Just the idea of battling a huge lake trout lures anglers to all the remote lakes as far north as the Arctic Circle in Canada. These areas yield many 30 to 40 pound lunker lake trout each year.

In some areas in Canada, the lake trout are also called Mackinaw or grey trout, but the most common nickname given lake trout is simply lakers. Lake trout resemble brook trout, except the tails of lake trout are deeply forked, while those of the brook trout are nearly square. Lake trout in the Great Lakes are silvery-grey with white spots. Elsewhere, they have light spots on a background that may vary from dark green to brown or black.

Lake trout prefer water from 48 to 54F, colder than any other game fish. They will die if unable to find water under 65 degrees F. During summer month’s lake trout will descend to 200 feet in search of cooler water.

There are many lakes with water cold enough for lake trout, but lack oxygen in their depths. And as a result lake trout are restricted to mainly the cold, sterile lakes of the Canadian Shield, the Great Lakes and deep mountain lakes of the west.

Lake trout grow slowly in these frigid waters. In some lakes in Canada, a 10-pound lake trout might be 20 years or older. The age of a trophy lake trout may be 40 years or more. Because they grow so slowly there is always the danger that they could be over harvested.

Unlike most other species lake trout spawn in lakes rather than in rivers. Lake trout spawning occurs in the fall over a bottom of baseball to football sized; rocks. Water depth varies, but is usually 5 to 25 feet.

Lake trout have excellent vision, but because of the poor light at the depths they live, they rely on their sense of smell and on their lateral line to find food. In some water, they feed mainly on aquatic insects, worms and crustaceans. In other lakes they eat only fish, mainly ciscoes, smelt, and sculpin.

A lake trout, brook trout hy-brid, called splake, has been stocked in some northern lakes including Lake Huron. Splake mature earlier than lake trout and grow faster so they are less affected by fishing pressure.

Early spring just after ice out, is a great time for lake trout, they crowd into warmer water to feed closer to shore and remain in water 20 to 30 feet deep.

When lake trout move into shallow water in the spring and in the fall just before spawning, the best methods are casting with flashy spoons or still fishing with natural baits like smelts and strips of sucker meat.

Lake trout shy away from dark heavy lines, so use clear, low diameter line from 8 to 12 pond test is best. Most fishermen prefer medium action spinning tackle.

In years past heavy reels and wire line was the standard for catching lake trout in deep water. But now with the new equipment and techniques it is possible to fish deep with much lighter tackle. Downriggers, sonar and technology has made fishing for deep lake trout a lot easier.

Deep lake trout are frequently scattered and sluggish, so adding an attractor, such as a dodger can improve your success while trolling.

Vertical jigging for lake trout is also a popular method in fishing Canada’s north, works best with a lead head jig or vibrating blade. Simply lower the lure to the bottom; then reel it back up rapidly to get that strike.

Casting with heavy gold or silver spoons for lake trout is a proven technique when lake trout are concentrated off points, in narrows, along islands or over spawning reefs. Cast from a long distance away to prevent spooking the lake trout.

In the Great Lakes the lake trout have made a remarkable come-back after they were nearly wiped out by the sea lamprey and commercial fishing. Lake trout populations have been rebuilt by lamprey controls and restocking programs. These programs have been put in use both in Canada and the United States, both countries have been doing this for some time now and the lakes and anglers are enjoying the fruits of their efforts.

There is nothing like the feeling when you hook up with a nice sized lake trout on medium action fishing rig. So get out there and just enjoy nature and catch the trophy lake trout.

Jack Phillips has been an avid Canadian angler for over 50 years. Fishing Canada provides solid advice for walleye, bass, pike, muskie, a variety of ,trout, arctic char bass and more. Idea’s on when and where to go on your next trip to Canada. Ice fishing tips. Delicious fish recipes also!

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Gambler Lures is currently offering several new lure supplements and product lines to meet the demands of both bass fishing fanatics and tournament anglers. Here’s what is new for 2008:

The Giggy Lizard and Big Stick
Gambler Lures launched the Giggy finesse product line late in 2006, and continues to add to this popular group of lures in 2008.

The Giggy Lizard features the same hollow-tube technology as the mainstay Giggy Stick. A solid head allows for a wide array of rigging options while a hollow tail causes the lure to float to rest with a nose-down appearance. Meanwhile, four small feet and a slightly enlarged head give the lure a more subtle look when compared to other lizards on the market.

Gambler’s Big Stick is the big, bad cousin of the Giggy Stick. At a length of 7 inches, the Big Stick offers trophy bass hunters an alternative to conventional big-fish lures. The long, hollow tail section will float heavy hooks with relative ease. But is it a stickbait or a worm? The beauty of this lure is that it can be used in both applications, and not many big bass lures can boast this versatility.

The Cane Toad
Gambler’s Cane Toad continues to propel tournament anglers to the top of podiums. And for 2008, two new floating models offer even greater versatility for slop fishing enthusiasts. The floating black and white models allow anglers the option to stop the toad in mid-retrieve without sinking. The toad still employs the clubbed-foot design, so the trademark tantalizing buzzing sound is still created even at the slowest retrieves.

Also new to the 2008 Cane Toad lineup is Chris Lane’s custom color, “Lane Toad”. Chris Lane has established himself among the top touring B.A.S.S. Elite Series pros, and his custom color in one of his favorite Gambler lures is now available to anglers at all levels.

Brutus Swim Bait and Swim Head
To meet the needs of the most demanding big bass anglers, Gambler started development on a swim bait and jig head system. They carefully researched and tested prototypes on some of the best big bass waters in the country. The product of this effort is the Brutus Swim Bait and Gambler Swim Head.

The Brutus Swim Bait is unique in that not only does the tail swing side to side upon retrieve, rather the whole body swims from head to tail. The key to this fluid, natural motion is a flat-sided body and clubbed tail. Rounded swim baits do not move in the same manner. This Brutus also incorporates a hook slot to allow for a wide variety of rigging options. Both 4-inch and 6-inch lengths in eight color schemes will be available in 2008.

