SaskHunter
Well-known member
Being in the Canadian Army, I had been restricted to a 250 km radius from my home since March due to the Pandemic. This had put our planned family vacation to a halt but a week before we were originally scheduled to leave in July, the Forces changed their policy and we were now free to travel again. My very understanding boss approved my leave so my wife and I started planning our vacation again. Booking hotels/motels between Saskatchewan and Quebec was painless considering no one was really travelling. We started our 35 hour journey and finally arrived to Quebec a few days later. We didn't do much the two weeks we were there other than seeing family due to COVID. One thing I did get a chance to do was fish. Went on a few outings for trout and bass and had some good success jigging for lakers. Overall, we came home with 9 pounds of lake trout which I smoked and have already aten a good chunk of!
The one day we went for lake trout, we caught 8 jigging within an hour. We only kept the legal fish and stopped after catching our limit, we spent the rest of the day trolling for rainbows and salmon.
On our drive back, we encountered a pretty friendly doe. It walked right up to us and ate most of my sunflower seeds. Turns out, this deer was a regular at the hotel we were staying at and had been visiting them for quite some time. The deer had a healed broken leg which is probably why it was so docile. Definitely one of the cooler moment of our trip, like most hunters, I am amazed by these animals and it was great to see from up close and touch a wild live deer.
A few weeks back, I had bought a pricey Cabela's cooler. I used to make fun of guys who bought expensive coolers until I started hunting far away from home, with time and experience, I changed my mind about expensive coolers (and guns and optics and boots, etc). I decided to put this cooler to the test and filled it with ice and 15 pounds of bear sausage for the family. I left it closed in the back of my truck for the whole four day drive the in July heat. We arrived at my in-laws with half the sausage half frozen and the rest still ice cold. I called up my brother and split the sausage between him and the in-laws who were very happy to eat free-range-organic-Saskatchewan-bruin sausage. On my way back home, I did the same with the lake trout and some delicious Quebec cheese. We arrived home with partially frozen fish and in the brine it went! The following day consisted of smoking the fish, finishing unpacking the truck and drinking beer, not a bad way to end my leave.
This trip reminded me how much I missed fishing, since I had moved West, I had concentrated more on hunting than fishing. I do prefer hunting but I think this was the kick I needed to get back into fishing in the off season.
The one day we went for lake trout, we caught 8 jigging within an hour. We only kept the legal fish and stopped after catching our limit, we spent the rest of the day trolling for rainbows and salmon.
On our drive back, we encountered a pretty friendly doe. It walked right up to us and ate most of my sunflower seeds. Turns out, this deer was a regular at the hotel we were staying at and had been visiting them for quite some time. The deer had a healed broken leg which is probably why it was so docile. Definitely one of the cooler moment of our trip, like most hunters, I am amazed by these animals and it was great to see from up close and touch a wild live deer.
A few weeks back, I had bought a pricey Cabela's cooler. I used to make fun of guys who bought expensive coolers until I started hunting far away from home, with time and experience, I changed my mind about expensive coolers (and guns and optics and boots, etc). I decided to put this cooler to the test and filled it with ice and 15 pounds of bear sausage for the family. I left it closed in the back of my truck for the whole four day drive the in July heat. We arrived at my in-laws with half the sausage half frozen and the rest still ice cold. I called up my brother and split the sausage between him and the in-laws who were very happy to eat free-range-organic-Saskatchewan-bruin sausage. On my way back home, I did the same with the lake trout and some delicious Quebec cheese. We arrived home with partially frozen fish and in the brine it went! The following day consisted of smoking the fish, finishing unpacking the truck and drinking beer, not a bad way to end my leave.
This trip reminded me how much I missed fishing, since I had moved West, I had concentrated more on hunting than fishing. I do prefer hunting but I think this was the kick I needed to get back into fishing in the off season.
