Perfect weather for kicksledding and ice fishing

I've been out ice fishing on Whitefish Lake several times now and caught one real jumbo perch. It weighed at least a pound.
Conditions are perfect for using my kicksled which is to say there is almost no snow on the ice. The lake is covered with about eight inches of pure blue ice. I am able to cut through that with my Nils ice auger in about 15 seconds.
I've had the best success the last couple of years using two relatively new ice fishing lures, the Salmo Darter and the Lindy Darter. These short, lipless crankbaits are meant to be jigged vertically such as when ice fishing but would also work at camp to vertical jig beneath a boat. I don't think I've seen any of our guests using them. They should give it a try.
I like to remove the end treble hook and replace it with a single hook on which I place a bit of bait such as a Gulp waxworm or perch eye.
The single hook does not catch the sides of the hole like the treble. Nothing is more frustrating than to watch a fish escape at the bottom of the hole because your lure is stuck on the edge of the ice.
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Merry Christmas from our family to yours

We have about eight inches of snow at our home in Nolalu which is about 30 miles from Thunder Bay, Ontario, so it seems certain that we will have a white Christmas.
We are fortunate this year to have all our family home for Christmas including our son Matt and our grandsons Raven and Quillan (pictured) and also our son Josh and of course, our dog Sam.
We would like to wish you and your family a safe and joyous holiday.
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What makes a great fisherman?

It is our good fortune to have many truly great fishermen at Bow Narrows Camp.
So what is a great fisherman? In my opinion, a great fishermen is someone who meets the following four criteria.
1. Adapts to the conditions.
The difference between shopping and fishing is that fishing is different every time you do it.
Conditions out-of-doors are dependent upon the weather and the season. Not only does the location of fishing spots change but so do the preferences of the fish themselves.
There is much more to know than just the water temperature, for instance, which is indeed an important factor. Perhaps the water temperature plus the photo period (length of daylight) make fish behave in a certain manner. Sometimes though, there are just unseen factors that can only be guessed. For example, maybe the water conditions have created a hatch of aquatic insects, maybe this happens only cyclically every unknown number of years. Maybe conditions years ago created a great year-class of a certain species of minnows or other forage. Any of these things might lead the fish to being in a certain place and behaving in a certain manner.
The point is, if a person always fishes in the same place and in the same way his success at catching fish is going to vary drastically from outing to outing.
The adaptable fisherman, however, will try different methods and different locations, sometimes guessing at what is going on and guessing right and sometimes just being lucky to find the right combination of technique and location.
We have one excellent walleye angler whose favorite technique is to use jigs with plastic tails and live bait. He usually drifts or anchors and casts the jigs into known hot spots.
This just about always works, the only thing that changes is the color of the tails. But on one trip I was surprised to hear him say that a better system that week was to troll Rapalas. He didn't know why, but that's what was working. He had adapted.
Similarly, sometimes northern pike are lying on the deep side of weedbeds, sometimes right up on shore, sometimes in the logs or in the rocks. They might prefer spinners on one occasion and spoons on another. Inexplicably they might even prefer top-water baits. Or, they might want dead bait.
You usually can't look at the lake and determine what is going to work. You have to try different spots and techniques and be alert to what is the best. That's the key, be aware of what is happening and adapt.
2. Releases large fish.
For probably 20 years now it has been obvious that to ensure fish populations remain sustainable, it is necessary for anglers to release the big ones and keep smaller or mid-sized fish to eat.
Big fish are the big spawners. They are almost all females and produce the most eggs. They also have the genetics for fast growth and large size. When a person kills a big fish he is reducing the lake's potential to sustain harvesting of that species. In my mind he is being disrespectful to the fish and the lake.
The world's population just passed 7 billion. That's more than three times as many people as were around when my mom and dad took over Bow Narrows Camp in 1961. The planet just can't support this many people by following ignorant and wasteful practices of the past, such as keeping big fish.
Big fish are also unhealthy to eat. They are old, the top of the aquatic food chain, and all the heavy metals that occur naturally in nature are accumulated in their tissues. A 10-pound walleye probably has 30 times the contaminants as a two-pounder. That's because a 10-pounder might be 30 years old while a two-pounder is only a few years old.
3. Shares his knowledge. A great fisherman always tries to help others enjoy the sport in a sustainable manner. Every week at camp we see some of our guests help others who aren't doing as well. They give them tips on what is working, share lures and bait and even invite them to join them. It's great to see and why not? If you are fishing in a sustainable manner, which is to say you are releasing large fish and not keeping more than you can eat, you are not harming the fish population. There are fish enough for everyone.
4. Appreciates all of Nature. A great fisherman just enjoys fishing; the catching of fish is a bonus. A day can be gloriously sunny or excitingly windy. There are magnificent thunderheads to see, eagles perched on snags, moose standing in the grass, beavers cutting trees and all sorts of wonderful things to take in. There is also the company of your companions to enjoy, stories to tell and to listen to, jokes to share. And silence to contemplate in.
Fishing is all about the experience. If all you want is the fish, then just go shopping.

