Catching the Good Life in the Canadian Wilderness

Good morning from snowy, cold and blustery central Wisconsin!  My, it has been an unbelievable winter so far and it is late January, much more to come!  As of now, we have about 3 feet of snow on the ground and the temperatures have been well below normal.  Today it is about -20 with windchill.  Forecast is for the coldest weather of the season so far next week.  We are not looking forward to that!

We are looking forward to Happy Camp this summer and fall and things are starting to heat up!  We are booking bear hunts for this year and have a few openings.  We have our own area to hunt with non-residents, and we will only take up to 6 hunters per week.  That allows us to focus our attention on you the customer and assist you in every way possible to make each person’s hunt memorable!

We also provide great fishing and hunting for grouse and waterfowl.  For moose hunters, we are almost full for the 2014 season, so reserve your spot today!

For the winter, we will be attending a couple of shows to let people know all that Happy Camp has to offer!

We have new lakes, bear and berry area to explore and hope you come along for the 2014 year!  We are excited to see all of our friends and customers we have made over the last year and look forward to meeting everyone new coming to Happy Camp in 2014 and beyond!

Happy Camp plans on being open by May 25th, so whatcha waiting for, reserve your spot today and  come on, catch the good life with us at Happy Camp in beautiful northern Ontario!!

Good Morning and Merry Christmas everyone!  From cold, snowy central Wisconsin we greet our Happy Camp followers and wish each and everyone of you the best for the holiday season!

As 2014 comes along, we are now taking bookings for Bear hunts to start on August 16th.  Please contact Chris directly for details!

We have some openings for the fishing season and we are excited to get after some new lakes and hope that they bring our customers fantastic fishing!!

Moose hunting is almost full for the month, so if you want a spot, reserve it now!

With winter upon us, Magoo will start chasing some pheasants and see if she likes them as much as Ruffed Grouse and Ducks?

Thanks to everyone for a fantastic 2013 and we look forward to seeing you all again in 2014 and beyond!

Take care and whatcha waiting for, come on and catch the good life with us in beautiful Ontario at Happy Camp!!!

Hi everyone.  Happy Camp is now closed for the 2013 season.  Thank you for making our first full year a tremendous success.  From the acquisition of our own bear hunting area, to repeated fisherman and Moose hunters, each and every one of you who has stopped in at Happy Camp have made it a memorable year.

Our hope is that 2014 and beyond will be as spectacular as 2013.  One note, our 2014 Moose spots are almost filled, please contact us if you wish to be at Happy Camp for that!

We will be working on our bear hunt information and please get in touch  with us if that is your desire as we will have a limited number of openings for 2014 bear hunt.  There is some rumblings in the Ontario government to re-open the Spring bear Hunt, my what a pleasant surprise that would be!!

Magoo and I will be stationed in northern North Dakota and have no computer.  We will be chasing waterfowl and enjoying all the prairies can offer.  We will get after the messages when we return.

If you have ever experienced the waterfowl migration on the prairie, you know it can take your breathe away.  Afterall, every waterfowler knows that it doesn’t get any better than the smell of a wet dog, spent gunshells, and the aroma of fresh roasted Mallard in the oven!

Thanks again everyone, we look forward to seeing you again in 2014, please take care and keep in touch.  Finally, whatcha waiting for, contact us and reserve your spot and Come and Catch the Good Life with us at Happy Camp Ontario!!!

Hi everyone from Happy Camp in northern Ontario.  The Moose season is winding down as our last groups are in camp working hard to find the Moose.  We have the Webster and Kent crew in camp right now.  Everyone is out looking for Moose and hope their tags get filled by week’s end or they will be eating Tag Soup!!

The weather has cooled considerably and the daytime highs are in the low 40’s and nights are in the 20’s.  First ice has formed and backwaters which were hard this morning are slushy as the sun is out and it is about 45 this Sunday afternoon!

Magoo and I spent our last afternoon on the lake on Tuesday and caught nice Walleye up to 22″ and Pike over 34″!  The Walleye were much more aggressive than the Pike and have shifted deeper away from the dying weeds.  Water temps were in the low 50’s and have gone downward as last week progressed!

Herk ventured to Mann Lake yesterday and he and Jeffrey caught a few chunky Pike and lost a big fish which let go while they were fighting it, they are guessing a big Walleye!

