Last week was my chance to head to Canada for three days of Pike and Walleye fishing. I had the good fortune of traveling with a couple of old friends Logan and Jeff, and the trip was truly remarkable. It’s not often that I return from a fishing trip and suffer from lack of motivation at work for an entire week. Usually, such hangovers only last for a day. This one, however, had some serious staying power!
The trip began on Father’s day, with the short drive from Boise to Idaho Falls with my good friend Logan, where we would meet the rest of the group and load up a rented van and trailer for an early Monday departure for Saskatoon. I knew the trip was going to be memorable when we spotted two bull elk in the velvet along the side of Highway 20 on Sunday night.
Monday we drove from Idaho Falls to Saskatoon – about 16 hours. There we stayed in a hotel, enjoyed a few cold beers, and tried to fend off the mounting anticipation. Tuesday we drove the final leg – about 5 hours from Saskatoon North to Besnard Lake Lodge –and what a place! Here was our home for the next 4 nights - we stayed in two small cabins that slept 4 each. We spend a few minutes unloading the van and trailer, had a few cold ones, assembled our fishing gear, and compared tackle and flies. We also ate one of what would be become several legendary meals prepared by Ian, Logan and Jeff’s older brother who is a fantastic cook. We capped the night by launching some golf balls into the lake and enjoying a campfire, and then hit the rack in final approach for 3 days of “silly-good” fishing!
It’s amazing how quickly 3 full days of fishing can fly by when you’re in good company and fish. I don’t remember a span of more than 5 minutes where one of the boats wasn’t yelling “fish on” – it was incredible. To top it all off, both the first and the last pike that I caught on this trip were on the fly! I can't think of too many better ways to have spent my 29th birthday. Here are some of the pictures – what a place!!
The first night distraction
Day One: Ready!
The first fish brought to our boat - wow!!
My beastly Walleye!!
Pike hooked during shore lunch