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Requests for deposits are in the mail

Every group with tentative reservations at camp for 2012 will be receiving a letter from me in the next week or so asking them to confirm their reservations with deposits. We require $100 per person to continue holding reservations. Deposits are fully refundable upon 60 days notice of cancellation.
Many people have already sent their deposits and I will have written them confirming their reservations.
New this year is that guests get to choose their departure boat time at the end of the week when they make their deposit. They can also choose their pickup time in Red Lake at the start of the week. That part is unchanged from the past. So, those who send or call in their deposits first get the first choice.
You can make your deposit by check, sent to our winter address or by credit card by calling us at our winter phone number. You can include your HST rebate check from last year's trip as part of your deposit. Just sign the back and send it to our winter address.
Although we have been holding many of our reservations without deposit since last summer, we will now move quickly to secure them with deposits. We would like to hear from everybody in the next 30 days.
I always caution group organizers not to pay the entire group's deposit out of their own pocket. If they do, they don't really know who is coming. It is when the organizer asks each person for his $100 that the rubber meets the road. Those who are serious about joining the group will step up. Those who aren't will change their mind.
From our end, we need to know how many people are really planning to come. We realize, of course, that some people may need to drop out later for personal reasons. That's why we have our refund policy. But it hurts us when someone books a cabin for 8 and only four show up and we had turned down another group of 8.
Planning is always an imperfect process but we just ask that everyone do their best and keep us informed as the group's numbers go up and down. We know from years of experience that people who ante up their $100 are serious and those who don't are not. So, if you are a group organizer, tell your members to give you their deposit or send or call it in to us within the next month. If they don't, they aren't going.
The photo on this blog was taken by Bow Narrows angler Doug Billings. It is of camp on a misty morning in July 2011. It is our guests who continually renew our appreciation of the natural beauty of Red Lake and Northwestern Ontario. It really is breathtaking, isn't it?
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Fishing off the dock can be a good technique

Every summer a number of our anglers "discover" how good the fishing can be right off the dock at camp.
Usually they fish for walleye with live bait in the evening and are delighted to find they can do as well as out in the boat. Sometimes they even do better!
We've had several groups where someone simply couldn't fish in the boat, usually because of back problems. So they took a lawn chair down to one of the many docks we have and tried their luck.
When their buddies came back at lunch they were astonished to find the man on the dock had not only caught a lot of fish but big ones as well. We're talking 26+inch walleye, 44-inch northern pike and in the spring, lunker lake trout.
I remember one elderly gentleman, probably in his 80s, who got a nine-pound walleye and 20-pound pike on the same day. They were netted by his wife and the pair of them were absolutely thrilled. Soon the rest of their family joined them and they were all hauling in fish.
While it is possible just to cast a spoon or spinner and catch a fish at any time, the people who do the best use live or dead bait and a float. The very best system is a slip bobber because the bobber slips down your line right to the hook or jig and lets you cast it out in a natural motion.
The old red-and-white plastic bobbers also work but since they are clipped to the line they have to be flung out in a cumbersome manner. You usually want the bobber about 8 feet or more from the hook. It's a difficult thing to make a cast with eight feet of line, bobber and hook beneath your rod tip.
What you are trying to do is let the wind or the current (there is a current in our narrows) take your bait down the shoreline while keeping it within a foot or two of the bottom.
If your bobber that was moving along stops or tips over, it indicates the hook is on the bottom. You can reel it back in, move up the bobber or stopper in the case of slip bobbers, and cast it out again.
In this manner you can also detect underwater structure that may hold fish.
There is as much to know and learn about bobber fishing as any other technique.
The dock is a good place to master this.
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Tips on renewing Non-Canadian Outdoors Card

