Bear Lake 1999 Newsletter #3

Hello Bear Lake Fishermen,

(sorry about the format)

In a very short time, we will be sharing an evening on Bear Lake with a cold beer and stories of the day's events. A majority of the group will meet in flint and hopefully leave before 9:30AM on Friday the 30th for Gaylord. Our guiding goal is to be at the Antlers in the Soo by 4PM to avoid a long wait. This year I made early reservations for four rooms at Goodman's Hotel in Espanola so we will be much closer than last year. Unfortunately, (or maybe fortunately for those involved) there probably won't be any wedding celebrations for the young and stupid to crash on the walk home from the bar. I will be returning from a business trip on Sat July 31st and will wait until Sunday to make the trip North w/ Jack Harding who is attending a wedding in Grand Rapids. Tragically, Harding has to leave on Thursday to get back for work so he and I will probably share a rental vehicle which he can return on his way home. I will be returning with the rest early Saturday morning. I think the following list of drivers on Friday seems possible: Scott Borchelt - 4 people (My Tahoe & Boat) Jim Willman - 4 people (Bronco & Boat) The Kline's - 4 people (Brian's Tahoe) Garland Hutto - 4 people (???) Having two boats should make packing this year easier than the last several years. In addition, we are arranging for Chuck to provide our crawlers for $30/flat. This should save huge amounts of space we usually fill with coolers. Although we will still need the coolers, we will be able to pack them with gear on the way up and down. This year we have plenty of room in the vehicles for the heavier cargo. Here is the proposed Crawler order.. Let me know if I need to adjust. 1 flat Kline's 1 flat Borchelt's & Taylor 1 flat Goodrich & Perrine 1 flat McDaniel's 1 flat Hutto's & Van Norman 1 flat Harding, Swenson, Willman 6 flats = 3000 Night Crawlers The following assignments are similar to previous years: Dave Borchelt -- Dinners Mike Goodrich - Breakfasts Jim Perrine - Soft Drinks Bob Taylor - Beer (14 cases of the good stuff) Is this the first year w/no minors???? Everyone - Frozen gallons and half gallons of water and milk Harding and I will bring some beer in with us on Sunday. Remember, with the exchange rate it is cheaper to buy extra beer in Canada, than it is to carry over the border and pay the additional duty. As always, coolers with ice and milk jugs not only help to keep things cool on the trip, but also serve well to make lemonade during the week. One of our new toys for the trip is an LP Deep fryer. This should be fun to try outside for fish and of course, some of Garland's goodies. Here is the travel information for our favorite vacation. Thursday, July 29th. -- Flint Jerry Van Norman, James & Garland Hutto will arrive in Flint from Alabama and Mississippi. Bob Taylor will also arrive from Indiana. Todd and I will spend Thursday night in Flint helping to organize the cars, boats and food stored at the Tallmans. Jerry Van NormanJames HuttoGarland HuttoScott BorcheltTodd SwensonBob Taylor Friday, July 30th. -- FlintTom Kline, Matt Kline and Brian Kline will arrive in Flint Friday morning w/ Jim Perrine. Garland, Brian Kline and I will be the drivers seat heading North to meet the others waiting in Gaylord. Tom KlineMatt KlineBrian KlineJim Perrine Friday, July 30th. -- GaylordJim Willman, Vaughn2 and Vaughn 3 will head Thursday night to the McDaniel's cabin to spend the night before heading to Gaylord on Friday. Jim Willman is the fourth driver of our group. He is towing his bass boat so we will have plenty of room for gear and an extra BIG lake boat for exploring Bear in the evenings. Jim WillmanVaughn McDaniel 2Vaughn McDaniel 3Mike Goodrich Sunday, August 1st. -- EspanolaJack Harding and Dave Borchelt will drive in together from Grand Rapids, arriving sometime on Sunday. They will be bringing more beer and undoubtedly more stories. Their arrival will complete our group ----- Let the games begin. Dave BorcheltJack Harding Talkabouts are key for this year. Forget the CBs . We should have many TalkAbouts for the trip up. I know of these for sure... If you have more, let me know. Todd Swenson 2 Scott Borchelt 1 Dave Borchelt 3 Kline's ???1??? This year, Vaughn McDaniel has dripped a hint on the GrapeVine indicating a special gift for all the Bear Lakers. He has not revealed the nature of this surprise but has left one clue. Clue 1: I have also purchased a small usable gift for all in attendance at Bear. a hint; to the first one to guess the specific item, goes an extra one -- First hint; its suitable for the hand. The Second clue will be posted on the GrapeVine in the next few days. What is it Vaughn.?? New for 1999 · Bring your own Type III Life Jackets New Canadian regulations require all boaters have a wearable life jacket in the boat. This means that float cushions no longer satisfy the requirements. · Cameras on each Trolling Motor This year, attached to each trolling motor will be a disposable, waterproof camera. Hopefully, each pair of fisherman at each lake will take a few pictures. So, by the end of the week, we will have 7 cameras filled with 7 days worth of pictures from 14 different lakes. The best pics and the trophies of the group will make it to the website · 2 Rookies (Jerry Van Norman and Jim Willman) We spent so much time fishing in 1998, we forgot to initiate Jerry. The last time this happened, Todd Swenson was a rookie. We initiated him the next year with rookies Garland and James Hutto. This year, Jerry Van Norman gets initiated with Jim Willman from Ada, Michigan. A veteran from the Whistling Trout Society, Jim Willman will fit in nicely but will need to work on his euchre before I take him for a partner. · The Fish Stick Todd Swenson has created the perfect measuring device to settle any and all disputes regarding HOW we are measuring fish, i.e., mouth open, mouth closed, measure the boards or measure the fish, tail open or tail closed. The Fish Stick is a thing of beauty and perfect function. At the 0 end is a board where you place the nose of your fish. The length of the fish rests on a ruler. With the nose firmly at 0, you can then measure the maximum length at the tail. Even Jim Perrine, our previous official ruler can't argue with the Fish Stick. Thanks Todd! · New stoves in Cabin 2 and 8 · New deck in front of lodge · New T-shirts for 1999 · Check out www.blwc.com The only bad news for 1999 is that long time BearLaker Nick Kline won't be able to make the trip. He has chosen wisely to focus on academic studies this summer. I understand his position. The only year I ever missed at BearLake since I have been 12 years old was because of school. Maybe there is still hope for the young and the stupid. naaaaaa. Time is short; I will be packing the boat this week. Place a message in the website to confirm the arrangements. Looking forward to seeing you all soon. Scott & David, W/tight lines and firm hookups.