Catching the Good Life in the Canadian Wilderness

Good Morning Happy Campers.  Catfish Chris here with a Happy Camp Update!  Winter was not kind to us at Happy Camp, with us losing satellites as well as a large Pine fell on Cabin 1.  But with a lot of creative thinking by Roger, a sharp saw cut from Buck, Larry pushing with a pole and me standing on the roof pushing, we were able to slide the tree off the roof sending it crashing to the ground!  To say that was a relief is an understatement!

Many trees were taken down at camp and one large one was secured to be taken down!  The tree was roped up about 25 feet, tied to Roger’s Tracker, Buck had it wedged, Larry and I stuck the tree hard with push poles.  As Buck cut the tree twisted and shifted heading straight for the Lodge Porch roof!  Roger pulled as hard as he could as Larry and I pushed the poles in hopes that the tree would miss the porch!  Down she came with a thunderous BANG!

Now you ask, where did it land and how does this tale end?  Well, that remains to be seen and when you come to Happy Camp you will see for yourself!!

But the crew is sore, but many items were completed when we left camp for the US yesterday!

For Shirley, Larry fixed the steps so you can run up and down them to your hearts content!

For Jim, Buck hopped on the roof and stopped the water so it does not fog your glasses when you clean fish!

For Barry, Roger cut the trees and left a scratching or wishing pole at the camp for you to wish for a bigger Walleye than the 28″ you landed last year!

For Doug and all the Moose hunters, we will work hard to get TV so you can watch each World Series Game the Brewers play this fall in the Classic!

Speaking of Mr. Webster, or Doug as we like to call him at Moose Camp, Good Luck at the Pan-Am Games and your umpiring!  If you ump anything like you run the card game, we have nothing to worry about!

Water is still very cold and high, we have seen the level recede slightly by week’s end. The water was almost out of the woods by Thursday, keep your fingers crossed it will continue to recede so we can get the dock and boats into White Otter!  The tunnels at the Oswain were almost to the top on Monday, but by Thursday they were half full!  We did spend a little time fishing on the creek and river, catching a few Pike.  The Oswain brought us a couple of nice ones about 30 inches that Larry brought back to Milwaukee for he and Kathy to share!

Logging continues in the area in a big way.  North, South, East and West, they are cutting, cutting and cutting and of course hauling!  Roads are bumpy as normal, so take it easy coming into camp!

On a trip back from Manitouwadge, Larry and I took the Huzak at KM 12 on the Fry to the right.  Follow this on the left and it is Thomas Lake Road which will lead you to the main road at the stop sign.  Turn right and follow your way to Happy Camp!  Pretty good road and one can see the major cutting going on in that area!

Bunnies, Bunnies everywhere!  What a pleasure too see that many Bunnies have popped up in our travels!  Along with those, we also saw numerous Grouse, Fox, of course squirrels, but then again 5 Bear and 3 Moose!  So, the animals have woke from the winter and running around the area as well!

As I packed the truck before leaving, the Loons were heard singing through the woods.  What a beautiful sound we hope you all can experience when you come to Happy Camp this year!

We look forward to another great year with each and every one of you and the adventures that lay ahead!  If you don’t have your spot saved yet, give us a call or shoot us an email today to Come and Catch the Good Life with Us at Happy Camp Ontario!  Safe travels everyone!

Good Evening and Hello Happy Campers.  Catfish Chris here with a short update.  Soon the Happy Camp area will be alive with us and we are excited to get up there and get going for the year!  With another ton of snow this winter, the water levels should again be incredible.  This should mean another fantastic fish hatch leading to good fishing for many years to come!

We want to remind everyone to update their Outdoor card if needed as well as get their fishing license.  You can do this online or at various places along the way.

Back in the states, temperatures have soared to the upper 80’s earlier this week, but limited rain the bug hatch has been minimal.  But, don’t fret, we have started to see the biters,  Black Flies and Mosquitos as well as a ton of ticks!  Thank God the Happy Camp region does not have ticks!

