Thursday, September 17, 2015

Farewell to Canada


Our Ontario adventure has come to an end and we are back on the road! Actually it is bittersweet, we really enjoyed our summer at Pasha Lake Cabins and will truly miss Chad, Michelle and all our other local and “weekly” friends up there.

Bear season ended on a high note going 8 for 9 and 9 for 9 the last two weeks, one of which was a monster topping the scale at 513#’s! Needless to say there were a lot of late nights skinning and processing bears. One of the last groups was the Herman crew from Illinois. They are a great group of guys who own a resort/campground and produce the TV show LakeLife on the DIY network. Everyone in their group got a bear but in my opinion the highlight was Norm who shot his out of a ground blind at 3 yards. He did not even know it was there until he heard it breathing 6’ away from him!
Barb even got in on the action! 
 We had to track a couple of bears that the hunters did not find right away, this can be both scary and dangerous. I can tell you from experience you do not want to walk up on an angry black bear after dark armed only with a flashlight! I had suggested to Barb that we could use Daisy as a tracking dog, we could just put her on the scent trail and if she came back we knew the bear was dead and if she doesn’t come back…….well, you get the picture. Barb failed to see the humor….

Before we left, my friend Joe and Greg came up for a few days of fishing. Joe has been up several times while this is Greg’s first time to the area. They spent their first day on Onaman Lake, I was not able to join them as I was fishing with a group from Toronto. When they got back to camp the smile on Greg’s face said it all. The first words out of his mouth were “I have never caught so many walleye’s over 20”’s!”. Day two of their visit was spent on Northwind Lake, although we did not catch a lot of big fish, the numbers were there. The next day we booked the “Pasha Lake Dream Trip”. This takes place on Lake Nipigon for monster walleyes and northern pike. Lake Nipigon is huge, 70 miles long and 50 miles wide! This is not a lake you take a 16 fishing boat with a 15hp motor so we chartered with one of the local guides. After a 40 minute boat ride we arrived at our first location on the Jackfish River. I am not exaggerating when I say you caught 18” - 20”walleye as fast as you could get your jig in the water. Too be honest it gets a little boring after a while as there is no challenge so when Gus asked if we wanted to move and try for some trophies we were all in!
We moved to the mouth of the river where the walleyes were not only bigger they had a beautiful blue tint to them. If fact, Greg caught his personal best at 27 ½ “’s! Next it was time for big pike! Being guys we had to try and outdo each other and see who could catch the biggest fish. Joe started it off with three in a row all over 36”’s. Greg took the lead with a nice 37 and then it was my turn with a 39 ½ . We each caught several more fish between 35 and 38 and it looked like I was going to have bragging right until Joe boated at 40 ½ ! Oh well, even if I don’t have bragging rights we still had a great day on the water.
Greg with a 27 1/2
Check out the blue tint on Joe's walleye
I had the lead for a while with this 39 1/2
 
So with our adventures behind, us Barb and I spent our last day there packing up while Joe and Greg went fishing. It is amazing how much stuff you amass when you are in one spot for several months.

Next up…. Ducks, bucks and working the farm fields of  North Dakota…..

18 comments:

  1. So glad you are finished with the bear hunting. I grew up in a hunting family but I have trouble with it when those beautiful furry creatures are involved. I had to skip through the bear photos. Now I can relax:)

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    1. I know it is not for everybody so I kept the pictures to a minimum and added the link for those that wanted to see more. It is good to be headed south and we are looking forward to Arizona, Utah and California....Maybe we can meet up this year!

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  2. On the road again! Using Daisy as a bear dog is a good idea. She could bark when she finds one. But you have to be pretty close to her to hear her.

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    1. I thought it was a good idea as well but she wanted nothing to do with it. Right now we are stuck in Two Harbors with truck problems....more on that later.

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  3. Wow! Guys sure do make a big deal about size! Every inch counts. We have one more week here in Nephi and then we're off to Moab. It'll be the first time there with the jeep. Steve's looking in to having some work done to it. Just hope I can still get in without a step stool! Look forward to seeing you guys.

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    1. Every inch?!?!? We measure to the 1/2"! It should be interesting to see what work he has done to the jeep..... a lift kit perhaps?

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  4. Wow, Jim...you ended your summer in grand style! Nice fish! Hope the truck isn't too much of an issue.

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    1. Looks like we should be back on the road in an hour or so. Only a two day delay...guess it could have been worse!

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  5. I was thinking of you guys and wondering when you were going to hit the road. Must be getting cold up there by now. Last week we stayed at North Sterling State Park in Colorado and we found out it's a great Walleye lake. Glad you had a great summer and look forward to hearing all about North Dakota - Ingrid@ LiveLaughRV.net

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    1. We had frost up there one day before we left, we definitely wanted to get away before the first snow!

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  6. You guys have sure had quite the adventure this summer. We look forward to hearing more about it when we see you in Q. Good luck with the truck and safe travels!

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    1. We hope to be down there the end of December, keep your eyes open for a good spot for us!

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    2. Damn! We are going to have to make it up there on year and have you take us out for those lunkers! And I agree with Barb, Poor Daisy! You know you would not send her out there. Bad Daddy! Sounds like bear season was a great success. Glad you didn't get sent out there to retrieve and lost bears! Hope to see you both again in Quartzite! We saved some oysters for you ;-)

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    3. We actually do miss those grilled oysters but are a little skeptical of Arizona oysters! See you this winter!

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  7. Looking forward to reading your new adventures. We aren't hitting road south for another 1 1/2 months so you'll get me chopping at the bit. I hope the truck turns out ok, I don't like to hear about issues with our GMC's! Safe Travels

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    1. Do doubt, we take it in again tomorrow to see if we can get this thing taken care of!

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  8. Can't say I've ever seen a skinned bear....thanks for sharing....I think.....

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    1. Ha, they are not much more different than a beef other than the fact that bears have a lot of fat!

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