Growing up, I was so fortunate to have a dad that really fostered my need for adventure. From waiting for him on Friday afternoons in the summer to go to the cabin, all the way to him dropping me off at school (in my twenties) and waiting for me to be done with class (at 8pm) and then driving a few hours out to western Minnesota to duck hunt on a Friday morning followed by going home after the hunt.
One of the things I looked forward to doing the most when I was younger, was a fly in fishing trip to Ontario that I was blessed to go on many years starting pretty young all the way through college. Matter of fact, the last year I went on the trip was 2010 right after graduating from college. As my brothers and I got older, we got to invite friends, and the last year I was there I got to share a boat with one of my best friends again.
Young me on the trip.
Since then, I would try to always talk to my dad when he got back from the trip to see how it went. I got to hear about finding new spots, and how they updated the lodge throughout the years. It wasn’t until a few years back when I was at my parents house playing cribbage with my dad after coming back to buy a vehicle and attend a gopher hockey game, that I said to him I sure would like to go one more time. With a child on the way at the time, I told my dad that spring 2023 was out of the question but spring 2024 was a possibility. After that discussion, I pitched the idea of the trip to my father in law and the same good friend I was up there with the last time. To my surprise, there was zero hesitation from both of them and it wasn’t long until we had a spot booked.
Being crazy busy with so much going on lately, it seemed like this trip snuck up on me a little and came quicker than expected, instead of it seeming to never get here from being so excited. All of a sudden the Friday came for our family to head up the cities, and my friend to fly in the same night from Florida where he now lives. My dad joined his friends on a crappie fishing adventure prior to our fly in, so on Saturday my father in law had the pleasure of grocery shopping with me for meals for the week, getting all the things to grill. Brats, burgers, and steaks. We also grabbed my dad’s cool minivan to drive to and from the fly-in location.
Monday came, and we loaded up the van with our gear and food. We picked up my friend, and pointed the van north. Only stopping once we made good time to International Falls where we checked into our “extremely luxurious” motel for the night. Not wanting to just sit there for too long we went to the local restaurant for pizza and beers. When we got back, we had to figure out how to get the cable for the TV plugged in to watch some television before settling in trying to get a few hours of sleep.
Tuesday morning came fast as our flight for the lodge was scheduled for 6:30 am from Fort Frances, just across the border. We packed up quickly, and had no troubles at the border crossing, getting to the fly-in location in plenty of time. This is where we met up with my dad and some of his friends that he has been going on this trip with for many years. We got checked in, the planes loaded and took the short 20 minute float plane ride, the smoothest I have ever been on, to get into camp.
The first day, the fishing was slower but we managed, I mean pretty much everyone but me found a way to catch a few nice sized walleyes. The second day brought a new adventure, as we portaged the boats for the first time. We, I mean, again pretty much everyone but me caught enough fish for a shore lunch and to keep us entertained for the morning.
It was at this point things got interesting. We went to have a shore lunch. Growing up, I remember this was a staple that we did more days than not. Fresh fish cooked over the fire was and still is my favorite meal. It's funny, I didn’t remember how much work it was because when I was younger, I had the easier jobs of building a fire, getting rid of fish guts, and burning the garbage that was burnable. Well, throughout the years my dad and his buddies have discovered it's easier to just go back to camp where you have all the tools, and facilities to make lunch. To appease me our group (my dad, father in-law, friend, and I) decided to give shore lunch a try. We were a bit rusty. Struggled to keep the fire hot enough and the grate to set the pans on level. We got a shallow fry pan, and our potatoes just didn’t want to cook through (my fault as I wanted to try the small potatoes instead of just your standard canned potatoes). Finally setting them directly on the fire, I burned the crap out of the outside of them. We all choked down lunch and then headed back out for more fishing. And as we were heading back out, I gained a new appreciation for the numerous shore lunches we had on these trips growing up throughout the years and how much work my dad had put into all of them.
Which brings me to my next funny point. When I was in high school and college, I tried to keep up with all the latest and greatest fishing technology, and I remember reminding everyone else by jokingly yelling “team Fireline catches another one” with almost every fish I caught one year. After shore lunch my dad came to me, with his backup rod and said “here use this” after seeing me struggle a bit the first day and a half of the trip. I swallowed my pride, and grabbed it thankfully and willing to try anything. Well the rest of the afternoon, I used the setup he had on there and proceeded to catch a bunch of fish.
The next morning, it was me asking my dad for his fluro and tying up leaders on both of my rods. I also copied the exact color jig my dad had on and tied it on my main rod. I smiled as I learned a new trick from my dad that was a little more complicated than the first year I was up there, pretty young, asking him while sitting in the front of the boat, him trolling for us “dad, how will I know when a fish bites?”
The third day, we battled the wind in the morning and tried to catch a few lake trout with no luck, but that afternoon we got into one of those bites that you go to Ontario for. Catching a good number of doubles of nice sized walleyes.
Our last day, we had a mission to get the rest of the fish we could take home within our limits. The wind being a factor, we tucked into the pothole not far from the lodge. My new setup picked up where it left off the day before and I caught quite a few walleyes again that morning. As the morning bite slowed, my friend and I pitched the idea to portage up into another lake, brave the wind a bit but there was a spot we were catching them the second day that should be tucked out of the wind just enough. We got up there and managed to catch the rest of our take home limits. My buddy also caught his personal best walleye of 26 inches, in the same spot my father in law caught his personal best of 27 inches, on the second day.
After braving the wind to get back, cleaning the fish to take home, and then having lunch there wasn’t a ton of time left for fishing and it was still pretty windy. But there was one more itch my friend and I wanted to scratch, catch a lake trout. My dad’s friend gave us some direction on where to try, that would be an easy boat ride and be out of the wind. This was another realization moment for me. Where we were, the lake is quite large, with lots of islands and points that look alike. I was spoiled all these years in not really having to know where to go too much, as I always followed the group. I have ventured out a little with some friends and my brother, but never just by myself and one other like this. We let our group know where we were going and about when we should be back. We told them not to worry if we were a little late, just in case we were catching fish, and set off for the spot. This was a spot I hadn’t really fished much so I wasn’t sure exactly where to go. We trolled making loops to try and cover as much ground as we could, trying out different lures as well. And as luck would have it, it paid off. We managed to catch three lakers, and I was excited to tell my son that I caught one on the lure he picked out for me. With this we went back to camp feeling victorious.
The last night at the lodge, we enjoyed some more cribbage and reminisced about all the memories of the past and even some of the highlights of this trip. The flight out the next morning again was early. We were not all able to get on the first set of flights out, so my friend and I waited for the next round. While watching the new group come into camp, I noticed a couple of younger kids in their group. It gave me a smile, and once again an incredible appreciation for all my father had done with me growing up. I am really hopeful that the near future will start the beginning of a new era, in which we can find adventures that my kids can start to go on with their grandpas.
Field to Table: A little after the trip my family was able to enjoy the fruits. We fried up the walleye and put it on a homemade hoagie bun with mayo, tomatoes, and onions. It was delicious. There were also some leftovers that I used for my breakfast and lunch meal the next morning. I made a walleye, egg, bacon, onion, avocado sandwich that was one of the best things I have ever made.
Quick shout-out to my pregnant wife who stayed back with all the kids, while I went on this adventure. Thank you!!
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