The Gambler Swim Head was designed to compliment the Brutus Swim Bait, but has already proven versatile as a shakey head. At the B.A.S.S. Wildcard finale for Elite Series pros seeking a last-chance qualification for the 2008 tour, the top two finishers, Byron Velvick and Keith Phillips, utilized the Gambler Swim Head throughout the tournament. They coupled the Swim Head with 10-inch ribbontail worms, a favorite Gambler mainstay. The Swim Head features a corkscrew lure keeper for snag-free rigging, molded gills, multi-tone paint schemes and 3D eyes. The Swim Head can not only be used with the Brutus or ribbontail worms, but it can also be used when pitching a wide variety of other soft plastics, including paddletails and grubs. The Gambler Swim Head is available in both 5/0 light-wire and heavy-wire hook models.

Flappy Daddy Jr.
Launched in 2007 was the 4-1/2 inch Gambler Flappy Daddy. New for 2008 is a smaller version of this already popular soft plastic craw, the Flappy Daddy Junior. As its namesake implies, the Flappy Daddy is best known for its flapping claws when dropped into the water. The Flappy Daddy Junior is a downsized model perfect for fickle fish and those heavy-cover scenarios where bulky lures are detrimental. This junior member to the Flappy family comes in 15 colors and measures 3-inches long.

For more information and on-line ordering of the products featured above, please visit Gambler Lures.

[Click to enlarge image] The Gambler Swim Head (Black Shad Heavy Wire) Photo by courtesy of Gambler Lures

[Click to enlarge image] Gambler’s 4-inch Brutus Swimbait (Ghost Shad) Photo by courtesy of Gambler Lures

[Click to enlarge image] The Gambler Giggy Lizard (Green Marble) Photo by courtesy of Gambler Lures

[Click to enlarge image] The Flappy Daddy Jr. by Gambler Lures (Green Pumpkin ? June Bug) Photo by courtesy of Gambler Lures

After a mile of travel east through drifts and over tire-packed trails, we reach McAloon’s spearing shanty, one of 3,171 on the lake today. The sky is overcast, the winds are gusty and the temperature is 27 degrees.

“The heater will take an edge off,” says McAloon, opening the door to the 5-by-7 foot aluminum shanty. A wooden-handled spear hangs from the 7-foot high ceiling, connected to a neatly coiled rope.

Part of the floor is covered with carpet, the rest - a bathtub-sized hole - allows access to the lake. The depths of Winnebago glow green into the darkened shack. It’s here, on one of nature’s best big screens, that we’ll direct our attention over the next 6 hours, hoping to see a sturgeon swim past.

Water clarity is good this year; the bottom, 11 feet down, is easily visible.

McAloon hangs two sets of decoys into the water. One is a hand-carved, hand-painted sturgeon replica about 24 inches long. The other is a tandem of coffee cans - Folgers and Hills Bros. - joined by a wooden dowel. When it comes to sturgeon decoys, you don’t ask why.

McAloon and I sit on straight-back wooden chairs and begin the spearer’s vigil. It’s one unknown to most outdoors people in North America.

Thanks to skilled management by the Department of Natural Resources and exemplary support from conservation groups around the lake, Winnebago holds a strong population of sturgeon and supports an annual spear fishing season.

“These fish are precious,” says McAloon, a director of Sturgeon For Tomorrow and the Otter Street Fishing Club, two of the many groups that work to conserve the fishery. “It’s part of our culture around the lake and we need to make sure it’s here for generations to come.”

Gusts of wind whistle around the shanty and through cracks in the floor.

For McAloon, 68, this is his 50th season of spearing. Time and life experience has provided him a unique perspective on the Winnebago sturgeon population.

From the Great Depression through the 1950s, local residents - including McAloon’s father - would set up spring sturgeon camps on the Wolf River and harvest spawning sturgeon.

“It was a way of life,” said McAloon. “Times have changed.”

Skim ice forms periodically over the hole; we clear it with a net. At 9 a.m. we see our first fish of the day - a 2-foot gar, bearing the characteristic thin snout and black spotted tail. It fins lazily past the sturgeon decoy and out of sight.

A retired teacher, McAloon also had the opportunity to travel to Lake Baikal in Russia with a group of educators. The sturgeon population there has been devastated by poaching.

The lake sturgeon population in the Winnebago system has been improving over the last 15 years as the result of a series of regulation changes designed to maintain the annual harvest at a safe level.

The big fish create an excitement that is hard to match. McAloon said he used to live in Montana and hunt big game, but those experiences pale in comparison to seeing a sturgeon under the ice.

Sturgeon are prized for their eggs, which can be used to make caviar, and for their firm flesh.

According to a 2007 DNR estimate, the Winnebago system had a sturgeon population of 11,000 adult females and 25,000 adult males.

The winter spear season results in an average harvest of 1,400 fish and annual economic impact of more than $3 million to the Winnebago region, according to state statistics.

At 11:30 a.m., there are shouts from a nearby shack. It’s Mike McDowell of Van Dyne, a friend of McAloon’s fishing 50 yards away, and he’s pulled a 55-pounder out onto the ice.

“That’s a start,” said McAloon.

The remaining hour of spearing hours winds down, with just a few perch swimming beneath the shanty. We will not tag a sturgeon today.

Others had different luck. According to Ron Bruch, fisheries biologist with the DNR, 806 sturgeon were harvested Saturday, including 333 adult females, 126 juvenile females and 347 males. Three of the adult females weighed in excess of 150 pounds. The largest was 78.5 inches and 162.5 pounds, speared by Matt Johannes of Berlin

http://www.jsonline.com/story/index.aspx?id=716396

Lake Manitoba Narrows Hunting Fishing Blog

manitoba killer walleye pike fishing

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• Bass are known to feed on baby ducks paddling across the surface of the water…thus the ’Baby Duck’ Bass Bait was developed to capture that instinct.
• This bait is hand carved and hand painted for greater realism and includes real feathers across the top back of the bait.
• Three coats of clear enamel are then applied to properly protect the paint and feathers.
• ’Baby Duck’ Bass Baits feature Mustad ’Ultra Point’ treble hooks for maximum results.
• Total weight: 1.8 ounces
• Also great for Musky and Northern Pike.
• Endorsed by Randy Pringle, pro bass angle

The phoney “Algonquin” protest to stop a uranium mine  at Robertsville, near Sharbot Lake, has started up again.   The original protest encampment at the mine gates started last summer.  It’s one hour north of Kingston Ontario.  Chief Doreen Davis of “Shabot Obaadjiwan First Nation”, Robert Lovelace of “Ardoch Algonquins” and six other people face charges in mid February for contempt of court and a $77 million lawsuit launched by Frontenac Ventures Corp.

