Catching the Good Life in the Canadian Wilderness

Hi folks, check out the Moby Dick, the Monster Pike, that Chris(Woody) Woodside brought to his side on July 25, 2018.  The Behemoth was lurking when they got to their Hot Spot.  Woody tossed out his jig and crawler and WHAM the fight was on.  After a few minutes, Woody knew this was a fish of a lifetime.   Gary, Woody’s dad, was in the front of the boat, quickly lifted the anchor as Woody’s drag was smelling of burnt gears!  The Jumbo Pike pulled the boat around and around, Gary became dizzy from all the circles!  AWE Come On Man, What’s Up With That.

Woody rose the Hog to the surface and Gary tried to net it, but TOO SMALL for the big net!  So Woody, being the awesome fisherman as he is, brought the 18 pound plus tooth filled critter to boat side and lowered his hand under the fish and with one big sweep, lifted the monster into the boat!

Gasps, oohs and aaah’s filled the lake as the Indiana group were in awe of the fish. Woody flexed his muscles, pumped out his chest and roared in Victory over the fish.  Woody and Gary  fired up the Yamaha and sped the Lund Boat back to Happy Camp with Moby in hopes of reviving it!

Woody, Gary and Catfish Chris tried to revive the fish for about 20 minutes.  Sadly the fish was not revived and Moby Dick lay in Woody’s arms.  Moby measures just short of 39 inches and weighed 18 pounds with a girth of over 18 inches.  Moby certainly is a monster that would make anyone proud and we guess over 20 years old!  As of this writing, Moby is frozen awaiting his trip to the taxidermist, then to Woody’s wall for fond memories of the event on White Otter Lake!

So what color did Woody use?  A secret only known to Happy Camper’s!  Fishing, just as the weather, has been up and down.  Some days the bite is pretty good, while others with hot, no wind and sun have shut the bite down.  Rain has come in over night and much cooler, only in the upper 50’s now.

Soon Bear hunting will begin and baiting continues to go well, Magoo and Sadie are the best taste testers of bait in the world.  Don’t fret Happy Campers, they do work off those tasty treats  at the lake swimming then trotting back to the lodge.  Berries are doing great, we found a bunch the other night and if rain stops, maybe more later today.

Time to get some soup going for the day.  SOUP you say, what is up with that it is July!!!  But it is chilly today and will warm the tummy later, haha!!

Until next time, thanks to all Happy Camper’s, you make each and every day unique and special, take care and keep in touch!!

Good Morning everyone from sunny and cool Happy Camp Ontario!  The heat and humidity have left the area for now and hopefully for the rest of the year!  Temps up near 100 made it very icky the last few days.

Salute to the Patriots who blessed us at Happy Camp last week.  From Don coordinating everything, cooking and being the jack of all trades, to Wes and the Ternary Toast, Walt and his chats of his canoe adventure to Tommy and his antics, it was truly a special time for all!  From starting with a flat tire on the Fry Road, to working as a team unloading the beast Deck Boat, to fish fries, shore lunch and the Potato Bomb, words can not express the fantastic time we all had last week.  As I sit trying to find words to write, I notice the picture you all gave us at Happy Camp, thank you for that as well.

On Monday the 9th, Ed saw a picture on the computer and said who is that?  I said that is my dad who I lost 18  years ago to which Ed responded, “He was a good man if he raised you”.   The 9th is always a tough day for me, but seemed a bit easier that day with the Patriots thank you for all you brought to camp.

Fishing was excellent, even perch showed up all over the place.  Mayflies continue to hatch, but seems like fishermen got the ticket to get them to bite during that as well.  As you all know, our weather patterns are weird, no other way around it!  With that said, we are now picking Blueberries!  Saskatoon berries are barely deep red, Raspberries are green, but Blueberries are ripening all over the place.  Last week when I took some boys to a lake, Scott said, BLUE!  Yes the bluff was blue and Scott, Zak and Jeremy ate and ate and ate!  We did get back late for Steak night, but hey was it worth it guys?

If you are a Happy Camper, you know my travels have led me to many interesting characters and yesterday was no different.  I went to Timmins to meet  chap and he was interesting to say the least.  Przemyslaw Pelichowski is the fellow and we did a little business.  Speaking of Przem, he shared knowledge of his bear outfitting, very interesting to say the least.  If anyone is interested, Google his name and you can hear his interview on CBC radio and his dog Yamaha!

Speaking of travels, yesterday CBC radio 1 along with Wisconsin Public Radio had a joint phone in radio show to discuss the Trade war and some interesting thoughts were shared, but the one resounding fact is very clear, people from Canada and the US are being hurt.  Aren’t our governments suppose to be working for the People, so why then is the family farm in the Midwest being destroyed. So from Trump, to Trudeau to ScottHole, my good buddy Larry says, AH COME ON MAN!!!

