My Mom says I made it sound like my Grandpa was gruff.  I certainly didn’t mean to.  He was the sweetest man on the face of the earth.  Then she added a caveat.  He WAS that way about fishing!  She remembers how they’d all be up in the boat in Rhinelander, Wisconsin, and Grandma would be rowing the boat (she was a fine fisherwoman in her own right, to be sure) and he’d have four lines out off the back of the boat.  Grandma would turn the boat and the next thing you know he’s red in the face and irritated that she’d gotten his lines all messed up.  Grandma wore the pants in the family so no worries, she defended herself quite nicely thank you.  But still.  Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde in a fishing boat? Somehow does not compute but there you are.

My other favorite story about Grandpa and fishing was that they went up to Wisconsin for their honeymoon. Grandpa didn’t have two nickels to rub together so they were staying at a relative’s place up there.  Also, I may not have this part of the story completely correct, but I think it was my Grandma’s family who bought him his wedding suit, it’s really irrelevant except that it was a new suit. 
So picture this, ladies.  It’s the first morning of your honeymoon and you don’t know why your new husband isn’t in the bed next to you.  You get up and see him fishing in the stream, pants legs rolled up, standing in the creek.  Those pants legs would be the pants legs of the new wedding suit.  Is the ink dry on the marriage certificate yet?