We hope everyone is as excited to get up to Camp as we are, especially Sadie who is eager to meet all of the Happy Campers!  If you are looking for a wonderful place to come and enjoy a great adventure, Whatcha waiting for, shoot us a message or give us a call today to reserve your spot so you too will Come and Catch the Good Life with Us at Happy Camp Ontario!

Good Evening and Happy Spring Happy Campers!  It is late Sunday evening and I am writing to you as the screen doors are open for the first time this year, OOOh what a rush!

Spent most of the day outside with the dogs working on a Pontoon boat that we have for sale.  Strings of Geese flew most of the day heading north as well as all kinds of birds have arrived to their summer homes.  The houses are repaired and cleaned ready for their tenants!  Soon it will be Mosquito season, lovely eh!

Sadie and Magoo continue to learn about each other and each day brings new sights and sounds!  Sadie learned what the sound of an outboard was as well as a tractor today, both she scared a little but quickly got over those issues!

Knot 2 Kinky will be around Happy Camp this year!  What is that you ask, well stop in and see just what I am talking about and you will be amazed.  We all will have to learn the perfection knot, but that could be a session in the lodge tying and shooting the breeze over a Cold Hard Cider!  Speaking of Cider, Stevens Point Brewery has made Cider Boys in many different varieties and it sure is tasty!  I wonder if any of our friends to the north have sampled it?  Maybe we should bring a few up to the Camp?

Soon we will be heading up to Happy Camp for the first of a few trips, keep your fingers crossed that gas prices stay in check!  For our US Happy Campers, at last check the US dollar is doing great, paying $1.25 for the old Green Back, way to go Red White and Blue!

Time to get the girls fed, I am sure all of you are gonna love Sadie, she is a Big Barking Beauty!  We look forward to seeing you all again and we have a couple spots left, so whatcha waiting for, give us a call or shoot us an email today to save your spot for your adventure and Catch the Good Life with Us at Happy Camp Ontario!!!

Good afternoon and Hoppy Easter Happy Campers!  First of all I am so glad we made it through winter and spring has arrived!  We had our first rain storm of the season early this morning!  All kinds of waterfowl are moving through the area on their ways to the breeding grounds!

We have more exciting news, Sadie Jean has joined our crew and a playmate of Magoo!  Sadie is a large yellow Lab that came to us through SPCA rescue in the Bay City, Texas area and found her way through SPCA in Tomah, Wisconsin.  Sadie loves to romp in the bushes with Magoo and most likely will enjoy the Happy Camp Wilderness as well?

More news, Knot2Kinky, an amazing fishing leader product has agreed to allow us to try their new materials with our Happy Camp Fisherman this year!  Knot2Kinky is a material that we will be able to cut to length as well as tie it directly to our rigs or make leaders for Pike!  You will be simply amazed by this product and we all will have to learn how to tie the Perfection Loop which they recommend tying to your lure!

We are eager to get up to Happy Camp, get the camp in shape and ready for all of you  who have reserved your spots.  Right now, we have little room until early August and even our Grouse hunting cabins are about half full!  As always, thank you for keeping Happy Camp what it is, a great place for great people to gather and enjoy the Canadian Wilderness Adventures and all that they offer!

With that I bid you a Happy Easter, wonderful Spring and maybe its time to get the list for Happy Camp ready, eh.  If you’re still looking for an adventure in 2015, shoot us a message or drop us a line, we’d love to hear from you and soon you too can be Coming and Catching the Good Life with us at Happy Camp Ontario!!

Good afternoon Happy Campers!  We have reached early March and we are edging ever closer to Happy Camp 2015!  Possibly Mother nature has eased her fierce Winter Grip as the snow banks are shrinking ever so slightly.

