July 7th

I have one word for the week of July 7^th, and it was quiet.  Was it the nature of the group in camp, was it the 85 degree plus days, I do not know but it was very very quiet.  As we approach the mid-point of the season, (hard to believe) it was a welcome change.  My staff and I have been running non-stop since the beginning of May so it was a great time to take a big breathe and slow down a little.

The first night of the week the temps were in the mid 90’s with a real feel of 106 degrees.  Needless to say that was a really rough night of sleep.   I know I was welcoming any breeze or rain that would come our way.  Though it cooled off some  it was a really warm week with very little rain.  The lake is still almost 24 inches down and with the lack of rain we are getting again this year it is starting to fall again.

We had a couple new people in Dennis and his son Mitch with us in camp.  They seemed to have a really good time.  They fished hard for the most part but made sure they got a solid nap in each day during the afternoon.  They even made sure they got one on tournament day. 

We had 3 generations of the Ketterer Family with us.  They fished for burbout a couple nights as well but just couldn’t seem to find them.  Dan and Dixon redeemed themselves however by winning the fishing tournament on Wednesday. 

The big fish of the week came from Jim with a nice 42 inch pike.  Way to go.

Pat and his group enjoyed staying in the moose.  Never woring to get out early.  They would get up, eat a good breakfast, and then go fish long enough to catch dinner.  Upon returning they would eat fish, dring some quality Colorado brewed beers and smoke cigars.  They truly know how to relax and enjoy their time here.

The Elwoods spent much of their time chasing lake trout.  It may have taken them a while but they were able to each catch some.  They even took their talents to Anishinaabe and were able to land a 28” trout there as well.

For the second week Keith and Lane were in camp.  Not wanting to go home, but knowing it was time, they made a big push to have walleye for dinner a couple times before they left.  I want to thank Keith as he not only brought up a 9-pound brisket but spent 13 hours smoking it for us with his secret rub.  Wow was it good.  We actually were able to have it a couple times.  He was truly able to bring Texas to Wine Lake.

I am looking forward to seeing all of you again.  Safe travels!

Old Friends and New Faces

The week started off with a little rain.  That seems to be the trend in the last month.  What little rain we get seems to always fall on Saturday and Wednesday.  Unlike the previous weeks thunderstorms this week was just a light drizzle that ended quickly.  All in all not a bad portage and everyone made it into camp safely. 

Ron and Lisa were here for the first time.  Ron jumped right in at the portage and helped quite a bit.  I knew then he would fit right in.  The spent their week fishing hard and learning the lake.  It did not take them long as the figured out how to catch as many walleye as they wanted and finished the week with the two biggest pike for the camp.  Lisa caught a 40” and Ron a 41”.  In his words it was “the hit I been waiting for my whole life”.  Great job guys and welcome to the family.

We also had 2 big groups come up that included 3 generations each of Wine Lake family.  They both enjoyed the weeks in different ways.  The Kessenich family spent much of the week fishing, playing cribbage and playing with the young boys in the group.  The Oppman party spent much of the week fishing out of the way places and enjoying the sights.  They played games and the older kids hung out in hammocks under the cabin.

Fishing started to pick up again as the mayfly hatch finally subsided.  People caught some nice Lakers and starting bringing in eating size walleyes for lunch and dinner.  Sherry and Arlyn always quiet and reserved got to see a cow moose eating in the lake.  They started out the week and finished the week by catching lots of 20-24-inch walleyes.  Sherry even managed a 38” pike. 

We had the windiest week I can remember.  Several days had sustained winds in the upper teens with gusts to 30 mph.  One day was actually so windy not many even attempted to fish.  We had nice temperatures and the week went by quickly.  In the evening all the boys from age 8 to 10 would play kickball or catch for hours.  Even the workers got into the games and played with them.

Mr Burns struggled to catch a Laker all week, but managed to get on Thursday evening.  He could not have been happier.

The winner of the weekly drawing for the free trip at the end of the year is John Hartman.  He will have a 1 in 19 chance of winning next year.  Good Luck

We are looking forward to all the families coming back and starting a whole new adventure.

 

Never Having Children

Why is it that guys like to be purposely irritating on top of the fact they are naturally irritating? I have been up here for about a month and a half now and have only seen two other women. I am barely hanging on to my sanity. They make me want to say I’m never having kids. Boys specifically. I am pre-arranging the adoption in case I do. No not really, but they make me think it a lot. In reality, the boys are great, but irritating like the brothers I never wanted.

Tournament this week was full of laughter. The wind was strong and knocked over a bowl of ice cream, and Reese joined in on having a sweet treat.

There was no shortage of fish this week either.

As usual, I surprised myself with my abilities, and caught and rescued a hummingbird. The poor thing had flown into the back porch and could not figure out how to escape. Naturally I decided to grab it, take some pictures, and release it back outside.

Dad and I got the rare chance to escape for the night, and we went fishing on Halverson. We had a great time catching small mouth, many were trophy size.

After all the fishing, it was the perfect time to just relax by the fire.

For anyone who knows what the pocket fisherman is, we had a group of brave souls try their hand at the pocket fisherman challenge.

Thank you everyone for the great week.

The winner from this week that will be entered into the drawing for a free trip at the end of the year is Joe Wysong from Indiana!

Now because of our recent internet issues this is going to be one of my famous double blogs…yayyyyy!

Honest apologies though. For the past week and a half, the internet would kick me out about every 5 minutes. This makes it difficult to post blogs, but even more difficult to take 12 credit hours of online classes from a remote fishing camp. Unfortunately, I am already down to 9 credit hours. But hey, who needs information fluency anyways? Oh, that’s right, I do. Oops. I will get it next semester.

This past week we were drowning in fish entries. I am serious. We had entries for over 400 trophy fish caught this week. It was an unbelievable week, so thank you everyone.

 The winner for the second week in this post is John Hebgen! Congrats!

Pictures will be uploaded when I have a steady internet connection.