The Wine Lakers

This wouldn’t be a proper blog post without an apology first, right? Right. Well I am sorry to say that the scrambled pile of mush, (commonly referred to as my brain), malfunctioned these past two weeks, and I have a depressing lack of photos. No worries my friends! Brilliant ole Maddie has a backup plan. I have decided to fill your brains with knowledge! Some could say it is useless knowledge, but it is knowledge none the less. The many different people we have visit our camp is what makes it unique. All of you can be classified as Wine Lakers, but the more people I meet, I realize this classification is too broad. So I began to study (or creep on) our guests, and I have complied a Wine Lake dictionary. I have decided to make this resource available in order to aid our guests in identifying these creatures, and it can be found below.

(Disclaimer: This is all in good fun. Nothing here is intended to offend anyone, and is about no one in specific. Also, I did not actually stalk our guests to create this list. That being said, please do not go around telling my dad that I am stalking the guests. Then I would get a lecture about respecting boundaries, I would be unhappy, and my dad would be unhappy. No one needs that. Thanks.)

The Wine Lakers

The Regulars

               These particular creatures are typically very kind. They tend to migrate to Wine Lake Camp around the same time every year, and can be seen fishing in their regular spots on the lake. This year they regulars seem to be experiencing a shocking shortage of bath towels, and have come to us in need.

The Every-Other-Year-Ers

               These creatures are very afraid of commitment. They are unsure if they like us enough to visit every year, but can’t give us up entirely. They are also very kind, and fascinate us with their traditions.

The Newbies

               Easily recognizable by their confusion and lack of knowledge, the newbies can usually be found wandering around looking lost. They like phrases such as, “Where do I go to catch fish” and “What’s your name again?”. Can be found mixed with a group of regulars, but typically flock together.

The Friendlys

               Many friendlys can be found here at WLC. You can find them mixed in with any of the groups, or on their own. Their primary function is to offer you food, or beer, and long conversations. This particular type of creature is a pleasure to have in camp, and is very fun to be around.

The Motor issuers

               These creatures like to keep us on our toes. They tend to always have something wrong with their motor, or, more commonly, think they have something wrong with their motors. On the bright side they give us great opportunities to work on our problem solving skills. This is another species that can be found mixed in multiple groups.

The Problem “Children”

               This specific type of creature can be found at any age. They like to break things, run out of kindling, have problems with their fridges, lose depth finders, you name it and they can turn it into a problem. Don’t be fooled though, we like these guys because they keep us on our toes.

The Story Tellers

               The story tellers are unique in their collection of knowledge. They know a lot about WLC and are always more than willing to share it. Be careful though, it is easy to get caught up in their charm, and before you know it 4 hours are gone!

The Super Fishers

               Very little is known about these guys. They can be spotted around dawn and dusk. It seems all their thoughts are over powered by one: fish. I will continue to update you as I learn more.

The “good effort, but please don’t go into the cleaning industry anytime soon cause your cabin still looks like it was hit by a tornado…twice”-ers

               The name speaks for itself. We appreciate the effort though.

The Bored Texters/Facebook Messagers/Emailers/Callers

               You always know when these creatures are going to show up because they let you know over and over…and over...and over.

The Over Preparers

               Particularly easy to spot by the fact their boats are usually taking on water. We like these creatures because whatever they don’t use we get. It is kind of like a mini Christmas.

The Under Preparers

               Also easy to spot because their boat is so light they are usually at the head of the group. These guys are constantly in need of something. We don’t like them as much because they take our food. Overall they are still manageable.

The Family

               A visit from these creatures is rare but cherished. Can be annoying at times, but still bring us joy. Their visit is always one to look forward to, and always ends to soon.

For those of you who don’t care about anything I have had to say in this post, and are sitting their thinking, “Who let this girl use a computer; all I want is to know about the fishing.”, you, my friends, are in luck. The water is still low, and I would not be surprised if it stays that way. The weather has been cold, and wet. The fish have been biting, but constantly changing wind patterns have made them fickle. The walleye have yet to really move into the weed beds, and the mayfly hatch is slowly starting, which may make difficult fishing in the coming weeks. We are also experiencing a minnow shortage, so be prepared.