When you go to renew your non-resident Ontario Outdoors Card on-line, you are going to find a lot of pages of info to wade through first.
Here's some tips on short-cutting the process.
1. Click on this link or cut and paste the following URL address into your browser window:
Buy an Ontario Licence Online - Provincial Services Division, Ministry of Natural Resources - Government of Ontario, Ministry of Natural Resources
2. Go half way down the page and click on START YOUR LICENCE PURCHASE HERE
3. On the left side of the page click on Licence/Permit Purchase
4. At the bottom of the page click on Begin Licence Purchase
(If you don't have a recent version of Adobe Acrobat Reader you will be prompted to download it)
5. Choose Non-Canadian Resident
Choose Yes to being an existing customer with an Outdoors Card Number
Type in your Outdoors Card Number and Date of Birth and Zip Code
6. Purchase the Outdoors Card for $9.63 and check out.
You then pay with a credit card and your new card is mailed to you. You can also print out a paper temporary card. That's a good idea. You don't know for sure how long it's going to take to get the mailed one.
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Renew your Outdoors Card when notified

The first non-residents to get an Ontario Outdoors Card, back in 2009, are beginning to receive renewal notices. The card cost $9 and was good for three years.
You want to go ahead and renew your card. It still costs $9 plus change and is good for another three years.
What is an Ontario Outdoors Card?
First of all, it is not your fishing licence but rather the card that contains all the information that you or we tediously filled out when you got a fishing licence. You know, where you live, when were you born, how tall you are, colour of your eyes, etc.
Although for the past three years you had to give that information anyway, even though you had the Outdoors Card, that is all going to change next summer.
Starting in 2012 we at camp and all other licence issuers will have an electronic machine like those used for credit cards. When you get to camp we will just swipe the card, punch in a code for the type of fishing licence you want, and print out your licence. The whole process should take just a couple of minutes. This is going to save everybody, including you, a whole lot of time that could better be spent fishing.
You need to have both your Outdoors Card and fishing licence together when you are fishing.
What happens if you forget to bring your Outdoors Card? You will have to buy another which will be sent to you the next winter. And you will have to input all your info the old-fashioned and time-consuming way again.
So, bring your card! If you get a card renewal notice, renew it. There may be options to get the fishing licence too but it might be a good idea not to do that. For one thing, we supply a free conservation fishing licence with all our fishing packages.
Speaking of cards, every Canadian boat driver now has a Pleasure Craft Operators Card, similar to the one in the second photo. It comes from taking a course on boating safety and is a requirement to operate a vessel in Canada. The card is good for life.
If you are a non-resident of Canada, you must either have a card like this or fill out our Rental Boating Agreement which acts as a one-week boating safety certificate. It is free but takes about 10 minutes to complete. If you do have a Pleasure Craft card, we just write the number on the Rental form and you are on your way.
Pleasure Craft Operators courses are available on-line and typically cost about $40. Again, the card is good for life. A card from the U.S. is also good in Canada.
You must carry the Boater's Card or the Rental Boating Agreement anytime when you are boating. A Conservation Officer or police officer may ask to see your boating credentials as well as your fishing licence. They may also ask you to identify the required safety equipment in your boat. The Number One safety item is your PFD -- personal floatation device or life vest.
Seat cushions do not qualify as a PFD.
We supply PFDs and the rest of the safety kit in all our boats but you need to know where it is, what's in it, and what it is used for. It is specified on the boat agreement but it's a good idea to ask our staffer who shows you your boat at the beginning of the week.
Incidentally, if you are wearing your PFD, something that every boater should always do, you probably won't be asked for anything else. Ninety-nine per cent of being safe in a boat is to wear a PFD at all times.
Conservation officers and police are also always on the lookout for alcoholic beverages. It is illegal to have any type of alcoholic beverage, including beer, in a boat. Actually, the law states it is illegal to have an opened case of beer or container of liquor. So it is OK to bring full cases of beer in our camp boat, the Lickety Split, on your way out to camp. You can consume the beer anywhere on shore at camp or in your cabin, just not in a boat, whether you are driving it or not. You cannot drink in the Lickety Split, for instance, even though you are just a passenger.
We occasionally see boaters who not only take beer with them but also proudly line up their empty cans in the splash tray at the back of the boat. They would be certain to get charged if they were inspected.
In Canada, drinking and driving, be it a car or a boat, is a felony. People convicted of this offence are not allowed back into the country for 10 years.
So please, do the beer drinking on shore.
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The best top-water lures for northern pike

