Flying South & North On The Niska Way.

[Moosebunk]

FUN AT HOME IN THE SOUTH.

 

 

Arrived home from the north mid April and before I knew it had arrangements to return back for more work come mid may. Five weeks for some spring fun and cleaning and the odd shift I'd pick up with work in the valley. Lots to do actually, and the minute I got in the door there were messages waiting and the phone began ringing to take on shifts. Me, just wanted to wet a line more than anything really... and first sunday that came I took a drive.

 

Spring was in bloom.

 

 

Pannies, or better yet crappie were on the to-catch list. I arrived at a Loch nearby and found 50-60 people had the same idea that day. Bluegill were in by the 100's but I let them be. Moved to the crappie crowd and picked up a quick fish then tried to find a bigger hole. Guy next to me was pounding them but I managed just one amidst a handful of sunfish.

 

 

Didn't take long to grow tired of this big fella who kept barking at the many Asian-Canadian folks who were there fishing with us. "YOU CAST OVER MY LINE!" "HEY YOU CAST OVER THERE!" "FISH SHOULD HAVE BEEN MINE YOU CAST IN MY SPOT!" "THAT'S A BASS YOU CAN'T KEEP THAT!" He was an arse and I bit my tongue hard a couple times to keep from telling him to shut the hell up.

 

Next day I made sure the shore fishing amongst the crowds would be done with. Picked up my new boat.

 

 

 

2010 Lund Rebel XL tiller with a new 60 YumYum. "SOLID!"

 

Two days later my dad came out with me for its first test drive. I inherited his big shoulders and knew if we were paddling this thing he'd be game.

 

On the lake it felt impressive to me. Drives different than the WarCanoe that's for sure. Launching the first time where there was no dock was a bit stressing, but it went real smooth. On the water we checked the livewell, Nav lights, sonar/GPS, and just kinda cruised around awhile before I couldn't take it much longer... "alright dad, lets fish a couple hours."

 

On the Minnkota I was a little awkward at first but the footpedal came easy enough with some practice.

 

In the shallows dad and I just destroyed the pannies. It was non stop sunfish with the odd crappie and incidental bass or pike. Ultralight fun, at one point I hooked but lost a great pike or bass. Never saw it, it just ruled my set-up and came unpegged. Took very few pics, just fished on!

 

 

 

That weekend I called my cousin James up after waking early from a nightshift. Work was keeping me tied down pretty good, I take as much as I can when it comes. James is 15 now and I see him and his sister more as like a neice and nephew.

 

James does not have much experience at all with fishing, and even though he'd never used a spinning reel, he was a natural. There was a little wind that day and it often put a good bow in the line causing him to miss hooksets when the float dropped. He made adjustments with time, and by days end probably released a couple dozen pannies and a real great largie. I did the same. For the first time in a long time while fishing, I didn't have a camera... Bren took it with her to a Ju-Jitsu tournament in Toronto. Was an awesome first time fishing with James, he's a smart kid and will go far.

 

Later in the week I had Dad join me for something a little different. When we hit the water and started our search, things didn't appear good. A half hour later though, we found what we were looking for. My first cast and to the best fish of the day, a bite off. Awhile later, a fish on!

 

 

Ended up going 1 for 4. Saw a few large fish. Must work on more of a bass hookset this summer, as opposed to my more light natural walleye sweep. Dad had a great time too despite not getting a fish. He tried, but I have fished so little with him over the years I completely forgot he fished the other hand, and so his misses often came when having to switch hands after a cast. He did for just a moment though get to feel the weight of a biggun. Weather came in and pushed us home by midday.

 

It was the following week I woke one morning and decided... I'm going to try browns for a first time. Racing around the house I quickly gathered some troutin' gear and the float tube and jumped in the truck. On the way to the lake I found some awesomely full ponds for trappin' dace and suckers.

 

 

That afternoon started beautiful. There was some breeze but I like having the surface rippled a little when fishing shallow in the tube.

