TennesseeGuy

Late in our stay we fished the mouth of Nungesser River and were pounding walleyes while viewing a great Canadian sunset, when a strong storm moved in from the north and chased us to our cabin before the pike moved in. What goes around comes around, but can take up to 44 years. In 1962, Virg had just finished his junior year of high school when we took him on his first fishing trip to Canada. This was his second trip and he along with Jim, another high schooler from back then helped me get up and down the highway last May. I've learned that it takes well over a year to recover from the types of back surgeries I had, let alone less than 5 months of recovery time for me when we headed up yonder last May. The two youngsters, who are now drawing social security, did most of the driving while I was flat on my back on the second seat of the truck. I called in a favor and they responded. My lack of smiles in the fish photos was due to pain. Ever see one of those 1-10 pain charts. I was putting out sixes, sevens and maybe eights on the pictures I didn't post. We made it back to our cabin before the storm got too close and here's a shot of some hail from our cabin door. Jason, you could come along if you didn't have so many snow days to make up. Tom, I'm into this mostly to get myself jump started.

Wayne, I've been on both, but don't know anything about Birch Lake. Our party of 6 took off in Kirsten's 18 a couple of years ago for a 140 mile flight to Cobham River Outpost. Without weighing the load, she left a case of beer and a case of water on the dock. The floats were riding high. I'll never ride with her again. Her equipment is good and she's a good pilot, but I don't want any more rides with her.

Better late or better never? We'll find out. Pete Cay was our driver for the flight to Little Vermilion late Friday afternoon on May 19, 2006, which was the day before walleye opener. We managed to get in a few hours of pike fishing the first night. Due to the early spring we didn't find pike or walleyes in the usual spots during our nine day stay in camp. Mark and Adam (OFNers on the old board) from Green Bay, WI were in camp for the May 6 week and they boated plenty of fat pike. Our fish were on the move and well scattered over the lake. Most had been off their feed and showed it with their skinny bellies. We got our share of fish, but had to work hard to find them. I managed to land at least one 40" or better on 7 of the 9 days we were on the water. Our fishing was well below the usual opening week. Walleyes were there for us although we caught small to medium fish. They did well in the fish cooker and even better on our plates. Here's my first fish of the trip and she bit on a 1/4 oz jig and 3" grub. Got her in the deeper water just above the second rapids of Rathouse River. This one came in the afternoon of our last day just off Walleye Point, again on a jig and grub. This was the weakest May trip I can remember, but I'll remedy that by going in May 11 or 12 in 2007 for a three week visit. -----if the ice is gone by then. We caught fewer and smaller pike than any other May since I've been heading north. They were not hitting big baits and they didn't seem to be hitting walleyes. We didn't catch any walleyes that had been taken by pike and we didn't have pike hit walleyes as we brought them in, which was unusual. We'll see how friendly this picture posting is for me and maybe I'll add a couple more.

Does your mechanic have a loaner that's available to you? If you bought your vehicles from a local dealer they might be willing to let you "try out" one of their vehicles for a couple of days. Let them know up front that you are without a ride for a day or two and would like to drive a ____________________ to see what it's like. Loaners are available where my vans are serviced and many body shops provide a loaner while they do work on yours. Body shops usually put you in a beater that should have a limited radius.

Mike, I suggest you make a dozen more attempts at booking. With high activity on the site there's a good chance that spots appeared to be booked, but were not actually finalized. Usually they're held for a few minutes while people try to make up their mind. Look for availabilities around 4:30 a.m.a couple of times and you might be rewarded. Be ready to grab a cancellation.

Right Wayne. My fishing money is so well hidden that it sometimes takes days for me to find it.

Armed with blind faith in our global economy I bought 2 Roth IRA first thing this morning with just two clicks on the keyboard. Just like the guy on TV, except I wasn't charged a fee. We'll soon know how smart I am. Or the other thing.................................... Didn't make a big buy because I don't have big money.

All we lost was house money if we've been invested for any length of time. Alan Greenspan did his part for today's drop by talking about the end of a cycle and a coming recession. IMO he's been greatly over rated. I see him more as a cause of crashes in the market rather than a predictor. He's had too much power and has played with us at our expens, in many cases. We seem to all be in the same boat with our investing in the stock market. We don't have a lot of money and need to bet on the market to make our investments grow. People with big money go into safer places such as bonds. They don't have to grow theirs. Just need to protect it. China is down again on the 28th and tomorrow's going to be a little early for me to buy. My wife and I are eligible to buy two Roth IRAs for 2007 at the catchup amount. I think anyone over 50 can buy a $5000 Roth if they have earned income for the year. I don't have to sweat the age requirement.

