In years past, as a small group of rogue fisherman we would rise from nowhere, strike, then disappear silently into the semi-darkness of the northern night. This year all that changed as a formidable group of 18 fish killers arrived on the scene in an unceremonious ruckus, a frenzied tornado of lifejackets, fishing rods, beer boxes and duffel bags.  God help the fish.

Besides the founding fathers (more about them later…) the lineup consisted of Don, Colby, Grayson, Amy, Abby, Jordan, Marni, Randy, Leah, Curtis, Andy, Glen, Kris, Corey and the ultimate Skinnahhhhhh.

The only difference between this year’s campsite and a Rwandan refugee camp was the missing barbed wire.  Besides that, we had everything – water delivered by buckets, poor sanitation, open pit latrines, tinned food, fire cooking, lean-to’s, and a lot of desperate, dirty looking people.

A selection of us who opted for the Thoen’s rental van made it up to Brabant in record time – 7 hours.  Upon arrival, Arnold Beavereyes already had our two rental boats gassed up and ready to go so within half an hour we had the boats loaded, van parked and were enjoying beers on the dock.  Moments later Tom arrived in his boat to help transport the overflow people and we were on our way blasting across the beautiful northern lake.

Besides the tremendous fishing and great meals there are always a few “special” moments. These included:

- Saturday shore lunch with musical accompaniment throughout, at least a six rear orchestra

 - Marni nearly burning down the island with her over ambitious cooking fire

 - Grayson’s evening fireside “salutes”

- Corey’s big leap on to Arnold’s dock which left him with wet pants up to the crotch and the dock submerged and shattered

- what was universally declared as “the best nap ever” as a dozen bodies lay strewn across the soft moss after a gigantic shore lunch

The master anglers for the trip were Marni for the biggest trout at 27 5/8 inches (yes, you read that right, somehow the cabinet maker on the trip has taken fish measurements to an extreme level of accuracy) and Glen for the biggest pike at 33 5/8 inches.  Grayson and Colby also won honorary awards for their fishing prowess.

Special mention must go out to Peter. He takes the “Worst Timing” award as he managed to land gigantic pike both before and after the official fishing contest. He landed a 25 pound northern and several other gators over ten pounds in his first couple hours fishing.  He also nailed a 38 incher after the main group left. Luckily he got photographic evidence otherwise we would have never believed him.

The three senior fisherman on the trip had a most interesting adventure home. After first piling Tom's boat into a rock just outside the camp and smashing the prop and skeg, they limped back across the lake with a small backup motor and three thousand pounds of gear.  On the way home….how do I say this…..ummm….well, let’s just say that the “Worst Fish Counting Skills” award goes to:

Peter “Hit me baby one more time” Olson

 Tom “Catch me if you can” Laxdal

Brian “You no tell me no tell” Ford

Another year, another fantastic trip!

Click for

Big gator

Glen's first laker

More please

Jackalicious

This van smells nice

Shore lunch with music

This dock rocks

Silence of the North

Weight training

Slbing them off

Team 2010

Harvesting ice

Let's party

Triple header

Me and my rock

This boat's dirty, allow me to rinse

The de-boners

Skull riders

Fish on

Stick yer wiener in

Let's have a stogie

This is why you leave early

Waterfall

Whitefish

Whitefish

Half bug/half fangler

Chest out, belly in

Recharge

Don and the Jack

Gustafson lads strike again

The chilly swim

Your breath smells like fish

Senior camp masters

Pink panty special

Ready at the dock