The land in question is the area south of the Ottawa River which is part of Haudenosaunee Territory of the Mohawk Nation.  The “Algonquin” visitors are claiming this land and trying to make a settlement with Ontario and Canada.

MNN.  Feb. 10, 2008 - Who is Rem Westland?  Why is he concerned about what MNN writes?  He contacted MNN.  He has a cottage at Sharbot Lake.  He graduated from the Royal Military College in Kingston in 1970.  He taught at Carleton University in Ottawa and then entered the civil service.  He worked at the Privy Council Office (PCO) from 1989 to 1991.  He became Director General of Claims and Treaty Land Entitlement at Indian Affairs from 1991 to 1995.  He became Director General at Ontario Aboriginal Affairs from 1995 to 1997.  this guy sure knows how to rise to the top and siphon off the cream.  At National Defense he became Director General of Realty Policy and Plans and then Assistant Deputy Minister from 1998 to 1999.  What a choice resume!  Don’t you just wonder how he got to be born under such a lucky colonial star!

The Privy Council Office (PCO) is made up of unelected people who run the government behind the scenes.  There are 16 secretariats with catchy Orwellian names like “Social Development Policy”, “Machinery of Government”, “Foreign and Defense Policy, “Security and Intelligence” and “Orders in Council”.  They write policies and give information to the Prime Minister and Cabinet Ministers.  In other words, these are the guys that pull the strings.  Forget about Democracy 101.  They issue a lot of “Orders in Council”.  This is a nifty way to do an end run around Parliament.  It lets the shady powers that be do as they please.

Rem Westland has been involved in military and colonial confrontations with Indigenous communities like the Mohawk Oka Crisis in 1990, “Ipperwash” in 1995 and nuclear testing at “Nanoose Bay” in 1999 in British Columbia.

After the Mohawk Oka crisis Rem moved on to Indian Affairs and became the Director General of Claims and Treaty Land Entitlement.  His associates were Indian Affairs Deputy Minister Dan Goodleaf [a Canadian of Mohawk ancestry from Kahnawake] and Associate Deputy Minister Rick Van Loon, all Mulroney appointees.  They did everything they could to force Liberal Minister of Indian Affairs Ron Irwin to hand over the Lubicon Cree of Alberta issue to their pre-prepared base at the Justice Department.

According to Fred Lennarson, advisor to the Lubicon Cree for over 25 years, “Federal negotiators deliberately broke down Lubicon negotiations in January of 1989 with a “take-it-or-leave-it” offer.  They knew it was unacceptable as it made no provision for the Lubicon Cree to become economically self-sufficient.”

Then Indian Affairs created the “Woodland and Loon Cree First Nations” nearby to throw the Lubicon claim into total confusion.  The Woodland Cree leadership was offered $30,000 for every Lubicon they could recruit to join them. Doesn’t that sound familiar?

Rem was at Ontario Aboriginal Affairs when Dudley George was murdered by the Ontario Provincial Police at Ipperwash on September 6 1995.  Rem’s name comes up in the Ipperwash Inquiry Report as a shady government character throwing his weight around. How do you like that?

In 1998 to 1999 at National Defense Rem as Assistant Deputy Minister of Infrastructure & Environment and Director General of Realty Policy & Plans oversaw five other directorships:  Nuclear Safety; Environment; Military Engineering; Infrastructure & Environment which includes Human Resources, information management and language quality; and Canadian Forces Housing Agency.  Is that why their houses are almost as bad as the Ongwehonwe.  Hey, man!  This guy’s got more power than the Prime Minister.

At Nanoose Bay Rem negotiated the Nanoose Expropriation crisis in 1999.  The U.S. military leased the area to test nuclear torpedoes in the Georgia Straits off Vancouver Island.  The lease was going to end in 1999.  The U.S. wanted to renew it so they could keep their nukes splashing around in the bay and their nuclear submarines cruising the waters.  Each sub, two football fields long, can carry and launch enough nuclear missiles to “destroy every capital city in the northern hemisphere.” [Gordon Edwards of the Canadian Coalition for Nuclear Responsibility]

* “…Naval nuclear reactors in BC contain as much radiation in their core as several nuclear bombs, and use uranium fuel 133 times more enriched than a CANDU reactor.  Nine nuclear propulsion reactors already litter the ocean floor along with 50 “lost” nuclear war heads”.

OMG!  That is dangerous!  The sea water is going to eat into them.  What a legacy for the future generations!

Westland signed an agreement with B.C. negotiator Lorne Seitz to keep nukes out of Nanoose Bay.  David Anderson revoked it, which probably was the plan.  The Pentagon gives $1 a year to Ottawa who turned it over to B.C. for the rent.  We hope B.C. doesn’t go crazy over this windfall!

As Director General of Realty Policy and Plans from 1997 to 2003, Rem predicted and reported on “realty support” for defense, such as “lands, facilities and works”.  Facilities include bio-defense and research labs such as MREL [Mining Research Engineering Limited] at the Robertsville mine site.  Last July the Mohawks caught MREL making and testing bombs and radiation dispersal devices.  Nearby the military practiced maneuvers on a swing bridge at Ragged Chutes.  Works includes roads, water and utilities.  There is an army base, prisons, military colleges, universities and other military support institutions throughout the area.  They need to get us out so they can set up extensive military installations on Haudenosaunee territory for who knows what?

Once the bit of uranium is dug up at Sharbot Lake and the people have fled the radiation, what military plans are in place to inflate Canada’s self-proclaimed image as an “energy and military superpower”?

Rem gathers financial, legislative and legal information for Defense.  He has the Indian Affairs and Defense background to grease the wheels involving the pretend “Algonquins”, the uranium mining companies and the military establishment.

He is now vice-president of “Corporate Research Group” as “team leader for Aboriginal Affairs”.  They have contracts with Indian Affairs to pave an agreement between the Quebec Crees and Canada and Quebec for more  dams and hydroelectric development on the many great rivers in Cree territory.

Rem’s specialty is to advise Aboriginal groups to buy land or businesses.  If the Aboriginal group is in good standing with government officials, he can arrange financing.

Rem and his company advise the colonial governments, agencies and multinationals on how to cut to the chase by separating rights and business agendas.  It sounds like he can ram through a uranium mine before any Native land claim is ever settled.