Leaves have fallen and the tamarack’s are all yellow, so winter will soon blanket the Happy Camp area.  We will be closing for the 2013 season on October 26, 2013.

During the 2013 season, we greeted many familiar faces as well as met many new friends and we hope that trend continues in 2014!  We will again be offering fishing, Bear hunting in our new BMA as well as all kinds of other outdoor activities!

Thank you to our customers who came to Happy Camp in 2013.  We are taking bookings for 2014, so whatcha waiting for, call us and reserve your space to come and catch the good life with us at Happy Camp in beautiful northern Ontario!!

Hi everyone from Chilly Happy Camp!  With Thanksgiving Eve upon us in Ontario, we want to wish all of the people who we have been lucky enough to get to know up here a Happy Thanksgiving and Magoo and I will be eating a traditional Dinner of something tomorrow.  Our hope is that it will be fresh roast duck, but that remains to be seen.  Onto the report:

Moose hunting is in full swing and our 1st Moose was hung on the Happy Camp Pole on Wednesday.  Paul and Cal brought down the beast after calling it close enough to gun range.  All of the hunters in camp helped out in dragging, hanging and cutting up the Moose!  It is amazing how big they really are up close and this was a young Bull only 2 years old!

Warm temperatures have slowed the Moose activity as the Nowak bunch is trying everyday without success yet!  We had a Bull pinned down but he slipped through the bush somewhere?

I took Paul from Sarnia fishing on Friday, and my did we get into them!  Fish are still relating to the weeds, but have shifted a little deeper!  We caught about 20 Pike and 12 Walleye in about 4 hours.  Biggest Pike was about 33″ and Walleye up to 23″ were released to swim again!  We had a terrific Fish fry in the Lodge with the Moose hunters and all brought a dish to pass!

Bird hunting is a little slow as we do not venture out much as the woods is full of Moose hunters!  But Magoo and I will start duck hunting in earnest starting tomorrow as some ducks have showed up from the north.  We shall see if they come to visit our decoy spread!!

We will be closing on the 27th for the 2013 year and thank you all for a tremendous 1st full year of Business.  We appreciate and cherish meeting each of you and look forward to seeing you at Happy Camp again in 2014.  We are taking reservations for 2014 and have some spots already filled, so whatcha waiting for, reserve your spot and Come On and Catch the Good Life With Us in Ontario at Happy Camp!!

Happy Fall everyone from Happy Camp.  With the 1st day of Fall coming today, we finally have found the sun again!  The past week has been rain, rain and our first snow on the 21st.  Today is a beautiful, cold early fall day, with sunshine and temperatures in the 40’s.

With all the rain, travel is difficult in the area but Magoo and I went out and harvested fresh Mushrooms this morning and they are tasty!  They are popping up everywhere and hope this continues as it is fun and Magoo enjoys the romps!

Fishing has been slow and hunting in the area has been interesting.  Few Grouse have been seen but that should change with the leaves falling not soon enough!  Ducks are scattered as there is lots of water everywhere!  On a positive sign, I have seen 4 Moose in the last few days throughout the Happy Camp region!  My hope is that they will hang around for a few more weeks when the Happy Camp Moose Hunters chase them in the Woods!

This morning in our travels, numerous flocks of migrating geese were seen as well as Bluebirds, Evening Grosbeaks and numerous kinds of shorebirds!  They will quickly make their way south for the winter as we will too in about 6 weeks.

As always, thanks to everyone for a great 2013 and we hope to end on a high note during the Moose Hunt!  To those of you we will not see until 2014, we look forward to spending time with you exploring the Happy Camp area, so what you waiting for, Come on and Catch the Good Life with us in beautiful Northern Ontario at Happy Camp Ontario!!

Well the winds of change have definitely arrived at Happy Camp!  Hi Folks, as summer quickly left, we have been greeted with more rain, rain, wind and chilly temperatures!  The dock will need to be moved back in as today Magoo and I watched the water level rise.  It will come into shore for the last time in 2013! While water levels are nearing spring levels, the water temperatures are quickly receding and fish are disoriented!  The fish should set up soon in their traditional fall spots and patterns should follow.