More and more, it seems, anglers are discovering that top-water baits can be an excellent choice for catching northern pike.
There are some excellent new northern pike top water lures on the market. We saw a few of these at camp last summer and the fishermen who used them reported great results.
The first lure, however, is an old-time favorite, the Zara Spook.
This lure is basically a floating torpedo that zigs and zags with each flick of your rod tip. It comes in many colours and sizes but for fishing northern pike on Red Lake, don't get too large on your lure size. Four-to-six inches is plenty big to catch pike that can weigh up to 30 pounds. Bigger lures tire you out and catch fewer fish.
The next two lures are very new. They are the Live Target Walking Frog and the Live Target Hollow Body Frog. Live Target is becoming known as a premium-quality lure maker. It's lures are extremely realistic. They are also pricey.
In our experience, the Walking Frog, which is a hard-body lure, worked the best of the two but it might be too early to decide. These lures just recently came on the market. The Hollow Body Frog is soft-bodied. Again, you impart the action to these lures by twitching your rod tip.
The final lure may seem the cheesiest (pun intended). It is the Snag Proof Moss Mouse. We had one person last summer who caught 35 pike in one day on this, basically a rubber mouse. It isn't exactly a top-water lure as it sinks about a foot deep. It is simply reeled back to the boat and has an enticing swimming action.
You won't catch many pike on either the Hollow Body Frog or the Moss Mouse without making a modification to these lures, however. We have discovered that it is practically impossible to hook a northern pike with lures that have the hooks pointed upwards. The pike strike at them, just seldom get hooked. All you have to do is turn the hooks around, so that they point downward. Instantly those strikes turn into fish!
Of course, a lure with hooks protruding downwards is no longer weed-proof but there just doesn't seem to be any alternative. Do you want to catch fish or just not catch weeds?
If you really want a weedless lure, try the Johnson Silver Minnow but always use a trailer on this lure's single hook.

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Buck and Sam the best of buddies

Our outside worker, Ben Godin, brought his two-year-old black Lab, Buck, with him to camp last summer and he and our chocolate Lab, Sam, instantly became the best of friends.
Just about every day you would see them play-wrestling and sleeping against each other. Both dogs' favorite thing to do was to go in the boat when Ben emptied fish guts on an island in the evening.
Sam is considerably older; he'll be nine in January, but he really enjoyed the younger Buck's company.
In the fall we took both dogs duck hunting. It was the first duck hunting Sam had ever done. Previously I had only hunted him for grouse. But Ben is such an experienced duck hunter I thought it a shame not to learn from him while he was at camp last fall.
Buck had hunted the previous year and knew all about it. The whole experience was an eye-opener for Sam. But after a couple of trips, he wanted to retrieve ducks too. Unfortunately, I didn't get any after that. But there's always next year.
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Still one of the most affordable fishing trips

Our 2012 rates are now posted on our website.
It's the first change in rates we've had since 2008.
As you can imagine, a lot of our costs have increased over that time, especially fuel and food.
We will start immediately sending our brochure and new rates sheet out to all guests with existing reservations and asking them for deposits to secure their reservations.
We've done a lot of research this fall and have found that a trip to Bow Narrows Camp is still one of the most affordable in Ontario, especially among remote operations.
Something new this year will be that guests can reserve their departure trip time at the end of the week when they give us their deposit. So, you will know far in advance when you will be departing camp and can make the rest of your travel arrangements.
Another change is our first boat on departure days from camp will leave at 6:30 a.m. and the second at 8 a.m. We will be diligent in scheduling people so that not too many want to depart on the same day.
Boat times on arrival days in town remain the same at 9 a.m., 10:30 a.m. and 2 p.m., if necessary.
Speaking of the Lickety Split, check out this beautiful photo of our boathouse with the Lickety Split under cover. It was taken by Doug Billings, one of our guests with a real flare for photography.
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Tim Horton's is up and running in Red Lake

