Sorry about not either letting the 2-3 readers I have know here (I think I mentioned it in a few comments elsewhere) I was going to be gone for a week hunting walleyes in the Great White North at the more-or-less fabulous North Shore Lodge or setting up some things I wanted to have pop up over the course of that week. Last-minute preparations and all that good stuff took me right up to the point I had to go. When I get the pics from Oly, I’ll share some. In the meantime…
- The best time to go through Customs is at 3:30 in the morning when all the agents are busy tearing up the vehicle in front of you. That was the first time in 10 years the Canadians didn’t come on to check IDs.
- When the half of the sky that’s coming towards you is black with streaks of lightning, you head in. We got back to the lodge Monday just as the first bits of rain hit. Shortly thereafter came the 70-mph winds and golf ball-sized hail.
- If there’s a country even more stupid about using its natural resources than the US, it’s Canada. Ontario is on track to close its remaining coal-fired power plants by 2009, and depending on whether you believe the government that’s shutting down those plants or an independent power company, they won’t have enough power in the province in either 2013 or 2008.
- 27 1/2″ walleye – need I say more? Actually, yes. 2 of them (mine was heavier), plus a 41″ northern caught by Oly.
- Even though Chris wasn’t saying, “Hurray beer”, we were. Kokanee and Labatt’s Maximum Ice are as good as we remember, and you still can’t get them in the states.
- No matter how bad your day has been, if you’re fishing, all it takes is one cast.
- The Canucks really need a Taxpayers Alliance group. The town of Atikokan is succeeding in spinning a property tax increase as a decrease because of declining property values.
- Required luggage for a long bus ride – a pillow.
- If there’s a crosswind and you’re sitting in the middle or the back, raingear is definitely recommended.
- In heavy seas, do NOT leave your poles in the front of the boat. We lost one that way.
- If your prop is slightly scarred on Sunday, it will be FUBARed by Friday.
- Same with seats, especially with a captain that knows only full throttle into heavy seas.
- 27 1/2 inch walleye. Can’t quite say it enough, even if it isn’t quite big enough to have been mounted (29 1/2 is my starting point).
- In a cabin full of heavy snorers, it pays to not be the last one asleep. If you can’t manage that, the next best thing is enough spiced rum and Coke to get you blasted (but not enough to make you puke).
- Sinus headache plus incoming weather multiplied by already-choppy waters does not equal a happy stomach.
- Buffet breakfast – all fishing camps should use them to maximize time on the water.
- Aluminum cooks fish a lot faster than cast iron.
- The fishing might be better in Canada, but there’s no place like home.
Guess I better start catching up while figuring out what I’m taking to the BBA Spring Fling.