For anyone traveling this way, stop at Pancake Bay and get some white buckets with covers, we sure could use them for berry picking.  While the berry crop is busting, the black flies have lessened to where no bug nets are needed for the most part, even in the cabins you can leave them off while you eat or watch tv.

Time to get the girls out for a little bit, then off to work.  So my mom has made her way to Happy Camp for a few days to rest, read a book, fish, berry pick or just unwind, always nice to see family stop up and see what is happening and hear the wind!

Take care, thanks everyone for making Happy Camp your summer spot and SALUTE to all who made last week so special!

Hi everyone, time for a brief update while I remember a few thinngs.  The camp is quiet but soon will be filled with the Healing Patriot Group, our hope is that the peace and quiet of the wilderness, songs of the loons and wind whispering through the trees will be just what the Patriots need, thank you for all you do and for everyone who does a service to our freedom, never can say thank you enough!

We finished patching our roofs, cross your fingers that it will not leak, guess we will find out when it rains which could be any day as the weather is erratic.

Days start out sunny and cool, in the low 40’s, then heat up quickly, gets very windy and into the upper 80’s, evenings clear out and next day repeat.  As I write it has got very overcast, winds about 30 mph, and looks like thunder?

Fishing continues to be excellent in various depths and techniques.  Many people looking for large walleye ask where are they?  Remember a few years ago folks the MNR gill netted large fish from the lake as they were doing a “study”.  Still haven’t seen results from the study, but hey that is government for you!  Try to also remember that we are in the far north, growing season for everything, including fish, is much shorter than down south.  If given a few years to grow, we will start to see Walleye again over 25 inches and some 20 pound Pike, but the fish need the opportunity to grow.

Bear baiting is going and they are hitting well.  For those of you who were with us last year and Remember the Humper Bear, I ran into that big boy yesterday in my route.  He is just as chubby and black as last year.  Also saw another fellow, but much smaller, don’t think he is a humper?  I opened a new vein and it looks fantastic and the baits have been set.  As I drove down the trail, in the distance I saw a brown object laying in the trail, I thought it couldn’t be?  As I got closer, it reminded me of my first one and AHA, it was, a glorious Moose Shed.  For those coming to camp, you shall see first hand the sheds that are gathering in the lodge, certainly a sight to behold.

My how time flies, and although sometime during every day I am reminded, early July reminds me of loss of my Dad and tomorrow will mark the 17th anniversary of his passing.  Does anyone know that every 17 years the days of the week line up and July 9, 2018 will be a Monday, just as July 9, 2001 was a Monday.  Man Dad I wish you were here to play in the wilderness, I think you truly would have enjoyed the adventures at Happy Camp Ontario, I miss you!!

With that, time to watch the storm as it is thundering over head, so we shall see what the next adventure is.  Take care and Whatcha waiting for, Come and Catch the Good Life with Us at Happy Camp Ontario!!!

Hi everyone, wow what a difference a few days make!!  Just was saying brrrr, and now the 3 H’s have found their way to Happy Camp!  That’s right, Heat, Humidity and Heavy Rain have showed up.  Just yesterday it was almost 90, now rain, rain and rain.

Yesterday Magoo and I went to bail boats from the rain, and it had rained so much it was up to the bottom of the bench seat and the bilge pump ran steady for about 15 minutes, holy moley!!

With the onslaught of heat and now rain, I suppose we will have a new hatch of bugs, just what we did not need.  But the first Mayflies have started on White Otter and the fish will enjoy them for the near future.

Fishing continues to be good with many summer spots and patterns starting to settle in.  One head scratching issue is where are the Perch, not too many of those husky fellows showing up lately.  Gotta keep looking until we find them, maybe the fishers from Michigan will unlock that this week?

We did see a couple of Bears this week, one nice one while moving some trees in the bear hunt area, the other out and about.  Also, a nice Bull is seen south of here, boy if he grows more he will be a real dandy come hunting time!!

We have started our busy time Happy Campers, with vets coming in soon, thanks for all you do.  In a few short weeks the Bear season will be upon us so lots to do and time is ticking.

So time to get to work and if you are wondering what’s all the chirping about at Happy Camp, shoot us a message or give us a call to save your spot to Come and Catch the Good Life with Us at Happy Camp Ontario!

Take care everyone.

Good Morning from Chilly Happy Camp Ontario!  The last 2 days have not reached 50 and rain has pounded the area, but alas this morning is crystal clear blue skies, light winds and the sun is shining!

The 1st week of summer is now upon us, and the berry crop is looking fantastic, many bushes are full of berries.  In fact, the other day at a lake in the bush with some people, one said they had never seen so many berries in the patch along the lake!  I guess I overlook some things, but then stopped to look and oh my, yes there are a ton and a half of them!