In his association with the Sharbot Lake Property Owners Association he publicly takes the environmentalist’s point of view, but does the opposite behind the scenes.  The association is part of the Federation of Ontario Cottagers Association (FOCA) committe which is currently reviewing the Ontario Mining Act.  They want subsurface rights for their “properties” so they can decide on a uranium mine instead of prospectors coming in with $25 claims.  What about the real owners of this beautiful area, the Haudenosaunee?  Who are the other property “owners” working with him.   Rem doesn’t work alone!

Rem sent a very telling email to MNN on February 8th:  “I think the “Algonquin Claim” negotiations are very vulnerable, and will not settle, for a very long time…unless the parties … feed the historical facts onto the negotiations table.  There is a great reluctance to do this … because there is a great big fiction going on which works well enough for some people…”  [Is he referring to himself. Robert Lovelace and Doreen Davis, to name a few?]

* “What should really be a Mohawk/Huron/Algonquin [Haudenosaunee] claim in the Frontenacs is misrepresented as an Algonquin claim - and people of First Nations descent must register as Algonquin to participate - simply for reasons of… historical denial….  because the record is very clear that the Algonquin did not have residency after the Mohawk came in [with the Hurons who are also Haudenosaunee.  Both were there forever], and [the Algonquin] only began to establish residency long after contact.  It serves the purpose of governments (federal and provincial) to support the fiction of continuous Algonquin presence.”

Canada and Ontario put funds through “Algonquin Nation Negotiations Directorate” ANND, incorporated by Ontario, to pay for this fraud to steal Haudenosaunee territory.  The ANND board is native and non-native.  MNN answered Rem on February 8th as follows:  “You seem to be making the assumption that “settling” your fraudulent claims to our land is desirable for our people.  Can’t you see how unsettling it is?  As you yourself admit, this is Haudenosaunee land.  There is nothing to settle and never will be.  All you have to do is just stop lying about history.  That’s all there is to it!

* “There is no legitimate Algonquin land claim in that area as everyone knows.  There is no point getting back to square one because there is no square one.  The whole deal is a totally non-sensical fraudulent scam.  Are you the architect of all this b.s.?

* “…There’s no doubt about it, everyone involved is committing a crime.  They have knowledge that they do not own what they are dealing with and they have the intent to dispossess us, the rightful owners.  You know full well that we never gave you or anyone else the right to negotiate for our land.  There is nothing to talk about.  Go home and stop making money from everything that you are stealing from us.  You are scamming the Canadian public, … chattering about something that you know nothing about and have less authority over it than a blue jay sitting in the tree where his ancestors have nested for millenia.

* “ … go back to wherever your ancestors came from and look after your ancestral homeland which must be neglected because you have been here far too long.  … go there and [see] if you really believe that your lethal military bases and chemical weapons are good for humanity, go sell it to your own relatives.

* “ … you’d better stay off Haudenosaunee land if you have a single honest bone left in your body.  You are a trespassing interloper and a bad guest.  We know what you’ve done.  Because of this, you are not welcome”.  kahentinetha

Rem told MNN this mediation was supposed to be a “done deal”.  The truth MNN put out derailed the criminal conspiracy.  How many scumbags are running around doing all this dirty work for their corporate masters?  You guys can’t hide forever.  You’ll be found and outed!  You may be able to fool a few people right now, but the coming generations will be able to see what you’ve been up -  if you don’t destroy the earth, that is!  The Canadian government seems to be a magnet for crooks.  The courts are biased in favor of the bureaucracy.  They’ve supported the illegal colonization of Indigenous peoples

http://pacificfreepress.com/content/view/2268/81/for centuries.    How can such criminal opportunism be stopped?

Lake Manitoba Ugliest Catfish

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ce fishing really is like no other American distraction. I grew up on Lake Michigan and as a kid in winter I fished out of a shack my dad built. The frame was wooden and sheets of printer’s tin covered the outside and inside. We made our own rattle wheels and inside the shack we tied rubber bands to our lines, gathering about 4 inches of slack as we did.

When a fish bit, the rubber bands expanded, delicately allowing a walleye or northern to hook itself while signaling simultaneously that we should pay attention.

Fishing this way is a variation on a theme born centuries ago.

In the far north of Canada, natives for generations have fished beneath the ice using nets. Ingenious methodology is required to accomplish this feat. So, too, grit.

In northern Saskatchewan a few years back I knocked on the door of a trapper’s shack where I knew three Cree friends were spending January and February, fishing. A dead wolf lay stiff outside the shack, a victim of my friends’ ancillary leghold hijinks.

When Huey, my friend, opened the door, I asked how fishing was. Nets were strung in a corner of the makeshift log cabin and he nodded toward them and said, “OK.”

Outside it was 42 degrees below zero, and as Huey stoked the cabin’s wood stove and boiled water for tea, we talked about the northern pike and walleyes he was catching, and how he transported them every third day by snowmobile to Flin Flon, Manitoba.

Yet to whatever degree catching fish has been the point of ice fishing over the years, it seems less so now, at least among sporting types — this even though many of them arm themselves with more and better gear.

I realize this might be a contrary view.

But consider that today in many instances lake and river ice seem less like harvest platforms than day spas catering to the psychically disenfranchised; harbors in the storm of modern life — quiet places where, paradoxically, the thicker the ice, the more soothing the balm against sensory overload and its twin stepchildren, indifference and regret.

This is especially true in a world seemingly grown smaller, in which everyone’s problems have become everyone else’s.

But not so, necessarily, while on the ice, fishing.

I tied on a Swedish Pimple, an effective lure that long ago was manufactured a few blocks from my house, down an alley in Gladstone, Mich., in what passed for a garage. To it I affixed a crappie minnow through the tail and pinched a split shot onto the line about 18 inches up.

This allowed the bait to swim freely against the weight, one acting as a sort of counter-balance against the other.

Imagining the rig dangling near the river bottom 40 feet down only fueled my seemingly tireless delusion that before too long something would bite.

The ice cracked and groaned as beneath it the big river flowed out of sight, and darkly, adding to the mystery of water in general and in particular to the mystery of flowing water.

Standing almost exactly on the spot where one of my sons caught a sturgeon through the ice some years ago, I nonetheless caught nothing worth keeping, only two small crappies.

Still, I felt good; great, even.

Lights twinkled from the shoreline and the evening’s first stars shone brightly above.

Invisibly, cars moved behind headlights traveling against the Minnesota bluffs.

