Dan's Blog

I recently returned from ten days in the Canadian bush, where I was on assignment for a magazine to document a family fishing vacation at a remote fly-in outpost camp. Joined by my wife and 11-year-old son, we drove 11 hours to the small town of Wawa in northern Ontario, where we boarded a float plane operated by Air-Dale Flying Service that took us to remote Fred Lake. Accessible only by float plane, Fred is roughly a mile long and half as wide, has a two-room cabin, an outhouse and a boat for guests’ use, who are dropped off and left t of contact with the outside world for their stay. There are no other cabins or any reason for anyone else to visit the lake, which is key to the appeal of such a vacation. We arrived to find that a bear had ravaged the charcoal grill left on the porch, and the window sills on the cabin’s interior were torn up a bit by a bear that had broken in through a roof vent a couple seasons prior and finally broke out through the door. We carried bear spray when walking any farther than the outhouse, and sign of both moose and bear were apparent everywhere. It was great. The fishing was excellent, the scenery stunning and as we prepared a shore lunch of fresh-caught walleye fried over an open fire on a beach or granite outcropping each day, and retired exhausted to our bunks to the sound of loons calling, we appreciated how good it felt to be so far off the grid. Except for the lack of potable water. A heat wave early in the trip had us consuming twice the amount of water we had anticipated and flown in, and eventually we were forced to draw water from the lake, which has a very active beaver population. Anyone who has suffered from “beaver fever” realizes the “diarr” consequences of drinking water tainted by the rodent’s offal, and with only a single-seater outhouse surrounded by mosquitos as a sanctuary, we did not want to risk getting the ailment. That meant we had to boil the water gathered at the lake, after filtering it drip by drip through coffee filters left behind by moose hunters who had occupied the cabin the previous autumn. The painstaking process left us with a great appreciation for a fluid resource we had taken for granted, and one of those lessons that can only be learned first-hand on just such a vacation to be fully appreciated. -- Dan

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Columbus Dispatch outdoor columnist Dave Golowensky shares his insight into the plight of Lake Erie, along teh shores of which he grew up catching blue pike, while Pickaway County Wildlife Officer Ken Bebout shares information on hand loading slugs for deer gun season and how to gig a frog on the final two shows of July. I hope you enjoy them! -- Dan Armitage

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If you missed last week's state shoot at Cardinal Shooting Center in Marengo you lost out witnessing a great event. Cardinal hosts many shooting events throughout the year, and is OTA's home ground. Thanks to OTA's Brad Dysinger and the folks at OTA and Cardinal for allowing me to participate in the recent fund-raiser shoot for breast cancer awareness that kicked off the state championships. Meanwhile, if you have not visited Cardinal, seen the facilities and the campground (w/indoor pool and fishing pond) take time to do so the next time you ride I-71 north of Columbus. It's due west of the freeway and you can't - and don't want to -- miss it.

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Bob Hanko of Cranberry Creek Marina in Huron shared some great walleye fishing tips and destinations within range of his marina located just east of Huron, which caters to smaller, trailerable boats and the fishing for smallmouth, walleye and yellow perch is as close as a mile out on Ruggle's Reef. My son Ethan and I fished with Bob and his 11-year-old son Blake recently on the Sandbar, a bit further offshore, and cleaned-up on big walleyes, using crawler harnesses and in-line planer boards. It's a great place to go fishing and a wonderful part of the state to visit.

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