Canada Fishing

I love road trips, my family, and the outdoors, and the trip I'm on today is about all three. Each summer, the men in my family take the trek 18 hours north into the land of blue waters, green trees, lots of other great stuff, eh? That's right, Ontario!

My grandfather, Bruce, started coming to Ignace, Ontario in 1951. Why? nobody knows, but the fishing has always been good, the water always clear, and the company, well that changes year to year but we are always among the best. The annual fishing trip to Canada was a right of passage for the Helvig Family. At the age of 7, you've learned enough about water safety, respect of elders, and fishing to earn the right to come. When I first started coming up, the camp was full of relatives and neighbors from the county. My grandfather always brought his 1971 16-foot Lund, and filled it with my great Uncle Merle, and neighbor Dave. They had to leave early because in an 18 hour trip, there are atleast 4 casinos on the way, and a lot of crab leg buffets to attend to. My family always consisted of my father, uncle, brother, and later on my younger cousins. My sister and mother even came one year, but I think we scared them away with snakes, fish guts, and primitive bathrooms.

This year, its my father, Jon, Uncle Jon, 16-year old cousin Alex, and myself. Its been the same crew for the last several years as most of our fellow fishing mates are with the Great Fishermen upstairs. Its nice to take a small group, but it puts more responsibility on each individual. Cleaning fish, cooking supper, and doing dishes are just a few of the daily chores that need to be done each night. As a 7 year old, dishes were my duty, but through persistence, hard work, and excellent quality control i've climbed the preverbial corporate ladder and become the fish cleaner. Like the Heavyweight Title in wrestling, I once had a shot at being the camp cook, but some hot coals gave my potatos a little too much carbon. The result was a deflated ego, sore jaw from a hard meal, and a new job cleaning fish.

Rumor has it that the camp has internet. Although I look forward to Skyping with my new fiance, I think I'll unplug for now.

 

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