A great day to take a ride aboard the Lickety Split

These were the views out the bow and stern of our camp trip boat, the Lickety Split, during a calm day on Red Lake, Ontario, last summer.

Such mirror-like water is a pleasure to make the 20-mile journey in although it's not a favorite with our fishermen. They prefer a little "walleye chop."

The Lickety Split can make the voyage in nearly all weather. One type of weather system we do avoid is the thunderstorm. If we encounter one during the trip we simply go to the safety of the shoreline and wait until it passes. But normally we can time our departure at the dock to avoid thunderstorms altogether.

"A sudden storm is soon over," is the old adage and a good one. Waiting-out a thunderstorm normally means just a 15-to-30-minute delay.

In most conditions the Lickety Split can take nine people and their gear to camp or back to town in just 35 minutes. In rough water, however, the trip can take twice that long as it is necessary to slow down and sometimes to follow alternate routes.

We always see loons and eagles during the voyage and sometimes are lucky enough to spot swimming moose, deer and black bear as well.

Click to go back to our website:

http://www.bownarrows.com/

Click to see the latest on the blog:

http://www.bownarrows.blogspot.com/

I've got to get one of these 'diesel deer forwarders'

Our son Matthew uses his diesel Kubota tractor to take out a nice buck from the woods.

My brother-in-law Ron got this 10-pointer.

I've been concentrating on deer hunting since we got home from camp and have seen a bunch but I'm waiting for "Mr. Big."

Click to go back to our website:

http://www.bownarrows.com/

Click to see the latest on the blog:

http://www.bownarrows.blogspot.com/

The beauty in small things

This fritillary butterfly resting on the weathered wooden step of one of the buildings at camp caught my eye this fall.

It's amazing the detail delivered by the macro mode of small pocket cameras. I used an Olympus FE 340 which is about the size of a deck of cards.

Click to go back to our website:

http://www.bownarrows.com/

Click to see the latest on the blog:

http://www.bownarrows.blogspot.com/

How to temporarily paralyze a walleye

Gently push forward the walleye's pectoral fins (they're the ones on the side near the head) and a walleye absolutely cannot move. It's as if the fish was paralyzed. It will sit motionless on your hand until you allow the fins to flip backwards again.

You can use this little trick to amaze your friends next summer.

First say that you are going to put the fish into a deep trance.

Look deeply into the fish's eyes, all the while saying the magic words, "balloon ball, balloon ball."

Then stretch the fish out on on your palm (with the fins pushed forward).

Incredibly it will lie motionless.

Then, with the other magic word (and a slight shifting of your hand away from the fins), "Shazaam," and the fish comes back to life and jumps into the water.

Click to go back to our website:

http://www.bownarrows.com/

Click to see the latest on the blog:

http://www.bownarrows.blogspot.com/

Walleyes brilliantly colored in 2010

Not only were walleyes especially plentiful in 2010, they also seemed exceptionally beautiful.

Check out this beauty held by Bow Narrows angler Jason Pons.

Was it just me or were the walleyes actually a deeper hue of gold last summer?

Comments anyone?

Click to go back to our website:

http://www.bownarrows.com/

Click to see the latest on the blog:

http://www.bownarrows.blogspot.com/

Great feeling to have next summer's wood ready

Our son Josh was at camp for a couple of weeks this fall and he managed to split, stack and cover what should be next year's supply of firewood.

Here he stands amid some of the 10 cords of aspen firewood.

The trees were felled by the crew that installed our new septic system last spring. September was the first occasion we had to buck-up the trees into stove lengths.

In the Boreal Forest we don't have the great firewood species of trees that most of our guests from the States enjoy. We simply burn whatever is available. For years following a spruce budworm infestation, we burned balsam fir because there were dead, dry balsam all around the camp. It has about the lowest heat value but the standing trees are an extreme fire hazard so we had to get rid of them.

When we go looking for firewood by boat we usually get dead standing jackpine or white spruce.