 

 

 

I toured the near end of the lake and came up empty then started my drift toward the far end. I had floated a good stretch when the breeze just turned nasty. What took me twenty minutes to float, turning back took me over an hour of steadily kicking hard to return. Needless to say, I took few casts heading back and got out of rhythm. A mistake with one cast over the shoulder to drop my Kroc under an overhanging cedar, I wasn't at all prepared when I felt a fish actually hit the lure. Whatever it was ran straight into some fallen tree branches and left me hung up. The day was a blank.

 

Two days later I think it was, I jumped back on the gar horse. Weather wasn't supposed to be prime but the morning offerred a good window.

 

Same as the previous outing... first fish I saw wasn't a giant but it was a good fish that was beautifully spotted.. and I take a cast. This time all works out. I'm thinking, great start.

 

 

After the release I'm cruising along a weed edge when there out of the corner of my right eye about 15 feet away I see the enormous head and snout of a really big gar. It spots me too. I stop to prepare but the fish slowly emerges from the veg and shows its entire self. HUGE fish. It moves slowly towards the boat then begins away, this gar is like... five feet long. Maybe four and half... maybe five and a half, it's huge. I hit the MinnKota to follow and it darts just then, leaving a wake as it goes and thrashing about on the surface as it's too big for the shallows it's in. An easy follow but it ends up like 40 yards away in some dirty dirty water I had stirred up. I get there trudging through the weeds and the gars big silhoutte is still visible. Finally a mint cast I watch the fish take a half-swipe at my lure but it misses. Again, I cast... not a good one though, kinda behind it. I run the lure to the fish and hit the fish... nothing. It's gone. The fish has had enough and sinks deeper in the muddy water out of sight.

 

I miss a few others afterwards, awhile later as the clouds begin to roll in and wind picks up, I settle for a little guy.

 

 

The rest of that morning after the huge fish sighting I did spot a few good other fish, but because the light and water began to turn out of favor, I end up spooking many away before actually seeing them. Two for four on the morning before time to go.

 

Waiting around for a few parts to add to the boat, one morning came along that seemed too good to waste. Up early, kids on the bus, Bren off to work, in no time I had the quad in the truck, lunch packed and the trout gear readied. Spring specks were the plan.

 

Armed with GPS and printed topos I decided to knock off a couple lakes that didn't get fished off my winter bucketlist. The morning ride to the first stop was real refreshing.

 

 

I put in and chose to head left down the lake towards submerged stumps, a beaver dam and lodge. Prime speck habby I guessed. Well, after rounding the entire lake almost back to where I started did I finally see a silver flash come from below a fallen tree and nail my spinner. Scrappy fight ensued and the speck popped off. I kept casting to that tree and a couple others beside it from well offshore.

 

A half hour later I released five clone specks in the footlong range. Because it was only 11:00 am, I had no stringer, and planned to fish ti'll supper on the warm day, I put 'em back rather than see them maybe spoil. Taking many picks from the tube was a challenge, so I only snapped a couple.

 

 

 

Got off this lake by noon and putted along some trails while eating my lunch on the ride. I had the hills to myself it seemed until I pulled up to the landing of my next lake. There, I met a fella planning to do some fly-fishing on the small lake for bows. A nice chat I realized time was a wasting and burned out of there. The next two hours Big Red got a good workout while I searched out this new lake. Sadly, I didn't quite get to it and was forced back to fish something familiar for specks.

 

 

An hour passed, I floated the entire lake. No fish. Back on the quad I raced out of there and burned rubber to a splake lake. A quite scenic fish there, again I cruised the entire circumference of the bowl and found not a single Cheerio! Time was getting on and I had a staff party to maybe attend that evening.

 

 

The weeks end came, the boat parts were in and by early the following week I had gotten some work around the house finished up and settled fixing the additions to the boat.

 

 

Some Scotty's got attached to the gunwhale mounting plates designed for the boat. Solid on there.

 

 

The Salty's found a home atop painted blocks that have a a couple corner brackets holding them in place. Solid on there too.

