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November 19 Fishing Interlude. 19/11/07Yesterday. We were the first folks to have ventured out on Glen lake. There was only a little over two inches of ice, every time you moved you could hear and see, new cracks zipping away under your feet. Kinda scary, I didn't get more than 30 feet from shore. When I looked down into my ice hole, it didn't look like there was more than an inch of ice.
We had about three feet of water, then an unknown number of feet of weeds under that. Minus eight C, this morning, so it should be better if we go back towards the end of the week.
I was jiggling my hook, then put it down to get my tea, I looked up and my bobber was gone, I grabbed my rod and the fish just fekked off, pulling my drag. Great fun fighting it below the ice. Just before we were going to leave I got another one on about the same size, got him halfway out the hole and he got off. Gone! He came by, swallowed my bait and started to leave, I gave him a yank and pulled the hook out of his mouth, he kept the shrimp.
I kept jiggling and he turned round and took a swipe at my flasher, I jiggled again and he went for my naked glow hook, again I jerked it out of his mouth. Once more he returned, this time he bit my glow hook, I let him swim away before I jerked again and finally hooked him. Not well enough I'm afraid coz halfway out the hole he twisted off. I watched it all happen about a foot and a half right beneath my feet. Way Kewl!
I was using a little fluorescent pink glow hook with half a Safeway shrimp on it.
Did I take my camera? No........way to much fuss and bother and too heavy to carry. D'oh!! So I kept the one I caught, coz I wanted to bring him home for his photo op and he was so pretty I wanted M to see him too. He was the first Brookie I've caught in 55 years, I had no idea they were so purty! Had him for supper............tasted like dirt. I won't keep anymore from around here for eating, the lakes are too shallow and the fish all taste like mud. I though he was big enough to be different.
17.5"L. 10" around. 2.5 pounds. November 10 Phone calls.A Hard bunch of Guys. Credit must be given.
Here's an incomplete list of guys that worked with me, in the early to late '70s on RTL's Winter Road to Echo Bay mine on Great Bear Lake NWT. I may have forgotten some (I'm sorry if you are among them) Please feel free to refresh my memory.
- Five Warren Brothers: Billy (Bishop), Gerry, Johnny, Joe & Jimmy.
- Dave Thompson.
- Nick Jones
- Brian (McSnowWriter) McLeod.
- Mat King.
- John Soldat.
- Peter Paul.
- Buddy Mercredi.
- Ronny Coward.
- Paul Clark.
- Alex Debogorski.
- Sandy McPhee.
- Ronny McNab.
- Herb Bechdolt.
- Marty Bechdolt.
- John Denison
- John Jr. Denison
- Richard Denison.
- Stan Buck. (O/O).
- Denis Berg. (O/O)
- Bobby Fry. (O/O)
- Wayne Thompson. (O/O)
- Tim 'Newt' McNeil.
- Leroy and his brother Jimmy Mercerau
- Gord Weatherby & his younger brother.(first name escapes me)
- Marvin Robinson.
- Ricky Robinson.
- Lance Chamberlin.
- Daren Cranna.
- John Magrum. (Cook)
- Dave Lorenzen.
- Gerry Boudoin.
- Hugh & Phoebe Arden.
- Jimmy Arden.
- Louie Mackenzie.
- Larry Cooper.
- Ralph French.
- Ken Stubbs.
- Gerry French.
- Bob White.
Not all of the above participated every winter. Some no more than one year.
In the past week a couple of these guys have phoned me, Billy Bishop and Dave Thompson. Bishop disputes my location of Bishops Bath and Dave phoned to say hello and recall old stories. Some of Dave's stories include:
An abortive attempt to push the winter road up through the Dease Arm of GBL and on to Coppermine.
Getting his teeth knocked out by a flying load binder, then getting fired in the airport by Dick himself for leaving his machine and coming home on the plane. (Dick, at the time, not having understood the circumstances of Dave's return, later apologized and re-hired him).
Falling through the ice on a D-6 Cat while crossing Marian Lake. The blade hung up on the ice in front of him, but his seat was under water before he could even stand up. Then he had to crawl out of the water and walk a hundred yards soaking wet in -35 temps coz the (famous) guy that was following him in the Beaver, was too scared to drive any closer. How it took an hour to thaw before he could peel his soaked and frozen snow-suit off.
Getting stuck up to the truck seats, in the overflow water on Marian Lake. His (famous) passenger had to crawl back along underneath the flatbed trailer they were pulling with the bunkhouse on top,, so he could get inside and light a fire in the heater.
Breaking down and being stranded for four days at the north end of Hottah Lake. Sitting there reading and re-reading the same newspaper for four days, running out of food (Garlic sausage and Coke), - then being so close to running out of fuel, his truck quit as soon as its front wheels hit the front of the drop-down hi-boy that had been sent back with Herb to rescue him. That was on the last trip of the season, Dave was last truck on the ice that year. Nobody missed him for three days, then finally RTL took the plane out looking for him.
Seeing the flames and smoke in the sky from our burning bunkhouse. Then jumping on the Cat to push the burning shack off its sled so we could save our fuel supply.
Getting a new driving axel installed under the front of his 6x6 plow truck. Unfortunately the guys that installed it, put it on upside down so the front wheels turned one way (in reverse) while the back drivers spun the other (forward). Not discovering this amusing concept till he drove as far as he could into a snowbank, and engaging the front axel to test it and getting well and truely stuck as his wheels spun in oposite directions.
How he got his nickmname. (W-a C-s)
 About the time: Bob White was traveling by himself, his fuel froze up, clogged the filters and his engine quit. He sat there for a long time waiting for someone else to come along. By the time they finally did, Bob had gotten so cold he was burning diesel fuel in an open can inside the cab to try and stay warm. His face was black, his hands were black, everything on him was black and the inside of the truck cab looked like a soot bomb had gone off in it.
And that's just a brief recounting of some of the stuff we reminisced about. We had a great laugh.
 Perhaps one day, Dave will send me some of his pictures.
All the guys I listed above, have their own and similar stories to tell. |
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