Turns out I lied about the pictures (Jody has my back). Either way, the past 2 weeks really allowed us to bond as a team, and a family. As with every family we have our ups and downs, but we make it through all the challenges that we are faced with. When you take it all in, that is really all you can hope for right? So here is a collection of pictures that show how we have grown into a family, and some of the actual families that have been here.

Also a big happy birthday to Neil who celebrated his 84th birthday here at Wine Lake!

Revolving Door of Faces

First, I have to apologize. Then I have to apologize again because I feel like I am always saying sorry about something when it comes to the blog. Between the issues with wifi, and my jumbled brain, the blog never seems to be on time or completely finished. For those of you who know me you can probably attest to the fact that my brain probably resembles that of scrambled eggs. Pair that with the fact that I hate to write if I am not inspired and you get late blog and internet issues. Good news though, as I was showering today the inspiration hit and I came running from the shower house with soap still in my hair. So here we go.

As you all know this is our second year with the camp, and we have met a lot of people since we started. After you go through the first year, you get this idea that you have met everyone; you think you will get a new group or two, or that a group might bring someone new along. Overall you feel you have met everyone you will see consistently in the years to come. Now, although that is true, I forgot to account for the groups that did not come last year (or for the past 23 years) and decided to make an appearance this year. Boy we thrown for a loop when we knew only 3 out of 7 cabins! It was like we stepped into a time machine and were starting all over again. We entered a new realm and traveled back to the home of the revolving door of new faces. Every time you would turn around there was someone new to meet, or a new story to hear. As crazy and unexpected as it was, we had a great time making new friends and memories.

Along with the craziness of a mostly green camp we had a lot of other unexpected challenges. These were everything from a possible broken ankle, to a MNR visit, to falling off the dock into the water, and boats floating away. We had a new admission to the broken prop club (you know who you are), and a very special 25th birthday! Both our bear hunters this week are going home with beautiful bears and we couldn’t be happier! The best weeks are the ones where work doesn’t feel like work at all, and thanks to you guys that is exactly what it was!

The ankle story: I will make it short. The moral of this story is that if your son forgets his knife and it looks slippery, make him get out of the boat and get it! Our good friend Albert found this out the hard way. Lucky for him we are some quick thinkers and were able to find him some crutches. Although it looked painful, he was a trooper and didn’t let it keep him from fishing! We wish him the best on his way home and hope he feels better soon!

Next, the MNR visit had everyone running around scared, but for good reason! The limit is the limit. Just because you plan to eat fish that night, and take your limit home the next day does not mean you can have over the limit. Why? Because it is OVER THE LIMIT. Don’t be dumb. They will take your fish, and cite you for each fish you have over what you are allowed. This weeks winner? 8 walleye over at $200 a piece. It is a lot cheaper to just follow the rules don’t ya think? Another big problem we had was that people were completely skinning their fish. The law is that you must leave at least 1 square inch of skin on each piece of fish until right before it is being cooked. You may get fined, or you may just get warned, but they WILL take your fish for that as well. Just pay attention when you clean your fish, cause it is kinda inconvenient when the MNR confiscates your dinner. Hey, on the bright side the grocery store is only 3 hours away! Finally be extra observant when buying your fishing license online. There was a group that had bought theirs at the same time online, but one license was for the wrong week. When it comes to online licenses all it takes is one click of the button to make it the wrong license. Just watch out, it isn’t worth the headache.

Watch your step when you get out of the boat! If possibly breaking an ankle isn’t enough incentive to make you more cautious, then how about possibly breaking a rib or two? We have added handles to the dock. All you have to do is pull up, make sure your boat is tied securely, and use the handle. It is that simple. Luckily there were enough people around to help and make sure he was okay. It could have been a lot worse.

TIE YOUR BOAT UP OR YOU WILL HAVE TO PAY FOR THE DAMAGES. Even on the ramps your boat can float away.

Happy 25^th Birthday to Caleb Davis! Good luck with your quarter-life crisis. You make a very pretty princess.

Congrats to Mark Yoder and his son Ben Yoder on some nice bears!

The walleye didn’t just start to bite this week, they were on fire! Congrats to John Connaughty and Hal Haberman on catching over 300 walleye this week. That is very impressive guys!

And as usual catching eater-size fish has been a challenge as there are too many trophy fish that like to bite the line instead!

Over all it was a very wonderful week. Thank you all for taking the time to come visit us at WLC. Have a safe trip home, and can’t wait to see you again soon!