9.08.10
Long time no blog.
Well its been a crazy few months for Barb and me. Our brand new set of twins arrived healthy and happy on August 25. Ingrid and Max have been keeping us busy -needless to say!

Between the twins and work I haven't had much time to post photos or reports from the final days of summer. Normally we spend the month of August at the cabin, but with Barb due at any time we had to stay close to home base. Just in case... I wasn't interested in delivering a set of twins on my own in the middle of the wilderness.

That said, I was able to sneak in a trip to Montana in early August and also spent some weekend time on the water here in Northern Minnesota. Below are a few pics from the final days of our summer. Seems silly to be looking at summer photos when they are predicting snow for us tomorrow... I still haven't even drained the pipes in the cabin yet...

Jo Jo turning a frog into Prince Charming.


Barb and Joey chill-axing the day away in the tube.


View of Whitefish, Montana

9.01.09
SUP Nation.
Bob Turcotte of Lake Tahoe sent us this email a few weeks back. Bob purchased a Whiskeyjack stand up paddle as a Christmas gift for his wife a few years back. Thanks for the article, Bob!
----------------------
Hi Dan,
Thought you might be interested in an article written about Lisa that just appeared in our local paper. I'll send you a hardcopy of the article if you'd like. I think the picture really shows off the paddle.
-robert turcotte



Click here to view a larger image of the article.

7.21.09
Family paddle.
Barb is 7.5 months pregnant with twins -so our Boundary Waters trips this summer are far less ambitious than normal. Luckily there are lots of amazing lakes that we paddle and portage to right from our cabin on Hungry Jack Lake.

Of course, I am carrying most of the gear while Barb chips in carrying paddles and fishing poles (and two babies in here belly...) Barb says "If Sacagawea can do it, so can I!"

7.06.09
Dan Solo.
I headed out for a solo BWCA trip this week. The emphasis was on fishing so I set up base camp four lakes into the Boundary Waters and fished the surrounding lakes for 4 days. It was classic walleye fishing. The days were clear and VERY windy making fishing from a 15 foot solo canoe almost impossible.

Because of the wind and the fact that walleyes are much more active in the dark, I chose to rest during the day and fish at night. A hammock and a good book makes being wind-bound an awesome experience. I swung in the hammock and read and dozed most of the days away. When evening arrived, the winds generally calmed and I was rested and ready to fish.

I woke up at sunrise and headed out to fish in the solo canoe. The small mouthed bass are off of their spawn beds and are now feeding like mad. I quietly slipped my canoe into a small, dead-calm bay and cast my floating Rapala lure toward a fallen tree along the shore. The instant it landed on the surface I had a massive strike. There was a huge splash and my medium-light action rod immediately bent over.

I was certain this was a huge northern pike. After fighting the fish for several minutes, I was able to get the fish along side the canoe. To my astonishment I had two huge small mouthed bass on the lure. Rapalas have two sets of hook and the two fish each pounced the lure at the same time. I hit the daily double!

Well, I was in my glory! I had heard the legendary tales about the fishing being so good that you'd catch two fish with every cast. Now I was a believer.

However, my triumphant moment soon turned painful when it was time to get each fish off of the line. I knew it wasn't going to be easy. Smallies are pure muscle and both of these fish were the size of footballs. I had thumbed the first fish and was reaching for the second when it began to fight violently. It happened in an instant -one of the trebles imbedded right into my finger. OUCH!

Still smiling, even when "hooked"

6.19.09
Sunnies -n- Frogs.
With summer officially here, much of my cabin days are spent fishing solo in the morning and then taking adventures with Joey in the afternoon. We've been out hiking the woods and catching frogs like crazy in the marshes surrounding Hungry Jack.

Then its back to the cabin to catch some of the sunfish and bluegills that are hiding in the shade below our dock. Its peak season in the paddle making biz and work has been really tiring lately. So I'm more than happy sitting in the Adirondack with my feet up while Joey catches one fish after another...


Jo Jo and a sunny.


6.16.09
Slacker.
Last week Joey was introduced to the slack line at rock climbing camp. She really loved it so I was motivated to dig out some webbing from my own climbing gear and set up a slack line behind our cabin. I had forgotten just how difficult it was!


Jo Jo on the slack line.

6.06.09
Battle of the hummingbirds.
The hummingbirds have completed their long migration and have arrived in full force on Hungry Jack Lake. The feeder is up and our flower boxes are filled with bright red flowers. This turns our cabin into a battleground for the many ruby throated hummingbirds buzzing around the lake. These little buggers are extremely territorial and defend their turf visciously. They swoop in and attack any other hummers that attempt to feed. We've been sitting in the screened in porch watching the many fights and incredible aerial manuevers. They really should learn how to share...


A Ruby Throated Hummingbird at our feeder.

5.25.09
Memorable Memorial Day.
On Friday the family headed up to the cabin for Memorial Day weekend. It was the first time we've all been up to Hungry Jack together since last Fall. It was cold and rainy all week but then the skies cleared and we enjoyed PERFECT weather Saturday and Sunday.

On Saturday, I had quite a bit of cabin maintenance to take care of (Plumbing=fun!) so Barb and Joey went off exploring the trails and visiting with cabin neighbors who we haven't seen since last summer.

