Routines and rituals

[fishtildark]

I just made our reservation at Motel Au bercai for the Friday before our week at Bush country camp and it made me think about the routines that we have developed over the years. I think there have been other posts on the subject but thought maybe an exchange on the routines would be a diversion from the March blahs and basketball( although I do love the NCAA tournament). anyway, I will start and hope someone else will share.. our trip routine is pretty easy .
Leave western pa on a Friday morning .. may or may not stop for Breakfast but first main stop is the fort Erie duty free for the Canadian beer . sometimes we get 2 cases each on the chance that they don't care on the Canadian side .  We always declare and even if they make us pay the duty , its not that much.  usually next stop is for gas between Toronto and Barrie. then, on to Webers. One year I pulled in and had 4 high school teammates walk in front of the car.. then , on to temiscaming with a stop at the beer store in trout lake to finish off the supplies.. In temiscaming we stay at motel au bercai , eat dinner and breakfast at the temrose , get our licenses at the gas station and On Saturday morning , off to Bush country camp.. 2 hours +/- on the dirt road for our week of Walleye , pike and lake trout..
the Daily routine is much easier ... up in the morning as early as our 60 +bodies allow , go out and troll for Walleyes until the sun gets high enough that they aren't interested,.  Back to camp for Breakfast which , in the last couple years now includes Bloody Merrys..clean up a bit and by 10 or so back out for a lake trout excursion and/or pike depending on the weather .. By now there may be aMolson Canadian or two in the boat.... they always seem to go well with Lake trout fishing. we may stay out or go for a break but by2 or so ready for a break. Usually that means a couple more Canadians and dinner sometime late afternoon . then back out for the evening walleye frenzy.. troll for a while and then if bugs don't kill us, some jigging late towards dark. If successful , and keeping fish , we will do some filet work and then adjourn to have, yes, a couple more Canadians. If the fish house is too busy, the filet job sometimes waits til morning . Amazing that walleyes actually revive themselves in that cold water and many times are as frisky as when caught in the morning.... always have a few variations but , this is our week. Anyone else???

[adempsey]

I'll never understand the appeal of Weber's.   There's a couple smaller places nearby that aren't nearly as busy and have better food.   To each his own, I guess.   

This will be our first trip to Lac Kipawa.   I decided to stay in North Bay on Friday evening instead of Temiscaming since we won't be able to leave the Toronto area until the evening.   I don't think we have any specific rituals or routines because we don't usually go to the same place each year.    If we pass through certain cities, we do have our favorite places we shop for groceries, have dinner and pick up bait.   This will be our first time staying over night in North Bay though, so no favorites yet.   My plan is to pick up perishable groceries in North Bay in the morning, head to Temiscaming and stop to grab some beer, bait and fishing licenses.  I might have to detour to Kipawa to get bait, I haven't decided yet.   I did email some questions to both Kipawa Bait & Tackle and Pronature, but neither responded.

As for fishing, as hard as I try, I never manage to get out of bed before 7AM.  The alarm wakes me up at 5AM and and I usually just say "$&$*& that" and go back to sleep, lol.   As much as I try, I just never manage.   Quick breakfast, usually on the water by 8AM and fish until 11-12.   Head back for lunch and then head back out until 4PM.   Dinner and back out until 10PM.    If it's crazy hot and clear blue skies, we may stay in longer after lunch.  I don't drink much during the day, it just makes me incredibly sleepy.  I wait until I am back in the cabin and relax with several cold ones.   Also, probably a major contributing factor as to why I never get up early!

BTW, is all booze cheaper in Quebec compared to Ontario??  I haven't been to Quebec in over 25 years.

[Riverrat]

Booze seems to be about the same price.  Beer is cheaper for sure.  The better discount is on the larger packs.

In North bay hit the Independent Grocer early.  It has a great selection but get busy early.  Have fun leaving Friday night it will be brutal going up the 400 at that time.
PM me if u have any other questions.  I make this trip at least a couple times a month from Oakville

[adempsey]

Booze seems to be about the same price.  Beer is cheaper for sure.  The better discount is on the larger packs.

