Twin Peaks, Canadian Style
Don Stoppelmann and Tim Egan were showstoppers. A video presentation featuring Oscar-worthy performances held the Landings Fishing Club members spellbound for almost an hour. Family members of each family were spotlighted and highlighted on their separate Canadian fishing trips. Twelve-year-old grandkids, wives, sons, and daughters combined to show off their skills with a rod and reel.
After driving north of Minnesota into Canada plus flying another leg to their fishing camp, all arrived safely. You’re all alone up there so you have to bring all your supplies and personal gear or do without it.
Fishing, cleaning, cooking and washing dishes, plus general housework, is a chore-sharing event. Everybody pitches in to keep a tidy cabin on the lake.
and Tim Egan was superb.
Clear water and blue skies beckoned as boats outfitted with rods, reels, bait, and the all-important landing net were cast upon the water wilderness. Kids get impatient when there is a prolonged lull in the action. Not this time, for the fish were hungry and eager to bite. Walleye, Northern Pike, and Smallmouth Bass kept the reels humming and the lines singing as the fish slashed through the water. The video camera proved that the big one did not get away. I have never heard of a Blue Walleye, but they do exist.
In Canada the number of fish caught to eat or keep is regulated. The Canadian government is very strict on conservation. The number and species of fish to bring back into the United States had better be accurate. The fines can be substantial. Tired but happy campers now have to deal with the long traffic lines at the international border. It is better to return on a weekday rather than on the weekend; it’s easier and faster.
Whether you’re steering a boat or lake hopping in a de Havilland Beaver aircraft, the two families have many hours and days of unforgettable memories.
*Many men go fishing all their lives without knowing that it is not fish they are after – Henry David Thoreau