In my travels to teach music in the last few days, I saw my first Flocks of Geese in Eastern Wisconsin.  With little snow over there, soon the spring birds will be in earnest and Cranes hopping and chirping all over the place!  In addition, I saw 3 adult Bald Eagles on my trek back home from Freedom last night and think they are starting to gear up to head north soon too!

We continue to fill our spots weekly and have filled a couple weeks of Grouse hunting and that should be very interesting with many hunting dogs in camp, whatever will Magoo do!  So if you are contemplating coming up for an adventure in 2015, don’t hesitate, get in touch with us today!

As we look forward, ideas continue to spin around.  We were able to grab another portable outboard for remote lakes, now we have 2!  Where will we go with these, to Bound, Fran, BeaverCross, SnowFlake, Downer, or the river!  So much to explore, so little time to do this, where ever do we start?  Guess we will find out not soon enough!

In regards to hunting, I have written to the MNR and sent in ideas to help improve the Moose Herd.  Surprisingly, they have responded and said they liked the ideas and will be sending them along with their ideas to the governing bodies of the Ontario government yet this spring!  We will keep our fingers crossed and hope for the best, time will tell!

Thank you to all of you who we have met and continue to talk to on a daily basis in regards to Happy Camp Ontario, all the wonderful area has to offer and the adventures that await soon!  Take care and whatcha waiting for, Come On and Catch the Good Life with Us at Happy Camp Ontario!

Hi Happy Campers!  It looks like Mid winter has set in with a sharp cold snap and wind from the north, nasty cold for a week or so!  Maybe that will lead to warm spring, time will tell!

Some fine Happy Camper sent me a Moose Proposal to curb the Calf Harvest by closing that season until October 24, 2015.  It also appears that they will be closing the season earlier for all Moose as well.  This is in hopes to re-build a herd that has been diminishing for a handful of years!

The MNR also pointed out that the predators are the main reason for the numbers going down.  To me the predators are Wolf, Bear and Man.   It would seem natural to try to reduce the predator numbers as well.  Certainly got our fingers crossed that we get a Spring Bear hunt in 2016, again time will tell!

I spent the day visiting with Folks at a Sports Show in Central Wisconsin.  Met people from Traditional Archer Groups, Bear hunting fellows and the Ruffed Grouse Society to mention a few.  Was great to chat with them about all the Happy Camp area has to offer!  Also plan to have some new angry Spinner Baits for the Pike to chase this year.  Hope their skirts hold up better than the ones we have used in the past!

With that I wish you a great day, time to go devour a plate of Ribs, taters and Kraut!  Hey Dan, we are fresh our of your great Kraut, how about sending us a can in the mail?  Take care everyone and Come On and Catch the Good Life with Us at Happy Camp Ontario!!!

Good Morning Happy Campers!!!!  Catfish Chris with a short update on the rumblings of Happy Camp Ontario!

Ground Hog Day came with our fellow apparently not seeing his shadow, but he did take a bite out of an ear close to him, what’s up with that??  Hickory is starting to show a little lift in his step and he trotted around the pasture the other day, so maybe spring is on the horizon quickly?  Last night while traveling to Tigerton for the Pep Band to play, I saw around 100 deer in a picked cornfield!  That was amazing and interesting to see that many deer in the area which is nice to see as our woods has been pretty quiet until last night 3 small Whitetails walked through the yard!

July 25th Happy Camp will be hosting the 1st Take a Vet Fishing!  We are excited to be working with these vets and hope they Catch the Good Life while they are staying with us and adventuring the Happy Camp Area!  We hope to have a few Canadian vest stop in to say hi, a chat or join us in this adventure?  I also hope for an early spring so they can partake in some berry picking which was pretty slim last year especially in July!

Just this morning we were chatting about the Happy Camp area and all of its wilderness and beauty!  Certainly in this day of losing land to development we truly are blessed with what we have and are able to share with you!  We are also blessed with each of you coming and sharing an adventure with us and we look forward to 2015 and beyond!  For those of you who have not caught this wonderful opportunity, are spots for 2015 are closing quickly.