No sooner do I write about Tim Horton's restaurant in Red Lake being nearly completed than I see in the Northern Sun newspaper that it has officially opened!
Way to go Timmy's!
I'll be by for a double-double in the near future.
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Our Boreal Forest world's largest ecosystem

When you come to northern Canada such as Red Lake in Northwestern Ontario, you will be immersed in the world's largest ecosystem -- the Boreal Forest.
Viewed from space, the Boreal Forest, named for Boreas, the Greek god of the north wind, is said to be a green band that goes completely around the world in the northern latitudes.
It is certainly beautiful, as this scene taken at camp last fall by our brother-in-law Ron Wink shows. But it also is vitally important to the health of the world too.
The Boreal Forest covers 58 per cent of Canada which is the second-largest country in the world. (Russia is the largest). It also represents 50 per cent of the entire forest area on Earth.
And while it is vital as the breeding area for hundreds of species of birds and is home to countless species of animals and fish, its greatest importance these days is all the carbon it contains.
It holds 22 per cent of all the carbon on the surface of the Earth in its forests, peatlands and soils.
That's twice as much as the tropical forests.
Carbon that is tied up in the form of trees and peat is carbon that is not in the atmosphere, contributing to the greenhouse effect and raising the globe's temperature. In fact, each tree holds about a ton of carbon. It got there, of course, through photosynthesis where a plant uses sunlight and water to convert carbon dioxide (from the atmosphere) into a sugar and releases oxygen back to the atmosphere. For this reason, forests have often been called the "lungs of the Earth."
No wonder the air quality in a forest is always excellent.
2011, incidentally, is the International Year of the Forest.

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Walleye fishing to be incredible for years

Walleye fishing on Red Lake is going to be spectacular for years, based on the fish we caught last summer.
There seemed to be a million walleyes just getting big enough to keep. By season-end in 2011 these fish were 14-15 inches long. Since they grow about two inches a year, in 2012 there are going to be hoards of fish 16-17 inches. That is absolutely the perfect-size walleye to keep and eat.
That year class will dominate the catch now for years to come. Next year they will be 18-19 inches, the year after 19-21 etc.
Walleye begin to spawn at 18 inches in Red Lake. So expect a reproduction boost from this year class in a year or two.
There are lots of bigger walleye too but the hard part is getting one before the smaller guys take your hook.
Last year saw phenomenal fishing for walleye with some people reporting as many as 100 fish in as little as an hour. More often, of course, a great fishing day would be 50-100. Usually people catching large numbers of fish were getting mostly small ones. The big ones take longer to land.
Although big walleye were found in all areas, the ticket to targeting strictly big ones was to fish in deeper water, at least when the shallow waters were stuffed with the smaller ones.
Most people had no problem filling their limits with 17-18 inchers. You are only allowed one fish over 18 inches and we encourage people to only use that option for a lunker they accidentally kill.
Still, some people keep them anyway and we saw quite a few really fat, muscular, 24-26-inchers being kept.
Biggest walleye I heard about, which was released on the spot, was a 31-incher. It was caught in deeper water fishing for lake trout.
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Tim Hortons, Super 8 coming to Red Lake

Red Lake is getting two renowned food and accommodation franchises: Tim Hortons restaurant and Super 8 motel.
Both will be located along Highway 105, on the right just before you enter town.
Tim Hortons is better known in Canada than in the U.S. Virtually every town in Canada has at least one Tim Hortons, known for its coffee and donuts but also breakfast and lunch menus.
Super 8 will be the first chain hotel ever to open in Red Lake.
Both businesses should do a thriving trade.
Although Red Lake does have other restaurants, many of them are not open during extended hours. There has been a shortage of motel rooms in Red Lake for years. There are only three local motels in the area and these are usually filled with mineral exploration crews. Visitors such as fishermen usually need to book a room a year in advance to get a reservation.
Construction of the Tim Hortons is nearly complete but the Super 8 was just beginning when we left camp the end of October. Both are expected to be ready by the spring of 2012.
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"Lifejackets." Learn from Professor Popsicle

