Closing is Complete!

Good morning,

I am writing this blog post from Illinois!

That's right, we made it across the border and traveled home over the weekend.  I think we are all happy to be out of the car.

Everything at the lodge is all winterized, tucked in, and buttoned up for the next few months.  Here you can see our fleet of boats from Red Lake up and out of the water getting a much deserved rest:

And here are my two absolute favorites saying goodbye to their absolute favorite place on earth:

Until next year!

Notables from our trip home:

1. Apparently citrus fruit is NOT allowed when crossing back into the states.  Who knew?  They brought a special agriculture border/customs agent to inspect my backpack full of citrus fugitives.  All three oranges I had in there.

2. We spent an entire day fishing in the rain less than 24 hours after crossing back into the states.  Hello smallmouth bass!

3.  Cabela's is a very VERY dangerous store.  So. Many. Things.

4. We are constantly amazed at the kindness and generosity of guests/friends/family who open up their home to us as we travel back and forth.  THANK YOU!

5.  Apparently the Green Bay Packers perform better when Travis is out of the country.  Oops.

6.  Cosmo is less than impressed to be back in his winter "confinement" BUT got extremely nervous throughout the entire trip back that we may be leaving him behind.

Example: We left him at our friends' house while fishing and Don's wife let him out when she got home from work.  She tried to let him back in and get him some water but he stayed firmly planted right next to the truck until we returned.  As if to say "No thank you.  I am just fine here.  My people will return and I want to make sure I go with them."

7.  It is definitely bittersweet to leave Canada and get home to Illinois.

I hope everyone has a great week and please keep following the blog over the off-season.  We have some exciting posts planned!

Walleye Fishing on Parker Lake Finishes Strong!

Hello,

We have been meaning to share the pictures from our last group of guests, especially the flurry of really nice sized walleyes that were caught and released on Parker Lake.  We had one guy who had the magic combination because he caught a 23", 24", 25", and a 27" walleye in the SAME spot within 24 hours!

Nice job Kendall!

Here are some of Dan's fish (Kendall's brother):

Nice smallmouth Dan!

And their cousin, Brad, with a few northern off of Parker Lake:

The other guys up that week had a nice week of fishing as well.  Here is Larry with some nice northern he caught and released on Parker Lake:

And Bob with a nice walleye on Parker Lake:

Larry and Bob had to take a lunch break after catching loads of fish!

We got in on some shore lunch action for the last time as well:

It is hard to believe these guys left a week and a half ago already!

As we stay busy closing up camp we are definitely soaking up the last few days of  being able to enjoy the view overlooking Parker Lake.  The weather has been PERFECT.  Getting to spend so much time outdoors is really nice.  Just a single boat remains in the water on both Parker Lake and Red Lake.  Travis likes to put that job off until the last possible moment.  The finality of it is a bit painful I think.  

It is hard to leave this place, as all our guests know!

I "Musk-ie" Tell You a Story.

Get it.

Oh, I am a clever one.

So I know Travis said we were really busy closing up the camp - which we are, I assure you.  However, we did take a full day hiatus to get some seriously overdue fishing in.  Travis is the best for lots of reasons, one of which he takes care of EVERYTHING when planning an adventure day.  All I have to do is make sure I wear enough layers of clothing so I don't get cold and that I pack enough snacks for a small army.

Sidenote: We watched part of the Patriots/Jets game last night and the only thing I really committed to memory was about a player (not sure which team) whose nickname was "snacks" and Travis and I both agreed that would be the perfect nickname for me as well.

Anywho.

Travis had been wanting to venture into a smaller lake in the area to do some muskie fishing.  I had never actually seen or caught a muskie before so I was game.  Travis loaded the tackle box with lots of ridiculous looking lures of giant proportions to help our chances.  I was having to take a break every 10 minutes from casting because my wrist was hurting.  For reel.  Heehee.  See what I did there?

The weather was pretty favorable on Wednesday, although we did have some lightning and thunder the night before.  It was partly sunny with some wind.  I learned muskies like to sun themselves, so this is good.

We had been casting for a while and I had been practicing my "figure eight" at the end of each cast (I'm telling you it will wear you out!) and dutifully watching to see if I got any follows.  Muskie are notorious for just popping up from the deep to watch your lure.  They are a very cautious and calculating fish species.  Chances are you will see some, but may not actually get any to strike.

Well let me tell ya... I got one to strike, my friends.  I  was reeling in a cast and contemplating taking another break to rest my wrist (say that 10 times fast) when BOOM!  There was a bit of a swell on the water surface and it instantly felt like something had slammed into the end of my line.  I was fairly certain it was NOT snagged on a rock.  I "calmly" (read: NOT calmly, but in fact with a voice full of panic) told Travis I thought I had a hit.

