunk straight from a bottle and drunk a lot.