A big Thank you to Ray and Dale whom spent a day last week helping me, or should I say, I helped them fix the porch roof.  The fish gods were good to them, they were basically fished out after the week of action.  In fact Ray, who has been coming to the area for over 20 years stated, fishing has never been better!  Weeds are growing quickly and the minnow hatches have filled the shallows.

Now onto wildlife, to those coming up the Fry road, watch out as there has been a large Bull Moose stopping to graze in a pond adjacent to the Fry as well as a Cow with twins closer to camp.  Yesterday there were some tracks down the trail to Echo Lake headed towards, maybe they were out of supplies looking for some pancake mix?

The only animal scarce this year is Bear and although we had one trying tip over the bait trailer, he has not returned since we put out the camera.  I suspect it was Tom Kern wearing his Yogi outfit, but one will never know unless he fesses up, but we all know how hard it is for the sheriff to tell the truth(haha).

As I close this report, I want to stop and say a prayer for a couple of our campers who are dealing with their health issues.  To the Sheriff and the Yupper, get well soon as Happy Camp is not the same without you!

For the rest of the campers, bring your bug dope and fishing pole as they are biting, but don’t forget the Tartar sauce because some taste pretty darn good too!  Take care and see you on the water or in the bush!

Good morning and Happy Father’s Day to all you father’s out there!  A special thanks to my dad who is longer with me setting the hook, tossing the fly or calling the ducks, but will live on in me forever!  Thanks Dad for showing me the love of nature, fish and fowl, not to mention dogs.  Oh my, how dogs have become a huge part of my life, and Magoo is such a precious one.  As I write, here comes the 7 year old Pup Magoo with a shoe, way to go Magoo!

Time to bring the 3 B’s everyone, Boots, Buckets and Bug Dope.  Heavy rain came in late yesterday afternoon filling the boats and putting small lakes in the yard.  Rain continued through the night and as I write it is very dark and still a moderate rain.

Early this morning Magoo and I went to bail out boats, holy mackerel the water was up to the bench seats on the boat, what’s up with that.  I pulled the bilge pump on one boat and the pump ran steady for about 10 minutes.  Hmmm, pushing out the dock yesterday makes me scratch my head as the water will rise from the rain, interesting to say the least!

Fishing is pretty good, shallow water seems to be the best bet for scattered fish.  Some fish are being caught in new green weeds about 6 feet while others are cruising the shoreline.  Finally, the fishers out yesterday caught a few fish in the top few feet of the water with shallow running crank baits.  But alas, the Perch have showed up, time to get after them says Miss Molly Magoo!

We had a fresh fish fry last night, the batter didn’t turn out right, guess we will have to try again in the next few days eh!!  Just enough for a meal, why anymore said one camper, my thoughts exactly.  Let the rest go to grow and give another the chance to tangle with them!

Although we have not seen any, Bear have been seen in the area along with Red Fox, some Grouse and a Moose is venturing in the area, probably running crazy from all the bugs.  Speaking of bugs, they are very intense and with the rain expect a new hatch to come as soon as the sun breaks out!  One good thing is the berry crop looks excellent right now and with timely rains and some sun, it should be a banner year.  Keep your fingers crossed that they come early and gone by the time Bear hunt comes along!!

Time to get moving along everyone, until next time, take care and keep in touch!

Boom, Boom, Boom Boom!  That was the sound yesterday as well as early this morning in the Happy Camp Region!  Hmm, whatever could that sound be?  Magoo and I headed to the creek in search of Brook Trout yesterday morning and AHA, we see just what all the ruckus was about!  The CN train was connecting cars in Hillsport and the BOOM was cars crashing together as they hooked them up!

After sitting about 20 minutes at the RR tracks, we decided to head back, load up the boat and put it on White Otter.  We spent some time fishing and here is the report.

Water temps are in the low 60’s and fish were scattered in fresh weeds.  We caught numerous Walleye up to 20 inches as well as Pike up to 27 inches.  At one point, I had 5 Pike on in 5 casts and although small, they sure were fun to catch.  Fish are shallow and we hope to get out and try our new Perch tactics soon.

When we came back to the dock, Herman has made his way to his summer home.  If any of you remember Herman, he was quite small a couple of years ago.  It looks like he may be about 22 inches now and prefers the west end of the dock.  He looks a little chubby, won’t it be cool when he reaches the 40’s?  So when on the dock, take a couple of morsels for Herman and have fun feeding him!

Speaking of the dock, the water is still high so boots are needed to get to it for now.  Also remember your bug repellent and sunscreen as the sun is bright, today may reach 87.

Loons have made their way back and a Bald eagle soared over the lake as Magoo and I boated around, as well as this morning there was a fox near the camp which quickly took off as he is no match for Magoo!

