Weekend at Bernies from a newbies view.

[misfish]

Back to work today,I wish I hadnt left the white house.

 

A few months back,when I first met Bernie for the first time,I was asked to attend the winter gathering of the clan. I was honored,but wasnt sure if I could. Received a note stating the date,ask for the time off and was granted. I was going to cash in that golden ticket invite.

 

I thought the date was going to mean nice warmer temps and siting out in the sun fishing with the byes. WRONG. LOL

 

Friday morning comes and I,m woken up by the mrs,s saying,you know it,s -40 up there today? I replied,thats ok ,I,ll be toasty warm in my hub.

 

So pack up the Avenger at 7am and I,m off. Just as I get on the hwy,I noticed I forgot a couple of things. DAMIT. Get off at the next ramp and head back to the condo. Mrs,s opens the door with my hat and two bags of smelts in hand. One for my mudder and pops,the other for the byes for saturday breakfast.

 

Ok,good to go now. Knowing the meet up for lunch was 11:30 ish,I had lots of time,so just cruised up at a nice pace.90 km on cruise. Watching for road side wild life.

Txt the byes from pops house,they are close to hook up in Katrine. When they get there,they honk and were off. Not sure if HH was driving fast,or just trying to see if the Avenger could catch up to them. Hey,look in yer rearview. Yup,I was bumper drafting in no time.

 

So a short drive up to Kudos for lunch,we park and met up. Wil I have met before,but Joe and Cliff and this fella named Rubin I have not. 3 more off the bucket list. Rubin was a hit right off the bat.Funny funny guy.

 

So after lunch,it was time to get to the white house. I wasnt sure about this so called ice road,but I have driven the Avenger through a foot of snow,so I was ready.

 

Get to the boat launch. A couple of rolling hills. Easy does it,and Im on flat grounds. Lets giver Joe. As I follow Joe out,the ride is smooth. Then we hit a few snow blown cover spots. It was a piece of cake. As we make our travels on the ice road,Im starting to think,how far do we have to go? Once we got to the main lake,(so I thought) I thought we were close. Nope,a bit more ways to go. Once we get to the cut off,I could see our landing spot. Joe makes a quick (RIGHT) and I followed suit. A bit of snow to get through,but we had made it.

 

Bernie had plowed a nice parking lots for us and even made a spot for the Avenger right at the front door.

 

Nice machine Bernie. I want one.

 

 

 

We were greeted by Bernie,and start to get all unpacked. Being the newbie,I just took my time,as I didnt know my place yet. All the rooms were taken,but hey,there was a nice compfy couch in my view. I,ll take it.Im easy. That wasnt meant to sound like,Im easy fellas.

 

I was told there would be some fishing,but once I was all set in,I wanted to hit the hard water. I was told the walleye were easy pick,ns and we would be back in an hour with limits. Im stoked. So Wil and Cliff and Rubin make the move and Im ready to go. Dinner wasnt til 6:37 so we had a couple of hours to kill. So off we go. . It was a nice sunny afternoon. No wind.

 

 

 

I pull out the cordless drill and augar. Start my first hole. As Im drilling,Im thinking to myself,I am usually through by now. 3/4 of the auger is down,then more,then more. Just as I get close to the ice with the disc(1/2 inch) I break through.

 

3+ft of ice. That was just crazy. I was still able to drill 8 holes on one battery. Even I was impressed.

 

So we all start to fish. Set up the X4 marking fish right away. It took a bit to get the first hit,but Wil managed to get the only one that got landed.

 

 

I had one that followed and hit my Williams,but couldnt hook up. As Im showing the guys the rewind on the finder,I get hit again and mis. MISFISH is my name.LOL

 

Once the nice warm sun set behind the trees,the cold temps got to us. Time to pack up and head in for dinner and friendship.

 

When we arrived back,we were greeted with the smell of a great roasting beast.Joe was the chef this night. Taters and greens and a nice roasted prime roast.

 

After a few festives and a great movie,it was time to have a nap.

 

Being a new place to me,it was a rough sleep. Up every hour and stoking the fire place .Not complaining here. I was the new guy.

Once 5 am rolled around,I was wide awake. Not a sole was stiring. No prob. Turn on the tv and have a coffee. I was told there was a Bernie time wake up.

So at 7am I start the frying of breakfast. I start with the smelts. I thought forsure if these guys smelt, something cooking,they would awake. Guess it only works at the deer hunt.LOL

 

So once Bernie Oclock comes along,the byes start to awake and come out. Ok,it,s getting close to fishing time now ,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,Nope . I hear that the high sun pushs them in the mud,so the bite will be slow. Then I hear the wind has them shut down too. Ok Im the new guy but know better.

 

Then the word I was waiting for comes. Guess we should atleast give it a go.

 

We all load up and were off. FINALLY.

