8.24.08
Go West.
After an amazing month Up North I caught a nasty case of Mountain Fever. I very badly wanted to climb some thing really high and even more badly wanted to do some fly fishing in Montana's legendary streams. There's only one cure for Mountain Fever. Road Trip. So I loaded the tent and Duluth Pack in to the vehicle and headed for Montana.

It was a long, hot drive through the dry flats of North Dakota and I was stoked when the terrain began to change. I hit the Badlands toward evening on the first day and camped in Theodore Roosevelt National Park. I had just finished reading River of Doubt the story of Roosevelt's harrowing Amazon expedition a few days earlier so it was neat to stay in the park dedicated to his time in the Badlands.

By noon on day two I arrived in Gallatin National Forest south of Bozeman. This area is a mecca of fly fishing and hiking. The hikes were long, steep and rugged. Just what I was looking for. Fishing in the ice cold mountain streams for Brown and Cut Throat trout is as close to heaven as you will ever get...

I was able to avoid the RV filled National Forest campgrounds and instead back-country camped along an amazing creek with a gorgeous water fall. These types of quiet, serene sites are totally worth the hard work it takes to get to them...


Trout filled Lace Lake.

8.11.08
Woman of Rock.
Barb's epic three year rock landscaping project continues to roll forward. This week she began work on the steps that lead from the cabin down to the dock. Its looking great and its really nice to be able to get to the dock on a nice gentle grade. It was pretty treacherous until this week.

All of the stones we are using have been found and carried by hand from the forests surrounding Hungry Jack.


One small step for Whiskeyjack...

08.08.08
Party in your mouth.
The hot topic up the Gunflint Trail right now is the amazing blueberry crop we are enjoying this year. Last year's forest fires combined with a wet summer this year have combined to make perfect conditions for the berries. Today we headed up to Magnetic Lake to hunt for berries amid the heart of the fire that ravaged the area.

We found out quickly that we didn't have to really hunt at all. Berries were literally everywhere making it almost impossible to walk in some areas without squishing these tasty little treats. We picked and picked (and sometimes tasted) until we had our bucket completely filled. Then we hiked up the ridge to the overlook so we could see the effects of the burning from last year.

It was definitely eerie walking among the burned out trees but a warm sunny day and countless berry bushes made us reflect on how quickly the forest can regenerate itself.

The girls in a post-fire berry patch.


Green forest floor amid the burn.




View of fire damage from ridge.

8.05.08
Lazy Fishing.
We spend lots of time searching for fish in the countless lakes surrounding our cabin. BUT, we are starting to learn that some of the best fishing in the area is right off of our cabin dock. Today Jo and I spent some time casting in the comfort of our Adirondack chairs and landed some HUGE fish. Jo is generally not at all afraid to hold fish (even Northerns) but the monster pictured below had her just a little bit nervous. Smallies are pure muscle and fight like heck when hooked and flop around like crazy once they are landed.

7.30.08
Hawg Walleye.
Some friends and I headed out with Cory Christianson of Seagull Creek Fishing Camp in search of one of the monster walleye that lurk in Saganaga Lake. I didn't personally land one of these babies but a 28.5" and 26" walleye found their way into the boat. I was left drooling...


28.5" Walleye

7.26.08
Mangy Moose.
I headed out for some walleye fishing on a small inland lake and spotted this moose munching vegetation in a small pond. I didn't time her but it seemed that she was holding her head under water for at least 2 minutes on each dunk -all the while chewing and swallowing. Amazing creatures.

7.23.08
Paddling pics.
Here's some pictures of Jo and I paddling on Hungry Jack. Its never too early to get your kids out on the water!



7.05.08
Red sky in morning, sailors take warning...
I woke up extra early this morning to catch some fish and was treated to this amazing sunrise over Hungry Jack Lake. It was a great way to start the day. Thankfully, the maritime adage about an early morning red sky did not hold true on this occassion. The day was clear and warm and beautiful!



6.29.08
Lupines in bloom.
We are having a spectacular season of wildflowers. The meadows and roadsides are covered in stunning blankets of daisies, hawkweed and lupine.


Lupine close up.






6.28.08
Berries are ALMOST ready.
I strolled some trails near our cabin this morning to monitor the berry crop. The wild strawberries are just about ripe. These tiny beauties are loaded with flavor. Any day now they should be ready to pick... (if we get to them before the bears.)

June 23, 2008
Smallmouthed Fever. Catch it.
We headed up the Gunflint Trail this morning to paddle and fish gorgeous Seagull Lake. It was our first time on this lake after last year's devastating Ham Lake fire. It was tough to see how much of the lake's shoreline had burned. However, the burn exposed large patches of Canadian shield ledgerock which gives the lake and its many islands and peninsulas an entirely new type of beauty.

The fire didn't seem to affect the fish one bit. We were on the water for about 90 seconds when Joey had a 17 inch smallmouthed bass on her Scooby Doo rod. At first, Barb and I were convinced it was a snag but an epic struggle soon ensued and eventually the huge red-eyed beauty was hoisted into the boat.

June 2, 2008
Tom Sega, President of Duluth Pack stopped by our shop with Todd and Teri L. of Kansas who recently purchased a pair of Whiskeyjacks. They had just returned from a BWCA trip where they used our canoe paddles (a Whiskey Jill and a Double Whiskey...) and wanted to take a look around the shop and meet the crew. Its always nice to take a break and visit with paddlers.

From left to right. Teri, Todd, Tyson, Danny and Tom Sega.

May 18, 2008
Faux Fishing Opener.
Our annual fishing opener event at our cabin occurred a week later than usual this spring. This year we were in Florida sunning our buns during the actual opener weekend. As fate would have it, doing it a week later turned out to be a great move since all of the area lakes were still frozen solid on opening weekend.

This year's group of five braved less than ideal conditions in an attempt to pull in one of the monster lake trout that inhabit the deeps of some of the surrounding BWCA lakes. High winds, cold weather and occasional rain made fishing from canoes and lake crossings a challenge. Nonetheless, we pulled in our share of fish and had a ton of laughs along the way. It was a great way to start off the Minnesota fishing season. All of the major species of fish (walleye, small-mouthed bass, trout, northern pike) found their way into our canoes -but the trophy lakers eluded us.

Mike S. and a Hungry Jack walleye.


Paul a.k.a. Philly McSweetDreams with a hog smallie.




Tim and his 17 tackle boxes. Now dubbed "The Festival of Lures"


John R. recieving the Mike Stowman Poor Sportmanship award.