The main dock is complete!!

This is a nice project to be done with and it was long over-do. I am sure it will need some tweeking as the water starts to rise and gets back to normal levels, but I built it knowing this. It is so nice to walk out to the
boats without tripping over edges and random sheets of plywood. I was hoping to have the far dock rebuilt this summer as well, but I ran out of time and money. Guess that will be next years big project...at least one of them that is.

Bill got a unique bear!

Bill had his sites on this bear after looking through some of the trail cam pics.

Although not the biggest bear seen on camera, this is a very unique one. It is 

a brown color phase bear with a white blaze patch on his chest and a blonde

mow-hawk down his back. Bill shot the bear around 7 pm. He then drove up 

the road where Mike was hunting and the 2 of them went back to field dress

and drag the bear. They were back at camp just at dark. Thanks boys for giving

me the night off! And congratulations to Bill for getting a great bear!! It will make 

a great full body mount! 

Another big project underway

Everyone seemed to enjoy the play by play of the cabin move, so I thought 

I would post some pictures of my latest project. I am finally tearing apart and 

rebuilding the walkway to our main dock. The boards and cribbing have needed

some serious upgrades for some time now. Unfortunately it is a project that is 

hard to do when we have guests that need to use the main dock. With only 2

small groups in camp this week and the water being very low, it has to be now.  

The first picture is what the walkway use to look like. The next couple of pics

show the demo and rebuilding process. I hope to have it 100 percent done by 

early this week. It will depend on the hunters and the weather. 

The Michigan Boys are done hunting

Corky with his first black bear

The "Michigan Boys" ready to drag their last bear.

Congratulations to Corky for getting his first black bear. He earned every

inch of this bear because he logged a lot of hours on stand before shooting

this one. He also showed great patience early in the week by passing on a few

bears he easily could have shot. He was also lucky enough to witness just how

curious younger bears can be. He had a small bear come up and visit him right

at the base of his stand (which was only 10 ft high). The bear spent some time 

under his stand playing with the strap which was hanging down. Corky had to 

eventually cut the strap short so the bear would move away. But with his curiosity 

not satisfied, the bear proceeded to climb up Corky's tree. Corky had to 'shoo'

away the bear before it ended up in his lap.

Thanks to the entire Michigan crew, you all did a great job on your first bear hunt!

We look forward to seeing you boys up here again soon. Maybe next time you will 

get a shot at one of those 400+ lb bears. 

Number 3 is in the book!

Tony with his first ever black bear!!

Congratulations to Tony for getting his first black bear. Determination and patience

is what allowed him to him to get this beautiful boar. Tony stuck with the same site for 

3 straight days, logging a lot of sitting time on stand. At 5 o'clock tonight his patience

paid off. And not only did he get a nice bear, he also made good points with me because

there was no need to track this bear. He dropped it just feet from his ladder stand. 

Way to go Tony!!!

Another bear down!!

Mike with his beautiful bear

Mike has been hunting this site for 3 days now. He made sure to get on stand early

this afternoon and take advantage of the cool rainy weather. He was hoping for the 400 

pounder that we have seen trail camera, but decided to take the beautiful bear after he 

came to the bait 3 different times today. I can't say I blame him. It is a very beefy boar with 

a perfect hide. The bear also has a very cool white blaze on his chest. It will make a great mount.

And the best part (for me anyway) is that he dropped the bear in his tracks. No tracking needed, 

just a 100 yard walk to the road. Awesome job Mike!! 

First bear down!!

Jeremey with his trophy black bear.

Jeremy shot his first ever black bear last night. He was hunting at a sight known 

as North Wall and had this boar come in around 7 pm. After the shot, the bear ran

only 40 yards and ended up 20 yards from his ladder stand. But, like most bears do,

this one headed for the thickest and darkest part of the area. Even though we had a really 

good idea of where he was, it still took us while to find him. With the help from the 

other boys in his group, lots of flashlights, lots of courage and patience and lots of  

crawling on hands and knees, we were able to recover the bear with no issues.

Congratulations Jeremey!

Thanks for another fun filled week!!

This was another week that just flew by. We had such a nice mix of groups and everyone got along

and helped each other out. The fishing was quite good and so were the fish fries. I thinks I may have set a personal record on the number of fish I ate this past week. And don't forget the hot wings, french fries and 

onion rings. Thanks again boys for another very memorable week. Can't wait till next year!

The boys doing group cartwheels.
and nobody got hurt :)

Fish are biting and the weather remains beautiful.

The boys hanging out on the new walkway
enjoying the beautiful view of our bay.

Here are a few pictures of the sunsets we saw last week...we sure are spoiled.

Another big pike caught in our bay

Fishing so far this week has been pretty good. The guys are catching a lot of eater size walleyes and pike.

Some of the fishermen have even found some of the larger walleyes as well. Right now young Ethan is 

leading the week with the biggest fish so far. He landed a 38+ inch pike right in our bay this afternoon. 

