Making More Memories

June 1st. Woke to rain. Greg Gordon (CT), one of the Converse party that was here in May, returned all by himself in search of the elusive land locked salmon. As you can imagine, a camp full of fishermen creates competition. Greg was not about to be bested by his fishing buddy and rival Larry Converse – remember Larry caught that 5 pound lunker last month? Greg was determined to catch a bigger fish, no matter how long it would take. Greg is retired…

Wayne and Grant stated planning boards for new decking to be used in cabins 7 and 8. When I got home from work I found a note telling me they had gone fishing on the 4th. Sitting on the deck enjoying the view at the end of a long day at the print shop I could see Grant’s pontoon boat and Greg’s pretty white “dory” beyond Oak Point. It looked like they were trolling. As the shapes neared it appeared Greg’s small boat was towing Grants “barge”! Apparently they’d (Grant and Wayne) broke down on the lake. Thankfully Greg came to the rescue, responding to Wayne’s “emergency flash light”! We celebrated their safe return around the campfire that night. Greg had good success all week catching 12”-14” brook trout and salmon. Joe Decker (guest at Fish River Lodge for more than 40 years!) arrived on the 7th and Greg departed – there was to be no trophy salmon for Greg, but there’s always “next time”. That night I hosted a race committee meeting for the Eagle Lake sled dog races – it’s not too soon to begin planning for next winter! Dana Davis and friend Wendy arrived to stay in cabin 3 for a few days of fishing. Joe brought in a day’s catch of brook trout and salmon. Edgar Satterfield and his buddies arrived for a long weekend of fishing out of cabin 6. On the 11th Joe brought in a very fat 3 ½ lb salmon. On the 12th Wayne and I paddled a section of the St. John River between Allagash and St. John with Mike Dumond, Steve and Shondelle Daigle and their children Chris and Allie, Heather and Jessie Jandreau, and Allyson. It was a wonderful day on the river with friends. The Pelletier family (Herve, brothers Bob and Al and Al’s wife Karen) arrived for the week. Bob and Al play guitar, Herve plays harmonica and had his handcrafted, jointed wooden dancing man named Jean Pierre. They entertained us several evenings around the campfire with their music and Herve’s skill at making Jean-Pierre dance. He even taught me how to work the little jointed dancing man - I got the hang of it as they played "You Are My Sunshine". Herve is 92 years old and knew my grandpa Armand. My grandpa is now gone, but Herve so reminds me of him – his wit and kind manner.

Wayne and Grant replaced decking on cabin 8.

On the 16th and 17th Wayne and Grant tore down the old addition that housed my office, laundry room and bathroom. It had been poorly constructed and caused us lots of problems. The only way to fix it properly was to tear it down and rebuild. We had been given lots of salvaged lumber to help keep costs down.

The annual moose lottery was held on the 18th. Duane Webber called me at work on the 19th to announce his dad had been drawn! I don’t know who was more excited, he or I? Later that evening Ron Webber called to ask if I would be his guide – the answer of course was YES! On the 22nd I sent our moose brochures to lucky lottery winners in zones 2 and 3. But by then we already had 4 hunts booked! Wayne started rebuilding the addition on the 23rd.

Jane Patterson and sister-in-law Valerie arrived on the 29th. I’d met Jane at Hollywood Slots back in April. After telling her about Fish River Lodge, she vowed she would be up to fish. Well, true to her word, she and Val arrived. That evening I got a red canoe ready for them to use in the morning – hauled it down to the lake, put paddles, life vests, and a throw cushion underneath. It rained hard all night. The morning of the 30th I went down to bale out boats before work. The canoe was gone – Jane and Val were out fishing. But then I saw them fishing out of the green canoe. I figured they may have preferred the longer canoe and paid no more attention to it, until I looked up from my baling to see where they’d put the red canoe. It was no where in sight. Hmmmm…. I continued baling as my eyes gazed from the point, along the shore, back toward the dock, when I spotted the red canoe, upside down in the cove up against the rocks! Apparently last night’s wind had blown the canoe over and off the beach where it came to rest in the cove. In the mean time, Jane and Val thought I’d forgotten to put their canoe out! They dragged the green canoe down to the lake for a day of fishing. At least the life vests and cushion, looped over the paddles, didn’t blow away – they found them on the beach. Later that night we all shared our stories of the missing canoe! We thoroughly enjoyed Jane and Val and look forward to their return next year.

Although times can be tough and running a sporting camp is a lot of work, the reward is the friends we meet along the way. They are friendships we cherish, that add richness to our days, and memories to last a lifetime.