Birds continue to migrate through, Bluebirds, Flickers and the first Canada Geese were seen flying south today from their summer homes on James Bay!  Unfortunately they have not stopped for a drink, Magoo and I can only wish they will!  In addition, there was an odd brown bird sitting on the fish shack this afternoon.  It was the size of a bluebird, but was white with brown wings, a grayish bill and its head was striped with brown and white.  While quite different looking, he was a handsome fellow that is for sure.

Duck season opened this week as well as Grouse!  While the leaves are changing quickly, they still are hanging on strong making visibility an issue.  As I write, the clouds have cleared out and it should be cold tonight, another frost might bring some leaves down, only time will tell.

In our travels today we noticed quite a few Mountain Ash berries, I wonder if their are any recipes for them?  If anyone has any, please shoot us an email so we can check it out!

As always, thanks for finding your way to Happy Camp in 2013, take care and until next week, Come on and Catch the Good Life with us in beautiful northern Ontario at Happy Camp!!

Oops, forgot to mention, Go Pack GO!!!

Hi folks.  Catfish Chris here in soggy Northern Ontario with this week’s report.  The hot weather continued as Shirley and Jim Young fished on White Otter Lake.  The Young’s worked hard, braved the heat and caught Pike, Walleye and Perch.  Water temps during the day ranged in the upper 70’s but as the sun set the temps quickly receded about 8 degrees making fishing a bit more difficult.  Fish continue to hang in the weeds as well as some on the drop offs tight to the bottom.  Happy Camp also had a handful of Hydro One guys working in Hillsport and they too took in some fishing in the evening.  They also caught Pike and a few walleyes.

In talking to some hunters in the area, the bears have slowed feeding as the heat has been so intense, reaching around 90 2 days this week.  Hunting was difficult but Dave from Michigan shot a bear late Tuesday evening.  Way to go Dave!

Friday dawned with clouds and temperatures in the 60’s and that is where they are now, around 60 at 4:00 p.m.  The rain did hold off until about an hour ago and now it is a steady heavy rain with sporadic booms of thunder.

Bird season is right around the corner and Jim Young reported seeing the first flock of Canada Geese, about 10 of them flying towards the dam on White Otter.  Magoo is eagerly waiting to chase the birds and our waterfowl season starts with Geese on September 1, Duck on the 10th and Grouse on the 14th.  The weather forecast is for frost Sunday night and that may help ease the bugs who have become once again very intense.

Brook Trout season will end at midnight Monday and Magoo said we have to go out and try to catch some specks in the next couple of days.

Thanks to all of you for an exciting 2013 to date and with hunting right around the corner, many more people will walk into Happy Camp and we can not wait to share the beauty of the north with them.

We have some room in September and fall fishing, hunting and the weather can be fantastic, so whatcha waiting for, Come On and Catch the Good Life with us in Beautiful Northern Ontario at Happy Camp!!

Hi, folks, from Sultry Semi-Sunny Happy Camp in Northern Ontario!  Today is August 25th, and the temperatures have reached into the 90’s with high humidities.  We had heavy rain last night, and it seems to be fueling more storms on the way later today, but onto the most recent report!

WOW, what a week it has been.  The cool weather greeted our bear hunters with heat and humidity building to a high on Tuesday in the upper 80’s.  We did receive some relief but as I wrote above, the heat is back.  Bear hunters went out in earnest, and Happy Camp had its FIRST KILL at 5:55 p.m.  Mike Fuge shot a beautiful 300 pound Bear on Bait#6  in the Happy Camp BMA after seeing two other bear in just about one hour of hunting.  After returning to camp, we got to sleep around 4 a.m.  Mike Schaefer saw two smaller bears that he decided not to shoot at.    The camp was buzzing as the hunters shared their evening’s hunts with each other.

Sunday came, and it was Mickey’s turn.  He shot a beautiful bear with a large white chest patch with his 45/70 Rifle, dropping the beast in its tracks.  Again the buzz of bear hunting filled the airs until the wee hours of the morning. Keith had a bear right below his stand near dark and noticed it as he was lowering his bow.  He quickly tried to raise his bow back up, but unfortunately it made a noise and the large bruin took off into the boreal forest!  No bears were seen at any other stands that evening!