 

 

Wanted my only rigger (for now) to sit high, be in an easy position and wind manually without interference. I got that with this set-up. She's toight!!!

 

I had the sonar mounted in an area out of the way, visible to me, but, kinda susceptible to being knocked by a shin or foot if someone was dancing around in the boat and not paying attention. I built a solid protective house around it.

 

 

For kicks I snapped a pic with the rig right outfitted.

 

 

Ready to rock I wanted to go troll for something. Bren a few days later got a thursday off work and so we trailered up to an open laker lake and I set some lines down. Riggin' and dipsying and that kinda thing ain't my strong suits yet, but really, after a day of it I felt it wasn't rocket science.

 

I missed fish though. Bren got an OOS pike that wasn't all too big but the lakers didn't co-operate for us. That's laker fishing. In the future I may need a couple more outfits more suited to trolling, but for now any line on a reel will troll.

 

 

Was a wonderful day on the water with Bren, it had been more than a year since we fished together last.

 

Last weekend before heading north again to work, came fast. The Capn' RJ and visiting Markus put me on cloud nine when they called with an invite a day before planning to head carp fishing. Perfect timing.

 

That saturday morning; like RJ always does, he has my butt out of bed before it even knows it had been to bed. I met up with him and Mark at his place before the sun.

 

Meeting Big-O on the spot after the drive, he had been there for hours already to claim our shore. Not a fish had moved for him yet, but we weren't set-up 20 minutes before one moved for us all. Stubborn as pitbulls, the three of them wouldn't take the rod first, insisting I did.

 

Awesome. 29lb carp then for me.

 

 

The well angled shot makes this fish look gargantuan... I had some on my camera as well, to put the fish more into perspective.

 

 

The pecking order then followed Big-O, RJ, Markus then me again... I think. I snapped away that day taking many pics as we ended the afternoon with eight carp and a chunky bullhead. I'll just throw them up randomly for viewing and if ya need to see more or read more about the day you can trip on over to RJ's Blog and get yer fix. Over there he's got the story of his Canadian record gar caught last summer too. It's a heckuva a great fish and catch.

 

 

http://rjnbirdeesout...t-lawrence.html

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Boys got some more pics of their fish on other cameras and like I said, they can be seen, along with a few videos at RJ's site.

 

My last two fish of the day were great fish as well. The first a 17lb'er and the last fish of the day caught as we were packing up didn't hit the scale, but it was likely a high teen too. "SOLID!" As Markus would say.

 

 

 

Big fins and lips on this lass.

 

And the final fish of the day....

 

 

Great time out with the boys.

 

Got home that evening and Bren asked me for some study time to herself for sunday. OK... kids, yer comin' with me.

 

We launched early afternoon. Day was a wee tad gusty but the sun warm. While drifting in the shallows for pannies the girls counted and pulled lily pads, played, teased, and even had some lazy time.

 

 

What interested the girls most I think was a duckling that strayed away from mom and was lost on the lake. It swam around the boat a good half hour or so and the girls kept watchful eye.

 

 

They took turns reeling in fish too. One after another they caught sunfish and even Leah managed her first pike. End of the afternoon I asked Summer, "did ya have fun." She said, "mix of fun and boredom." Bummer I thought. But I think she was fibbin' some.

 

 

 

See, she doesn't look bored.

[Moosebunk]

BUSY AT WORK IN THE NORTH

 

 

I like to slide me. When a boy my best friend and me, we liked to slide. Always at the riverbank sliding.

 

One time, the School Master there said it was time to come in. "One more" I begged, but he said "no, it's time to come in!" I liked to slide me, always sliding. I went one more time.

 

Up the hill the School Master waited for me, when I got to him he broke a stick and hit me in the eye with it. Blood and tears stinging, I couldn't see. It hurt. Had to go see the nurse at the hospital. "WHAT HAPPENED! WHAT HAPPENED!" she asked. The School Master told her I fell. Accident... Left eye never worked right for me.

 

Six years my parents sent me to the Residential School in Albany. Hated it there me, they were always doing mean things. If parents didn't send their kids they'd get no welfare. No money, no work, no things. After summer holidays at home, some kids would run away.