At Bow Narrows Camp we provide comfortable PFDs for all our guests. PFDs are personal floatation devices which most people would call lifejackets. There is a technical difference, however. The Coast Guard requires lifejackets to float a person face up even when they are unconscious. For this reason lifejackets are bulkier, usually of a keyhole design worn around the neck, are uncomfortable and just about never worn.
PFDs, on the other hand, are slender vests or inflatable suspenders that keep a person afloat as long as they are able to turn themselves right side up. They are very comfortable and should be worn any time you are in a boat. All our staff wear them. Brenda and I wear them. All professional outdoors people such as conservation officers, biologists, etc., wear them. So do police officers.
And PFDs, despite the objection of the Coast Guard, are also known by everyone as "lifejackets."
Not wearing a PFD or "lifejacket" is about as smart as not wearing a seatbelt in an automobile or not wearing a helmet when you play football.
Why the Coast Guard doesn't make wearing PFDs mandatory is beyond me. Canadian Coast Guard regulations only state there must be a PFD or lifejacket for each person in the boat. You don't legally have to wear one. Stupid, stupid, stupid!
Well, make sure you are smarter. Always wear your PFD.
In the photo, long-time Bow Narrows angler Charles Howard wears a comfortable PFD.
I think the problem comes from the Coast Guard also being responsible for Maritime shipping regulations. You know, ships as long as football fields. They apply the same rules for the big vessels to recreational boats. But there is a huge difference. Ships sink, boats capsize.
When a person needs a lifejacket aboard a ship, it probably comes after hearing an announcement on the PA system, "Now hear this, this is your captain speaking, all passengers are ordered to report to their muster stations and don lifejackets."
When you need a PFD aboard a boat it comes a split-second after striking a log or rock. Everything is absolutely normal one moment, and the next you are flung into the water. There is no time to put on your PFD. There isn't even time to shout, "Look out!"
It is heartening to see most of our guests wearing their PFDs these days. Many of them bring their own. That's smart. If you go shopping for them you will find one that is the perfect fit for your build.
Lots of people opt for the self-inflating models. These look like suspenders that are joined behind the neck. They use a CO2 cartridge that inflates the PFD whenever it is immersed in water.
But sadly, there are still some people who just use their PFD for padding on the back of their boat seat or cram it under the bow seat.
To fully understand why you should always wear your PFD, we recommend you visit the Cold Water Boot Camp website.
Learn from Canadian professor Dr. Gordon Giesbrecht, also known as Professor Popsicle for his studies of hypothermia.
The Boot Camp website has some eye-opening videos on what happens to people who end up in cold water. And when you watch these volunteers struggle in the water, consider that they are professionals who are in the peak of physical condition. Most of us would have an even harder time.
One of the lessons Professor Popsicle teaches is the 1-10-1 rule.
When you hit water that is 7 C or colder, you instinctively hyperventilate. This goes on for about one minute. Don't fight it, he advises, just know that in about a minute your breathing will return to normal. You then have 10 minutes before you lose control of your arms and legs. Finally, it takes one hour, even in the coldest water, before you go into hypothermia, a life-threatening condition.
So, let's consider the situation of a person wearing a PFD whose boat flips or who is thrown from a boat. They will instinctively gasp and ingest water when they hit the cold lake but thanks to their PFD, immediately float on the surface where they can cough up the liquid while waiting for their breathing to slow down. They then have 10 minutes to swim to the boat or shore. Of people who drown in Canada each year, 66% are within 15 metres of safety and 43% are within two metres (about six feet)! They could easily have reached safety in the 10 minutes before the blood flow shuts down to their arms and legs, a self-preservation system that tries to keep the body core warm. Remember, the reason the person is in the water is probably because they hit something, like a deadhead or a reef. These are almost always right near the shoreline, not out in the middle of the lake.
But, let's say somehow the person did end up floating in the middle of the lake. He has at least one hour for someone to pick him up before hypothermia sets in. Hypothermia, incidentally, is when a person's body core temperature plunges. The loss of control of extremities like arms and legs is not technically hypothermia.
Also, a person can extend the onset of hypothermia by getting back into or onto the boat, even if it is filled with water (all boats float, even upside down), huddling with other people in the water, etc. The point is there is ample opportunity for a rescue.
Now, let's take the case of person not wearing a PFD. A few seconds after he is unexpectedly thrown from the boat he would likely be dead. That very first gasp would probably do it. However, in the event he survives the plunge and gets his breathing under control 60 seconds later, he also has 10 minutes to get to safety. If he tries to help someone else in the water, probably also not wearing a PFD, it may take more than 10 minutes at which point his arms and legs become useless and he drowns.
It's really a no-brainer. Always wear your PFD.