I weighed all of this. Then, finally, I loaded my little operation into the truck and found the tire-worn, north-south trail that divides the river almost in half.

One pickup was ahead of me, taillights beaming, one behind, smooth sailing atop a river of ice.

• • •

I had friends in town last week from Louisiana, and late Wednesday I was back on the St. Croix with them.

Cruising upriver from Bayport, eventually finding a place to fish among a small village of ice houses, I reminded my companions that collectively holding their breath while driving on ice served no good purpose.

“It’s best just to go ahead and breathe normally,” I said.

With me were Sam Achee, a duck hunting friend, his son Sammy, 12, and daughter, Ciera, 10. Also along was my son Cole, 12.

This time I brought my portable shack. A slight wind blew from the north and the shack and its small heater provided shelter against it.

Quickly we drilled seven holes. The shack sat over four of them. The three others were scattered helter-skelter nearby.

“Mr. Dennis, will we catch anything?” Ciera asked.

“Not necessarily,” I said.

“This is a crazy kind of fishing,” Sam said.

Cole tied on a small jig that glows in the dark when flashed with a light. Baiting it with a minnow he rushed to one of the holes as if anticipating immediate action.

As afternoon and then evening approached, shadows of our companion fishing shacks grew longer.

I had brought my homemade gaff and hoped that a fish of good size would be caught so it could be used. The gaff is made from a long aluminum arrow, with a big treble hook in one end.

I had told Ciera and Sammy that some fishing shacks have bunks in them for sleeping on the ice over night.

This news was received like a cruel joke, and I quickly had to clarify that by nightfall or shortly thereafter they would be safely returned to terra firma.

We didn’t catch any fish, or see any caught.

“This isn’t the best time for ice fishing,” I said. “The St. Croix this winter has actually been pretty good. But these last few weeks have been slow.”

http://www.startribune.com/sports/outdoors/15467871.html

Lake Manitoba Narrows Hunting Fishing Blog

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For a dark, frozen moment, Eugene Rafuse was sure he was going to die.Cracks in the ice - first one, then many - had risen in front of his snow-grooming machine as he drove over Lake Simcoe with his son, Kyle, then 15. Gunning the engine, Mr. Rafuse almost got through the danger zone when the weight of the ice-fishing hut he was towing proved too much. The groomer was pulled into the frozen water.

Lake Manitoba Narrows Hunting Fishing Blog

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Lake Manitoba Carp

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Texas Parks and Wildlife Department, the Upper Neches River Municipal Water Authority and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers are moving quickly to control small infestations of giant salvinia on Lake Palestine and Sam Rayburn Reservoir.

Giant salvinia was found for the first time January 28 in Sam Rayburn in the back of Coleman Creek.

On Lake Palestine, a citizen reported giant salvinia and water hyacinth in the vicinity of the Kickapoo Creek boat ramp on February 5. The Upper Neches River Municipal Water Authority has temporarily closed the Lake Palestine Kickapoo Creek boat ramp, which is on F.M. 315 south of Chandler. The four other public boat ramps and a number of private ones remain open on Lake Palestine.

TPWD Inland Fisheries Division personnel immediately investigated both areas and
“We will clean the areas up by hand if possible,” said Howard Elder of Jasper, TPWD’s aquatic habitat biologist. The areas involved are about 0.1 acre on Lake Palestine and 0.2 acre on Sam Rayburn. Elder has prepared proposals for emergency chemical treatment of the areas if necessary. Those proposals have to be approved by the controlling authorities, and treatment could not begin for at least two weeks.

“We will continue to search more areas on both lakes,” said Rick Ott, a TPWD fisheries biologist in Tyler. “We ask that people look for the plant and call us if they see it. Boaters should remove all plant material from their boats and trailers before leaving the ramp every time they go to the lake. Place any plants in trash cans or dumpsters so they cannot be washed back into the lake.”

It is illegal to possess or transport giant salvinia. Possession or transport of giant salvinia or other prohibited aquatic vegetation in Texas is a Class C misdemeanor punishable by a fine of up to $500 per plant.

Giant salvinia is a highly invasive exotic floating fern that can spread very quickly. Dense mats of floating vegetation block sunlight and can result in the death of all other life beneath it. Information on how to identify giant salvinia can be found at http://salvinia.er.usgs.gov/

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Canadians are leery of companies claiming to be “Carbon Neutral”.

In a national poll of 2,271 Canadians, 57 per cent said they do not trust companies claims of carbon neutrality and 14 percent strongly distrust claims. The Pollara poll is part of Markets Initiative’s report on market trends and environmental integrity in the paper and publishing industries.

“A proliferation of companies are using ‘carbon neutral’ schemes to buy their way into consumers’ hearts, without taking steps to actually reduce carbon,” said Nicole Rycroft, head of Markets Initiative. “The good news is that these big claims with little action are not convincing Canadian consumers.”

In November 2007, the Voluntary Carbon Standard (VCS) was launched by The Climate Group, the International Emissions Trading Association, and the World Business Council for Sustainable Development. This standard provides quality assurance for certification of credible voluntary offsets. VCS aims to increase investment in credible offset projects and reduce overall emissions.

View Market Initiative’s Pollara Findings (PDF)
View January 31, 2008 Montreal Gazette article
View February 1, 2008 Accountability Central article
View Voluntary Carbon Standards
Visit State of Green Business website

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People from across the country and Canada are headed to the Lakes Region for two major winter events this weekend.

The 79th Laconia World Championship Sled Dog Derby got under way on Friday, and the Great Rotary Fishing Derby will kick off on Saturday.Organizers of the sled dog race said that early in the week, the course looked almost unusable. Three snowstorms later, it was ready to go.”We got that 8 or 9 inches,” organizer Jim Lyman said. “We’re not sure where it came from but it did the trick.”Mushers from as far away as Alberta, Michigan and Quebec are joining dog teams from New Hampshire for the annual event.”(The dogs are) excited,” musher Sharon Welsh said. “They’re ready to go for tomorrow.”The sleds travel at an average speed of about 20 mph. Mushers said they can go faster, but it wears the dogs out too quickly. They also have to gauge the conditions, with a softer course making it tougher.The course on Friday was warm and a little mushy — pretty smooth, but not perfect. The course is expected to improve over the weekend.Teams are competing for more than $20,000 in prizes over the weekend.