Magoo says it is time to get to work as she wants to go swimming soon.  So whatcha waiting for, come on up and Catch the Good Life with us at Happy Camp Ontario!!!

Hi everyone, Happy Camp is up and running for the season!  Water has finally thawed and we have water, bugs, and more bugs!  The flies are really tremendous, no way around it!

Lunker Larry found his way to Camp and has been a great help from listening to Magoo and I cuss as we work on projects, to enjoying our first fish fry, cutting up the onions for our bratwurst or driving the dock to the lake, camp would not be going without him!

Speaking of thank you’s, a huge thank you goes out to Canada’s McGyver, Roger, whom constantly has ideas to fix things that work!  Our next conquest will be to fix the roofs that have been damaged by last winter’s storms!  Campers will see all the downed trees from the massive storm and when we drive to the dump, it is simply staggering how tremendous the wind, snow and ice took down trees of every shape and size!  All of the bush lakes have trees down on their trails, maybe Mother Nature is telling the fisherman who take all the time, enough is enough, time for her to raise her hand and stop that!

Lunker, Magoo and myself got to fish in a lake nearby the other evening, almost every cast there was one smashing the lures.  Of course Magoo, whom has been on the shelve all winter, swam like a minnow as well as jumped in the lake chasing the fish!  Simply awesome to see her once again near full strength, that’s my Girl!

While putting the dock in this morning, many minnows swam in the shallows, we hope to get out on the lake and find the fish this weekend!  Many trees still need to be cut, but grass is cut, camp is up and running.  For now, the peace and quiet has taken over with no planes, automobiles and few trains stifling the wilderness sound!

We always strive to do our best to take care of our customers and while the exchange rate continues to be around $1.25 US dollar for each Canadian Dollar, there are business that will not honor that and the Trading Post in Sualt Ste. Marie actually gave us 85 cents on the dollar earlier this week.  So I would encourage you to choose where you spend your money.  Up the road at Pancake Bay, the people there gave honest rates at $1.25.  So after you cross the border, drive a little further and support them at Pancake Bay, they are great people, have wonderful smoked fish and many flavors of ice cream!

A few updates for all campers coming to Happy Camp.  There is road construction along highway 17 before Wawa, be prepared to have delays there.  The gravel from Wowun Lake road to Hillsport is pretty good, take it easy and you will be fine.

That’s it for now folks.  Time for Catfish Chris to go cut some trees and get them out of the yard.  Whatcha waiting for, give us a call or shoot me an email to save your spot and Come and Catch the Good Life with Us at Happy Camp Ontario!

Oops, almost forgot, don’t forget your bug dope!

We hope you survived the winter, for Magoo and I it was a bitter cold winter with lots of set backs!  But alas, spring has sprung on the prairie and in a few weeks the ice will be gone at Happy Camp too!

I spoke to Roger this evening and while there is still snow up at Happy Camp, it should be gone in a few days and the ice may disappear as well!  The snowpack was incredible and all creeks are swollen beyond their banks which should make for a nice spawn. Keep your fingers crossed.

We will have a lot to do at camp as many trees are down and repairs are needed due to the heavy storms and snow.  We will work hard to get the camp ready for all of you!

As we look to this summer, we have a couple of spots open if anyone wants to venture up and experience the good life with us at Happy Camp!  For those of you returning, I have some ideas to get after the perch this summer that worked this winter. Maybe we will get after them?

Bear tags have been reserved for the year and we hope they, as well as all the other critters, made it through the winter. Only time will tell.

We look forward to seeing all of you again and exchanging stories to make 2018 a year to remember!

So if you are wondering what this is all about, or want to come experience an adventure of a lifetime, drop us a message or shoot us a call tonight to save your spot to Come and Catch the Good Life with us at Happy Camp Ontario!  See you all soon, take care.

Good Morning and Happy 2018 everyone!  We hope everyone had a wonderful holiday season and another new year is upon us!

As we look to this year, we are starting to fill the cabins during the fishing season.  We are anticipating having our first Happy Campers in Mid June.  We have been in contact with the MNR in hopes of expanding our Bear hunt and if that happens, we will be opening some more spots for a Spring hunt to begin in late May.  For now, our 2018 Fall Bear hunt spots are filled.

After the wild weather during most of the Moose hunt, most has settled down and a more normal winter has set in with snow and cold, just as we have in the northern US.  With an early snowfall, maybe we will be blessed with an early spring, I guess time will tell.

In 2018 we again will be hosting a camp full of veterans, we are so looking forward to them as well as all of our Happy Campers from near and far who travel to the Happy Camp region and enjoy the beautiful woods and waters that abound!

If you are looking for a place to come relax, fish, play in the water, woods or just listen to the wind whip through the wilderness, shoot us an email or phone us today to Come and Catch the Good Life with Us at Happy Camp Ontario!