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North shore of Lake Superior -- awesome!

There are stunning scenes like this at every bend on Hwy 17 between Sault Ste Marie and Thunder Bay.
Brenda and I took this route around the north shore of Lake Superior on our way to and from the annual convention of Nature and Outdoor Tourism Ontario which was held this year in Sudbury, a couple of weeks back.
The weather was clear and with the incredible scenery, the miles just flew by.
If you haven't traveled around Lake Superior, the world's largest lake, you are truly missing out.
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Gorgeous cross fox visits our home

Caught this photo of a beautiful cross fox at our home in Nolalu this week. It comes by every few days.
It isn't very afraid of our chocolate Lab, Sam. It just sits down about 30 yards away even though he gives it his most ferocious-sounding barks.
The fox is one of the color variations of a red fox. The ones that are part dark and part light are usually called "cross foxes" because the dark normally crosses at the shoulders. Most cross foxes are lighter in color than this one.
Foxes can also be totally black with fine silver tips to their hair. They are called "silver foxes."
All three color variations: red, cross and silver, can come from the same litter. By far the most common, of course, is the red.
Did you know that the red fox is not a native North American animal? They were brought to this continent by the English who wanted to carry on the tradition of fox hunting.
They are sure found everywhere now.
I've had a bad case of writer's block for the last couple of months and thought I would use this photo of the unusual fox to get back in the groove.
I've written about 400 blog entries over the past few years, 300 or so of which are still on the blog (I deleted some of the old ones). So, it just seems to me I've covered about everything. This winter I'm going to lean toward more philosophical musings rather than how-to stuff. There will be some of both, of course. And there are always newsworthy items to pass on.
I want to thank everybody for wishing me well while I recovered from my back problem.
It is totally back to normal now. And that's fortunate because it is deer season! And in the not too-distance future, ice fishing!
Thanks again.
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Cabin 7 gets a real, below-frost-line foundation

Our brother-in-law Ron Wink and staffer Ben Godin turned into gophers to put in a superb foundation for Cabin 7 in September.
This entailed jacking up the cabin and digging deep holes to below the frost line. Foundation pads were placed at the bottom of the holes and preserved wood foundation posts installed to the beams under the cabin. It's the same foundation system we use in all of the newer cabins. Cabin 7 was the first cabin built by my father, Don, at the camp. I think that was in about 1967.
The soil under the cabin was hardpan clay that had to be dislodged with sledge hammers and chisels, in some cases. Needless to say, it was hard work and I was only able to help with the above-ground portion due to my back problems.
Ron and Ben also removed the porch from the cabin in preparation for a much larger porch and deck to be built next spring.
Ron and wife Lynda (Brenda's sister), dropped into camp like angels from the sky in September to help us do projects like Cabin 7's foundation and new shingles on Cabin 10, as well as arduous year-end tasks like washing all of the camp's blankets and putting away absolutely everything for the winter. Lynda also helped Brenda with all of the kitchen work.
It was thanks to Ron and Lynda that Brenda and I were able to leave camp a week earlier than normal this fall.
We are sure lucky to have people like them in our lives.
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Many, many thanks to our great 2011 staff

Steph Aires, Ben Godin and Jenn Bucci were our spectacular staff in 2011.
On behalf of Brenda and myself and all of our guests I would like to thank them for all of their hard work, good humour, thoughtfulness and creativity.

Tough sledding for MNR trout team

Brenda, Sam and I are back home for the winter. We arrived in Nolalu yesterday. The 2011 summer will go down as one of the best Red Lake has ever seen. The weather was absolutely gorgeous. It made for beautiful fishing too. Walleyes were numerous and aggressive. Northern pike fishing started slow but picked up as the summer progressed and was great the last month or so, especially for anglers who used the dead bait system.
Unfortunately, the warmer-than-average temperature took a toll on Ministry of Natural Resources fish and wildlife efforts to capture trout in October. Despite a valiant attempt the MNR came up short in getting enough eggs to rear at the hatchery in Dorion, near Thunder Bay. In fact they only caught about 1/4 of the fish they needed.
Myles Perchuk is seen above stripping eggs from a trout on the dock at camp.
The MNR crew is normally long gone by the time my family and I start moose hunting, usually about Oct. 6. This year they stayed until Oct. 19 and still didn't get enough fish.
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