Spring Cleaning

Wayne and I both continue working our “real jobs” and running the lodge. It wasn’t difficult in the winter – our very slow season. But now that we’ve begun another year it will be challenging juggling all our responsibilities at the lodge and at our jobs during the coming months. Sometimes I wonder HOW we will manage but we’ve learned that nothing of real value in life comes easy and our hard work and dedication has gotten us through the hard times in the past. So we work weekdays for others then work nights and weekends for ourselves. We do what we must to survive. It was a financial struggle all winter keeping up but we’re hopeful spring, summer, and fall will be good to Fish River Lodge.

May is beautiful up here in The County as color bursts forth everywhere after a long, monochromatic winter. Bright green buds on trees, deeper greens in the grasses, shades of blue on the water and sky, and every day new color in the many wildflowers that blossom. We welcomed Dave Parker and Tom Camilleri (MA) as the season’s first fishermen. Normally their arrival on May 1st would have been far too early for open-water fishing. However, Dave and Tom called us regularly, tracking the progress of ice-out, wanting to experience real “ice-out” fishing on Eagle Lake. They arrived days after all the ice had melted away. After a challenging week of fishing they departed well rested and refreshed. Fishing had been slow as the lake’s surface temps remained too low to stimulate our brook trout and salmon to feed near the surface.

On the 8th Wayne and Grant started installing a new floor in the kitchen. The old, chipped and worn tile was tired and no matter how many times we mopped the floor it looked terrible. The new tile looks great and is a welcome upgrade this year. Larry Converse and company returned on the 10th for a week of fishing. They take meals with us so we get to visit with them every morning and night – they’ve become very good friends. They share stories of their days on the lake and Fish River, and of the ones that got away. On the 11th I came home to find a fish that didn’t get away! There was a gorgeous, hooked-jaw salmon in our sink! Larry had caught the 5 lb., 28” inch beauty earlier in the day. Rick Knowles, of the Converse party, shared his delicious venison sausages with us mid week. Wayne cooked them off as an appetizer – it was the best I’ve ever had, really! Skye Sutherland and her dog Zack arrived on the 12th to spend the night with us before moving in to her summer rental at Long Lake. We befriended Skye and Zack last fall during bear season. I enjoyed having a lady at the lodge to visit with!

On the 14th Wayne installed a culvert in the ditch in front of cabin 1. The former “bridge” got plowed up this winter – a culvert will provide better drainage and safe passage to the cabin in the future. He also mowed the lawn for the second time this season. On the 15th we packed a lunch and the puppies and took a drive to Presque Isle for Spud Speedway’s motor sports show. We wanted to support our hometown driver (and our mechanic) Ricky Saucier. His Toyota Camry won the “people’s choice” award for best in show. He’d spent weeks “pimping his ride.” After the show we drove home through the woods and saw lots of moose. The pups traveled well all day.

Grant and Wayne started replacing the lodge deck on the 17th. Many boards had rotted or become loose over the past few years. They also found rot under the lodge and were able to replace rotted timbers before it became a big problem for us. On the 18th I drove to St. Francis to pick up a truck load of lupine from Wanda Pelletier. It seems the plants had taken over her backyard garden. I was thrilled to take them off her hands. When I got home we planted them on the hill by the parking lot in hopes they take hold and eventually cover the hillside in purples and pinks in June. The new lodge deck was completed on the 20th. My cousin Ryan Grant and his wife Lori arrived on the 21st to pick up their puppy, “Madigan” (a.k.a. Maddy). They brought lobsters and we had a feast Saturday afternoon, later we circled the campfire and caught up on the many years that had past since we were kids. It was a very relaxing weekend and a wonderful visit with Ryan and Lori. Soon after they departed Wayne started mowing – it takes much of an afternoon to complete. While he mowed I painted posts on the deck and touched up wearing paint on the lodge.

The Babine family returned for another Memorial Weekend with us. Ian and Kate Anderson and a friend came up for a stay in cabin 6; and Tyler and his dad Kelly Bruce, and Acadia and little Nellie arrived to pick up their puppy “Cedar”. Acadia and I helped serve hamburgers and hotdogs at an ATV club fundraiser on Saturday. Bob Macomber and friends Skip and Rita stopped by the lodge for a visit after and to present Acadia with her Christmas gift – a Red Rider BB Gun! How cool! The Bruces were fishing – Nellie too – it was Nellie’s first fishing trip – they caught several brook trout and salmon. On Sunday we took Acadia to Spud Speedway to watch Ricky Saucier and Austin Theriault race. Austin won his class and Ricky battled with his car’s handling – but the car sure looked pretty out there! The long holiday weekend came to a close as our guests departed on the 31st. After doing laundry, making beds, and cleaning cabins, Wayne and I went for a ride to look for moose before dark. We saw 14 moose and 3 bears! We fished a few streams and caught (and released) a few brook trout. May brought us lovely weather, wonderful guests, and many new memories. We got some much-needed work done on the lodge just in time for summer!

