But first, a stop in Minnesota to visit friends
and family, get some work done on the 4 wheeler and pick up the canoe. We
“mooch-docked” in the cul-de-sac in front of my brother Bob’s house again. It
is a great place to spend a few days as there is no one else within ½ mile of
his house.
Although, there never seems to be enough time to see everyone you
want to see or do everything you want to do, we gave it our best shot! We saw
lots of friends and was able to get together with a couple of my brothers and
sisters. We had dinner at two of our favorite places; ribs at The Thirsty Otter
in Balsam Lake and pizza at JJs’ outside of Milltown. On our way to JJ’s we
stopped at a bar Milltown (surprise surprise) in to see our favorite bartender
at Wise Guys. Julie has been a friend of ours for several years and we always
try to stop in and see her on our way through.
 |
| Our mooch-docking site |
 |
| Julie, a good friend and great bartender! |
We were also able to get together with the Anderson
clan for a cookout, it is always great to see them. They were nice enough to
store our canoe and a few other things for the past couple of months and we
left them with their promise to visit us in Arizona this winter! We are going
to hold you guys to it!
On our last day in the area my brother Bob and I
got out fishing on Green Lake. It has been many a year since I have been out on
this lake but thanks to Bob’s awesome guiding we were able to pick up quite a
few bass and crappies!
 |
| Beetle Spins were the lure of the day! |
 |
| Bob reeled this one in all by himself! |
Later that day we picked up the 4 wheeler and
headed north! Ah, it is great to be in Canada….the moment we went through the
border crossing I felt a sense of joy just being here. Arriving, we got get up
and started getting our fishing gear ready. Our friends, the Masers, were here
again and we were anxious to get out fishing with them. We had some of the best
fishing of our lives with them on a remote walk-in lake last year and we were
anxious to see if they were there again this year. There are two boats on this
lake and they had reserved one of them, with luck we could get the other one
and we would be good to go! Good news, bad news, the other boat was available
but someone had plugged up the motor so I would have to carry a new one in.
It is about ½ mile walk into the lake with ½ of
that being in boggy terrain. I managed to get in with the motor without getting
too wet but Barb on the other hand……well she hit a couple of holes and went in
up to her thighs on more than one occasion!
 |
| OMG, it's a swamp creature! |
The fishing was good, not as fast and furious as
it was last year but we did catch quite a few fish. You know you are spoiled
when you are complaining about not catching a fish every minute and are ONLY
catching one every 5 minutes or so. At one point Barb landed a nice 19” walleye
that was totally torn up from being attacked by a larger fish. I would LOVE to
see the fish that can even try to take down a 19” walleye!
The past couple days have been cold, rainy and
SNOWING!!!!! So we have just been hanging low getting things organized. We are
here all summer, no need to go out and freeze our @sses off, warmer days are
ahead!
 |
| May 31st and snow, that is just wrong! |
Welcome to Canada...eh! Are planning on going to Manitoba? If so I can set you up with my brother in Thompson. He lives for fishing and has guided. Took us out one time on Reid Lake and between 4 of us we caught 80 fish in an afternoon! Said that was a slow day.
ReplyDeleteWe are staying here until mid-September. Would love to explore Canada a little more but we love this area so much! Looking forward to a little warmer weather but not the bugs that come with it.
DeleteThe Thirsty Otter sounds like the place I would definately like to visit. I always thought you guys smelled fishy, now I know why. Have fun kids.
ReplyDeleteYou guys HAVE to try and get up here this year!
DeleteI'm amazed at the fish you catch! I'd love to be able to fish like that. Maybe one day. Work is interesting. Dave and Maxine are off for two weeks. The area is large and remote. Hope you guys have a great summer.
ReplyDeleteWe just got here a couple days ago and got settled. We will be hitting the lakes pretty hard in the next few weeks! Keep us posted on how things are going out there.
DeleteThere is most definitely a love of fishing there to go through all that swamp walking with an engine on your shoulder! Glad you were rewarded with a great catch:) Love that location at your brother's. Perfect spot for a big rig! Long ways for an extention cord, though:) Haha!
ReplyDeleteThe adventure is part of the fun for us. It is like hiking out west but in water carrying 50#'s while dodging mosquitos. What more fun could you ask for?
DeleteWelcome back my Summer Canadian friends! Sounds like a great start to another fun season in the northern playground! May you catch more fish than mosquitos.
ReplyDeleteDoubtful, the mosquitos hatched today and I have already killed more of them than fish I will catch all year!
DeleteYou brute! It's not every day you see someone toss a Yamaha on their shoulder for a hike through the woods. And Barb is lucky she didn't sink to her shoulders with the load she is carrying! Looks like fun...except for the snow!
ReplyDeleteJim
I definitely felt it the next day. I felt bad for Barb, I was not putting the motor down and when she went down all I could do is look at her and see if she got out. Weather was much better today.....
DeleteWe spent many a year portaging and fishing along the Gunflint Trail (Grand Marais, MN). Loved fighting those small mouth Bass with light line. Don't miss those mosquitos though. Have a great summer and maybe we can connect in AZ this winter.
ReplyDeleteWe spent the night in Grand Marais on the way up here. No smallmouth in this area but I love catching them. We plan on being in Arizona somewhere the January and February for sure.
DeleteMan I'd LOVE to catch a nice Walleye like that! Great job Barb! We've got to make it up that one day. We were looking forward to fishing on our favorite river here while we're back, but the drought has really done a number on the higher elevation rivers :-( And your brothers place is awesome!
ReplyDeletePost some pictures when you get out on the river!
Delete