Quaking aspen such as the huge pile split up by Josh burns about as well as pine or spruce. But it always must be cut green and then split and dried. You never find a dry aspen on the stump. Dead trees are always punky.

White birch is our species with the most heat value but it also must be cut and dried for at least six months before using. The birch bark is very resistant to rot and is also waterproof (that's why it was used by the native people for canoes.) You can find hollow lengths of birchbark in the forest where the tree has fallen down, it's inside rotted away and nothing is left but the bark.

Click to go back to our website:

http://www.bownarrows.com/

Click to see the latest on the blog:

http://www.bownarrows.blogspot.com/

Thanks to our great staff of 2010!

The Year of 2010 was one the busiest seasons we have ever had; yet, it went off like clockwork thanks to our talented and hardworking staff.

This photo was taken as the three staffers left in late August. I was unable to upload it to the blog at the time due to our Internet connection problems.

The three staffers in the Lickety Split with Brenda and I are Landon Broennle, Kristina Belanger (next to Brenda) and Emilie Godin.

The trio were on their way to catch a Bearskin Airways plane for Thunder Bay.

You can't quite see it in the photo but Kristina and Emilie were wearing black rubber boots. That was because they had reached the airline's baggage weight (and space) limit and they still hadn't packed their trusty boots. So they simply wore them home, even though it was a pleasant day!

That kind of aplomb was typical for these three. Nothing got them down or frustrated them.

Click to go back to our website:

http://www.bownarrows.com/

Click to see the latest on the blog:

http://www.bownarrows.blogspot.com/

The season is over and we're home

Brenda, Sam and I are back home again.

We pulled out of camp a week ago and spent most of last week in Dryden where we attended the annual conference of Nature and Outdoor Tourism Ontario (NOTO).

We also had to make two trips to our home in Nolalu and one extra trip back to Red Lake to ferry all of our belongings including a bull moose and a wood chipper.

Now that I'm back in the world of high-speed internet I find I can upload photos to the blog again. It would seem our clunky telephone connection at camp was finally just too slow to communicate anything other than text. This may mean we will need to install a satellite system next season.

Anyway, we're home now and I can update the blog regularly again.

The photo above was taken the morning we left camp. I think sunrises are even more beautiful than sunsets. Their color changes by the second.

It was good we left camp when we did because the next day saw something resembling a hurricane strike the entire region. There were winds of 80 kmh (50 mph) and rain that came down in sheets for the entire day. We could barely stay on the road as we drove the moose meat down to Nolalu.

Click to go back to our website:

http://www.bownarrows.com/

Click to see the latest on the blog

: http://www.bownarrows.blogspot.com/

Lake trout spawning project a success

Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources crews left here yesterday after gathering 100,000 or so lake trout eggs. The eggs will be raised in the OMNR fish hatchery in Dorion, near Thunder Bay, and the fingerlings released back to Red Lake in 18 months time.
I believe this is the eighth year of this project which is intended to ensure Red Lake continues to have a viable lake trout population while researchers determine why the fish cannot successfully regenerate in Pipestone Bay.
It still isn't clear why they cannot reproduce there. So far we've learned that the fish are healthy, the water is pristine but there seems something about the sediment that kills the trout eggs. It was thought that manganese, a naturally occuring metal that is present in the very rocks where they spawn, might be the culprit but that is now not so certain.
Even if it was the problem the scientists are stumped why it didn't affect the trout eggs in the past. There is also some evidence that the problem might be slowly going away. Many of the fish being caught for the spawning project are relatively young, perhaps 8-12 years old. The poor spawning record of the trout seems to have begun in the 1980s. The presence of the young fish means trout are successfully spawning somewhere. But the lake trout population continues to be just a fraction of what it was 20 years ago.
Fishing regulations require all anglers to immediately release lake trout on Red Lake. They must also use lures with single, barbless hooks when targetting trout. Barbed and treble hooks are OK when fishing for other species.
Although the bulk of the OMNR spawning crew left camp on Thursday a small group stayed behind to catch more trout whose eggs will be reared in incubation boxes that are placed in various locations around Red Lake. The eggs inside the boxes will hatch this winter and the hatchlings can swim free out into the lake. It is hoped they will imprint on the shoals where the boxes were placed and come back there to spawn when they become mature. In this way the trout could be encouraged to spawn somewhere other than Pipestone Bay which is the only location they are unsuccessful.