Snow Melt

Winter isn’t over yet. While waiting for Mary, Dan, Ian and friends to arrive from Litchfield, Maine Wayne split the last of our winter wood. The crew arrived around 7 p.m. and after settling in their camp came up to our cabin for a visit. Wayne made a plan with the boys to head out on the lake early…4 degrees to start, all on lake by 6:30 a.m. I took my sled and met “the boys” on the lake later in the morning. I missed some fast fishing – they already had two 14” brookies and a 24” salmon on the ice. It was a riot watching Wayne and the boys chase flags all over the ice all day! Paul Gagnon (Fort Kent) let me try out his Ski Doo Millenium Edition sled (#34 of 500 made in 2000). It is FAST! Conditions on the lake that day were perfect for some fast runs. With the throttle pinned the sled would set you back at 70 m.p.h. as it effortlessly and comfortably accelerated to 100+ m.p.h. Even at my age I have to admit I’m a speed junkie! More fishing Sunday with temps comfortably in the 20s with an overcast sky. I enjoyed the opportunity to visit with my dear friend Mary. We all gathered at Alec Brook and built a campfire. We roasted venison on sticks for lunch – life is good! As the afternoon wore on and we started to pick up our gear we tallied the weekend’s action. The boys had chased over 100 flags and landed dozens of salmon and brook trout. Almost all were released – we fish for the joy of it. The highlight of the weekend was watching Sandy and her gaggle of teenage boys trudge back to “fish camp” with a beaver Sandy had trapped on Alec Brook! March came to an end and spring will be early this year. It rained on the 30th.

April 2nd the ice jam broke on the Allagash. Open water everywhere. Now we look forward to spring fishing and rarely, at the start of open-water fishing season, can we here in the north-country actually fish on open water in early April. We can this year. I gave a selection of streamer flies to Pat Baker (MI) so he can try his luck this weekend. Most of our snow had melted by the 5th. Normally we are riding sleds well in to April! Ed and Julie Dallas (MN) sent us another unique gift – matching beaver fur beer coozies. I think we’ll make some from our beaver pelts too! I observed the river level rising at Fish River every day as I traveled through Soldier Pond. Wayne surprised me on April 8th. He planned a mini-vacation to Bangor. We have cabin fever and need to get out of The County! Jerry and Sandy (our trapping partners) will stay at the lodge to watch over Alli, Grace and the pups. Green grass in Bangor. Checked in to motel then shopping at Dick’s and the mall; got new Merrills for summer, bought some books, a compass to replace the one I lost last fall, and Wayne got a new soft-side tackle box and selection of lures. We went out to dinner and a movie. It was such a treat! Saturday night we went to Hollywood Slots. Had a blast and actually came home with money in our pockets. Headed home Sunday morning and took Route 2 all the way to Smyrna. It was a beautiful ride along the Penobscot River then through the high country further north. Katahdin was cloaked in snow. When we got home we found the lake ice breaking up due to high winds. On the 12th we had open water on both sides of the lake. Driving home from Fort Kent each day I watched the snow shawl protecting the shoulders of north facing slopes from spring chills slowly slipping away. On the 13th Grant and Wayne started replacing our kitchen floor and plumbing. Pups are growing and enjoy exploring the cabin. A moose passed between our cabin and the fir trees just outside our door the night of the 14th. Miranda, Tyler, and my grand daughter Nellie arrived to meet their puppy. They brought friends Kaylen, George and baby Mason – we opened the lodge and spent our evenings in the lodge dining, drinking cocktails, and socializing. Miranda and I made a trip to Mardens in Madawaska for wedding stuff. Fish River Lodge will be the site for Miranda and Tyler’s wedding on August 14th. Loons arrived and the ice floes blow back and forth on the lake. The ice went out on the 20th – a full two or more weeks earlier than average! On the 24th we started spring cleaning the lodge – washed all the logs, windows, kitchen cupboards and shelves, appliances, my office, then started moving back to the lodge from cabin 1. We spent our first night at the lodge on the 24th – I guess it is officially spring since the lodge is officially open. Wayne put docks out on the 29th and we started opening cabins. With the longer days now we have time to enjoy the outdoors after work. We alternate yard work with excursions to the meadow with the pups so they can gain confidence exploring wide open spaces.