In North bay hit the Independent Grocer early.  It has a great selection but get busy early.  Have fun leaving Friday night it will be brutal going up the 400 at that time.
PM me if u have any other questions.  I make this trip at least a couple times a month from Oakville

Probably just buy beer and bring some scotch I have around.     Thanks for the tip on the grocery store. We'll definitely be hitting it early.   I was hoping the 400 might not be as bad after 7PM, but anything can happen.    I've traveled the 400 a lot and usually plan my schedule around the traffic.   The past few trips we traveled the 400 on Thursday evening or Saturday morning.   I might have to reconsider my route or timing this time.   Ugh, I hate that darn highway.

[RHYBAK]

This year we are leaving Toronto real early Saturday Morning.
Drive straight through to Tamiscamingue.
Breakfast at the Auberge
Leeches at Kipawa bait.
Beer at the gas station
Last minute groceries at the New Grocery Store.
40 minutes up the road to Laniel.
Fish, Fish and then try some more fishing.


Beer is cheap[er in Quebec.
Especially the 50 and 60 packs.

[T-Bone]

We have a ritual, but it's relatively boring; leave the same time every year, hit key landmarks same time every year, arrive in northern Ontario or Temiscaming and start the party engine. Shut off party engine 8-days later. Between the front and back, go fishing, eat like kings, laugh until hiccups consume you and your belly aches, swim, sleep...you get the picture.

50 or 60 packs of beer! That's sweet! Gives a whole new definition to "a case of beer".

"Oh honey...don't worry...we're only taking a few cases of beer up this year." HA HA HA!!!!

[Oarin]

For my son and my July trip to the TBL Outpost we leave Canandaigua, NY about 5:30 AM and drive straight through to Temiscaming. We grab some burgers and fries from the joint by the Auberge. Then off to the IGA for beer, rolls,water, and any snacks we may want. Next is Stop 102 for ice and then next door to the Pronature for our leeches. Back in the car to Taggarts, say hi to Rambler and Ellen, unload and head the 6 miles in our boats to the outpost. We take our time getting the cabin and boat set up the way we want it and then relax until about 6:00. Then were off to our favorite spots to hopefully get some eyes. Back to the cabin and I fillet the fish(hopefully) while Jon starts our customary 1st meal of 1.5 inch bone in rib eye steaks and mashed potatoes. Yum!!. We clean up the plates and weather permitting head out to the point for a camp fire, beer, and cigars. Man, I can't wait!!!

[Jay Thomas]

For many years, our group fished Lake Kipawa the last week of Jun. In 2013, we started doing our walleye fishing trips in mid Aug and mid Sep. Less bugs, less boat traffic and cooler temperatures were the main reasons for our change. In mid Aug thru mid Sep, we don't enjoy as much light as on Jun trips. We're up at 5 AM for coffee and toast with a goal of being on the water by 6 AM (it's usually dark until then). We fish for walleye until 9 AM and then head back to camp for a big breakfast.  Any walleye or lake trout are cleaned before breakfast. A short nap is in order after breakfast (we're older seniors) before we head out for more walleye fishing or some lake trout fishing. It's back to camp around 4 PM for some R&R before dinner around 5:30 PM. Back on the water for walleye until they quit biting. Back at camp, the walleye are cleaned for eating or for take home. All fish designated for take home are immediately vacuum sealed and put in the freezer compartment after cleaning. This is our normal routine and it resonates equally well with us all.

Jay

[600 miles north]

     What a great post fishtildark to get through the last couple months until we start up with the 2016 trip reports. Part of who I am, started with all of the tradition and routines and rituals that I remember from as far back as my memory allows. The thought of the north woods brings many people and memories to mind. It is a place that I have been able to escape reality and the hustle and bustle of everyday life... my whole life. the place I think of when I need to get away if even just in my mind. I haven't always gone up every single year physically, but mentally that is where I go for peace.  Where this discussion board and the previous one has allowed me to live the whole year through all those who share their stories and help me to be a part of the north.