After my chores were finished, we loaded up the canoe and headed off to fish. After 2.5 hours of hard fishing we returned to the cabin with zero fish. Total bummer. We were disappointed but it was still fun to paddle around and enjoy the beautiful lake.

In the evening, I got the camp fire going and we lounged around the fire roasting smores. The night sky was crystal clear and the stars looked amazing.


Barb and Jo roasting marshmellows.

On Sunday morning, I was up at sunrise to head out in the solo canoe in search of fish. Getting skunked yesterday didn't sit well so I was extra motivated to head out and find some trout. I decided to portage to a nearby lake (Lake Wish-you-knew...)

The portage was long and hard, especially with an empty stomach, but it was totally worth it. I had a nice sized lake trout on the line almost immediately and I enjoyed nearly non-stop lake trout action for several hours. The gin-clear lake was perfectly calm and the sun was rising up over the bluffs. I just drifted along the shoreline casting and enjoying the gorgeous scenery.

Catch of the day...

5.09.09
Fishing Opener.
After a long, cold winter and spring, fishing opener has finally arrived. This officially marks the beginning of paddling season here in the Northwoods. In the days leading up to opening weekend, Hungry Jack Lake was still covered with ice. So it was a bit of a nail biter. Finally, the ice went out on Thursday. Just in time! Its hard to believe that a lake can still be covered with ice on May 7.

We had a group of 8 guys up to the cabin this year to fish. In the 5 years that I've hosted opener, this was by far the fewest fish we've ever caught. BUT, I think it was the most fun we've had. It was a great group of guys -all ready to have an awesome weekend in the woods.

We all arrived on Friday evening and enjoyed a beautiful clear night. We fired up the grill and got our tackle and gear unloaded from the cars. We were all excited to get up early and start fishing.

We awoke Saturday morning to snow! That definitely took the air out of our tires but we manned up and headed out on Hungry Jack any way. We didn't have much luck on Hungry Jack so we decided to portage over to a nearby lake to try for some Lake Trout. That's the great thing about the Boundary Waters -there's always another lake nearby.

This was my first portage of the year and my muscles groaned when I hoisted the canoe over my shoulders for the first time since last November. However, it was worth it. I was able to coax a few Lakers in the canoe. Enough for dinner at least. Dave B. brought up some steaks for Saturday evening so we enjoyed a little surf -n- turf action on the grill. It doesn't get any better!


Saturday Morning Snow...


Dan and lake trout.


Greg B. strumming a Whiskey Nanook kayak paddle.


John and Mike bravely heading out on snowy Hungry Jack.

5.04.09
Perfect Match.
Fellow Whiskeyjacker Nick P. emailed us some awesome pics of his Double Whiskey and Whiskey Jill resting in his Cedar Strip Prospector (which he built himself...) While our paddles go well with any style of boat, they are especially nice with cedar strip canoes. Cedar paddles for cedar canoes...

Congrats on the new canoe, Nick! Its a huge accomplishment.

5.01.09
To Russia, with Love.
One of the best things about this job is meeting people from all over the world. Below are pics of a matching pair of Whiskey Apostles on their way to Moscow, Russia.

Have a great trip Il'ja and Artjom!





4.14.09
True Love.
Last week we received a really nice email from Tommy T. of Tallahassee, Florida.

Tommy is a new Whiskeyjacker who just received one of our Whiskey Apostle kayak paddles. We are really thrilled with how our kayak paddles are being received in the paddling community. They are a blast to make. Thanks for the email Tommy!

Hi Barbara and Dan,

I have been paddling with my new Whiskeyjack "Apostle" for about 3 weeks now and I love it more and more each time out on the water. Also, I now proudly sport a my new (and favorite) ball cap. Many thanks, Barbara, for getting this to me.

I have attached a photo of my interpretation of true love.

Cheers,
Tommy

4.01.09
Spring is Here!
Yeah right... Northern Minnesota just got another 10 inches of snow. While much of the country is thawing out and preparing for paddling season, we remain locked into the Winter That Wouldn't End.

I absolutley LOVE winter but enough already. I'm ready to fish and paddle!!!

John and Barb, our neighbors up at Hungry Jack Lake, were kind enough to forward us a photo of our beloved cabin. It was taken this morning as they hiked across the still frozen lake. The cabin and property are still completely covered with snow. It seems impossible to think that we'll be up there for fishing opener in just over 4 weeks...

---

Dan and Barb,

We had a great trek this morning and thought you might like to see your place!

04.01.09
The Art of the Canoe.
We are very excited to be a part of an upcoming exhibit at the Minnesota Marine Museum of Art. The show is titled The Art of the Canoe. Its a special exhibit celebrating Minnesota's canoe builders, canoes and history. Featuring artwork, historic photographs, artifacts and canoes from We-no-nah Canoe founder Mike Chicanowski's personal collection as well as hand crafted wooden canoes by Ely, MN builders Joe Seliga, Jeanne Bourquinne and other Minnesota builders.

Some of the biggest legends of Minnesota canoeing are involved and I'm very honoured to be included.

Learn more: http://www.minnesotamarineart.org/