Oh yeah, I forgot to tell you I had been using a slightly broken reel.  Which means when you have a huge fish on the end of your line it can become slightly problematic.  I kept reeling in the fish, but letting it take out line if necessary, terrified of losing the fish the entire time.  Travis was getting our massive net ready when the fish went under the boat.  For those of you who don't know, this can be very bad.  Especially when you are using a broken-ish reel.

The pull at the end of my line was all of a sudden gone.  I thought I had lost it!  I have no idea how, but all of a sudden I could feel the weight again, however the line had wrapped around the rod mid-way down and my reel was officially broken at this point.  Meaning I can't bring the line in anymore.  Not a good scenario.

Somehow Travis netted the fish.  I'm telling you, he is awesome!  Best guide I've ever had.  We left the net in the water which was so big at first I didn't even see the fish in there.  I kept asking, "Did we get it?  Where is it?  Is it big?  I can't see it.  Are you sure its in there?"  It is so weird how the fish just kind of stop and stay still once in the net like that.

We wanted to act quickly.  Travis got the hook removed from the fish while keeping the net in the water.  I wish we had a video camera zoomed in on me during this entire process.  It would be hilarious.  I'd like to think that on the outside I was somewhat calm and collected, but inside I was like a little kid flailing my arms around running in circles like someone just gave me a pony while I was being chased by a terrifying monster.  I think my heart may have stopped.

We got the fish in the boat and measured it.  Again, acting as quickly as possible.  We wanted to get my picture and get the fish back in the water.  One slight problem.  I was scared of holding the fish.  I KNOW!  I don't know why.  I have no problem swimming in the water where these fish live, but when it is in my boat and I can see their massively sharp teeth I just can't do it.  Plus this fish was HEAVY.  I'm in decent shape.  I can lift big propane tanks and help Travis move motors around, but I couldn't get this fish off the floor of the boat.  I told Travis we should just get it back in the water (I get really paranoid about keeping a fish out of the water for too long) but he said "You are holding this fish and we are getting your picture!"  Okay, okay.

Here was the first picture he took:

We may have needed a bigger boat, no?

How about this one:

44.5 inches - and what a FAT fish!  

If you can't tell, I am struggling to keep that fish up for this picture.  I probably didn't do it justice.  That fish was impossibly hard and scary to hold.  I could barely hold it up!

After we released the fish back into the water we noticed that my lure had been completely ripped in half!

We also had to search the boat to find the various parts of my broken reel to try and put it back together.  I had to be very cautious the rest of the day with the stupid thing.  It is officially out of commission.  Totally worth it though!

Travis also had four really good follows which we could see from the boat, but nothing actually hit.  Oh well.  All in all it was a really fun day.  We will definitely be back!  

Smallmouth Doubleheader!

Carrie and I have been busy this week shutting down the camp, but I did manage to take a few minutes to fish Sunday evening.  I was casting a green 1/4 oz. jig with a gray twister tail above the falls just a few yards off the dock.  On my 2nd cast I felt a solid hit and set the hook and a smallmouth came out of the water like a rocket.  He jumped completely out of the water two more times and fought like a heavyweight even though he only measured at 13".

Then on the very next cast I hooked up again with another smallmouth - this one 12.5"!  

These two bumped our season total up to 22 smallmouth bass caught and released.  Smallmouth bass are tough fighters and a blast to catch.  Hopefully we''ll see many more caught and released next season!  

The last group is headed home

Travis and I dropped off our last group for 2013 yesterday morning.  The end of each season is always bittersweet.  We love what we do up here: seeing our guests, hearing their fishing stories, enjoying the view, and the many hours put in each day to do our part to ensure all our guests have a great week of fishing.

A few boats taking off for their last day of fishing Thursday

However, both of us always look forward to the last few weeks after our guests have gone home as well.  We will get in some fishing, enjoy the peace and quiet while sitting out on the deck, do significantly less dishes, and start to say goodbye to this amazing corner of the earth that has become a home we both truly love.

A picture one of our guests captured this past week of Parker Lake

The first few days can be weird.  It can be hard to wind down after putting so much effort towards operating a fishing lodge for the last 15 weeks.  I think we will manage.

Yesterday we ran together in town, had a nice lunch date, came back to camp, and promptly took a 3 hour nap.  Both Travis and Cosmo are excellent nappers :)

Have a good weekend folks - I think ours is shaping up pretty nicely!

Rare catch - Tiger Muskie!