So whatcha waiting for, give us a call or shoot us an email today to save your spot to Come and Catch the Good Life with us at Happy Camp Ontario!  Take care everyone.

Good Morning and Happy Groundhog Eve Happy Campers!  As we near the special day, winter has come back with a vengeance here!  Snow, wind and cold have once again become the norm but maybe for a short time, time will tell?

Happy Campers have been buzzing around with many messages and reservations.  In the last week we have booked people from Pennsylvania and Colorado, as well as working on a trip with some Veterans, hope that falls into place for them!

On another note, I have started teaching music in Tigerton and after 2 days we were performing for the Basketball game!  What fun we are having studying and making music in that tiny town in central Wisconsin!

With Groundhog Day tomorrow, we hope the heavy clouds stay in tact so the fat little fellow will look over his shoulder early tomorrow and see nothing, thus blessing us with an early Spring!  With the even of an early spring, it brings us closer to Happy Camp!

Good Luck with all your Ground hog Day Festivities  and Come on and Catch the Good Life with us at Happy Camp Ontario!!

Greetings from cloudy, cool and windy central Wisconsin!  Many birds and squirrels are hustling around looking for food!  The feeders are full with sunflower and thistle seeds as well as suet and peanut butter for the critters!  A Pileated Woodpecker has shown its face in the yard, spends its time eating leftover berries, what’s up with that!

I spent the day yesterday with some friends who have frequented Happy Camp!  We spent the day fishing Lake Julia, a lake nestled near the edge of a national forest in North East Wisconsin!  We caught fish after fish as flags flew and jig poles bounced with excitement from Perch after Perch after Perch!!  Too bad most were Twirps!  Smiles abounded everywhere but the voices rang clear, There’s No Place like Happy Camp!!

What a nice thing to hear over and over, and late in the day a Bald Eagle soared over to join in the conversation!  Maybe he is spending the winters on Lake Julia and his summers at Happy Camp, hmmm, never know do you?

Mid winter blues spent chatting with friends about our favourite place, Happy Camp!  From woods and waters to fish, birds bear, moose and beyond, fantastic to hear all the Happy Camp talk!  Furthermore, this week chatting with people from Pennsylvania to Illinois and Colorado and beyond, the Happy Camp Bee’s are buzzing!  Even talk of a Pike Fly Fishing group coming to Happy Camp!

Flip the coin and we talk about hunting!  From Bear supplies to gun permits, wonderful Grouse hunting and pounding away at Moose tags, there is not much down time for the Happy Camp Crew!

Some down time may be in the future as Magoo and I plan on heading to North Dakota to fish a bit and work with some students, but that’s weeks down the road!  For now, we continue to teach English and sub in central Wisconsin, watch the birds, and chat with many, many people that have come and caught the Good Life!

But for the few who have not been stung by the Happy Camp Bees, Whatcha waiting for, give us a call or message us today and Come and Catch the Good Life with us at Happy Camp Ontario!!!

Good Afternoon and Happy New Year Happy Campers!  Winter has come back to central Wisconsin with fresh snowfall and the coldest weather of the year to hit us tomorrow!  Temps are expected to reach around -30 and that’s cold wherever you are and whatever thermometer you look at!!

With the return of winter, the birds have also found their way back to the feeders.  From Pileated Woodpeckers to Juncos, Cardinals and many others, they are spending much of the days at our feeding stations!  We have also made a couple of peanut butter feeders out of old logs that have yet to be visited, but only been hanging for a day!

With each passing day we are looking forward to the 2015 season at Happy Camp and seeing all of our old friends and making new ones as they make their way to Happy Camp and the shores of Beautiful White Otter Lake!

We hope you all had a wonderful Holiday season and are looking forward to the new year and all it can bring!  Hopefully Happy Camp is already etched in your plans, but if not, whatcha waiting for,  give a shout or email today to save your spot and Come on and Catch the Good Life with us at Happy Camp Ontario!!