Then And Now

Every year has its mile markers. There are birthdays, holidays and other seasonal activities that repeat annually. On occasion an annual event will inspire me to reflect on the past. Our annual fishing trip is one of those annual events.

In 50 years some has changed, much has not.

Me and the bro. 1961.

My first fishing trip to Ontario was in 1961. I was eight years old. My grandfather was in charge. He was the boss of everything. He owned the concrete plant where the whole family worked and owned the boat we used for family fishing trips. We followed his orders or else. He was the Polish version of Capo di Tuti Capi. 

Me on the left, Dad in the middle and the old man in the wheelhouse.

In the photo below the old man is on the left and his brother Chet on the right. If you click to enlarge you will see them holding a bear and a deer with a pile of ruffed grouse, ducks and fish on the ground. All this game was taken on one single trip to Lake Of The Woods (LOTW).


The photo was taken in the late 40’s after Uncle Chet returned from the war in Europe.

My guess would be autumn in 1948.

 

I am told they would go to Canada twice a year to catch and shoot wild game that he would serve in his tavern. I am in constant awe of their past outdoor success. I will never be able to duplicate that success in my lifetime during one single fall trip. LOTW was and still is an outdoor sportsman’s paradise.

We first stayed at a small and very rustic camp called Vic & Dot’s on the Whitefish Bay section of Lake of the Woods (LOTW). Cabins were knotty pine with no electricity. Indoor light was provided by gas lamps connected to an outdoor tank. Outhouses. A shower building. Pot belly stove. It was fun. The old man knew Vic’s father from going up north to hunt and fish since the late 40’s and we were treated well by their family.

During the winter Vic would go out with a saw and cut 2’ x 2’ x 3’ blocks of ice out of the bay. He would drag them to a large vented building made of cedar. Inside were cedar boxes that held the ice all summer long under a few feet of cedar sawdust. The ice was used for summer refrigeration.

Our days on Lake of the Woods back in the early 60’s put us on the water about 8am. We would not return until the ice filled big old red metal cooler with a white Coca-Cola logo embossed on the side was loaded with respectable sized fish. If that didn’t happen we stayed out late and came back very tired. The old man made fishing too much like work at times. In no way would he return to the dock in daylight view with a small catch for all to see.

For the past 20+ years we have stayed at Red Wing Lodge on the Sabaskong Bay section of LOTW. Red Wing is much more modern than Vic & Dot’s. Cabins have indoor plumbing and showers. Electricity comes from a hydro dam in Kenora ON. Mike at Red Wing installed a huge diesel powered generator that is capable of powering the entire camp for weeks in case of emergency. One more thing, the cabins have air conditioning. Yes, it can get very hot in the summer up north.

When in high school I lost interest in going up north on a family trip with the old man along. Besides, I discovered other interests such as women. My return to Canada didn’t happen until the old man was near his end, about 1978. When we returned to Canada my dad, the bro and I swore we would never make work out of a fishing trip again.

In the 60’s the trip could take up to 20 hours to get there. The same trip today now takes 13 hours because most of the route is now 4-lane paved highway. Back then our arrival time could take a few hours longer depending on how many Wisconsin bars and supper clubs the old man wanted to stop at.

Eventually we bought a new boat that offered comfort and speed. The average price for a small rental boat and motor could go anywhere from $500 per week to $650. Over time our 18’ Lund has almost paid for itself in rental savings.

Dad, Me and son Andy at the Red Wing dock about 15 years ago.

Four generations of my family have fished in Canada. Now my son goes with us so that makes him the fourth (but he couldn’t make it this year).

I honestly believe it is our enjoyment of the outdoors that has helped keep our nuclear family intact over the years. It all started by going to Canada with the old man. While he could be a jerk and hard to get along with most of the time, I must give him credit for initiating this annual trip.

One area of interest I have is collecting vintage fishing tackle. It’s another way to remind myself how some things have changed while others have not. Some of the vintage tackle belonged to the old man. Some I found at garage sales. My biggest haul was from a lady who worked with me years ago. Her dad passed away and her brother wasn’t interested in his two old tackle boxes. She knew I liked old tackle and gave them to me.

We use four different types of artificial lures on our Canadian trips as we always did. Each is best suited for select species during different seasonal conditions. As shown below, not much has changed in fishing tackle. What has changed are the hi-tech materials used in manufacturing them.

First and familiar to most is the crank bait.

Crankbaits.

In this example is the classic Rapala® minnow. It can be cast and retrieved or trolled behind the boat. They are made of balsa wood and come in a wide variety of sizes and color combinations. The lure on top is a vintage early 60’s model and the one below is about ten years old. Not much has changed in fifty years and they still work well. These lures are capable of catching any fish that swims.

The simple jig is the lure I would choose if I were allowed to have only one lure with me, or if I were in a survival situation.

Jigs.

 

While I have caught fish on bare jigs it helps to tip the hook with a minnow, leech or nightcrawler for a little scent and flavor. In the 60’s jigs were tied with deer hair such as the one in the photo above.

Deer hair is hollow so it has floating properties and becomes very active when twitched underwater. The bottom jig is a newer version with a plastic curly tail. These color combinations work well in LOTW.

A big bucktail is the staple in every muskie fisherman’s arsenal.

They are operated only one way, cast it over likely habitat, crank it in, open the reel bail as it nears the boat, stick the rod tip in the water and sweep the lure in a wide figure eight pattern before preparing for the next cast. Big muskies have been known to hit it on the figure eight movement and the theory is fish respond to the change in direction. Or not. I have seen my share of big muskies follow it in, follow the figure eight bucktail before swimming off with a F.Y. attitude.

Bucktails.

The bucktail on top is probably a late 50’s version and the bottom one is about five years old. The term bucktail is used because they are usually tied with deer tail hair. The one on top has a few feathers. I included it because I find it interesting.

When fishing for walleyes I would never go out on the water without first trying a spinner rig shown below.

Spinner Rigs.

Spinner rigs have been our go-to lures for walleyes for a long time. Some refer to these as the "Little Joe" which was a brand name from the 70's. on the bottom is a rod and reel from the 50’s with a brand name factory lure called the “June Bug Spinner” made by Shakespeare, also vintage 50's. After tipping the hook with a minnow, leach or nightcrawler the weight takes this rig to the bottom. The blade turns and attracts the attention of the fish as we troll in reverse making it move very slowly. They see and smell the live bait and chomp.

Spinner rigs can also be used with a very light weight and trolled above weedbeds. Modern rigs come pre-tied so if one color and blade size isn’t working the entire rig must be retied. This problem was solved when I decided to make my own rigs. Using a quick change attachment a new color and/or size of blade can be quickly changed without retying. Catching a fish on a homemade lure is also quite rewarding.

Finally there is the spinner bait, not to be confused with the spinner rig shown above.

Spinner Baits.

 

Old spinner baits were bucktail jigs with wires holding small chrome spinners. Modern spinner baits were developed by southern largemouth bass fishermen but we have found they are a killer bait for pike and muskie in the spring. They will also take smallmouth bass in LOTW. The past few years we discovered that bigger walleye still in shallow weedy water like them as well.

So many great memories, all brought to mind each June. There isn’t a year that goes by where we don’t talk about the way things used to be.


But we greatly appreciate the modern technology and conveniences we enjoy today,