 

One year I cried hard me when my parents took me back to school. I hugged tight on my dad. The School Master took me, told my parents I would be okay. Inside the school I got the strap. Told not to cry anymore.

 

Next fall, boys were in a line, me with my friend who liked to slide. Parents brought their kids back. School Master had us in a line. I was happy to see my friend. I smiled me. When the School Master walked by he asked, "what's so funny?" "I'm happy me," I said. I was happy to be with my friend. Inside the school after I got the strap. "School is not a joke!" School Master said.

 

Christmas at home I told my parents all the bad things School Master said I couldn't tell. Kids got hurt, some went away, me too. My dad didn't believe me, I was crying. My mother believed me. Pulled down my pants me, showed them my ass. I never went back to Residential School.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

"Wachay Andano," Meni welcomed. "Wachay to you Meni. I have to tell you that when you were here last on the ward and taken out by ambulance I didn't realize that it was you who was here. I'm sorry for not saying hello. I felt terrible I had not when I watched you leave for Moose Factory and, even worse when I heard next day you were very sick and maybe going to die." "It's okay Andano." "Im sorry Meni, but it's good to see you now. You gave everyone a scare but you're a tough old kookum," I smiled. "Take more than poisoned blood to get my spirit," announced Meni...

 

"Do you remember years ago I saw you in Moose Factory, at the liason office in the hospital?" "I don't Meni, my apologies again." "It's okay Andano, you must see alot of patients." "I do, a thousand or more a year," I calculated. "William, your uncle William at the liason asked me how I knew you. Told him you took care of my leg, did my dressing changes many days. Look now, just the scars. Took a long time... William told me you married Brenda. I didn't know. Do you remember doing my dressing changes?" "It has been a long while Meni. I remember you, your diabetes and that bad leg. I imagine during the ten years you've struggled with your legs every day," I replied. "Ahhh... yes Andano." "Quite alot of edema now but your ulcers are small and don't look infected." "Not bad for now," Meni replied.

 

"I liked sugar me, every Christmas, Easter and birthday." "That's not much Meni... but it doesn't take much. Your people don't have the genetics, your ancestors not like my ancestors. Natives must be careful," I said, while looking to Meni's great grandchild who stood quiet, listening attentively to us both. "Too much candy is baaaaad," I told the little one...

 

"Mahnahshin Meni, ashay." "Meegwetch Andano, thany-you. I will come tuesday." "When you do Meni, ask Francis or Elsie if your adaptic is in." "Kaykwan?" Meni asked. "Your dressing supplies," I clarified. "Aha. Wachay. See you tuesday."

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Fox fur five dollars, mink nine. Marten could get fifteen. That was the 80's Andalo. No money in it after. Trapping was my best job. Trapped when I want. My trapline is up the river from here, no good trapping there now, mona mahnahshin, no money in it anyway. Trapping used to be good but people don’t want furs anymore.

 

When I was not trapping I be with the women. They are fun, better than trapping. I was fifteen when I was with my first woman, and just after that when I became a man I shot my first moose. When I was twelve I would walk the bush 20 kilometers to town every day cause I liked the girls. You know what I mean Andalo?

 

Sometimes I get thirsty, go to Moosonee. I order three beers only. First beer goes down like nothing, it is my favorite one. Then I drink the rest, and that is all. I did not fight Andalo. No one told me what to do. I don't like being told what to do. Left alone, trapping was my best job.

 

So many people here don't like to work, just want money given to them. No one wants to earn their life. Their children see this, and their children will too. You see the new playground? The kids will tear that down, like the last one. Then there won't be as much fun for some time until a new playground is made to be torn down.

 

You think Andalo, if we turn off the TV and computer, we take the kids to the bush, it will change? It won't change Andalo. The children don't want to go in the bush. They'd get lost... ahhh... they are lost anyway.