Monday dawned and my how the heat came, with the sun beating down on the hunters.  Happy Camp hunters went out early to the woods with Donna at Bait #4 and Keith at Bait #5.  The phone rang at Happy Camp shortly after 5 p.m.  Keith had hit a bear and Chris headed out to assist.  Upon arrival at Bait #5, Keith came over and gave me the biggest hug I have ever had in my life, they had found his Bear!  Keith’s bear was the largest one taken at Happy Camp this year and weighed around 350 pounds!  Keith indicated that Donna had chirped him on her walkie talkie, and she would only do this if she had hit a bear.  Keith, Mike and Chris headed into Bait #4 where Donna was sitting.

After a short track, DONNA HAD HER BEAR!  So the first time bear hunters  husband and wife team of Donna and Keith had scored on the same day!  While other hunters had not seen any bears that evening, Happy Camp was filled again with talk well into the next morning.

The next few days were quiet as the heat put the bears a little slow.  Mike Schaefer and Jason were having tough luck while the others had filled their tags.  Friday morning came and the last day.  Jason and Mike went out fishing with Chris and each caught their first Walleye.  Could their luck be changing?

We returned around 1:00 p.m. and had a great fish fry.  Jason asked Chris to go fishing, but Tammy, Jason’s soon to be bride, insisted he go hunt despite Jason’s attempts to change her mind.  Shortly before 3 p.m. the two hunters went to their stands.

Night fell on Happy Camp, Mike was the first to come in.  Mike had seen a Bear but not been successful.  Jason came in shortly after this, came into camp and started telling his story.

Jason missed a 290 pound beast at about 3 yards from his stand.  The brute walked about 15 yards away and turned. Jason stuck him with his exploding broadhead and brought him down in about 50 yards!  Once again the camp was buzzing.

A great crew of trackers including Jason, Roger, Tammy, Conan, Doug and Chris headed out and brought back the last of Happy Camp’s hunters bears at 11:00 p.m. Friday night.

Scott Fitzgearald from Missouri  spent some time at camp with his son Brenden after he shot a Bear near Bound Lake.  Thanks, Scott, for your assistance in skinning and cutting the bears!

So as you can see the week was filled with much excitement, and the camp was blessed with 10 of the best people we could ever ask for.  Not to forget, Roxy, Dan’s German Sheperd was a great play mate for Magoo during Happy Camp’s 2013 Bear hunt.  And Savannah had an awesome game of Yahtzee with four yahtzees in one game!!!

Sadly last night Happy Camp was silent.  Our hunters and new friends had departed and a hush has fallen over Happy Camp!

From Chris, Jamie, Magoo, and Roger, we want to thank you all for a memorable, fantastic Bear Hunt 2013.  We were blessed to have you as customers and hope you find your way back to Happy Camp soon!

We hope that this if the first of many exciting, memorable hunts at Happy Camp!  So what you waiting for, come on and catch the good life with us in beautiful Northern Ontario at Happy Camp!

Hi, folks!  It is the eve of the 2013 bear hunt and the cool, wet weather has continued.  By the way, our baits are being clobbered each day.  We are excited to see what how the hunt develops.

Weather certainly is showing signs of fall.  Leaves are changing and the cool nights as well as days are not helping.  We did reach 70 the other day, followed by an all day rain and a high of 51.  Today it did not rain and was 60 for the high, hope the dry trend continues!!

The first migrators have showed up from the north. Flickers, nighthawks, robins and some kestrals have been seen along with our loons that fly over twice a day, morning and night to say Good Morning and Good Night as they soar over the lodge!

Fishing continues to be up and down, and we hope to get out fishing yet this week to give you a first hand update.  Reports have been spotty at best, but a boat has been seen at Ichi Lake the last two times I went bear baiting, so they must be catching something!

Our garden is in full bloom, and we have peas and a few small beans!  If it stays warm until December, we might have tomatoes, but we think that will not happen?

Magoo is anxiously waiting for the bird season which opens on September 10.  She is excited to put her teeth around some fresh feathers!!

Check back in hopes of some new exciting pictures from our bear hunters as well as fall fisherman, bird and moose hunters!  We have a few openings left for this year, so what are you waiting for, come on and catch the good life with us in beautiful Northern Ontario at Happy Camp!