     I just had an excavator dig my family a pond that will be landscaped in pine and birch trees, and be full of rocks. I call that place in my yard Kipawa. Though it will be a far cry from the real deal it is my attempt to bring some of the north here to my house in Ohio. If I had the physical space in the yard to make it bigger... it would be bigger. Stocked with walleye and Northern I wish, but I will settle for the thrill of bluegill for now. But all of this is because of the life long memories of routines and rituals of heading to Kipawa!

     My traditions started off in the warm summers from Canton, Ohio. Getting the boat ready A week before departure, washing it and making sure it still runs. Planning meals with the rest of the family that may be heading with us. The thought of SPAM and Bagged milk come to mind. The excitement of heading north as a kid. Starting off in the light of day and fading to the dusk and heading toward Angola, New York which was our first stop. Walking over the Highway and seeing the cars and trucks pass underneath us on the bridge to the rest stop and getting something to eat before we headed through Buffalo N.Y.. Driving past the minor league Cleveland Indians Buffalo Bisons stadium... sometimes full and sometimes empty, and on to the peace bridge. The border was always like entering a different world as a kid. We were questioned about where we were going and what we had with us. I still have never experienced a problem at the border, other than having some border patrol being grumpier than others. For some reason every time I pull up to it I still get a little anxious.

     We would drive into the wee hours of the night and stop somewhere near Barrie for gas and to stretch our legs. I thought it was the coolest thing when I purchased a Napoleon Fireplace insert that was manufactured in Barrie some years back. I would always take note of the factory it was made every year on our trip ever since. Another physical thing that brings me closer to Canada. We would drive by Webber's late in the night, when there were no lines and thinking that in one short week we will be right back there in the daylight. Like others have said Weber's aren't anything special, but it became a tradition more than anything. I would rather eat the burger's I grill at home any other time, and they are rather pricey, but in the name of tradition we stop.

     Seeing the pulp mill in Temishcaming and entering Quebec was a point in the trip were you knew you were on the home stretch, and it was the longest stretch! The radio tower in Laniel was always just around the next corner or bend in the road. More recently I have been more accurate because of technology and my Tom Tom or cell phone and know when to start looking long after everyone else had been saying for half an hour that it was around the next bend. Tired eyes driving that last stretch and a renewed energy when the welcome to Laniel sign is visible. stepping foot on the government dock in Laniel and breathing the fresh pine scented air makes you feel like you have never been away! Going down to the lake and getting baptized in the lake water, and thinking I have a whole week which seems at that time like all the time in the world to be there at that exact point in time. which we all know in the blink of an eye the we are heading back south again way too fast for our liking.

     So many good memories there! My great grandparents, grandparents, drinking my first beer with my uncle in the woods. Being on that beautiful lake at sundown with a fishing pole in my hand and listening to the loons. Floating back in sail bay with my future wife in a raft one day. boat rides to the store in Laniel to get treats from time to time. Getting carried away from black flies and mosquitoes. Helping rebuild parts of the cabin with my grandpa in middle school. sitting with my dad and brother in September looking at the full moon on a perfectly bug-less night a few days before 9-11 and the world that has changed forever since that day. arriving with my brother in law Jimmy, and uncle Ken on a long Labor day weekend sitting on the dock when we arrived and cracked open the case of Molson we got taking in the view and laughing about everyone else in the world that was working today while we had no care in the world, then preceded to fall asleep on the dock and get a sunburn stripe on our arms that didn't go away until Christmas! Waking up seeing Ken doing circles in the lake in his boat J-walla that was pointed straight up with only him and the motor in his little boat! Coming home from T-Lofts on evening and seeing more stars on the lake than I could have ever imagined and feeling like you could reach up and grab them... and I don't think it's from all the good beer he shared! My wife running with Tyler in her arms like he was a football because my brother was growling in the woods and running at her like he was a bear. We watched the whole thing from the roof while we were shingling it.  Good times! Many, Many more! Thanks for getting the juices flowing Fishtildark!

     Cheers! May you all make great memories this year!

     Brad, 600 miles north is where I'd rather be!

         

[Oarin]

Wow Brad, I'm glad I posted before you because nothing can top that!!!! I hope you and your family can get back up to your piece of Heaven this year. Maybe Jon and I will see you again at the Laniel store. Gary.