 

Get all drilled and got the hub set. Lets fish. Marking lots again. I fish with the Williams again and have a minnow down on the second rod. I mark a fish coming in and wham,Minnow rod bends,fish on. Turned out to be a dicey one near the slot limit. Not willing to take a chance,it was a quick pic by Cliff and down the 3+ ice tube it went.

 

 

Wind picked up so,some of the fellas headed back in,while Cliff,Wil and I stuck it out for another hour or so. Marked followers but nothing taken. Since it was my turn to cook dinner,it was pack up time. Bernie trusted me to drive back his truck and trailer. I wasnt sure about that,but I just followed Wils tracks.

 

 

 

 

We get back and it,s time to create the jigs dinner with a roasted chicken for the byes.

 

Watched some nascar while it was all getting giddy up in the pot. get the table set and it,s dinner time. Me thinks they liked it.

 

 

We enjoyed our night after with some tunes from Joe and Cliff .

 

 

I was finally getting relaxed and got the meaning of this whole gathering. I was relaxing very well. I was so relaxed,I slept in til Bernie time sunday morning.

 

Bernie plowed out the drive so I could get on my way home. Thank you sir.

 

So what can one say about spending a wek at Bernies?

 

 

 

 

PRICELESS.

 

 

Thanks again for the invite,and thanks for the great new friendship byes. I had a great time.

 

 

PS. We need to work on the plumbing. LMAO.

 

 

From one nascar left turn guy to another,thanks Bernie.

 

 

 

 

If I mis spelled,I have been typing this for over an hour and dont have spell check. LOL

 

 

I leave you with this,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,

 

 

Edited March 4, 2014 by Misfish

[Terry]

sounds like a great bunch of guys to spend the weekend with

[Blue Lk]

Excellent,however , smelts for breakfast,not sure about that

[Bernie]

Hey Brian, great summary of the weekend
Too bad the weather wasn't sunny and warm like we should be getting this time of year. Maybe next time.

 

I just finished off the smelts for supper tonight. Really good, been a long time since I have had any. Thanks!

[Roy]

Who gives a crap about spelling...in a report especially. Great report me Brudder, thank you. I think a lot of people are wanting to get on the list for a weekend at Bernie's now. Glad you all had a great time.

[i2cool2fool]

Excellent,however , smelts for breakfast,not sure about that

That's the best time to have them. And with an order of over easy eggs and toast. Delicious.

[bigugli]

That's the best time to have them. And with an order of over easy eggs and toast. Delicious.

You forgot the home fried taters and onions to go with it.

[irishfield]

Damn.. Will finally caught a fish!! LMAO !

[Joey]

Great report B. Sounds like a great time and a great gathering of friends.

 

Smelt for breakfast sounds delightful!

[GBW]

Was it Rubin or Rubins'?

You are a very luck man B to be on that invite list!

Now the real question here is; did Joe and Cliff play Brow Eyed Girl at all?

[chris.brock]

looks like a perfect small town Ontario weekend, nice report

[davey buoy]

Looks like a lot of fun!!!

[Headhunter]

 

Was it Rubin or Rubins'?

You are a very luck man B to be on that invite list!

Now the real question here is; did Joe and Cliff play Brow Eyed Girl at all?

That was our encore!

 

Many thanks again Bernie for the invite and sharing your little piece of heaven.

I hope next year, we don't have to watch "Ray" again!!! LOL

It may take until May to get the smelt stink out of the cottage! LOL (Not a fan of smelts here!!!) I still say that Brian ruined our pike bait buy cooking those things up!

HH

[misfish]

If you think that was bad Joe, next time I,ll bring up some blood pudd,n to fry up..LOL

 

We did have some great laughs on the weekend.

[i2cool2fool]

You forgot the home fried taters and onions to go with it.

Now you're talking. Add in a wonderful east coast BEvERage like Moosehead's Alpine Lager and you just made a meal any NBer would be happy to consume.

[ccmtcanada]

Brian has pretty much summed up the weekend's events, so I thought I'd share a few more pictures....

 

Always love this sight...whether with soft water or hard water....it shows that we have finally arrived!!

 

Was a little chilly out there....my breath was freezing on my eye brows and lashes!! LOL

 

The view from the kitchen window....

 

Did we mention it was cold? I'm watching my rod from the comfort of Fishnsled's truck....LOL

 

Always a great time up there! Thanks Bernie....and thanks guys...it was just what I needed!

 

(well....It could have been about 15 degrees warmer....LOL)

[fishnsled]

Finally getting a chance to get caught up here. Nice report Brian, thanks for putting it together. It was a great weekend as always and greatly appreciate the invite Bernie. Thank you for allowing us to enjoy your piece of paradise.

 

The fishing and weather could have been better but the company and laughs sure made up for it. Till the next time!

[NAW]

Awesome report Bri!

 

Good friends, good times!