Click to go back to our website:
http://www.bownarrows.com/
Click to see the latest on the blog:
http://www.bownarrows.blogspot.com/

Sleet, snow and high winds -- brrr!

I had the roughest trip of the season yesterday getting back to camp from town.
High winds straight from the west made big waves for the entire trip. To make matters worse it began sleeting and there were even some big snow flakes coming down.
The temperature was in the 40s F or about 8 C. Truly nasty weather.
The weather has been "going out" now for a couple of weeks.
It's the kind of conditions that should send the geese streaming south but we've only seen a couple of flocks, probably because the wind direction has been wrong. The geese here fly mostly east to west in the fall, from Hudson Bay to Manitoba. We've had a lot of westerly winds so they would have flown into a head wind if they tried.
Fishing is about as tough as it can get, except for lake trout. The trout are right on the surface and are on a feeding frenzy in preparation for spawning in a week of two.
All trout here must be immediately live-released.
There is only one way to fish for walleyes in these conditions: anchor or drift and use minnows for bait, either on a hook and sinker, a spinner or a jig.
Trolling at any speed is just too aggressive for these fish.
Probably the best way to catch northern pike is to fish for walleye. They are down there eating them.
You can get a few pike by casting but the fish are almost entirely in deep water now.
Click to go back to our website:
www.bownarrows.com
Click to see the latest on the blog:
www.bownarrows.blogspot.com

2011 reservation availability is on the air

Next year's fishing reservation availability is now online.
Just go to the website and click on Availability.
We will be in touch with guests with existing reservations in about a month asking for deposits to secure those reservations. This is earlier than in the past but reflects a trend in vacation planning.
Many people are inquiring right now about coming to camp next summer.
We're still having a tough time getting on the Internet here at camp. I hope I can get one of my computer-savvy brothers-in-law to figure out the problem when they come moose hunting in October.
I still cannot upload or download photos, not even small ones. That's a real bummer because I have some great photos I would like to share.
If nothing else, I will be able to get full Internet access once we return home in November.
Click to go back to our website:
http://www.bownarrows.com/
Click to see the latest on the blog:
http://www.bownarrows.blogspot.com/

Rotten weather impacts the fishing

There's nothing anybody can do about it, of course, but crummy weather like we had last week really does hurt the fishing.

The weather went from bad to worse ending up Friday with a horrendous downpour, gale-force winds and plummeting temperature. Earlier it had only been windy and rainy.

Except for Friday, most everybody was able to get out fishing despite the inclement conditions.

They mostly found the walleye lethargic at the beginning of the week and then biting well by Thursday. Pike were hardest to get but Thursday, which was sunny, was also the best day.

Several people caught and released lake trout while walleye fishing. The trout have been shallow all summer, I think because their former forage fish, smelt, have all but disappeared.

Smelt are an exotic species that somehow got into the lake about 20 years ago. Their numbers exploded and they became a favorite food fish for all species because they are rich in calories. They mostly existed in the deepwater, the same location as the trout.

The smelt largely displaced native ciscoes also known in Red Lake as tulibee. Then the smelt population crashed two years ago. No one knows exactly why but it happens every time they invade a new lake. Their numbers skyrocket, then crash, and finally reach an equilibrium which will be just a tiny fraction of what it once was.

We are seeing signs of a comeback of tulibee now that the smelt are gone but it will take a couple of years. In the meantime the trout don't have much to eat down in the depths and are coming shallow looking for the same food the walleye are gorging upon: shiners, daces, other minnows, perch, etc.

