Moosebunk

Horny bush broad! Used to follow me everywhere in Northern Ontario.

You know man, weather ain't looking too bad for part of next week. May just be time left afterall. Boat is ready to go again. lol

Is it a tiger for sure? It's a real clean and healthy fish.

Thanks guys! Wish fall would last 6 months of the year, gonna be a long haul ti'll the next round.

Had one of those days in the basement yesterday which started at the desktop around 9:00am and ended there 'bout midnight. Did go upstairs to fry some of last November's Quinte walleye catch, pour a gin and have a nice family dinner. The fish was actually fine, I store it with the arctic char, incredibly over-wrapped-up and inside a styrofoam cooler in the freezer. Seems to keep any burn off, we had 16 month old char last week and it was good too. Fried the walleye though in a third Shake N Bake, third buttermilk pancake mix and a third Hint of Roasted Garlic crushed Tostitos, the girls really liked it a lot. Walleye were one fish I didn't get after this autumn at all. Maybe there's still time but the boat has dug itself pretty deep into the garage now under a blanket of anxious ice fishing gear. It's a shame I'm outta of walleye though, cause I need a physical exam and work note for a new job but I don't have a family Doc at the moment. One guy who's offered is always asking for walleye and it slipped the mind that I was gonna pay for that visit with him in fillets. Co-workers are always after me fish, heck I had to trade char for a CPR recert last fall. About that day yesterday though, some time and motivation got the juices flowing to do some writing and it so happened I got caught up on some seasonal articles for the site. To the "Home Angling" section, reports on gar, muskies and sturgeon were posted because it was a pretty good year of fishing for 'em, some HUGE fish were caught and I figured may as well be a show-off about it. Easy to read stuff, nothing too artsy, just the blow-by-blows really. Sooooo, if no one is going to get offended about things, go on ahead and look at some fish if you like. Click on the titles below to link... LOVING ALL THAT YOU GAR. MATTERS OF MUSKIE. THE STURGEONEERS. Won't be long gang! Santa, some ice for our drinks and cheer, then hardwater fun. See ya out there! Bunk.

I hate pike!

Skis and eyes are beauties Simon. Great fall for ya. Soon be on the ice!

Thanks fellas! Bill, I can see this trip happening again some years down the road. For big lakers there is no better place than Bear. For numbers, Arctic Circle may be hard to beat as well. Won't be heading back anytime soon, cause it's kind of a case of been there, done that at the moment... but as years go by plenty places are worth a revisit and, changing it up with a different group can make it new again. You and the missus as part of a group of 12 would be great! Of all the northern spots for bucketlist lakers, this should be the top one.

Some days now I can't remember what fishing stories get passed along where, and that's weird cause I write about half what I used to. Early Old Timers starting, who knows? What I do know is that it was a miserable rainy day today and that being so I slipped away back into some Arctic sun my missus, friends and self all enjoyed this past July... Arctic Circle Lodge is a self-guided fishing experience on Great Bear Lake NWT and it is there where lake trout numbers are just absolutely staggering. Some years back I think it was about 285 fish Bren and I caught over the six days fishing with some good big greys in the mix. This year little had changed except that we were a group of six instead of two. BIG, BIG fish this summer too, Bren caught her first over 40 pounds while other's picked up PB's as well. With a drone along, my buddy captured some great videos and photos, including the photoshoot and release of Bren's giant. The extra shots make this report something special. Anyways, it's a cool read, loaded with pictures and for those whose fishing is slowing down, it's good and free entertainment to pass the time. Here's the link... Strokes & Putts Fish Plummer's Arctic Circle Lodge. Later doods! :)

You were lucky Lew. And hear I thought I was doing well never hooking myself in like 20 years, and only ever sinking a couple trebles into the wife's scalp. Yikes! The freezing has served me we well with other's mishaps.

What David said... And Touching sentiments, she's still within you.

Quite the stories from here both ends. Geeesh!

Two recent videos fishing muskie. One when things went smoothly, one when things turned my poor daughter green. lol. Careful out there alone, had another close call last Sunday too, near buried a hook into my thumb with a muskie attached. The second fish of the day (the one in the video), all those hooks were cut to make quick and safe work. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SIOXFT4m8u4 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=83K8DeW4iHA

Beauties the both of 'em! Should be proud of the work you put into raising one and restoring the other.

Like those eyes Jimmer!

Thing of it be Chris... wasn't with an outfitter, technically I just chartered a plane. Fred had no obligations to me except drop-off and pick-up and, I think because guests of his lodge fly everyday to their various fishing spots, he likely considers the Ekaluk just another one of those spots. To be fair, if the char had been running as expected, everyone would have had ample room and fish there. Only thing I would have changed if I could go back in time is the planned dates to be there. Could have easily pushed to extend my contract for another week of work, changed flights home and simply gone to the Ekaluk 5 to 7 days later. But instead a different experience unfolded and as you said, it made for an interesting read all the same. There's one fish that will always be a bigger deal because of everything it took to catch it. That's really cool in and of itself. As far as Dollies versus char, they're both exceptional fish in exceptional places. Just happened to be lucky enough to catch some of both for comparison. Thanks for reading guys,

