Fourteen down, four to go....

As it always does, another season is flying by with us beginning the fifteenth week of our eighteen week operating season. With so much of the season past already, you might think that it's time to put things on "autopilot" and cruise through the last four weeks. Unfortunately that's just not the way it works with plenty more work to do with camp full of fishermen and starting next Saturday bear hunters. Bear baiting will help to keep us plenty busy around here in additional to the "normal" stuff. On a positive note, the very warm summer has kept our woodpile in pretty good shape so instead of three weeks in the bush cutting, hauling, splitting and stacking wood, we should be able to replenish what we need in about half that time. On the negative side, it looks as if the washing machine here in camp which we have been nursing all year, has finally spun it's last load and is headed to the dump.

There are still a few lingering projects from the summer also that we want to get the finishing touches on, including the last bit of siding here on the lodge which was delayed when those nasty bald faced hornets built a nest inside one of the walls. Note to anyone who has to spray those things...watch out they are fast as I found out on my first attempt to spray them. I thought I could get the spray straw in the opening in the wall, foam the heck out of them before they knew what hit 'em and be outta there. Turns out they must post a guard right out front as I didn't have one seconds worth of foam going when "the guard" was on the tip of my trigger finger and left me with a swollen right index finger about double the size of the left one and an ache that lasted all day. Man, do those little buggers pack a punch! Thankfully, they didn't send the whole nest to protect the queen! They may have won the battle, but I won the war, as I later re-armed myself with more foam insecticide and full body armor to give them the ultimate "foam bath of death".

The weather here has been variable with a short period of cooler nights now followed by a warmup with some temperatures in the low 80's again forecast for this week and lows only in the upper 50's. Not quite feeling like fall yet, but certainly better than the heat of the summer. Fall colors are starting to spread around the lake now also despite the continued warm weather which is a visual reminder that summer is fading. It is very beautiful here this time of year as the sun lights up the shoreline colors and they reflect off the water.

Well better go for now. Remember to check the website for the weekly fishing reports and to email us your pictures if you were in camp recently!

Transition time

In many regards it is just that. On a personal level, the transition relates to the recent return of the girls to the U.S. after a wonderful five week stay in camp. Lot's of memories and good times with their camp friends again this year. Certainly sad to see them go, but I know they miss their "home" friends too, and are also terribly excited about school starting up again. Right ladies? Well so much for that one.

Another notable transition is with the month change from July to August we are noticing a transition of our walleye fishing to deeper water structure. Of course, there are still many places where walleyes continue to relate to weedbeds making it very easy to "pick your poison" as far as how you want to approach filling your limit of walleye. Part of this transition is that the walleye have really been eager to use their tails. Yes, that's right they do move around and last week was a prime example as they were "here today, gone tomorrow" only to return the day after. For most everyone willing to keep moving around to find actively feeding fish they continue to do very well on numbers. For pike anglers, we are also transitioning into arguably the very best time of the season for trophy northern. Numerous fish over 40" have been caught the past several weeks, including back to back weeks with 45" monsters. The balance of the month should continue to provide some excellent big pike action.

There has also been a lot of camp "bonding" going on the past several weeks which is always great to see. It's not just the kids in camp that are making and maintaining friendships as we hear lot's of the adults talking to each other wanting to make sure that they are rebooking for the same week next year. Obviously the kind of talk we love to hear, and also great for the adults who look forward to renewing their camp friendships again next year. Tom Cellantani from Michigan and Dave Getsfried are two great examples as each of them brought their kids (Tom's son Anthony-11 and Dave's daughter Katrina-7) and had the opportunity to fish with the kids throughout the week and with each other when the kids preferred to hang in camp with the other kids. A joint outing to Lost Lake was certainly a highlight for the four of them, as it was a great day of adventure for all, and adding 60-70 walleyes for the day doesn't hurt when you are trying to keep the kids interested in fishing!

Part of the gang last week in camp. Jimmy Buffet sing alongs were pretty common.

We are looking forward to the last third of our season, as we will have many camp regulars in from now until shutdown, and they will be joined by a few new groups that will be experiencing the camp for the first time. Of course, the start of our bear hunting season isn't far off either so we will be looking forward to sharing some trail cam photos in upcoming blogs.  August is off to a great start and it should only get better. Until next time, here are a few pictures from the past couple of weeks.

Anthony, Tom and Allison with an impressive evening catch!

Tom Cellantani capped off a great week of fishing with this hefty 39" northern

Mark Buchanan with a monster 45" pike

Persistence pays off when perch fishing!

Best bait for big pike? Apparently 17" walleye if you are Joe Gonnering