What we have is a buying opportunity. Selling at a 3 or 4% discount. Count me in.

Government redistributes income. Government produces nothing. I won't be counting on my government to control the price of anything.

Avoid being a victim of oil pricing by investing your retirement money in energy funds. Why not own the companies that you do business with? Your IRA in energy will do better than it would in Ford Motor Company. Go with winners and be a winner. Or..................................................

Ben, you just saved Trapshooter a trip to the DQ. Great information.

Crude oil was at $50 U.S. a barrel a short time ago. It's now above $60 U.S. per barrel and the OPEC county leaders are happy. A pretty hefty jump at 20%. Still better than the $72 high.

And here's the rest of the story........................ June 7 we'll have put 49 years into our marriage. We've had a great run and it's getting better by the day.

OPEC countries started cutting production when prices of raw oil began dropping, resulting in several severe cuts. We enjoyed a lag, but now the cuts are having an effect. Demand is increasing due to colder weather and more travel. Supply is down due to cuts. Supply and demand control prices. Government control of prices would only make the situation worse in the long run. We're still suffering from price freezing in the 70's.

Lac Seul is a great Lake just a short drive north of Dryden. Buy a good map of the area and take it with you to the only Dairy Queen in Dryden. Louise, manager at DQ, will show you how to drive to a boat launching site and might give you some tips on where/how to find huge walleyes. Lac Seul also holds muskies and pike, but it's a super walleye fishery. Enjoy your meal at DQ and good luck fishing. I doubt you'll find a better lake to fit your travel plans.

priceline.com check the tutorial for hints. hotwire.com would be my second choice

fishbait, since we're the first going in on May 12 (if the ice is gone) I'm hoping to fly in late on Friday, May 11. Otherwise I'd stay at the Chukuni River Campground that's located halfway between Red Lake and Balmertown. The campground is about 150 yards from where the floatplane spends the night. Balmer Motor Inn is better, but the boycott is still on. I owe it to my dog. Tom, I make lots of stops. 5 for fuel, one for tackle shopping, and once at the border. Don't allow my riders to drink anything until the gas gauge is down to 1/4. Stop only for gas and a quick trip to the restroom. Gander Mountain and the beer store rate a short stop. Lots of rules to enforce.

Wow. Front cover is quite an accomplishment. How do you follow this one? Is a centerfold in the works?

You have great neighbors. I suppose Beau is about to become a man. If your house is to the north of theirs I may have met your wife about six years ago, around the time a beaver was taking down your best tree. Hopefully I'll be in your neighborhood either in May or July of 2007. You have a beautiful spot on Gullrock Lake and the walleye fishing is good. I remember how to get to your house. Going north, turn right on the last road before Bug River bridge. I'm finding it tough to wait until May 12 when I head for Little Vermilion. I'm not really hijacking fishbait's thread, just letting him know he'll be among some really nice people when he visits your area.

Good job. Thanks for sharing your experience.

grt1, I checked your profile and saw the photo of you holding a nice fish. Was it taken on Flat Lake? I looked into buying a house at Starratt Olsen a few years ago. Lots of moose out that road.

Doug, you guys must be great fishermen to be able to boat all the fish your need in only four days in camp. I need at least two weeks. Being a tight/frugal yank I pitch my tent and eat from my ice chest. Unless I catch a late afternoon plane I'll be spending the night with Ralf at Chukuni River Campground. grt1 am I right that you are on Gullrock Lake? Do you know my long time friends, Kim and Wendy? Camping works for me. Staying in motels usually requires making reservations and I don't like to be pinned down on where I have to spend the first night. Balmer Motor Inn is fine and their food is as good as any, but I've boycotted the place for the past 8 years because they turned away my dog when we wanted to come in out of the snow for a night in October. They've accepted lots worse guests than my dog. I know because they were with me. Some dogs were OK, but not mine and the desk Nazi didn't even see her. Her decision probably cost the motel a few thousand dollars of lost business over the years. My ride was weathered in on Warrington Lake and we spent two nights in Ralf's campground. Asleep at 7 p.m. and up at 8 a.m. with the tent flap open around 3 a.m. so Beatrice could go for a short run and a squirt. The stay didn't hurt us.

Chris Lindner

It's interesting, but almost too much stuff to try watching. It's a downer to switch from the race in HiDef to HotPass in SD. Another bumber - Race telecast and all HotPass channels have commercials at the same time. I might change my mind, but I doubt if I buy the package after today's free trial. Man, those flags are starched today. Everybody enjoy the race.