Bobhouses Bring Luxury To Icy Lake

Also competing over the weekend will be the up to 6,000 people expected to sign up for the ice fishing derby on Lake Winnipesaukee. The holes have been drilled and bobhouses placed on the lake.While sitting in a wood shack on a frozen lake might not seem appealing, some ice fishers have gone all out to make their bobhouses more like home.”Every night, we came up with new ideas,” fisherman Stephen O’Brien said. “That’s how the kitchen was formed, and that’s how the bathroom was done.”O’Brien said he and his friends didn’t want to settle for less, and then they realized they didn’t have to.”We had just a little 5-by-5, and then one day, we decided to make it bigger,” he said.The bobhouse now has a satellite TV, wallpaper, a wood stove and a four-burner kitchen range and sink.”You’ve got to stay warm, and you’ve got to stay comfortable,” O’Brien said. “I don’t think people think we’re crazy. I think they look at us and they say, ‘They’re different.’”Organizers said anyone heading to the ice fishing derby should bring boots. There’s a thick layer of water and slush on the ice that could make things uncomfortable for anyone who’s not prepared.

http://www.wmur.com/news/15257011/detail.html

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While the White Sox were busy being swept by the Cubs, the Tigers continued to make progress, taking two of three from San Diego. On Sunday, Magglio Ordonez provided key offense with a two-run homer and an RBI double in Detroit’s 5-3 win over the Padres.

The Tigers have now won 12 of their last 15 games and are within 5 games of the White Sox and the lead in the AL Central. Also ahead of them are the Twins, winners of 6 straight, 1 1/2 behind the Sox.

Ordonez, who finished a strong second in RBI to last season’s AL MVP, Alex Rodriguez (139-156), notched his 13th home run and 48th RBI.

Notes:The Yankees continue to keep pace in the AL East, remaining 5 behind Boston as both teams won on Sunday. The Rays took an unexpected loss at Houston, but are still only 1 1/2 behind the BoSox.

National League

With Chipper Jones out of the lineup, responsibility for driving in runs fell primarily to Mark Teixeira, and he responded in style, with 3 home runs in Atlanta’s 8-3 beating of Seattle.

Jones, who has had to take time off to repair what’s described as a “small tear in the right quad” was out of the starting lineup on Saturday and Sunday and will likely sit on Monday as well. The injury has affected his fielding as well as his hitting. Jones’ league-leading batting average has fallen from .419 on June 11, to .393 on Saturday.

Teixeira, with his three blasts, now has 13 homers, and his 4 RBI gives him 55, ten behind league leader, Adrian Gonzalez.

Notes: Philly Foibles: The Phillies probably can’t wait for interleague play to be over so they can get back to beating up on National League teams again. The Phillies are one of only four NL teams to have posted winning records against each division. The others are the Cubs, the Cardinals and the Marlins.

Meanwhile, the Phillies have lost five straight to AL division leaders, including a three-game sweep by the Angels which concluded with Sunday’s 3-2 loss. The Phils won their opener against Boston at the start of the week, but dropped the next two. They’ll get some class relief this week, but have to travel to Oakland, and then to Texas a pair of three-game series with the A’s and Rangers. Their lead over the Marlins has dwindled to just one game.

Labels: Magglio Ordonez, Mark Teixeira

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Manitoba named the polar bear a threatened species on Thursday, enabling it to restrict new development on its Arctic shoreline, where hundreds of the big white bears spend several weeks each year.

“We must continue to take action to protect one of our province’s most unique species, which is clearly being affected by climate change,” Stan Struthers, the province’s conservation minister, said in a release.

Polar bears hunt seals on Hudson Bay, but move onto land around the northern Manitoba town of Churchill when the ice melts in the summer.

Late autumn can see nearly 1,000 of the animals in the region, waiting for the freeze-up, and tourists flock to the remote town, which calls itself the polar bear capital of the world.

Commercial and sport hunting of the bears has long been banned in Manitoba.

Climate change has melted the ice earlier and for a longer period, affecting bears’ health and survival rates, the provincial government said.

The U.S. Geological Survey has estimated melting sea ice could eliminate two-thirds of the world’s polar bears by 2050.

Scientists estimate that the world’s polar bear population is around 25,000. Two-thirds of the animals live in Canada, almost all of them in the Arctic territory of Nunavut.

The United States government is weighing whether to declare the polar bear a threatened species, but Canadian Inuit leaders have said that could hurt their livelihood, which is supported by guiding U.S. sport hunters in the Arctic region.

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Hog producers are anxiously waiting to hear the provincial government’s reaction to a Clean Environment Commission report on the sustainability of the industry.

The CEC submitted a long-awaited report on the issue to Manitoba Conservation on Wednesday.

Conservation Minister Stan Struthers will study the report over the next few weeks, and has promised to make the report — and the government’s response to it — public by the end of the month.

He extended a moratorium on new hog barns and expansions, which has been in effect since November 2006, until that time.

Karl Kynoch, chair of the Manitoba Pork Council, said the moratorium, combined with the high Canadian dollar, high feed costs and low meat prices, are adding up to a tough time for producers.

“I’ve had a lot of producers calling me who are going through a struggle right now. They would like to maybe remodel their operation to try to adjust to the new circumstances that we are dealing with,” he said.

“These producers have no idea what they should be doing, or whether to spend money on a barn or not, because they don’t know if what they do will meet anything that gets changed due to the CEC report coming out.”

http://www.cbc.ca/canada/manitoba/story/2008/02/07/hog-review.html?ref=rss

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Anglers, particularly boaters, should use extreme caution when fishing local waters. Many roads are blocked or damaged and large amounts of debris are present in most rivers. Log jams or other hazards may be present in many places. Silt and other debris will make launching boats difficult at some ramps until they can be cleaned up.

