Fishing for true thrill of angling

Somebody once told me fishing is fun. I want to believe that, but for the life of me, can't put a finger on what makes this outdoors activity so appealing to the masses.My brother and I spent Monday morning fishing Rollins Lake, just outside of Colfax. I was not lured - excuse the expression - into the outing. In fact, it was my idea. I figured it was a great way to spend more time with my brother, who is an avid fisherman.Since it was an impromptu trip, we rolled away from his house in Weimar about 8 a.m., which I'm told is a rather tardy start time for fishing. We planned to take a shot at a lake he had never fished, Lake Combie in Meadow Vista.We drove around, navigating the backwoods terrain using a Yahoo map. After about 30 minutes, we still couldn't find this body of water, which looked so large and blue on the printout map. Considering I was designated co-pilot/navigator, I was already starting to feel incompetent, and we hadn't even reached the really tricky part of tying a hook on a line.Eventually we ended up in front of an obtrusive metal gate with a huge sign attached that read, "Private Property. No Trespassing."It seems, sometime in the recent past, a developer purchased the land to build a future gated community in beautiful uptown Meadow Vista.I was stunned. I understand developers buy up every inch of land, hoping to someday hit the jackpot in real estate sales. But I was unaware they could actually buy a lake. Do they get all the fish that come with it, too?Now, it was nearly 9 o'clock and we were 30 minutes from Rollins Lake, where people are actually still allowed. That's like midday in the fishing world. But we departed anyway.After arriving, we set off on a mile hike, toting fishing poles and tackle bags, not to mention a small cooler, and set up our poles on a cove near the dam.The weather was mild and the walk was invigorating. Unfortunately, that was the beginning and end of the fun.My brother looked at me as though I were a city boy - oh, that's right, I am - when I asked for assistance tying the hook. See, I knew that was going to be difficult.He handed me a plastic dish full of night crawlers and told me to bait the hook. The worm squirmed away at first poke, but I was persistent. I told the worm sorry this is going to leave a mark, but at least you get to go swimming. It's just no fun being the bait.After a few dribbler ground ball casts, I finally got the hang of it and put the hook about 30 feet out from the shore. My brother did the same. But it only took him one try.Then we sat. We drank a bottle of water. And we sat. We chatted idly. And we sat. We ate some cookies. And we sat.The only time the line on my pole wavered was when it was hit by a gust of wind. After an hour, we changed to a different location, replayed the bait-and-hook scenario, recast and sat.I was thinking a couple of gloves and a ball for a game of catch would've been a nice way to kill some time while we waited for the fish to bite. Even a Frisbee would do. We had neither. We sat some more.Finally, after noon, we gave up. My brother drove me back to my car at his house. As I was departing, I told him I had fun.I was lying.