The 2013 fishing season has been excellent so it was a fitting end to see a very unique catch during this last week.  Tom landed a 31" Tiger Muskie on Red Lake.  This is only the second Tiger Muskie we have seen this season.

  

Tom was by himself when he landed the Tiger Muskie so here's a shot of the angler that caught and released the elusive fish.  

Here is a photo of the first Tiger Muskie this season.  My brother Carson landed a massive 41.5" fish with a growth on top of its head.

A Tiger Muskie is a cross between a Northern Pike and a Muskie.  Pike usually spawn first, but once in a great while a Pike will spawn late enough to match the Muskie spawn and presto - the Tiger Muskie.  Tigers grow faster than either pure strain parent and are usually infertile - part of what makes them so rare.  The dark bars on the light background can look similar to a pure "barred" Muskie, but the giveaway is the more rounded tail lobes (same as a Northern Pike) which are unique to the Tiger Muskie.  A barred Muskie has sharper pointed tail lobes.  

Need help identifying your catch?  Most fish caught are Northern Pike.  I know you didn't forget what a Pike looked like, but here's a refresher - Tom's 43.5" Northern off Red Lake.  See the light spots on a dark background and rounded tail lobes.  

Muskies are rare, but we do see a few each season.  Pike spawn earlier than Muskies do and young pike will prey on the baby Muskies which is one limiting factor to the muskie population.  There are three distinct patterns of pure Muskies (clear, spotted, and barred) and the cross between Pike and Muskie (Tiger Muskie).  Most Muskies caught here are the clear variety.  A common factor in all Muskies is dark markings or no markings on a light background which is the opposite of Pike.  

See Mike's 41.5" clear Muskie caught earlier this year as an example.  

Below is a barred Muskie that Carson caught last year.  It is similar to the Tiger Muskie, but note the pointed tail lobes.  

         Cosmo wants to remind everyone that he is a "Tiger Lab" since he has a rounded tail lobe as well.  

A rare breed puppy for sure!

Another way to identify Muskies vs. Pike is to count the pores on the underside of the jaw.  A Pike will have five or fewer on each side while a Muskie will have six to nine pores on each side of the jaw.  You can't use this to distinguish a Tiger Muskie though since they can inherit the pore count from either parent.  

As a side note, Tom's Tiger Muskie pushed us to a new season high for muskies caught and released - nine!  Carrie and I have a few more days left to see if we can make it double digits!  

Red Lake Fall Classic Walleye Tournament Recap

Hello!

I'm sure everyone is busy recovering from Labor Day weekend, but at least its already Tuesday - right?

We wanted to share some details about the annual Red Lake Fall Classic Walleye Tournament that took place here over the holiday weekend.  Remember how I was complaining last week about how horribly hot it was here?  Well that can make for some tough tournament pre-fishing.  Especially if there is little wind that is constantly changing direction.  

Just to make it interesting, let's pretend that the night before the tournament (Friday) there was A LOT of lightning and thunder and for the actual days of the tournament the weather was a bit cooler on Saturday and then BAM! 57 degrees on Sunday. 

Except that's what really happened.  

You may or may not recognize that this is pretty much opposite of ideal.  Exact opposite.  A huge pressure and temperature drop in the weather can lead to a drastic drop off in how the fish are biting.  Also, constantly changing wind direction means fish will most be moving around a lot.  And fish definitely don't like thunder - I mean it is loud and scary sounding, right?

As most competitors know you can't predict or control the weather, and it is something that all participants have to deal with.  You can definitely be either more or less prepared to be in a boat all day with varying weather conditions, which can affect your ability to focus and your mood on tournament day.  

I think anyone who has AWESOME tournament jerseys like these handsome fellas below is automatically in a better position come tournament day...

Don't you agree?

Phil and Kyle (pictured above on either side of their especially handsome tournament sponsor - Travis) have been spectators of the Red Lake Fall Classic Walleye Tournament for several years.  This marked their second year of fishing the tournament together.  Phil had fished a few years in the tournament with their dad prior to Kyle jumping in the boat.    These guys are definitely no stranger to fishing in less than ideal weather, and have over 15 years experience of fishing Red Lake.  

So, how did they do?  They finished well in the top half of the field, and came in 62nd out of 140 boats fishing the tournament.  Nice job guys!   I think they would agree that Saturday went better than Sunday (with a higher weigh-in total and better "over-slot" fish) but definitely enjoyed both days out on the lake.

This was the 21st annual Red Lake Fall Classic Walleye Tournament and the winners were Richard Wetelainen and Steve Parenteau.  You can find more information and full results for the tournament on their website.

Congratulations to all tournament participants!