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Hello All Bear Lakers:
By the time you get this letter we will be days away from leaving on the 18th trip to Bear Lake. We usually mail this letter weeks earlier but I have been traveling for weeks with my job. Currently I am writing this letter from wild South Bend, Indiana. I have been here for three weeks and am very ready to get home, pack and leave for a badly needed vacation at Bear Lake. Unfortunately, I just discovered on Sunday night that I am on the shores of the mighty St. Joseph River during the peak of the summer Skamania Steelhead run. Had I known this earlier, I would have been more prepared to catch my first Skamania Steelhead. I may give it a try anyway. I was fishing with my Grandpa Hersh on Lake Erie this past weekend. We caught 18 pounds of perch in two days, almost our limit on Sunday and had a great time with great weather. So I have some gear packed in my truck. I hope to give it a try tonight and tomorrow evening after work. It's only a short walk down to the river from my hotel! I met a young woman (can you tell I am 30 years old now?) in the hotel pub who works at the local fly shop and told me all about the best places to fish on the St. Jo. Her family has a summer home up in Baldwin, MI and has fished the P.M., the Manistee and the Bear for steelhead. She has even eaten in our favorite breakfast shop in Kaleva, Lenz's. Small world.
This years round-up
| Tom Kline - TX Brian Kline - OH Scott Borchelt - MI Bob Taylor - IN Larry Clark - MI Garland Hutto - AL Kyle Resh - TX David Voelker - PA |
Matt Kline - OH N Dave Borchelt - GA Jim Perrine - MI Mike Goodrich - MI Ed Resh - TX Todd Swenson - MI Vaughn McDaniel II - MI |
Initiations
We have done a poor job the past few years getting in the initiations
at the end of the week; the Tonya Harding Cup has demanded much attention
towards the end of the week and our libations have not always lasted.
So, this year we should plan on an early initiations party. Perhaps
on Saturday night while everyone is fresh, energized and the Euchre
tourney is warming up. I am sure the rookies won't care when the initiation
happens. It's ugly any time of the week. J
Report from Chuck
I spoke to Chuck last week. Here is his fishing
report and what's new on the island.
|
Pickup at Lang Lake |
Chuck is back picking up guests at Lang Lake
Landing. This was a surprise to many of us since we have been
using an alternative pickup/drop-off for quite some time |
|
No Deep Freeze |
The Freezer we always used to store extra ice
and freeze fish to take home is out of action. We will need to
purchase ALL extra ice at Howard's. Chuck will make a run on
Tue or Wed if we need more ice later in the week. This causes
problems for those who want to take fish home. The freezers in
the cabins don't work well and take a long time to freeze. |
|
New Fish Cleaning Station?? |
We had heard plans of a new fish cleaning station.
Chuck says, he repaired the existing building instead. He put
in a new floor and squared up the corners. After all, it's just
a fish cleaning station!! |
|
Fishing Report |
The bass on Bear Lake missed their spawning
this spring because of the strange weather. The bass still are
carrying their spawn. This should help with weight! Walleye fishing on Bear Lake has been terrible.
I heard from the Purkisers that they caught a few walleye on an
earlier trip around Bald and 3-pine island. But Chuck's crew
has not had much luck. Round Otter is up. The beaver have been very
busy and there are huts and dams everywhere. The Bass fishing
on R.O. has been great, the pike fishing poor. Van Winkle and Howry have been producing lots
of bass, and Cat has been great for Pike. No one from Chuck's camp has been on Stoney,
Burnt, Billy or Little Lake. WOW, the trails should be nearly
impossible to find and the fishing should be phenomenal, as usual!
Lower Cranberry is low, and the bottom is rising.
We will still need to pole through the first 50 yards from the
landing before using the motor. Chuck tried to move the landing
but the Ministry won't permit it. |
|
Latest Update from Karen Purkiser from their trip last week
|
Just returned from a week up North...Consistently
caught nice sized bass and walleye at Walker Channel. Fish are
in a biting mood!!! It was a girlie trip...but since we were doing
so well on Walker channel...We just fished there every nite...sometimes
till 11:00 or 12:00...Used DEET (worked well) First time I have
caught fish there with that much consistency. Good Luck to you
guys!! Karen (Purky) |
Euchre Tourney
Harding has agreed to organize the Euchre tourney
for us. I plan on faxing him the names, so he can work his magic organizing
the tourney and creating the tourney tree. He is in the Bahamas right
now and can't take the week off without having digital cellular connections
from the island. I don't think that service is on Chuck's list of camp
upgrades.
I am hoping we can start the tourney at the hotel
in Espanola. If we have the tourney setup before we head up, getting
in one or two games on Friday night will make finishing the tourney
that much easier. Remember, we get squeezed late in the week to finish
the tourney and last year we finished the tourney on the deck at Howard's.
Reminders
- If you are planning on storing the crawlers, make
sure you have worm bedding and a good cooler.. The crawlers Chuck
has for us will be in shallow dirt. Don't use a Styrofoam cooler,
unless you plan on feeding the coons, right Todd?
- Pack Light! Enough Said.
- Matt, Todd, Brian, Nick and Ed, plan on packing
gear for an overnight to Howry or Burnt. We will discuss this in
more detail later.
On the Website - http://burntcabin.org
The website has more information for the trip including a Timeline so
rookies know what to expect on the way to Bear Lake, and.
- The Canadian Fishing Regulations for our region of Ontario
- Equipment List to double check your packing job
- Travel Plans for people coming from 7 states
- Moon Phases and Peak fishing days/hours
- Weather Reports for Week
- Meal Menus
- Lake Maps
Scott Borchelt