Mid-coast lakes

The rainbow trout stocking season is underway and will extend into June. Here is a list of lakes to be stocked in February with approximate stocking dates and number of fish to be released:

€ Carter Lake, Feb.11, 1500 trout at 3 fish per pound;

€ Munsel Lake, Feb. 11, 1500 trout at 1.5 fish per pound;

€ Alder, Buck, Dune Lakes, Feb. 12, 850 trout each at 3 fish per pound;

€ Elbow Lake, Feb. 12, 600 trout at 1.5 per pound;

€ Georgia, North Georgia Lakes, Feb. 12, 150 trout each at 3 per pound;

€ Lost Lake, Feb. 12, 750 trout at 1.5 per pound;

€ Perkins Lake, Feb. 12, 400 trout at 3 per pound;

€ Siltcoos Lagoon, Feb. 12, 850 trout at 3 fish per pound;

€ Cleawox Lake, Feb. 13, 3000 trout at 3 fish per pound and 150 trout at 0.5 fish per pound;

€ Thissel Pond, Feb. 14, 500 trout at 1.5 fish per pound;

€ Big Creek Reservoir 1, Feb. 20, 1000 trout at 3 per pound;

€ Big Creek Reservoir 2, Feb. 20, 100 trout at 0.5 per pound and 2000 trout at 3 per pound;

€ Olalla Reservoir will not be stocked until late February and/or until the reservoir becomes more readily fishable.

Alsea River: Winter steelhead - fishing continues to be fair to good mostly from the junction with Five Rivers on up. Both drift boat and bank fishing is productive as flows allow. Good numbers of fish are returning to the Alsea Hatchery. Most fishing pressure is occurring along the N. Fork and around the Alsea Hatchery. River conditions may be high at times as rain is expected throughout the week. During high murky flows, anglers should concentrate in the upper basin as river conditions improve faster.

Current river levels: http://www.nwrfc.noaa.gov/river/station/flowplot/flowplot.cgi?TIDO3

Big Creek: Steelhead - angling for winter steelhead has been fair. The number of hatchery fish available is dropping off.

Gnat Creek: Steelhead - winter steelhead angling is fair. Expect low, clear water after recent dry weather. Fish are available throughout the river below the hatchery, although the number of hatchery fish is declining.

Kilchis River: Steelhead - winter steelhead angling has been fair. The number of wild fish in the system is increasing, and fish are spread throughout the river. Water conditions have been good.

Necanicum River: Steelhead - winter steelhead angling has been fair. The number of hatchery fish is dropping off, and more wild fish are showing in the catch. Boaters should use extreme caution. Log and debris jams may be present in one or more locations. The Kloochy Creek Park bridge is closed to vehicle access.

Salmon River: Winter steelhead - catch-and-release fishing for wild winter steelhead fishing is fair to good.

Siletz River: Winter steelhead - winter steelhead fishing slowed during recent low flow and cold weather but is expected to be fair to good this week as rains events pulse through. Drift boat angling from Moonshine Park to Morgan Park (as river conditions allow) and bank fishing around Moonshine Park and the lower gorge should be good with favorable. Floating and/or back bouncing fresh baits, jigs and lures can be very productive. During high murky river conditions, anglers should concentrate in the upper basin as fish will continue to move upstream.

Siuslaw River: Winter steelhead - winter steelhead are showing up in good numbers with fair to good fishing in the upper river as conditions allow. Drifting from Whittaker Creek down to Linslaw Park should continue to produce fish. Bank fishing around Whittaker Creek has been productive and should continue to be good. During high and murky river conditions anglers should concentrate in the upper basin as conditions improve faster.

Yaquina River: Winter steelhead - winter steelhead fishing has been fair to good in Big Elk Creek starting just above tidewater all the way to the fishing deadline bridge at Grant Creek. Bank fishing works the best along the Big Elk using a variety of lures, jigs and egg-type flies. There is a mixture of public and private lands along this stretch, anglers should use caution to avoid crossing private property.

Northwest zone hunting

Open: Cougar, goose (Saturdays and Sundays in parts of Tillamook Co. only)

New: Northwest permit goose hunters, the Pacific Flyway Council is taking public comments on a draft Dusky Canada Goose management plan through Feb. 29. The draft plan puts more emphasis on increasing dusky production on breeding grounds. Send comments or questions to Bradley.D.Bales@state.or.us

Goose - Hunting reopened in Tillamook County for Northwest Oregon Special Permit holders and runs on Saturdays and Sundays thereafter through early March 2. Check the game bird regulations for special closures, bag limit, checkout and other information regarding goose hunting on the north coast.

Cougar - All indicators point to the north coast as having relatively low cougar densities, when compared to most of the rest of the state. However, they can still be located, especially if hunters are dedicated to using calls as their primary strategy. Cougar are probably most effectively hunted by long and persistent calling with a predator call. Hunters continuing to hunt cougar into 2008 are reminded to get their new cougar tag and 2008 hunting license.

Northwest zone viewing

Shorebirding - Some shorebirds spend the winter along Oregon’s coast and can be seen for much of the year. During the winter look for Semipalmated Plover, Black Turnstone, Surfbird, Sanderling, Least Sandpiper, Dunlin, and the Common Snipe, among others.

Bald Eagle Viewing - The winter season is a great time to see bald eagles. On the north coast, bald eagles can be seen in estuaries such as Tillamook Bay, Young’s Bay, and Netarts Bay. Three Arch Rocks, Sand Lake, and Twilight Eagle Sanctuary are also good viewing locations. To get started, look for a white spot among the tall conifers at the edge of the bay. The white spot will be the eagle’s white feathered head. Bald eagles are often found near water with large numbers of waterfowl or fish.

Marine Zone

Fishing

Large swells and strong wind kept most anglers off the ocean this past week. February often offers good fishing during periods of calmer weather with lingcod moving into shallower water to breed. Species illustrations and descriptions are in The Oregon Sport Fishing Regulations booklet (page 98) and The Red Rockfish Identification Guide. The minimum length for lingcod is 22 inches, for cabezon it is 16 inches and for greenling it is 10 inches. Fishing for cabezon from a boat reopened Jan. 1.

The marine daily bag limit for 2008 is six fish (including rockfish, greenling and other marine species) and two lingcod and 15 surfperch. Remember: yelloweye rockfish and canary rockfish may not be retained. Also, the Stonewall Bank Yelloweye Rockfish Conservation Area approximately 15 miles west of Newport is closed to the harvest of rockfish, lingcod and flatfish. Complete regulations, including waypoints for the Stonewall Bank YRCA, are in the 2008 Oregon Sport Ocean Regulations for Salmon, Halibut and other Marine Fish Species and online at http://www.dfw.state.or.us/resources/fishing/

The 2008 Oregon Sport Fishing Regulations are available from license vendors and ODFW offices and online at http://www.dfw.state.or.us/resources/fishing/

Seasons and restrictions for ocean salmon are set in April. Catch limits and seasons for Pacific halibut are set in March. Seasons and regulations for all other marine fish are the same as in 2007.