[fishtildark]

Thanks Brad. I was focused on the recent trips but those early family trips are part of who we are for sure. Sounds familiar although our family all night drives were to the Kawarthas or the French river... same deal though. thanks for sharing. Sam
agree with Oarin too.. glad I went first.

[600 miles north]

     Although many of those were memories from childhood, not much has changed. the same routines and rituals would apply next week if we were to go. Hopefully 30 years from now my kids would have similar thoughts to mine...

     Brad

[NortonJoe]

Ah the traditions...the trip wouldn't be the same without 'em would it?  We always leave from the Akron, OH area on Friday morning at around 7:00 a.m. (after we have rearranged all of the gear and food for the third time to make it fit.) We make our way up through Erie, PA and into NY on I-90.  The first stop is always at the Angola rest stop for a snack and gas and restroom and leg stretch, etc...Then its back on the road until the Duty Free Store before we cross the Peace Bridge.  We all exchange money and pick up a bottle of some libation or other (maybe two if someone else isn't buying something but can declare yours.)  Of course the discussion is always "I wonder how the lines will be at the border ...remember to take your sunglasses off ...nothing to declare except that Uzi ...don't make jokes about Uzis ...and on and on.

After the crossing, its the discussion of whether paying the toll for the bypass around Toronto is worth it (it is.)  Then it's the drive up with stops in various places for gas...restroom...snack...stretch the legs...etc. Does nearly always getting stuck on 400 count as a tradition?  The next regular stop is usually around 5:00 or so in Huntsville for an early dinner and what we call our last taste of "civilization."  This consists of dinner at Boston Pizza which is situated on the docks on the water (it used to be something else but as of last year is now Boston Pizza.)  We have some food and beer and conversation.  We finish off Friday with the last leg into North Bay where we spend the night and have a few more beers and wings.

Next morning starts with the comp breakfast then off to buy groceries at the Independent Grocery.  Now, of course, having only done this for 30 straight years we still must stand around and figure out how much of everything to buy...then it's into the trucks and on to Temiscaming to stop and buy fishing license, gas up and get BEER...plenty of BEER (which, no matter how much is bought, is never enough but is only just a little in retelling to the wives.)

We usually hit the Maniwaki Road back into the bush around 11:00 or so and my time worn and well marked map of the back roads comes out (which does not prevent the frequent comment "Is that the turnoff?") At the first turnoff, its time for the first beer of the trip and to take care of the call of nature, since the road has quite literally probably shaken the piss out of you by then.  But oh the glory of being back in the bush!  The smell of the pine on the air, the relative quiet, the lack of a cell phone signal!  We usually pull into camp sometime very early afternoon and it's a week of fishing, relaxing, story telling, drinking, jokes, poker playing, fish cleaning, eating...well you get the point.  Enjoy your trips all!

[SgtCrabby]

Brad;  I love that description from your past.   It is fantastic and I can visualize so much of it.

Ours is so simple after these. 
Starts when I leave home at 0430, an overnight stop in Kentucky, then meeting up with Dog and Flagg in Pittsburgh.  Next day we drive to Angola  for munchies, restroom break, fuel. On to the duty free and cross the border at the Peace bridge (I get inspected for weapons). On to Weber's for the traditional burger (it's a tradition dating before me), stop and get bait in Callander (sp). Stop in Temiscaming overnight at the Aubruge, get last of the provisions in morning after breakfast and then drive the bush roads to Lake O.
I don't really have any landmarks along the way.
Return is basically the same except I normally take 3 full days with my wife to get home after leaving Pittsburgh.

Crabby

[Canuckbass]

Great reads!
Luckily I'm less then three hours to Kipawa. Most of our group come up from Toronto.
Usually I'll meet part of the gang on the highway and carpool up. We always travel up on the Thursday morning and we're usually on the island by noon. No messing around, fast stops in Temeskimeg/ Kipawa for bait, beer and ice. Usually have food all organized and bought ahead of time, if not the new store is great. Our boats are docked in Kipawa so by the time we load them up and travel to island it is the start of a new trip and new memories.
Always a project going on, putting new stairs in on long weekend from dock to front deck.