FISH

Fishing is not a matter of life or death ...

it's way more important than that!

Most folks don't know the true pleasure of fishing. It's not just catching the fish, it's the enjoyment of all that surrounds that endeavor. The elements of nature including weather, birds, botany and wildlife all play a significant role in taking in an entirely fulfilling experience. Of course, if you can add an element of companionship with someone that enjoys this activity, well as George says, "It just don't get any better than this".

We returned to Twin Bears for our 2nd year in late September 2008. It was terrific. The weather was "user friendly" as we never had to don rain suits. Cold weather only turned up the last day when it dropped to 30's in the a.m. and warmed during day. What was different for us this year is that experience factor. Probably, in truth, last year we spent much of the time comparing this new location to our past experiences elsewhere. This year we spent the time appreciating what this area had to offer. The trips up and down the river really appealed to us and we took more time to enjoy them. On last day, returning from a morning of fishing in Indian Lake, Dottie requested, "Let's not go back so fast."

The Montreal River is a very scenic river that has many bends and lots of dead trees adorning the banks in a natural setting. Many Beaver lodges can be seen along the banks. Below you'll see a couple of shots along the river on our way back to camp.

We again enjoyed the overseeing of the Montreal River in the evenings, (see above photo) either from our cabin, or at the picnic table next to our cabin. We had the same cabin and it was but a short walk down to our dock and awaiting boat. Rick had made improvements to the steps as he added a railing this year (not shown) which Dottie appreciated.

We spent most of our time fishing the Indian Lake area of the river, which took about 20 minutes to travel. It's a large bay that opens and is surrounded along the edges by heavy plant growth. In front of these reed type weeds, which grew in about 2-3' of water, were thick cabbage weeds in 6-10' depth. These were the preferred locations of the Pike this week, just in front of the cabbage, for the bigger ones.

Below you'll see a bay at the far south end of Indian Lake, which reveals some of the great "weediness" that fills in about 75% of the edges.

One of the treats this way was the appearance of Bald Eagles. We had sightings almost every day and on one particular day, 6 were spotted. Several days, around noon one Eagle would schedule himself for a visit and after a fly-over would perch himself on nearby trees. We suspect if a fish was returned to lake in a damaged condition, it would provide lunch for him. We're happy to say we didn't provide lunch for the Eagles. He wasn't tame by any means but he did allow himself to pose for photo ops.

The fishing this year benefited from our previous years' experience. Though others in camp preferred to fish and catch Walleyes, we stayed pretty much with Pike all week. The trick wasn't finding Pike, it was in finding the larger Pike. By-in-large we probably caught bigger fish than the previous year. Rick had informed us that earlier anglers had luck with crank baits, which we tried without great success. When we took out our Mepps #5 spinner baits and our "5 of Diamonds" and "Fire Tiger" Daredevil spoons, we caught quite a few fish daily. Below you can see a couple of happy anglers. The fish that the "young" man is holding was on the last day and weighed about 15-lbs. and was of course released to grow bigger for us next year.

The camp was again well kept and our cabin was very nice, with spacious and well furnished kitchen. They provided many extras including radios and microwave. Electric heat was provided for in bedrooms and they even had a wood stove in kitchen for additional comfort. It should be noted very little heat was required during our stay as it was usually warm, but on early morning awakening, the electric base board heat felt good. Proof of the coolness on the last day can be see below as "Nanook of the North" enjoys her lunch on the lake.

Max again showed to be the one in charge at the camp as he would come and check out each visitor and would accompany and "protect" Janet about the camp. Rick demonstrated the training he had put into Max by showing us that he could "smell" food and not eat it until told to. Max made a daily stop at our cabin door to collect his entitled "cookie". We also enjoyed visiting Whiskey Jacks in the evening, who "allowed" us to share treats with them.

We can't say enough about how accommodating Rick and Janet were to make us feel right at home again. While Dottie didn't go out fishing every day, she spent time walking about the camp area and one day was able to accompany Janet into New Liskeard. Big mistake! They went to stores! So the following day, I was found taking Dottie back to a store in New Liskeard where she found a new coat of her liking. Tried telling her that only Canadians were allowed to purchase things in Canadian stores. That dog just didn't hunt!

Should you want to go Canada and have a really great experience, go to Twin Bears Resort and check out their excellent web site. We'd be happy to have you call us for any additional information we might be able to share about our fine experience. (614-882-9464)

Fishing is not only about going to Canada, which we try to do annually. It's about catching and releasing really nice fighting Channel Catfish here at home. Primarily we take the old Pontoon boat out early in the morning or late evenings for a chance to give exercise to these beauties that dwell in Hoover Reservoir in Columbus, OH.

This year was a good year for us on Hoover, as lake levels kept rather constant without the large draw-down. Here's examples of Fish Ohio Cats that was caught, kissed and released during the 2006 season. To learn more of the techniques we use, see the link below for "Reservoir Fishing For Channel Catfish ".