Empty Lot

The last guests have returned home and our parking lot is empty for the first time since early May.  Randy and I have one or two more flights to make next week to retrieve a few straggling motors and to finish our camp shut downs.  Maybe it is a sign of aging but the summers seem to go by quicker each year.  As the old adage goes “time flies when you are having fun”. 

Many thanks to our friends and guests who visited this summer.  It is always good to see you on your vacation and we are glad we can be part of it.

Metionga Lake Fish Cleaning House

The fish cleaning house at cabins 1 and 2 on Metionga Lake was in need of some TLC.  Joey and I thought it would be best to not just patch things up but to start from scratch.  Between fishing groups and moose parties we had a few days to kill so we put together a work party and got to work.

The old fish house came down with little effort and a new one went up in its place. 

Ready for next season, I am sure it will get plenty of use and should last well into the next decade.

Joey has been busy too

High water caused a lot of extra work for us this year.  At Seseganaga Lake,  Joe prepared two floating docks for next summer.  At Metionga Lake, Joey took the deck off the main dock and raised and levelled the stingers then redecked the dock so it will be above the high waster mark. 

He then built a new walkway off the dock. 

This should make things a little easier and dryer next time the water levels peak.  

Floaters

This summer high water levels caused both us and our guests at Seseganaga Lake significant grief.  Aircraft were loaded and unloaded on the beach, guests had to move their gear across the bay to cabin #4 since the dock there was under water and docks were torn apart by wave and water action. 

This fall we worked on a plan to help alleviate dock problems with fluctuating water levels.  Joe supervised a work crew and built two new floating docks.  We will place one at cabin #4 and one at West Bay on Seseganaga Lake. 

We can’t change things out of our control but we can work at the things we can change. 

Part of the ritual

In the fall, bull moose begin to think of other things besides eating and aimless meandering.  As the female moose begin their lonesome calls hinting at the need for male companionship, the bull moose start making preparations for visiting with the cows. 

A moose is at a distinct disadvantage in the handsomeness department with his large nose, bulging eyes and big ears.  Since he seems to know this, he concentrates on some things he can influence.  The bull begins to rub the velvet off his antlers to make his antlers nice and shiny.  He also perfumes himself.  Kind of reminds me of a teenager brushing his teeth and repeatedly coifing his hair before splashing on a little too much Old Spice or other such female attractant.  The moose form of this scented attractant is not found in your local Walmart. 

Moose have no money and have to be a little more creative.  Yesterday Karen and I came upon some of this creativity.  And believe me we could smell it before we could see it. 

Take a good look at the picture.  It doesn't look like much but it is a fresh moose rut pit.  The bull paws the dirt, urinates in it  to impregnate it with his musky bull moose smell and then rolls around it it until he feels he is attractive to a lonely cow moose.  To me, she better be really lonely, but to the bull he thinks he smells like a freshly perfumed teenager going on a first date. 

Moose mating season is upon us and this bodes well for our archery moose hunters. 

Fall Fishing

Sept is my favorite month.  Weather is nice during the day, cool in the evening and fishing is awesome.

Peter P shows off a nice walleye on Hilltop Lake caught and released in early Sept.

Doing it Right

The weather has been too warm, it has been too cold, too much rain, bugs are bad, blue berries are ready to be picked, fishing has bee awesome,  and I can come up with more excuses at why my blog posts are not regular. 

In any case, this one is about doing it right while catching and releasing large fish. 

Martin and the guys (on their second trip this summer) just returned from Flindt Lake yesterday afternoon.  They caught and released many large northerns this week.  The secret to successfully photographing and releasing a large fish is very simple. 

When the fish is removed from the water, quickly pose for the picture.  To reduce the time out of the water for the fish, have a camera ready and in the boat.  Dragging a fish back to camp for a simple photo will ensure the fish will not survive.  

When the fish is out of the water hold him horizontal with two hands, smile and then return the fish back to the water gently.  Dropping the fish or tossing him like a hand grenade is not conducive to having the fish live to fight another day.  Holding a fish like he is your best buddy in a vertical pose it completely unnatural for the fish and his internal organs are not structured to endure that unnatural position.  Think about how a fish spend his time.  Horizontal is his natural pose.

Here is a great example of a well photographed and released fish.

The nice thing about releasing a large fish after photographing it is twofold.  First, no one can actually take a tape measure and disprove your stories by measuring the mount on your wall, and secondly, having a photo on the wall rather than a mount is more acceptable to the boss and if you are the boss, it elicits countless accolades from underlings, even when the actual size varies with the telling of the story.

Cooked to perfection

As I’ve written earlier, we’ve decided to phase out our gas grills and have installed wood/charcoal grills at our camps.  There is a learning curve for those who have never cooked on coals or wood.  Besides having steaks that taste better, there is a little more time for socializing and beverages. 

Bill,Ted and the guys write “Capping off the week the steaks were cooked to perfection on the new grill!!  Thanks for another great trip – already counting the days until next year!”

This was the only form of cooking for millennia.  It is becoming the new norm again.  If you are unsure of your prowess in this method of grilling, take two minutes before you arrive in Ignace to “google” it.