And TWICE on Tuesday!

Well welcome back!  Last week was crazy fun if you were me!  We had our smallest group of the season, and I was blu….I mean busy as a beaver!  OK, I’ll confess…it was almost like having a week off.  Our group was very independent–even the new people.  I went blueberry picking three times and fishing three times–TWICE on Tuesday!  We got up Tues. morning and Michael had things under control, so I decided I’d like a walleye scramble for breakfast.  Out we went to 2nd Lake.  We caught two eater walleye (’bout 15″) pretty quickly and came in for breakfast.  Then I went blueberry picking for a bit with some guests:) 

Yes, I think it’s going to be a banner year for berries!  They’re earlier than usual, but everything has been this year.  Anyway, I digress.  Later Tues. afternoon we decided to head back out.  I couldn’t keep any walleye ’cause I had one in my belly and one in the fridge, which was fine with me.  It was more about getting out there and fishing!  We went all the way up to 5th Lake.  I had no luck–other than some minnow-plucking perch bites–and Gruper actually caught a seed perch or two:

I love that picture!  We headed down to 3rd Lake to try a couple of Lee’s spots.  In the first spot I got this:

It’s a 26.25″ northern.  We very seldom keep northern of any size ’cause Gruper doesn’t want the slime in his boat, on his net, etc.  However, Mrs. Gruper had a new recipe from Bruce and Debbie who were due in this week–Northern Ceviche:

I found this to be incredibly delicious!  I shared with Bruce and Debbie ’cause they gave me the recipe and I shared with Sonny and Kathy ’cause they’d never had ceviche before.  I’m all about virgin experiences.

OK, back to fishing.  We moved to another spot and got into some nice 14-17″ walleye for quite a while.  It was fun, and we kept nothing but Mr. Northern (thank you, Honey). 

On our way back we saw a baby loon riding on its mama’s back.  By the time I snapped my photo it had jumped off:

As for my footwear, what else does one wear on a beautiful July day while fishing with her best friend?

Our guests did OK last week.  Anna put a 12.25″ perch back in…you can find it on the Conservation Awards page of our website:  www.tallpinescamp.com  She does not like to touch fish, so they photographed it on the measuring tape:)  I’ll share more of their photos next time.  It was their second year, and they found perch, walleye and nice eater northerns (go, Donna!). 

Mark and Louise were first-timers.  I think they enjoyed themselves…they caught walleye (especially Louise), we went blueberry picking, they visited a couple of local eateries, and Louise knitted:)  Nice folks.  Bill and Steve and their families take vacationing quite seriously!  They fished, partied, tubed…a little bit of everything.  It was a great week for them to be here.  They got into some walleye a couple of times as well.

Potluck was Michael’s gig this week.  He made an Aboriginal/Canadian entree:  bannock dogs

This week’s group is a mixture of new and used guests.  Bruce and Debbie have already found some walleye and blueberries.  Brett was here years ago (before us) and brought his family to share the experience.  Al and Jim have been here before and they brought several newbies this year.  Jeff and his crew are new to us.  I think everyone will hit their stride by tomorrow.  Larry and Ruthie are here for three weeks.  They always have a great time, no matter where they are or what they’re doing.  Larry paid a fine tribute to an old friend by naming his boat:

Let’s wrap up this week by sharing some of our buddy Mike’s photos.  He brought his brother-in-law up a few weeks ago.  It was a nasty hot week but not as hot as Iowa, so they enjoyed themselves.  They found fish even in the worst of conditions:

Mike shared the scenery with Bob:

Bob needed a vacation BAD!  He needed to relax…I think the mission was accomplished:

Mike took a picture of another Mike taking a picture at potluck:

Great sky:

And another moonset:

Speaking of Mike, he lost his uncle yesterday.  Jim was a good friend of ours as well, and we’re glad he was able to visit Tall Pines Camp.  Rest in peace, Jim-Bob.