David posted a condolence
Saturday, July 8, 2017
One of my most enjoyable memories with Dad was going smelt-dipping at Singing Bridge in Au Gres MI when we were kids. The very first time we did it was with our entire family in the early to mid-70s. Dad inquired at a bait shop in Omer MI as to where the smelt were running. The shop clerk (jokingly, we would later suspect) told Dad that the smelt were running in the Rifle River, conveniently located adjacent to the shop. So here we went, Dad, brother Jerry Lee and I, leaky hip waders and all, into the Rifle River (which had a very strong current back then) to dip the smelt. After about 15 minutes of watching Dad catch nothing, while Jerry Lee and I simply tried to maintain our balance to avoid drowning, we realized this river was probably not where the smelt were (it wasn't). Turns out that 20 miles up the road was THE Singing Bridge, the true place to dip smelt in the area. After that first trip, I was hooked on smelt dipping. We made it an annual event with Dad for some time. Thanks, Dad.