The "eats" in the shallows are apparently very good indeed. Walleyes and northern pike are the chubbiest we've ever seen them.



Click to go back to our website:

http://www.bownarrows.com/

Click to see the latest on the blog:

http://www.bownarrows.blogspot.com/

Computer-Internet woes continue

Sorry about the lack of blog activity.
I have had a terrible time connecting to the Internet and once I do, for some reason, cannot upload photos to the blog or download e-mails with photos.
Also I just don't have the time necessary to solve the situation. I get a couple of ideas and try them and when they don't work, don't get another chance to try something else for several days.
The weather has turned cool and damp. Fishing has been slow although some people have no problem catching walleye. Most folks, however, are struggling.
The key, it seems to me, is to anchor, not troll, and fish on the bottom with a hook and a sinker. Sliding sinkers are probably best as the fish cannot feel their weight when they pick up the bait.
You absolutely must be able to keep your bait on the bottom or you are wasting your time. With that in mind, you need sinkers from 1/2 oz to one ounce. Pretty heavy stuff but as long as your line slides through the sinker the fish don't know it is there.
Minnows seem to be working best now.

Click to go back to our website:
www.bownarrows.com
Click to see the latest on the blog:
www.bownarrows.blogspot.com

Northern pike seem to like the unruly weather

Anglers are doing quite well on northern pike this week.
All four fishermen in one cabin, for instance, have joined the "Over-40-inch Club."
The weather has been very unsettled with lots of high wind and cold fronts.
This has made for tough walleye fishing, at least for the big ones. We're still getting lots of smaller walleye -- up to 23 inches -- but the really big ones are either lethargic and not biting or have moved.
We've also caught quite a few lake trout while walleye fishing.
We heard the first sandhill cranes migrating yesterday-- a sure sign of fall.
Incoming anglers are reminded to bring excellent raingear and rubber boots.
Click to go back to our website:
http://www.bownarrows.com/
Click to see the latest on the blog:
http://www.bownarrows.blogspot.com/

Fall is in the air

The steam leaving the water each morning is evidence that fall is right around the corner.


This is caused by the water being warmer than the cool morning air. By mid-morning the temperature is warm again but the nights are nice and cool, perfect for sleeping.


Other signs of autumn are the birch trees which are changing from green to brown. They will eventually be bright yellow.
The leaves are turning earlier than normal this year, maybe because spring came earlier too.

Unmated loons are ganging up out in the big water where they seem to have wild bachelor and bachelorette parties -- whooping and hollering and splashing around, just for laughs it would appear. They will be the first loons to head south. Unfortunately some of them will be heading to the Gulf of Mexico and its oil spill.


The severe cold front we had last weekend also had a chill on the fishing. Fishing wasn't back to normal really until Friday, too late for guests who departed this morning. They did have a pretty good day Thursday before they left.


Everyone took the downturn in fishing in stride. There isn't much anyone can do when the temperature falls to 40s F from 80 F overnight.


The pike bit pretty well but the walleyes at first were just gone. Fishermen did well on them by Thursday, however.


I remember the aftermath of another cold front a couple of years ago. I asked one of our fishermen if he had seen anything on his fish finder in a spot where the screen was lit up by fish the previous day.


"Nothing but tumbleweeds," he replied.


The best guess is the fish are plastered right to the bottom where they don't show on the finders' screens. Whatever it is they do they sure aren't active for a few days. The good news is that they always eventually must eat again.


The weather since last weekend has been gorgeous and a welcome respite for our guests who are coming from hot and humid conditions down south.


I want to thank all our friends who alerted us to the solar storm a couple of weeks ago and the northern lights this would cause.


As luck would have it, our skies were cloudy both nights when the lights would have been out.


Oh well.





