It’s funny what one trip can do for a person.

For Bob Goldman a trip to Oak Island on Lake of the Woods developed into a 40-year annual event full of fishing and memories.

It was 1969 and Goldman saw an ad in a Minneapolis newspaper for the Angle Inn Lodge. The cost was $175 for an all-inclusive four-day getaway. On a whim Goldman and three others checked it out. Turns out it was a pretty good deal and might have been the best ad the resort ever bought.

Oak Island is only accessible by plane or boat. Punch Oak Island into a Google maps search and nothing comes up. Off of the Northwest angle of Lake of the Woods and at the far eastern edge of the U.S. border lies the Angle Inn Lodge, nine hours and 520 miles through a lot of two-laned roads away from Albert Lea.

After Goldman’s exploratory trip he talked it up to his Cloverleaf Lion’s Club and soon a group of 40 or so went by chartered bus and flew into Oak Island for a weekend of non-stop fishing the next year.

In years past the event grew in popularity and drew a crowd before it took off from the Union Center parking lot. It drew the attention of the police once, who stopped by to see what exactly was going on.

Now it’s an annual event that Goldman anxiously awaits.

On the week leading to Memorial Day Goldman and his group set out from Albert Lea Tuesday at midnight and follow a tight scheduled he has planned in caravan of cars (the bus got too expensive because the driver had to be paid for four days). Gas in Garrison, Breakfast at Baudette and fishing begins at 2 p.m. from Oak Island.

“I’m accused of being a particular,” Goldman said. “I have a schedule. I know what time we’re going to leave, I know our first stop is going to be breakfast somewhere. I know what our second stop is going to be. We even allow time for a bathroom break on the way up.”

What follows is a lot of fishing, a lot of eating and most of all — fun.

Goldman and the group are after walleyes and reach their limit nearly every time they hit the water. In year’s past they were able to get a Canadian fishing license in addition to their Minnesota license and haul in even more fish. All of that has changed but it’s meant bigger, fewer fish for the crew to bring back to shore for meals.

As part of the arrangement with Angle Inn Goldman and his group don’t have to clean the fish or cook.

“We don’t have to do very much except eat, sleep and fish,” Goldman said.

Fishing begins early, most awake at 6:30 in the morning and are on the lake by 8 a.m. Four hours later the caravan of 10 boats returns to shore with their king’s ransom of fish for the Angle Inn staff to fry up. After lunch the fishermen and women haul back out to their 18-foot Lund boats for more fishing and to find their supper. Some return for happy hour at 5 p.m. while others stay on the lake until 6 p.m. For those that come in for happy hour Chuck Lee is fixing Manhattans while the staff prepares the latest haul of fish for dinner.

Up north in the spring the sun stays up later and allows for the group to continue fishing well past the 8 o’clock hour. Then the cycle begins all over again in the morning.

The mornings can be brutal since it is still late spring and often times the boats will have frozen water inside. Lee said he wears five layers of clothes in the morning, but once he gets a bite on his line he’s all right.

“Once you start catching fish you don’t mind the cold,” Lee said.

The weather can be strange at that time of the year at Oak Island. There is a picture of Lee and Goldman and another man in the same boat during one of the trips where Goldman is driving the boat shirtless and Lee is in the bow, hunched over in a hunting jacket.

Their experience with the lake trumps many of the guides and some of the leaders of the outdoors sporting goods world have sought their help.

“In fact, one year we had two boat loads of people from Cabela’s come up to the lodge,” Goldman said. “And after two days of their fishing and they not getting any fish they went with us and they limited out. We showed Cabela’s where the fish were.”

Once a person goes on the trip for the first time it’s likely they’ll be back. The group has been going on the trip for so long some have grown up with the trip as a staple. Lee has made the trip for all but one year and his son started going when he was 16 and now he’s 56. Now Lee’s granddaughter makes the trip with the group.

Everyone is sure to make it back in time for Sunday service because there’s always a pastor on the trip.