Good Morning Happy Campers! Catfish Chris here at Happy Camp Ontario with a late July update. Where has July gone, it seems like a blur, but then again time always seems to fly at Camp! The sun is shining brilliantly and the temps have finally cooled a little to morning lows in the 50’s, and afternoons in the 80’s. Yesterday while Bear Baiting it was hot, reached almost 90 with little breeze. It seems that the Black Flies have lessened, but there are buckets and buckets of Mosquitos!
Speaking of buckets, the berries are ripening quickly, Blueberries are coming along nicely and the raspberries, while small, are plentiful and winding down. I do not care much for raspberries, but my dad who is not with me anymore, seemed to like them very much along with Blackberries which we would always go and pick near Navarino, Wisconsin when I was a kid. Ha, many of you still think of me as a kid, guess I am but just a lot bigger now!
Fishing is going well, we could use some rain as the lake level is dropping quite a bit now. Lots of Pike, some good ones too, have been eager to hit most anything. Walleye up to 27 inches and Perch over 13 inch came into camp this week.
This week, Happy Camp Ontario hosted Take a Vet Fishing and we had a full crew of vets from Minnesota, Wisconsin, Illinois, Tennessee and Alaska. Thank you to all the vets for serving for me and the great USA, there is no place like it in the world. We had lots of laughs, experiences and getting to know all of you a little was fantastic!
Joe, a vet from Chicago, was in charge of keeping the fish shack clean. Well one night it was late, maybe 11:30, and the fish just got done being cleaned. I could not find Joe, and Ed, another vet from Milwaukee, came and told me about the fish guts ready to go to the dump. As Joe was sleeping in Cabin 1, I grabbed my trumpet and played Reveille for him to get up and get to work! The other Joe, from Tennessee, came running near where I was playing wanting to report to duty!!
There have been a couple of Bear in camp and this week they have been in the dump. Well some of the guys went along with me numerous times to look but never saw them. Late Wednesday night, Joe the fish shack guy, and Aaron, took the guts to the dump. It was shortly after 1 a.m. when they got back. Aaron who is maybe 30, comes up on the north deck and yells, “Hey I saw my first Bear, I saw my first Bear”!
Finally, on the northwest part of the Lake there is a log sticking up out of the water with weeds on either side. Don, Joe and Aaron found fish there everyday and while it was a good spot, Aaron spent quite a bit of time throwing lures and getting caught on the log. In fact, one time Aaron cast over the log and a fish hit his lure. He set the hook, but was caught on Obama Log! Aaron with all of his military background, was not going to let this happen again. Aaron stood up, jumped out of the boat, got to Obama Log, got the line off and caught the fish!! Way to go Aaron.
Well can anyone guess why the Vets coined the name Obama Log? Well each time the Log is visited, one or more of the fishermen donated to the log with a lure. So as the free hand outs were put on the log, it was given the name and justly so!
Bill from Illinois played Pinochle this week, it has been so long, but good to get playing again! Sherriff Tom Kern, I could use your pinochle, wine and bear baiting skills up here at camp, haven’t heard from you this year, What’s up with that?
Bear hunting is on the horizon and the baiting is going well. This week I ran into Mr. 278 and yesterday 3 bears were waiting for their lunch when I stopped in! So the activity is high and the anticipation is starting to grow. We also have one guy who likes to sleep at the bait for a couple of nights. He put on quite a show all night and he certainly is a boy if you know what I mean?
If anyone has ideas how to relieve pinched nerve in neck, shoulder and arm, please give me a call or email me. I have tried many things, including this week getting acupuncture, and I can tell you I am not a big fan of a needle stuck into my neck, especially when not much help happens! I did contact my old back snapper, Dr. Dean Gerard, in Stevens Point, Wisconsin. Dr. Dean is so great, and while distance makes seeing him impossible, he did offer advice and suggestions that I am trying! Dr. Dean, you are the BEST, thank you man!
With that, the dogs are restless wanting to go eat some blueberries, so gotta take them out. Thanks again Vets for a great week, and as we usher in August, we look forward to fishermen from Alberta and our Bear hunters who will come into camp soon! So take care and whatcha waiting for, Come and Catch the Good Life with us at Happy Camp Ontario!!