FishingPals 2012
July 13 - July 18

Now that I have entered the working world I treasure the relaxing time of doing nothing but DTF (Drinking, Tanning, Fishing). 2012 proved to be an outstanding year. A few weeks prior to the trip I was nervous about the trip being cancelled because of the raging inferno murdering all the innocent animals that happened just kilometers away from Lake Sashihaw, I am not going to lie and say I didn't have doubts about the fishing because the trend over the past few years has been a steady decline ……. Fortunately the cabin didn't burn down and the fishing was the best its ever been and I look forward to going again next year.

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This years trip went off without a hitch (minus the Miracle Whip). The weather cooperated. The good fishing erased the memory of significant rain on Saturday night and Tuesday afternoon. Sundays day trip started wet but progressed to sunshine by the time we launched on Kasasway Lake. George and I managed not to flip a very tippy canoe with a small motor and instructions to never turn sharp left. Our chain had 5 large fish at end of day. We saw several large bass in the ultra clear water that were more curious than hungry. We also released a number of smaller ones which could have been kept if we were desperate for fish. We ate fish at most lunches and had Ron's special Lemon Parmesan Bass\Walleye on the final night. Was there pike in there too ???? Thanks again to Andre and Eddy for their hospitality and camaraderie. Hope to see you again around the same time next year. Shrinking moon first few days of July.

Full moon July 3, 2012 12:51:46 PM
Last quarter July 10, 2012 07:49:33 PM
New moon July 18, 2012 10:24:32 PM

Full moon June 23, 2013 05:33:38 AM
Last quarter June 29, 2013 10:55:21 PM
New moon July 8, 2013 01:16:06 AM

This year's trip was another successful venture for the FishingPals. We experienced some of the hottest hot and wettest wet days. The fishing was pretty good as we were able to snag a few with each outing. The walleye populations are definitely making a comeback at Sashihaw. FP Ben was replaced by rarely seen FP Marc, and FP George made his junior debut. It was good to catch up with the boys and see how everyone was doing.

We were accessing the camp after the Timmins #9 fire was just through the area. Actually, the perimeter of the fire was relatively close to where the camp was, so we were just lucky that we were able to go to the camp at all. The amount of trees lost to the fire was unbelievable but there are already signs of regrowth of shrubs and other plants. Worms are already eating through the burned trees, but it will take years for the trees to grow back.

Hula Boy and Robin were up to their usual hijinks. The hockey playoffs were long over, so we were more focused on our usual camp activities this year. We caught and ate a lot of fish, played some euchre, and made some dinners that could rival any camp top chef. Our day at Kasasway Lake started off wet, but ended up hot and sunny, and we were able to retrieve more than enough fish for another fish fry. No mayonnaise this year, so we had to load up with the mustard instead.

No trip would be complete without Eric shedding some of his own blood. This year was no different. I believe my 2 pound 10 oz. walleye took home the prize.

Thanks to Marc for letting us use the cottage in Gravenhurst. Thanks to Andre for the use of the camp again, and for leading the expedition to Kasasway Lake. Thanks to Eddy for helping us out around the camp. Thanks to all the FishingPals for pitching in to make the trip possible. This trip couldn't happen without the effort and co-operation of everyone involved. This is a great gang, and membership is something to be cherished...

Nice to meet Mel Pardue...

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Thank you for having me back to Timmins. Thank you for having no forest fires(it was so friggin hot). Thank you for letting me whine about how friggin hot it was. Thank you for letting me whine about the friggin bugs. Thank you (and Andre) for the day trip to Upper Kasasway Lake where I caught my Bass (unlike Eric I know how to use Google Earth so I can fill in my own blanks). Thank you for the decently sized and very comfortable pontoon boat so I would not have to whine about my sore back. Thank you everyone for the insightful, humorous, editorial commentary and opinionated conversations (on the rain day). Thank you for good food, good beer and the company of good friends. And lastly a special thank you to Ben for dropping out and letting me be his substitute. I would like to remain on the top of the substitute list for next year (sounds a bit formal doesn't it).

Here are a few Seinfeld moments during the 2012 fishing trip:

A stream of Peter’s Pike juice gets Andrew in the eye. “Pike juice can move baby.”

Peter was fired as a Euchre consultant to Andre. “So you want to go out in a final blaze of incompetence.”

Ron, Andrew, David, Mark and George were taking turns in the far from hot, hot tub. “I’m not taking a soak in that human bacteria vat you got goin’ there.”

Eric, Peter and Andrew on the 6:30 am fishing outing while everyone is still sleeping off too much food washed down with too many refreshments. “What happened to your mental alarm?” “I guess I hit the snooze.”

Eric slices open his hand while providing instruction on how to properly filet a fish. After bloodying one shirt proceeds to cut himself a second time on the teeth of a caught Pike and bloodies a second shirt. “If even one corpuscle of that blood should find its way across that hall, I will freak out on you. Freak out!”

Eric’s mentions that his sixth toe will need to be removed when he gets back home. “Let me just finish my coffee, and then we’ll go watch them cut the fat bastard up.”

Eric catches what looks like a grey walleye and declares that it is a different species. “I don’t know if it was divine intervention or the kinship of all living things, but I tell you Jerry, at that moment I was a marine biologist.”

Mark catches a very small pike entangled in weeds. “You know why fish are so thin?” “Why?” “They eat fish.”

Ron fumbles his Blackberry while taking a photo during the last night booze cruise and drops it, bouncing it off the floor of the boat and into the lake. “Now I’ve got a big problem, buddy.” “What is it?” “Well, I, uh, I waited so long. I missed my chance.” “You didn’t go?” “No, and now I can’t get it back.”

The camp has had some noticeable upgrades this year, that were much appreciated. Specifically the screened in fishing cleaning station, that was well used due to the abundance of fish we caught. Cleaning the pike is getting easier thanks to the refresher course I receive from Eddy. Thanks again Eddy. The roof covering the fire wood by the fire pit is also a practical and welcome addition. Thankfully we did get some steady rain one day which undoubtedly helped nourish the trees and other plants that did survive the extensive forest fires a few weeks earlier. This year we made good use of the large blue soaker tub on the deck, as the weather was hot on most days. Once again another great relaxing trip.