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July means many things to many people. It is the month of heat, humidty, long days, summer storms. It is also the month where, finally, all fish seasons are open. To me it is the month where my six day shifts at work end, and, I can finally get back to more time on the water. Late summer of last year Juli and I decided to finally take a vacation for just the two of us. Yup, no kids, no responsibilities, no clock! Just get out on water, eat, sleep, relax whenever we felt like it. Don't get me wrong, trips with the boys are great, but, we were ready for just some time on our own. Thus the planning began. I almost booked a fly in with Parks, how could you not be intrigued by their destinations after reading all of Mike's reports! However, the budget didn't allow it. So, after speaking with Sondra up at Happy Day, we ended up booking the cabin for two at our usual spot. The anticipation began. July 13th finally arrived, and, we were on the road north for our 11 hour (give or take) journey. The trip went well with only one hiccup west of Sudbury, a couple km long traffic jam due to bridge work. After that smooth sailing all the way. North of Iron Bridge we spotted some Sandhill Cranes, and, Juli was fortunate enough to actually get quite close to one for a few photos out of the truck window. This shot pretty much sums up my feelings as we got to within less than 100 kms of our destination. Made it to Lake Windermere around 5 pm, unpacked and threw a few burgers on the grill, itching to get out on the lake for a few hours. Finally on the lake, another moment of pure joy for me. We caught a bunch of smaller walleye in the few hours we were out. Didn't really bother with photos, however here's one Juli snapped off while holding one of the golden beauties. Sunset came all too quickly, back to the cabin for a good night's rest. The next morning we hit one of our hit and miss spots. For the first hour, or so, it was on fire. We took a few photos, but, didn't want to put our rods down for long. Walleye, smallmouth and pike were feeding well off the point. Back at the cabin, after a good morning's fishing, Juli made friends with the chipmunks. This little guy, must be going through withdrawal now that she isn't up there. The menu for that evening was a bit of "surf and turf". We had some bacon wrapped steak ready for dinner, but, kept one walleye to round out the meal. The next day, Juli got a nice 20"er off another great rocky point that has produced some decent fish in the past. The loons were everywhere that day. Here's a pic that I call "loon convention" I would be remiss if I didn't include one shot of a crayfish. Think we caught almost 10 of them between the two of us. First time we had ever caught any up there. The lake is full of them, and, is the main reason why the smallmouth are so fat, and, healthy. In fact, you would swear those Windermere smallies were on steroids. A whole different breed from the ones we catch down here. Now, I'm not saying that the smallmouth we catch here don't scrap... they most certainly put up a great battle! Windermere smallmouth, for the most part, are like southern smallmouth with a jet pack strapped to their dorsal!! Here's a shot of the largest smallmouth we landed during the trip, a 19 1/2" beauty that we found in a little out of the way cove. The clarity of the water enhanced the battle, as I got to watch every twist, turn, and, bulldog that hawg made. One jump right as Juli was about to net it, almost stopped my heart. Yeah we caught a bunch of walleye, and, pike that morning too. However nothing we deemed worth take pics of. We kept a couple walleye for dinner, and, I FINALLY tried some Bush beans! Yup, the bean of choice for many OFCers, lol. Okay, guys, I agree...very tasty! Couple of shots of loons, and, the boat pulled up one shore for a "pit stop" The weather, for the most part, was good. Hot, but, nothing like what Southern Ontario was getting. We did have a few fronts roll in with some showers. That evening found us trying an area that had never produced all that well, but, we deemed it worthy of another try. GOOD decision, the "Wall of Walleye" as I later named it was so on fire I couldn't keep them off my line. Almost every cast resulted in an immediate hook up. A few pike, and, smallies were feeding in the same area too. Here's a shot of an 18 1/2"er I landed during the flurry. Unfortunately I didn't check my line enough during all the action, and, paid for it having a really nice walleye break me off right under the boat. After an amazing night, Juli snapped this sunset shot. The next morning we hit the same rock point that produced Juli's largest walleye of the trip. The area was filled with pike that morning, and, my six pound line on one outfit, and, 8 lb braid on another paid the price. Let's just say I left a little "bling" in a toothy critters mouths! However, pike weren't the only fish sitting there. Juli pulled her PB smallmouth of the giant rock that sits just off shore. A beauty 18 1/2"er that gave her the best fight of the trip. It was a nice calm morning, the calm before the storm, and we slowly worked the shorelines picking up bass and pike. That afternoon we relaxed back at the cabin, watching the weather reports. I was aching to get back to the "Wall" to see if it could match the night before. Mother nature had other ideas. Sure enough the thunderstorm rolled in just as we were hoping to launch. So we sat out on the deck, and, watched it. Juli took some time to fatten up her little buddy. By about 8:45 PM the thunder and lightening had stopped. I threw a few casts off the dock, then said to myself "forget this". Juli lets reload the boat, and, hit one of our close spots for a quick fish before dark. She was game, so out we went. We caught 7 quick walleye, but, the best thing about getting out on that last night was the amazing sky!! That sky I mentioned. Sunset you say??? Think, again, this is the Eastern sky on fire! This is the actual sunset in the west What a beautiful 45 minutes out on the water, plus, nobody else even bothered launching from camp! Friday arrived much too quickly. Our final morning, and, there was a chance of thunderstorms. We got up to a steady rain with no rumbles. Time for a quick two hour fish before packing up and heading home. Hit a close to camp spot and worked it for about 1/2 hour with nothing to show. Hmmm, had the front shut them down? The rain subsided, and, we moved up the shoreline a bit. BINGO, both the walleyes and smallmouth started hitting with a frenzy. What a way to end our vacation. The above is just a small sample of the action we had. We also decided to take a few home with us, to give the boys a taste of walleye for the first time in almost a year. So three between 15 - 18" (Can't keep any larger on the lake") went into the livewell. We headed back to the cabin, and, began the bittersweet task of packing up and heading home. Leaving was much easier this time, as we said our goodbyes to Sondra and Bob, as we knew we would be back in five weeks with the boys!! Driving home, we kept our ears on the radio listening to the massive storms that were rolling through the more southern areas of our province. Fortunately, we didn't hit those areas until most of the systems had rolled through, but, here's a pic of one of the fronts on the 401. So, now I sit here typing this smiling to myself as I look at the pics, again. A well deserved vacation for the two of us has come to an end. However, I know we will be back up for another adventure in five weeks with the boys. That week will include some kayaking, island exploring, perhaps a games room pool tournament...as well as fishing!! Looking forward to perhaps a re-match with some of the fish that got away! Man, I love Lake Windermere!! July, it came, it delivered.