Click to go back to our website:


http://www.bownarrows.com/


Click to see the latest on the blog:


http://www.bownarrows.blogspot.com/

Temperature plummets as cold front hits

We've just had our first major cold front of the summer.
The temperature fell from nearly 80 F to the 40s over the weekend. This was accompanied by very high winds and rain.
The front has now moved through and the temperature is supposed to get in the 60s today with sunshine. Each following day is expected to be warmer and also sunny.
What does this do to the fish?
For the walleye it will almost certainly start an exodus of fish from the shallow water to their normal deeper spots, something many of them were doing anyway due to the photo period -- it's that time of year.
Most of our fishermen were catching walleye last week on the edges of the big water in about 17 feet. The fish now may have moved to 20-25 feet in the same spots.
A few fishermen last week were still getting lots of walleye in 6-12 feet in the shallow bays but I would guess that will have ended now as the fish move off to warmer, deeper water.
It's really that time of the season when this normally happens anyway. The cold front will just make it happen all at once.
We still catch the walleye. We just fish their late-summer, fall locations.
I wouldn't be surprised if northern pike fishing gets a boost from the cold front. They will still be in the weedy bays, just on the deep side of the weedbeds. And without the large number of small walleye that they've been feeding on all summer, they'll be hungrier and more aggressive.
We've caught some very large pike the last few weeks.
Click to go back to our website:
www.bownarrows.com
Click to see the latest on the blog:
www.bownarrows.blogspot.com

Get off the lake when you see this cloud formation

This squall line was at the base of a thunderstorm that moved through camp a week ago.

Such squall lines always spell danger. They are the edge of a high wind, how high is impossible to predict. It might be 30 mph and it might be as high as 130 mph (in the case of a wind shear).

Sometimes the clouds in the line can be seen rolling. The line moves toward you very fast.

If you are out on the lake and see such an event, go directly to shore and tie up your boat. You might also prepare yourself for extremely heavy rain and sometimes hail.

If you are near camp, come into the dock but don't try to outrun the clouds for a long distance. If you aren't sure you can get to camp before the storm, go to shore instead and take cover.

This particular squall line and its thunderstorm dumped about an inch of rain on camp in perhaps 30 minutes as well as pea-sized hail.

The blast of wind from it was probably 40 mph.

Click to go back to our website:

http://www.bownarrows.com/

Click to see the latest on the blog

: http://www.bownarrows.blogspot.com/

Lots of camp apparel choices this year

We have a bumper crop of Bow Narrows Camp apparel items this year including these sweatshirts modeled by staffers Landon, Kristina and Emilie.

There are also several choices in t-shirts, a camo hat and a black mesh-back hat and a toque (in the U.S. you might call it a stocking cap or a watch cap).

We also have a vented, many-pocketed guide shirt and a new fishing vest.

Finally, we also have a new shipment of our popular black and brown Bow Narrows Camp coffee mugs.

Click to go back to our website:

http://www.bownarrows.com/

Click to see the latest on the blog:

http://www.bownarrows.blogspot.com/

Bonaparte's gull now a regular resident here

I first saw Bonaparte's gulls about 10 years ago. We had a late spring snow storm and the next morning there was a flock of these little gulls in the narrows in front of camp.

That summer a few nested in Pipestone Bay and have continued to return each year.

This year the birds, which act more like terns than gulls, are being seen right in the narrows.

They seem to be catching minnows along the shoreline, all the while making a distinctive raspy call. The photo above was taken along the islands going into Trout Bay.

Click to go back to our website:

www.bownarrows.com

Click to see the latest on the blog:

www.bownarrows.blogspot.com

Fishing off the dock can be very productive

Each week one or two cabins discover that fishing off the dock can yield great catches of walleye.

Here our staff try their luck off the main dock in front of the lodge while others are fishing off their own dock in the background.

These anglers are catching lots of walleye.

The best technique seems to be to use slip bobbers with live bait, either on a very small jig or on a hook with a small sinker above it.

Click to go back to our website:

http://www.bownarrows.com/

Click to see the latest on the blog:

http://www.bownarrows.blogspot.com/