Pine Knot Outdoors: Reflections on fishing from the baseball diamond

We loaded the Suburban with most of the Baker crew plus an omnipresent extra child, and headed north. The big blue Lund stared back at us in confusion as we pulled away — it would remain unhitched for the day. Our destination was the Hibbing baseball field to support Carsen Psyck, Zachary Tyman, and Joseph Baker as they represented Cloquet in the VFW All-Star game Sunday afternoon.

Tucked into the massive wooden bleachers of Al Nyberg field, I had time to reflect on summers of long ago playing on the same diamond. It’s been a long time since I’ve been called out of the bullpen, but I recall leaning heavily on my fastball, knuckleball and changeup during my glory days. Today, I rely on three similar approaches to putting fish in the boat.

My fastball was my bread and butter. Early in the count I always wanted to get ahead of the batter and zip one over the plate. My fishing fastball is covering shallow water with the “high heater.” When fishing water less than 10 feet deep, I tie on a ⅜-ounce jig tipped with a boot tail plastic or a Rapala Rippin Rap to cover water quickly, zipping the lure right through the strike zone.

My knuckleball was my favorite pitch to throw in high school, especially with the wind chucking off Lake Superior. It would dip and dive and drop. It would seldom fall in for a strike, but batters had a hard time trying not to take a swing at it. The Rapala Scatter Rap is my fishing knuckleball. Its specialized bill imparts a searching action that kicks the bait off to the sides, throwing off an attractive flash and mimicking a fleeing baitfish. Fish have a hard time not taking a swing at it.

Batters may not have wanted to swing at my changeup but by the time they were off balance and committed, it was too late. My fishing changeup is pitching glide baits. Rapala Jigging Raps, Northland Puppet Minnows, and Moonshine Shiver Minnows all see action. Snapping these baits and letting them glide long distances entices reaction bites. Fish may not want to hit them, but once they are off balance and committed, it’s too late.

Of course, the goal of pitching is the opposite of fishing. In pitching, you don’t want anybody to hit your offering. In fishing, you want lots of hits. Honestly, looking back, they didn’t let me pitch all that often once I got to high school; I never said I was an all-star. Besides, I never played an inning of summer ball … I was too busy fishing.

Bret Baker is a lifetime resident of Cloquet. He is a proud husband, father, educator and outdoorsman. Bret began guiding fishing trips when he was 16 years old. Today, in his 40s, his passion is to introduce people to the tremendous outdoor adventures our region has to offer.