Last Updated: Tuesday, July 3, 2007 3:28 PM CDT
Outdoors : Twenty-five years in paradise
by Mark Walters - Columnist
Hello friends,
This week I am writing to you about the fly-in fishing trip I recently returned from.
My good friends, Pete and Elizabeth Hagedorn, owners of Chimo Lodge and Outposts from Red Lake, Ontario, Canada hosted my brother Mike, myself, and a couple of friends, Gary Gray from Poynette, Jeff Moll from Niagara and Jeff's nine-year-old son Grant for seven days of total getaway and excellent fishing.
Saturday, June 16th
High 73, low 51
None of the work, money spent or fatigue mattered anymore as I watched the Twin Beech 18, taxi on Shultz Lake, with a group from Kewaskum and then take off. For the next seven days Shultz Lake belonged to our gang and no one else.
My dad was the man that found this place for us back in 1982 and I just realized this morning that meant this would be our 25th anniversary.
The Twin Beech dropped us off around 7:00 this morning, which meant we would have a full day of fishing. Jeff Moll wasted no time rigging up a pole for nine-year-old Grant that then headed down to the floatplane pier and began casting while the rest of us moved into the cabin and rigged up our poles. It took Grant maybe five minutes to yell out he had a fish and when it came to the net his dad had ready. The fish ended up being a 31-inch northern pike, which was a pretty admirable fish for the kids' first fish in Canada.
With the arrival of Grant Moll at Shultz Lake, Jeff Moll had now bought all four of his boys to the truest total getaway any of us experiences in a year's time.
Today the fishing was excellent, the weather was a whirlwind of low-pressure systems coming and going with very few of them putting out any precipitation. Tonight, we had a fish fry and ended the day with a traditional game of Yahtzee. Grant Moll wants everyone in the world to know that he beat me, as well as everyone else in the gang in both the big walleye and northern pike for the day bet.
Sunday, June 17th
High 69, low 48
The weather would stay the same most of the week with long pants being a necessity.
Today after a large and relaxing breakfast, we headed south in three boats and took a five-mile boat ride through five different lakes. When we reached a point where we would have to portage or head home we began fishing our way home. Mike Walters and Gary Gray (a genuine comedy act) in one boat. Grant Moll and his dad in another and myself in the third. We fished close to each other and for the most part trolled, casted, and worked slip bobbers with leeches. No matter what we did we caught fish, gave each other a hard time and thoroughly enjoyed ourselves as we worked our way back towards the cabin.
When we were half way back to the cabin, the fishing was the best I had seen it in years anywhere with both walleye and northern pike almost constantly being caught. We pulled our boats ashore on a rocky narrows and filleted a dozen walleye. Next we started a fire and than I cooked just walleye fillets and everyone ate until their bellies could hold no more.
To top off our experience I had thrown out a dead stick with a baitfish on it. About the time we were about leave a 10-pound gater took off with it and then the fight was on. The gater put up a good tussle and was soon released to fight another day.
The following day Jeff, Mike and Grant made a short portage to Trout Lake and when they returned by light of the stars, Mike declared he just had the best day of fishing he ever experienced in Canada.
The boys were all fired up as they had caught several walleye between 20-25 inches and Mikey landed a 41-inch gater that all three of the happy fishermen declared was extremely over weight. Brother Mikey declared Jeff Moll, who was at the tiller all day long, “Master Guide Extraordinaire” and I think it's pretty obvious everyone's having a blast as usual. Living in Paradise!
Sunset
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Grant Moll and his father Jeff Moll working their way through a narrows at Shultz Lake.
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