He, like many of the guests this week, was fishing with a Rattle Trap bait when he hooked into this big boy.

Apparently the lipless crank baits are the hot lure so far, for both pike and walleye. If you are heading 

our way soon, make sure you bring a good supply of those babies. 

Ethan with his biggest pike ever, 38+ inches!!

The jumbos were biting tonight!!

Over all, fishing has been pretty consistent. The bigger walleyes are being caught before
breakfast and after dinner. Most of the guests are having no problem catching the "unders".
20-50 fish per day is pretty typical for most. Pike fishing is still a bit slow.

Below is a snap shot of what I was able to catch in just a couple hours tonight.
Apparently the passing thunderstorms helped the fish get their 'bite on'. I caught about
20 walleyes and maybe 30 perch, all without leaving the bay. And without using
 any live bait!! All the fish were caught on a 1/16th once jig with a red and white tube.
(crappie size). The biggest perch measured 12 inches!!

I think I need to start a Lunker Perch Club.

P.S. Thanks to Happy from the SFFC for giving me a fresh supply of tube jigs!

My first 12 incher!!!

Two more tasty walleye specials...

Walleye roll-up

 This is similar to a walleye cheezer. First boil the walleye (or perch). Then put 

a flour tortillas hell on a frying pan to heat it up and to melt the shredded cheese. 

Once the cheese starts melting, add tomatoes, bacon chunks, sauteed onions, and walleye. 

Roll and eat.   Note: spicy mustard is great on this as well.  

Walleye omelette

Once again, boil up some walleye (or perch).Just before flipping 

it into a omelette, add the fish, tomatoes, sauteed onions, cheese, and 

olive muffalata . Fold the eggs and heat until fluffy. Crumble some bacon on top

and serve. This is a great way to start any morning...trust me. 

P.S. thanks to Bruce for introducing me to the olive muffalata. It really is good 

on just about anything! 

Camp life

Josie reading to Jeremiah, Mom with J-man, and
Grammy and Josie hanging out on the main dock.

Swimming time!!! Jeremiah's first swim in the lake.

All camp shore lunch, YUM! 

What causes this???

Note: these pictures have not been altered in any way. We saw this cloud formation yesterday

just after dinner. I have never seen anything like it. Does anyone know what causes this? Or 

if it has a special name?? The darker clouds that appear to be shooting upward, are actually 

clear sky, I believe. 

Another personal best!!

Another day and another personal best for this father/son team. Ben, Pat's son, pulled in his best

 ever walleye today. It was a 28.5 inch walleye. Not only was it his personal best but it was the 

2nd largest of the year for our camp. Way to go Ben!!!

A personal best!!!

Pat surpassed his best ever northern pike tonight when he boated this monster 44 incher. 

He should get bonus points added on to this catch because he landed this giant using a 

5 1/2 ft ultralight rod and a 1/4 jig. Not exactly big pike gear, but hey, what fun would 

that have been. Great job Pat, that fish will easily put you into our hall of fame. 

Walleye Cheezer

It is really hard to believe, but some people still do not know what a "cheezer" is yet. What a shame! 

Well, for you lost souls who keep inquiring what this sandwich is all about, I am re-posting it again. 

This is, in my opinion, one of the best sandwiches in the world.

Two years ago, with the help of Brian Waugh, we perfected my

walleye grilled cheese sandwich into what is now known as

"The Cheezer".

It has quickly become one of the favorites here at Black Bear Lodge.

How to make a cheezer...

                                                  - 1 freshly caught under walleye (13-16")

                                                  - Canadian rye bread

                                                  - 2 slices of American cheese

                                                  - 2 slices of bacon

                                                  - a couple of tomato slices

                                                  - a drizzle of hot sauce (for flavor not hotness)

Put the walleye fillets into a pot of boiling water for approx. 5 min or until they are white and flaky.

While the fish is boiling, grill the bread and cheese on a pan(open face grilled cheese). Reheat the bacon (we always have a bunch pre-cooked just for our cheezers). Once the walleye is done, put fillets on a paper towel to dry off  a bit. Then put all of the parts together and enjoy.  Works well with small pike or perch as well.

Try it, you will thank me later.

Bear-nastics

Did you ever wonder how a bear could reach a 7 ft high bucket of food scraps and not knock it down?

Now you know :)

Wow that was a fast week!

Well the groups this week left on a high note. The fishing steadily improved even with all of the blue-bird days. If you look at the background of almost all of the pics, you will see just how much wind we DIDN'T have. The groups endured and fished hard. We saw some good numbers of fish, just not a lot of lunkers.

Jillian and I really enjoyed all of the groups this past week and once again, it went by way to fast. Thanks to everyone for a fantastic week!! Here are a few more pics from the last couple of days.

Another 40 incher!!!

What a great view to wake up to. 

This is great way to deal with the hot sunny weather.