The final pics of July at Tall Pines coming in- and boy there was a lot! Weather this past week was unseasonably cool with guests wearing lots of layers numerous days, rain gear some, and the occasional sun, but great fishing to be had and priceless experiences abound. Minnows, crawlers and plastics were all producing, with some work required to find those honey holes on a given day. Several areas have been hot recently with guests reporting good catches all over.
Scott really knows how to have a good time with his family. Grandson Kellan said when he's a Grandpa he wants to bring his grandkids to Tall Pines too. They all caught some nice fish, Kris and son Clayton had a great time, and Susan helped make some incredible eats while here:
And check out the bear siting they caught while out fishing:
Tom was definitely another proud Grandpa as he brought grandkids Andrew, Benny, and Ella up and they crushed it finding big fish as well as keepers:
Since it was their first time venturing off of the annual Minnesota trip and trying out Canada fishing, Mark, Shane, Dave, and Joe took in the total Canadian experience. From the shorelines, to the Whiskey Jack, to the waterfront views from their cabin, they were so much fun and also found some nice smallies, perch and some eater northerns:
Mike, Keith, Jim, and Bob got a rare photo opp with Earl:
Cheryl, Wayne, Alan, and Pat enjoyed their stay. They got in some wildlife scenery, nice smallmouth and pike, and captured some eery skies while here:
Tony was quite impressive taking the boat out multiple times each day, some times with the whole family, sometimes with the parents, and sometimes either solo or with his wife Jamie. J.D. is being groomed to be quite the little fisherman and Wabaskang veterans Jack and Linda felt right at home being back up here:
Andy has been a Canadian fishermen but tried out Tall Pines for the first time this year with his family. Reese, Caleb, Katie, and he were focused on getting numerous species and did quite well with Reese even landing a 40.5" northern and everyone catching some dandy smallies and walleye:
We were grateful to have our niece and nephew up for the first time. Ryan got some boat time with Matthew while Moranda and I got some girl time together:
Paul and Karen, my parents, got some nice fish over the course of the week, and were a blessing to have while they visited. Camp kids not related were even calling him Grandpa. Also got some quality time with sister Brandy and best friend Amy:
Jim, a die hard fishermen, took on the challenge of "guiding" his family and managed to do boat control, tie lines for 5, net, and still catch some fish of his own. Wife Jaime was a trooper all week and kids Megan, Jack, and Andy caught some giant pike and dandy walleye:
Amy got some quality time with her niece Savannah:
We had numerous friends and family join us this past week. We were able to hire local artist Helen to do an art workshop on site, did some shorelunch, and even had a camp wiffleball game:
Denny and Nancy Merry have been trying to get back up to Tall Pines for the past three years. First it was the border closure, and now health issues forced them to cancel this year's long awaited trip. Getting antsy at home, Denny hand-made this sign for us and had it shipped up. We found a home for it just above the door to the fish house. Thank you Denny, and we sure hope you can join us next year.
This was such a memorable week to be able to share this place with so many- some looking around in awe as it was their first time, and everyone having a grand ole time on and off the water. Though some were missing (Sternishas/Norths), anniversaries were celebrated with "sunset boat rides", 8th grade and high school graduations were celebrated, birthdays were celebrated with decorations and cake, and even a toast to someone's official retirment from teaching 22 years (mine!).