Moose Hunting on Orono

Staurt White and Chuck Warren came moose hunting with us for the first time. Thank you to Don Schmidt for recommending us. They found and shot a nice sized bull. They found him on an island and he waited as they landed and set up for the shot. Stuart shot first and was backed up by Chuck who shot the final shot. The weather was unseasonably warm and we needed to take the moose to town right away. They got to do a little fishing and check out the country.

Thanks for the pictures guys.

Define Our Canadian Wilderness

I spent a couple days at a marketing seminar. I heard about branding, demographics and social media. I struggled to define our place in the market. We are not Coke or the Best in the World of anything. So....
Where, What and Why are We ??

"Where we are Not" is Easy.....

• We are not a shopping mecca.
• We are not in mountains, too high to climb.
• We are not on ocean, too rough to boat on.
• We are not in the Artic, too remote to reach.

"Where we are" is the Best Possible Place for Us

• We are smack dab in the middle of the Canadian Wilderness.
• Our outposts are perched on the top of the Canadian Shield, a massive region of granite. You see solid rock outcroppings lining the shoreline as you fish; feel it underfoot as you walk the portages.
• The bush is boreal forest; rugged spruce, jackpine and birch caught in a 100 year cycle of burn and grow again.
• Wildlife here lives without influence from civilization; moose, woodland caribou and black bear; bald eagles, loons and ravens; beaver, otter and wolves.
• The lakes and rivers run off the shield towards Hudson's Bay forming a fascinating and varied mosaic, only an experienced bushplane pilot can navigate. Walleye, northern and lake trout share the water with burbot, perch, suckers, white fish and perch.

Here is true wilderness, you can fly into and experience.

I know WHERE but I don't have the catchy slogan that describes it.
Do you have any Suggestions?

At camp alone

It is a good time to reflect as I tidy up, put cabins to bed for the winter, make lists for next spring. Considering the economics of our world at the moment, this summer went very well. I cut down on staff as much as possible, actually even more than possible and got by. I relied on friends, family and guests for help, patience and support. As the summer progressed I found out that guests are booking their trips later or even last minute and I can count on that. This allows me to hire a dock boy and do more maintenance next year. 2010 should be great at Viking Island.

For now Jerry is keeping me company. Jerry is the pesky beaver who cut the internet phone cable and continues to deforest the island. He even knawed a part of the dock to make his pathway a little neater. Each morning I find his latest handywork but never catch him at it.

He is the extreme logger of Viking Island.

Our Historic Cabin Completed

This is the old original lodge. The kitchen, which was an add on, was demolished in July. Now with new shingles, redone logs and fixed up windows, you can see what a great job Art did building his cabins back in the 1950's. The hip roof was his trademark and took a lot of extra time to construct.
I am very pleased that during this crazy summer of floods, cold weather and economic uncertainty that, at Viking Island, we got a project completed!
....only with the help of my brothers and their kids, friends like Bill Scott and his family, Corey Pyykka, Tom and Pudge Robertson, Mike and Ed Robertson, my kids and their friends, our pilots Brahm Perl and Cal Gosselin, Craig and Roseanne for taking care of stuff in town. Thank you everyone.

Hurray

Hudson Wisconsin takes over Viking Island

Steve and his group put up with destroyed docks, walking the planks to get to their boats, weather that was "too Hot" for September and lack of staff when student help went back to school. Still everyone was in a great mood, fishing was great and I had a great week! I enjoyed young Alex, a kid who fit in fine with all the adults, fishing everyday and never getting bored with camp life.
The guests make this camp what it is. They create their own atmosphere and make their own fun.For first week of September, for the past twenty some years, Steve McDonald has organized a fishing trip to Viking Island. They take over the camp deciding who stays in which cabin and setting up their own fishing contest. Deanne and Dave Wiseman bring her two brothers and they have a great family visit while fishing. Kamen brought two classmates from Bulgaria (they all are now proud to be American) and they added enthusiasm to the week (with a touch of vodka). Ron and Barry come with Ron's father, Lyle. Dewey brought his son, Mark, this year. Steve, Danny and Bob fish together. They have brought Patsy Cline tapes each year and that has become dinner music at the lodge.

Gully, I Missed You.

Viking Island Work Party

Hurray!

This is our old lodge built by Art Carlson during the 1950's. It now sits beside our present lodge and stores supplies and our solar system. This July my family came and demolished the old porch that used to be attached. Last week, Hugh and Brahm shingled the roof. This week Tom and Agnes Robertson and Mike and Ed Martin finished the project!!

From shack to historic cabin!!

Bergstrom set new Douglas Lake Pike Record!

Dr. Thomas Bergstrom, MD (ret.) following local fishing guru, Hugh Carlson's advice, used 15 pound test green Spiderwire and a 3/4 oz. "Five of Diamonds" spoon, after a brief struggle, to land his trophy Northern Pike. His catch bested his previous record, set last year, of just over five inches. Bergstrom claims that next year he will stick with Hugh's recommendations, with a similar sized original "Rapala."

Rocky catches THE Northern close to home

Dr. Russell Crisman DVM (ret.) caught a 40+ inch Northern Pike within screaming distance of the Main Lodge (But then, we discovered that Winnipeg is within screaming distance!) He was using a Mepps #6 with 10 pound test Crystal Fireline and was trolling what is now known as "Rocky's Point."

It was a week of no wind, and lots of sunburn.
Submitted by Crisman's guide, Bob Hausser