Catching Up

Wow…where has the time gone??  I had planned to do a new entry mid-week and just never got around to it.  My apologies.

Let’s start with the end of last week.  We had such a good group of people in Camp!  My “red hat guys” had such a good time in Cabin 5.  These four seem to have serious fun no matter what!

Caution: genuine good times here

The Haans had a great week.  Fred said it was the BEST walleye fishing they’ve ever had here.  He and brother Tom both had a big northern release…which can be viewed on our website:  www.tallpinescamp.com  Here’s a lovely sunset they caught:

We also had a big perch release (waiting for photo, Phyllis) and a big walleye release from Donnie.

Speaking of Donnie, she and Mark had a great first trip to Tall Pines Camp!  There was talk of a return trip in 2011 (we hope so).  Donnie took to berry-picking like a pro!  They also caught plenty of fish and made the most of beautiful weather for shore lunch:

They, too, caught some great sunset photos:

Phyllis and Wayne thoroughly enjoyed their week with their twin 9-year-old grandsons:)  The boys were so much fun and quite open to this new experience.  They’re from Arkansas, and I can’t say enough about children with southern accents!  They made me smile a bunch.

See you guys next year (we hope)!

I had predicted a berry-picking marathon and, boy, was I right!  I even took a break from the blueberries to pick a few of these babies:

and turn them into one of these for my buddy Gruper:

The oat crust is unbelievable...not that I'd know....

The picking fest continued into this week.  Jenny and I picked at least three times (twice just yesterday!), Karna’s been out with me a few times, Hans hung out with us Wed., and Pam joined us yesterday.  It’s amazing how nice the weather has been for two days ’cause it was AWFUL Sat.-Mon.  Imagine mid-40’s, rainy and WINDY!!!!  Ugh. 

Our bear hunters were crazy enough to sit in their stands Sunday night (official opener).  Kraig and Hans both saw bears that night.  Keith and Kraig both took their bears on Wed.  Hans did not take a bear but seemed to leave with a great appreciation of  his whole experience.  I didn’t get photos of the guys’ bears before they had begun skinning, so I apologize:(  Randy will start hunting tomorrow, so I’ll keep you updated. 

Kraig gets really into his hunting:

Kraig is Marlin’s boy.  Marlin even enjoyed the horrible weather earlier this week:

Come on, Mom, throw it already!

I've got it, I've got it!!! Eye on the prize!

Our home boys in Cabin 3 finally found some walleye yesterday:

They also took some nice sunset photos:

Ron & Karna are having their usual good time.  Besides picking with me, Karna has been doing some serious angling.  Check out her big release smallmouth on the website.  Here’s her slot northern:

Check out this half-cobweb photo I took:

I’ve been posting this entry with an incredibly heavy heart.  My niece Mackenzie passed away yesterday.  Many of you have met my sister Rebecca and know how close she and I are…this is her younger daughter, the mother of Mackayla, my first great-niece (whose delivery I witnessed).  I’ve often said that Becky is “the mother of my children.”  Please keep all of us in your thoughts and prayers, especially Mackayla.  I’ll be heading back to Iowa for a week or so.  This is the first time we’ve had to deal with a tragedy at home while we’re up here.

Kenzie and Kayla, her mini-me:)

Peace to you, Macadoo. I love you so much.

I’m sorry if this is not the proper forum.  I’m just trying to make sense of this horrible, awful thing.  Please send us positive energy.  A

Checking in

Happy Wednesday to you!  I thought I’d get in a quick entry before potluck.  I’m making a wild rice moose loaf tonight and an apple kuchen (I don’t even know what it is but the recipe sounds good).  I made fresh blueberry muffins for everyone in Camp this morning.  Jim Flory received an extra muffin in celebration of his birthday!  That’s pretty special treatment–Steve and Kyle were the only other people to get two muffins (and I ended up eating one of Steve’s). 

Yes, the blueberry picking continues.  I’ve been able to get out with Donnie and Phyllis this week.  Donnie and I are hitting the trenches again tomorrow, Karna is due to arrive today or tomorrow, and Jenny will be here Saturday!  I foresee a ton of good picking in my immediate future!  Raspberries are on as well but they are so much harder to pick.  I’d rather go for the ever-easy bb’s.

Steve and I went out for a couple of hours last Friday.  We hit 2nd Lake and did quite well.  I caught first and most.  It’s hard to say who caught biggest ’cause they were all in the 15-17″ range.  We were fishing 11-14′ and using 1/4 oz.  jigs with minnows.  I almost switched down to an 1/8 as there wasn’t much wind and I could keep bottom, but I stuck with the 1/4 since I was doing so well.  I did, however, switch from my usual chartruese.  I chose a pale yellow/orange combo that Steve invented.  He was using pink/white.  Here’s a picture of a true double we had (honestly, we set the hooks simultaneously…it was hilarious):

Last week ended up quite nicely for all of our guests.  Everyone had good fishing and a great time.  Harrison and his dad Steve canoed down to the falls:

Gwin and family had a shore lunch:

Folks from Tenn. get cold easily!

Speaking of Gwin, here’s the 23.5″ walleye photo he promised me (thank you):

Did her mittens hinder her photography?