Real good question Glen. Guess for the most part it's anytime I can get somewhere new. So different from home right, so that makes it interesting. So very remote with a feeling of BIG, like vast, which gives it a cool vibe. Been mostly in the Kitikmeot region and a little in the Kivaliq the lands tend to be more flat but there's always places at these places that are very scenic. Cambridge Bay where I just was, isn't as scenic as Taloyoak or Kugaaruk, maybe not even Coral Harbour where it's flatter lands too, but in the pictures here there's some very nice land to view. The Baffin scenery is best and hopefully one day I can showcase that here... Unfortunately the work can be suicidal there so I tend to stay away. Anyhow, it does please the eyes overall because even barren, it's just a neat kinda different that gets me thinking at times about the life and lives that live on in. Thanks BigCreek! Will admit, this story took twice as long as usual to write. Hard to shake the dust off and then find the stride. Thanks for the compliment, no question do I like writing a good story that others will enjoy reading. You're soooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo overdue for char Bill.

You make it through? lol... A long one yes, the Bear is coming next, just finished. We'll all see each other this fall. You know Pics... Would like that yes but, do or don't not sure it'd matter. The big char on the final day is a special one that for plenty reasons won't ever be outdone. That said, if Bren could be there too that's how I'd want it to happen if there's a next time.

Nobody ran Mercs where I lived in the north for 10 years, NOBODY!!! Everyday crossing the river for work with the boat taxis never remember seeing one. All Yammies or Hondas for reliability. The odd Rude. In Nunavut too, Mercs don't even exist, have yet to see one. Sea goers don't choose them, it's mostly Yammies then Honda. These people don't have access to Marinas and certified mechanics. They can't get warranty work done without paying $100's to even $1000's to ship a motor out. They choose reliability. Been going to Nipigon for 10 years, sometimes 2 or 3 times a year. Pay attention to what's at the docks. Yammies outnumber Mercs 2 or 3 to 1, no Bull. Guys on big water seem to know. Honda is popular too Guided and fished with Mercs on fly-ins... half the time something was annoying about these motors and my next report coming was same thing with a BRAND NEW Merc. Visited Plummers this summer, all new Mercs there, couple of the veteran guides were wishing otherwise. Main complaint, they won't slow troll smoothly, constantly needing attention to throttle. My good, good buddy, certified mechanic with Merc and Yamaha motors with the local dealership I use, recommends Yamaha as he notices far less service hours are needed for these motors. All good enough to sell me on the brand. Sold the last Yamaha with pushing 3000 hours after 8 seasons, only let me down once cause after 5 years of not changing the impeller, owner neglect got the better of me. Would likely never choose anything else but Yamaha.

Well it is a long one guys, so thank you for putting the time and effort in to feel what I'm putting down. Brian, Terry! Rooting for yas ti'll the end! For some time on this one I didn't feel there was much success happening at all. Get so wrapped up in the moment, the moods of each day and fish results, I returned to Cam Bay and told co-workers it was a tough time and in some ways not what was hoped for. Then I read the notes, pieced together the pictures with the words, included the Cam Bay prelude portion, how this all came together, meeting Aaron Wiebe and company, making connections, and everything about it. And through that, and finishing the story realize, it was pretty great all of it. And had the run been on and I slayed a hundred char, most would have been forgotten but probably one, or a few... Well, the one I got will never be forgotten at all. It was that much more a catch being how hard it was to come by, and it was a big char too.

Not writing nearly as many stories as in the past so this one was more of an undertaking than usual. Rusty man, but trying to get back into it after some great trips this summer with family, friends and this here solo stint in Nunavut. But anyhow, combined some play with work while in the Arctic this month and the whole experience unfolded into something different. Not what I expected at all, though probably what I needed, some cool surprises this was surely one to remember. Waaaay Up to Victoria Island to cover much air, sea, land and self in this "Quest For The Ekaluk," and its silver running char. Link to full story on the title here... A NUNAVUT NOMAD V. QUEST FOR THE EKALUK . . . . BUNK

Sad. One of the best 1000 series reels I had, for a good while was that Quantum PT with all the rainbow colors on it. It was the last two Symetres that both failed. One basically within weeks, the other months. Shimano took 'em in, supposedly fixed some faulty part, gave 'em back and one was done within the year. The other sees lighter use. Anyways, for what they are, paying $150 you'd expect better than a season or two out of them.

This won't open for me bud. ???

Stradics taxes in are like pushing $300. So $209 ain't bad but it is a 1000. You'd have better versatility here and a stronger drag on a 2500 to 3000. The 1000 for pike and lakers is better suited to ice fishing, you'd wear it out too quick for serious lakers and pike. Symetre are obviously out and the last few years they were making them they turned 'em into junk. I own eight and the last two stood up to nothing. Once upon a time they were workhorses and my oldest in the bunch are the ones still working best. Put those through Hell a thousand times over. So like you, I look around this price range and right now Shimano has the Nasci. Four SAIL store employees recommended this over the Quantum Smoke which had been marked down to close to the same price. I just put a 3000 Nasci to the first tests on arctic char and a 4000 on lakers. They started rough at the reel handle, like a slight little burr every third crank or so, but that's smoothing out a little now. If these reels fail I'll likely quit with Shimano awhile and move to Pfleuger or other options, but so far they seem OK. The Pleuger Patriarch is usually $269 but it's marked down to $149 at SAIL this week.

Never once! ? Hey guys, haven't been here in a long time. ?