 

There are no more trappers now, never be any trappers again.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Epen I think tried the one day on the river to teach me a lesson in patience. My idea was spot hopping in hot pursuit of pike and walleye, while I think his was... to share some slow and peaceful time with a friend whom he sees little of, and catch some fish at our leisure as well.

 

Boy, was I dumb.

 

"C'mon old man! Let's go! Let's go!" I begged. Epen (Abel) and I had just shared some tea on the riverbank and maybe he had hoped to sneak in an afternoon siesta in the warm sun. "No one tells me what to do Andalo," he barked.

 

Problem is, I don't get the north enough nowadays to feed my appetite. Or, maybe I do but I think I need more. Epen's an old hardened bush man, so maybe the fish and fur has worn off for him, or maybe just his time out on the land is at a premium now. I should never hurry that along on him.

 

What's a fish between friends? Sometimes a nasty funking monster, or the potential for. Fishing needs to take a backseat at times, and it's probably the experienced man who should show that to such an ambitious angler. Epen on his Indian time must belly laugh silently at the fiery Scotanuck who can't sit still and hurries even when he doesn't need to. The goal never to rest, always to go big and chase hard ti'll it happens. That's like too many city people... a dirty thought for me. Am I really needing to ingest so much that I can't let a friend rest after his meal? He was right. Enough question. Just bagged anyways after this latest work trip.

 

The three stories, a past, present and likely future. It's all hardship really. A reminder of how good it was, is and can be for me. For many of us. A reminder that while it's good, try not to rush it by.

 

Edited June 14, 2010 by Moosebunk

[Motorhead]

AWESOME report as always

Edited June 14, 2010 by Motorhead

[corvette1]

awesome pictures bunk that carp is huge congrats on the lund

[kickingfrog]

Great stuff, as we have all come to expect.

 

LOVE the boat!

[fish1812]

this is why hes the king, great post, i actually just finished re-reading your plummers lodge post yesterday, ,made it to the attawapiskat this year, plummers is next on my list.

[ctdd2006]

Wonderful stuff! That picture of the white church...is that the one that once drifted out to the baY? Memories! I was eight when my folks, and I took the Polar bear express to moosonee and remember a church like that if it were yesterday! I'll never forget the little boys younger than me even meeting us at the train trying to lure us/guide us to their dad/uncle's canoe for the ride over the moose factory...seven bucks across and a buck for the boy! Awesome stuff and something I'll certainly do with my boy in a couple years!

[tibbs]

Thanks for the report.

 

And great pictures as usual!

[Tarzan's Jane]

Interesting Report.....the Residential School story was quite disturbing. I wasn't sure why the twist in the report - glad I read further.

Nice Fish, nice pics - great stories.

[Whitespinnerbait]

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

One of these days i'm gonna '' Lip '' one of those things...

[danbouck]

 

I can't wait for The Moosebunk Book to come out!

[Roy]

 

I can't wait for The Moosebunk Book to come out!

 

I second that! We have enough right now to make one fantastic coffee table edition.

[Terry]

a great report as always

[Moosebunk]

Wonderful stuff! That picture of the white church...is that the one that once drifted out to the baY? ...seven bucks across and a buck for the boy! Awesome stuff and something I'll certainly do with my boy in a couple years!

 

Not the same church. You are right in your thinking, it was ship builders whom built that small church in Moose Factory that was swept away and retrieved during a spring break-up flood. The pictured church is the larger Catholic church in Attawapiskat.

 

Boat taxis are $10 now. Kids free. The Polar Bear has also jacked the price to around $110 return. Bring cash to the Moose when ya go. lol.

[Cudz]

Great report. Your camera takes awesome pics (makes your fish look big, lol jk).

Love your new boat as well.

[laszlo]

Almost as epic as my local 14" Brown report. Jokes!

 

Amazing!

Love the pic of the huge Carp and also the Gar.

[ehg]

excellent writing and pictures, many nthanks

[ehg]

Again, great look at different fisheries available to you.

 

The latter story is poignant as the mistreatment of native children in these schools is now publicly being acknowledged.

 

By displaying the spirit of the nature there, you become a positive part of recovery.