Good Day Happy Campers, Happy Mother’s day to all Mother’s out there. Mom, I miss you more than you will ever know and HCO too will not be the same without you. From your early morning sips on a beverage to your berry picking abilities, it was always an adventure.
As we fished, I often was amazed how one can cast their line out, not pay attention then slowly reel thru the weeds and slime and near the boat say, “I think I have a fish!” But hey, they sure seemed to like your special spoon.
A few years ago Mom was at HCO for a stay and wanted some Trout. So I took the horse and buggy down the trail in search of some. I tied the horses to an Alder tree with fresh grass for them to eat, got out the pole and plopped in the creek. I whipped the Demon Spinner upstream, nothing. Turning downward, I see a large brown object along the shore. Yikes, I thought, what ever could this be? So I cautiously waded towards it. The large brown beast lifted its head out of the water, stared at me, then, Poof, was gone in a flash!!
Whatever could it be I thought, then remembering the MNR placing Caribou in the area, that is what it was. Or, could it be a Reindeer, one never knows, certainly not Rudolph, no shiny Red Nose.
Bam a hit on the Demon, soon a scrappy Speckle is in the net. I can already hear the butter spackling. Just around the bend, I see a swirl where there must be another Speck. Sure enough, he slams the bait hard. Tugging and running downstream he takes out line like a Tarpon. Soon the Behemoth surges towards the surface, breaking with such power only seen by a Humpback whale!
In, out, I finally bring the Trout to my hand, I look at the Monster as I unhook the spinner from his jaws. I can barely lift the beast to my creel, but he does slide into it with the other that is laying on fresh creek grass. I stop for a minute and enjoy the beauty of the fish, wilderness and the smell of wilderness air. There is NOTHING like it, no where.
I breathe in and continue fishing, catch a handful more to be released. An hour or so passes, head back to the Buggy, and trot back to HCO. Mom is waiting with her empty plate, fork in one hand, knife in the other, and yells, FEED ME, I’M HUNGRY!
Mom, calm down you crazy Elephant I say, be patient. Quickly I toss the Trout in the pan and they start to cook. Mom calms a bit, but she is ready for another Clamato, her third and it is only 9:30, Holy Hot Dog Harry!
Trout are done, eggs in pan, toast is ready. Now we dine and Mom quickly devours the Trout. When she is done with them, she raises the skeleton up which has been picked clean and smiles. Breakfast of Speckle Trout, Eggs and Toast, nothing finer, but Mom says, that was Delicious, but do you know what would go good with that? Stay tuned!!
So here we are May 13, 2023 and FINALLY we get word that we have our Bear tags for 2023 and beyond( I hope)! If anyone is hankering for an adventure of a lifetime let me know, it will certainly be a work in progress. Additionally, some other hunts have opened up and will offer more adventure, more to come later.
Soon Happy Camp will be going and we will be searching for Bears and hopefully in 2023 we will bring our newest addition to the Happy Camp Wilderness.
For now, the bird migration is on its way north. Sadly, less and less waterfowl are coming this year. Magoo and I wanted to hunt White Geese, but after seeing maybe 500 total fly over, there is something wrong, where are the 9 Million the USFWS claims there are. Seems to be plenty of Mallards, but few other ducks. But, there are Orioles, Buntings, Grosbeaks, and much more. While there is still some ice here, most is gone and the rest can’t be gone soon enough!
2023 will usher in many changes to Happy Camp, much work to be done but we will pause here to get Trout on our mind as Tiger Trout have been stocked in North Dakota. In honor of Mom, maybe we will get lucky and catch one for the pan, time will tell. But for now, aging Magoo and I will go for an adventure and the puppies at the Souris Valley Animal Rescue will get a visit first.
Take care, Happy Mother’s day Mom’s, hug the hounds for us!