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The text message was to my buddy Dan M. His reply was simply "Sounds good. I'm in". It was a much needed outing for me, and for once everything seemed to be falling in place perfectly. For Dan M, who has recently retired, it was a no brainer. I had to get through a ten day work stint in Red Lake first, which would put me back home mid week before the long weekend. Perfect. It's been forever since I've had such a luxury. Our plan was to run about 15 miles to a secluded island and set up camp for three or four days. Smack dab in the middle of Brook Trout heaven. Weather was nice and we had a great run up to the island. Even a secluded island has it's luxuries. A few hours in the boat that evening rewarded us with a couple of decent fish. It was more of an encouragement thing than anything else. The fish were biting. The weather was great. And the water temps were just about perfect for the type of fishing we were doing. Mid 50's. We were set up for some fun. I was excited to try out some new jigs that I recently purchased from a friend of mine. There's nothing like a good coleman stove brewed cup of java in the morning when you're tenting in God's country. It even seems fitting that you get a mouth full of coffee grounds with your last swig. I'm not sure why, but it just seems right out there. I'm gonna get right to the point here now. Dan M put on a trophy Brook Trout catching clinic for me this trip. He kicked my ass. I was relagated as net man. But I enjoyed every second of it. He started out Friday morning with this 23 inch beauty. We both saw it follow his jig to the boat and watched in awe as he dropped it back and watched the fish inhale it just a few feet from the boat. That sight will be etched in my mind for quite some time. Forever perhaps. Saturday morning we woke to brisk winds from the north with a couple of rain showers thrown in. We fished for a few hours in late morning with no photo worthy fish and then decided to relax on the island with a clearing forecast for the evening. In the late afternoon things starting looking up. View from the camp site. Before we went fishing we went for a wood run for the evening camp fire. Since Dan M was catching all of the fish, I sent him to shore to fetch the wood while I relaxed. There's a price to pay for everything. The weather that evening turned out beautiful, so off we went for some fishing. Guess what happened next? Yup. Dan M nails one of the nicest Brookies that I've seen in a couple years. 24 1/2" of pure gold. A male Brookie with all the bells and whistles. Girth. Color. Huge jaw. Incredibally thick across the back. This fish had it all. With the evening fast approaching, it was time to head back to our island to relax. And celebrate. I've stayed on the island a half dozen times before and I know that it offers an incredible sunset view at this time of year. So off I went with my camera to take it all in. I love this place. Ok. It's today now (Sunday). Time to pack up, which is never much fun. But we've got an hour or two to spare so we decide to........ GO FISHING!!! You'll never guess what happened next. Yup. Dan M nails another huge Brookie. 23 1/2 inches if I remember. I'm getting to be pretty good with the net at this point. That's pollen on the water beside the fish. What a fantastic weekend. Dan M. Your turn to be net boy next time.