Young Ryan spent some time fishing from the dock, the shore and the boat ramp:

This week’s weather has been hot (80’s) and muggy.  We continue to have a ton of rain.  In fact, it has rained all day today.  I hope it clears up in time for potluck.  We’ve had a couple of big storms during the night…lots of thunder and lightning.  We had a fogbow one morning.  My photo is not as good as Marji’s was a couple of years ago but here it is:

This week’s guests are having a nice time and good fishing.  I don’t think the Flory guys could have a bad time anywhere!  They are so good-natured and seem to thoroughly enjoy each other’s company.  Wayne and Phyllis brought their twin 9-year-old grandsons along for the first time.  We’ve been creating adventures (and hopefully memories) for the boys.

Wayne heard that fishing was so good, you didn't even have to be in the water!

Donnie released a 24.5″ walleye Saturday.  I’ll have that photo on the website by this weekend.  They’ve had very good fishing, and it’s their first time fishing Wabaskang.  Greg and Derek have been into the northerns.  We’re working on getting them into walleyes now.  The Haan family always seems to have a good time.

Bear baiting is still going well.  We have three hunters arriving this Saturday for Sunday’s opener.  We think they’ll all have a good shot (no pun intended) at a bear.  Here are a few trail cam photos:

That's a good-sized bear.

This little guy looks cute.

Smart bears wait until after shooting hours to go sniffing around.

Shouldn't he be sleeping in the mid-morning????

Well, time for me to get busy!  I’ll close with a sunset from Gwin and Judy:

Happy August

I need to make a couple of shout-outs here.  Happy bday to my seester Rebecca (yesterday) and my big brother Dan (tomorrow)!  Also, a quick update on Pat, who left a week ago Sunday after one day.  She had successful gallbladder surgery a week ago Tues., was released from the hospital in St. Joe, MO, last Thurs., and was back here in Camp by Sunday night.  She does admit that maybe she rushed things a bit (you think?) but has improved day by day up here and is about back to her old self! 

August is apparently a big month for bdays (must be those long, boring winters?).  We had three birthdays to announce at potluck last night, starting with Dylan who turned 8 and Brad and Rita who weren’t divulging.  We also had some nice fish releases:  Brad released a 25″ walleye Monday, Gwin released a 23″ walleye early in the week, and Robbie released a big smallmouth earlier in the week.  Watch for photos on the web page.  While fishing was better-than-average throughout July, we weren’t seeing any trophy-sized fish.  It’s nice to see those big walleye surfacing again!  I’m sure I’ll be adding more big fish throughout the remainder of season.

Last week ended with a lot of happy people!  George and Betty had their limits filled and headed home on Fri.  Betty sent me this photo of a bear swimming in the Lake:

Quent’s group had a great time and I think accomplished all of their missions.  We saw a cinnamon bear at the dump and a couple of moose along the road.  They caught plenty of fish and seemed to thoroughly enjoy their stay.

Our folks from home, Tom & Carol, Mark & Carol, and Mark Carroll & Jan (talk about confusion!), had a lovely time!  Tom was the only one who’d been here before, and he played organizer and host for his wife and their friends.  Fishing was good, their menus were splendid, and everyone had fun!

Caution: do not attempt to drink with these people!

Enter this week.  We have a nearly full Camp.  Everyone has fished Wabaskang except Brad and Robbie (from the Quad-Cities!).  All of our guests have done very well this week.  Our Bear’s Den group are old pros.  They’ve had their limits pretty much every day and return in the afternoons for r & r or go back out and just catch and release (yeah!!!). 

They won't catch a darned thing there!

Randy and co. in the Eagle’s Nest have had a ball (as usual).  They combine pleasure boating, fishing and family time in a way that makes a vacation what it should be.  The boys can be seen pedal boating around the docks, looking for frogs in the window well, or getting ready to clean their day’s catch:

Check out those smallies and that perch!

their mixed bag

So, what have we been doing?  I’ve been blueberry picking (no surprise) and making messes in the kitchen.  Last night’s potluck featured two new dishes:  smoked, pulled pork and a blueberry/rhubarb (rhuberry) upside-down cake.  I believe both were well received.  Steve’s been BEAR BAITING!  Yes, folks, it’s time for funky bush photos again! 

Thus far his baits are being visited quite regularly.  I grabbed a couple of photos from the trail cams:

Roll out the barrell....

Now there's a pair to draw to!

creepy

I’ll keep you posted as we go along.  Bear hunting starts a week from Sunday, so Steve’s hard at work to make sure we have happy hunters. 

The weather is beginning to feel a bit fallish.  This morning and tomorrow morning are supposed to be downright chilly (40’s tomorrow morning).  We’re a bit breezy today which should ensure continued good walleye fishing.  We had a HUGE storm two nights ago–lots of wind, rain, and lightning.

I’d like to thank the folks who follow the blog regularly.  I love it when I get e-mails from people who’ve never visited Camp but follow my blog.  That’s very flattering, thank you.  I’ll do my best to keep it fresh, informative and fun.  Today I’ll close with a sunset I described as “creamy.”