The weather finally started to warm up on Friday after we had two days of snow at the beginning of last week. Nights, however, have still been quite cool and we still had a skim of ice on the puddles Friday morning. That evening, however, was the first night this past week that we didn’t have the wood stove going; first thing in the mornings though, we’ve been firing up the stove to take the chill out of the air. There are, to date, no bugs and the poplars are just starting to come into leaf.
With the cold weather, we’ve used up a fair bit of the firewood that was cut at the end of last season and so, Friday, we were hauling, splitting, and stacking firewood. Earlier in the week, we had been working quite hard building new floating docks, felling trees, and milling timber to build a walkway in front of one of the cabins. Certainly there is no shortage of work to do!
We generally get up between 6:00-7:00 AM to assist clients who are heading out early or we finish up any other miscellaneous jobs. Then it is on to whatever needs to get done. If everything is running smoothly, we may get some time off during the afternoon until the fishermen start arriving back at camp. When they do get here, we have to be down at the dock helping them land the boats and unload. Finally, at the end of the day, we clean out the fish shack and refill the gas tanks. Fridays are always longer than the other days as boats have to be washed down before the next clients fly in Saturday morning. Saturday mornings are busy as clients are flying out and new ones are coming in and we generally are restocking on groceries, gasoline, and propane. We may have three or more flights in depending on numbers. If new arrivals are heading to the outpost camp, we will generally have to make at least two trips in the boats getting their gear and supplies out. Sundays are our day off but we still are responsible for helping clients get out in the morning, meeting them back at the dock at the end of the day, and refilling the gas tanks.
We’re burning a lot of calories each day but fortunately, the food here is amazing. We don’t get to eat, however, until the work is done and after any clients who are on the American plan have eaten. Wednesdays, we do a fish fry for the whole camp: fish kebobs, deep fried walleye, coleslaw, green salad, and the best baked beans that I’ve ever tasted. Thursday night, we had a Cajun shrimp boil that was prepared by one of the owner’s buddies: potatoes, onions, corn on the cob, jumbo shrimp, and walleye stuffed with crab meat. I don’t usually have third helpings but up here, you certainly earn it!
Up until today, there hasn’t yet been much time for fishing. During the week, I’ve only managed to fish briefly from one of the docks on two occasions (and one of those was in a snowstorm). Occasionally, we will be sent out on Wednesdays if the clients have not brought in enough walleye for the fish fry. With a fishery this good, however, I’m not sure how often that might happen. The owner told me earlier that two good anglers can catch 1,000 fish between them during a weeklong stay. From what I’ve seen, I don’t doubt him and I have already heard from different anglers of getting multiple double and triple headers!
The weather today was perfect for fishing: sunny, warm, and calm. This being our day off, five of us headed out mid-morning after finishing up chores. We travelled a short distance north to the river leading into Ara Lake. Fishing a mid-lake hump in 10-12 feet of water, we had our limit of walleye and one whitefish within two hours using jigs tipped with minnows. It was a stellar day!
Meta Lake Report, May 24