Crabs

Sport crabbing is open in the ocean, bays and estuaries. Crabbing in coastal bays and estuaries remains poor. Ocean crabbing was somewhat better, but only a few reports were available. For more information on sport crabbing visit http://www.dfw.state.or.us/MRP/shellfish/

For sport crabbers the minimum size for Dungeness crab is 53/4 inches measured in a straight line across the back immediately in front of, but not including, the points. For a photograph and diagram see page 101 of the Oregon Sport Fishing Regulations booklet.

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The FACTS about Portable Ice Hut Registration- #071

Posted: 08 Feb 2008 06:18 AM CST

Host Peter Wood chats with Bill Murch, Guelph District Ministry of Natural Resources Communication Media Specialist to get the facts about regulations on portable ice hut registration.

Episode Resources

Ripple Outdoors

Episode Credits

Voice by Chuck Lefleur
Music by Jon Schmidt from the Podsafe Music Network

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. Four legendary figures of bass fishing who have contributed greatly to the sport through education, angling achievements, innovations and communications will join 32 previously inducted men and women into the Bass Fishing Hall of Fame, Feb. 21.

The class of 2008 includes Charlie Campbell and Virgil Ward both of Missouri, Nick Crème of Texas and Buck Perry of North Carolina, as the seventh group of inductees. Crème, Perry and Ward will be inducted posthumously.

Induction ceremonies Thursday, Feb. 21 will take place at the Hyatt Hotel in Greenville, S.C., the evening before the start of the 40th Bassmaster Classic?s three days of championship fishing on Lake Hartwell. The reception will begin at 6 p.m. followed by the induction banquet and ceremony in the main ballroom at 7 p.m.

The four honorees and their contributions include:

Charlie Campbell - as a Missouri educator and celebrated coach for over 15 years would spend after-school hours and summers guiding nearby lakes. Multi-dimensional he later owned a marine dealership, developed the “Charlie Campbell CC Spinner Bait,? and was instrumental in the design of the Bass Tracker boat for Bass Pro Shops. He won a B.A.S.S. Federation National Championship, fished five Classics and won a total of 67 tournament trail events. Among his many honors he?s been inducted into two other halls of fame.

Nick Crème - in 1949, created the first rubber worms on his kitchen stove which made a huge impact as it revolutionized bass fishing with artificial lures in the 1950s and ’60s. When professional anglers began winning early B.A.S.S. tournaments on Crème Scoundrels and Shimmy Gals, the founder and owner of Crème Lures saw his business take off. Crème became one of the first tackle companies to sponsor a pro angler when, in 1967, Nick offered John Powell of Alabama an $18,000 contract.

Buck Perry - is widely acclaimed as the “father of structure fishing,” as he opened up America?s lakes and rivers to a different style of fishing than anyone had ever enjoyed. Before sonar, Perry was using his Spoonplugs and trolling tactics to catch deep water and offshore bass that others did not even know existed. Perry spent his life educating others about bass migrations, habitat and deep water methods. Even though he passed away in 2005, his Spoonplugging school is still a serious educational institution for anglers.

Virgil Ward - had one of the most popular TV showcases of bass fishing techniques for 27 years with his very successful Virgil Ward’s Championship Fishing Show. Syndicated nationally for 20 years, Ward’s show in 1985 was rated No. 1 overall. Millions of fishing fans followed his weekly shows on 253 radio stations and his advice in 450 newspapers. In 1955 Virgil and his son Bill, started the Bass Buster Lure Company, designed the feather jig and patented the fiber weed guard still used today by jig manufacturers.

“This group of four along with the other men and women inducted before them are among the true legends and innovators of the great sport of bass fishing,” said BFHoF president Sammy Lee. “Their contributions and efforts have rippled through the waters of time and we applaud their inclusion into the Bass Fishing Hall of Fame.”

Among the currently enshrined Hall of Fame members are Ray Scott, Johnny Morris, Bill Dance, Cotton Cordell, Denny Brauer, Stan Fagerstrom, Roland Martin, Bob Cobb, Guido Hibdon, Jimmy and Chris Houston.

Tickets to the banquet are available through Feb.15th by calling 1-888-690-BASS (2277).

The evening will also include the introduction of the four newest members to the Bass Fishing Hall of Fame Board of Directors. They include Kathy Magers and Dick Hart of Texas, Gene Ellison of Massachusetts and Hobson Bryan Jr. of Alabama who were named to three-year terms beginning January 1 of this year. The board is comprised of 15 members from within the fishing industry.

Established in 1999, the Bass Fishing Hall of Fame, headquartered in Hot Springs, Ark., is a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization. It’s dedicated to promoting the sport of bass fishing through participants and fans and establishing a shrine to the men, women and companies who have supported and elevated this sport to anglers around the world.

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Canada has fantastic Smallmouth Bass fishing. Bass are often considered the most exciting fish to catch because of the fight, but also because you need several different fishing techniques to catch smallmouth bass in different conditions and times of year.

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Norm Goldman, Editor of Sketchandtravel.com interviews adventure travel expert and founder of Adventure Travel Meldia Source, Nancy Pfeiffer.
Nancy is proud to say she is a 58 year old grandmother and still an active adventure traveler.

Norm Goldman, Editor of Sketchandtravel.com interviews adventure travel expert and founder of Adventure Travel Meldia Source, Nancy Pfeiffer.
Nancy is proud to say she is a 58 year old grandmother and still an active adventure traveler.

Today, Norm Goldman, Editor of Sketchandtravel.com is excited to have as our guest, Nancy Pfeiffer, founder of Adventure Travel Media Source.

Good day Nancy and thank you for agreeing to participate in our interview.

Norm:

Nancy, could you tell us something about yourself and how did you become interested in setting up Adventure Travel Media Source?

Nancy:

I had been doing general marketing consulting for a variety of clients, including guest ranches, river rafting companies and B&B’s.  In the course of this, I realized over many years that the best thing I could do for them as far as marketing was to get editorial coverage for them.  I eventually made the decision in 1999, to switch to doing media relations exclusively.  That’s when ATMS was born.

Norm:

What are the principal objectives of ATMS?

Nancy:

To obtain quality editorial coverage for our clients in targeted publications.  To provide employment for a team of talented people and allow them to grow and develop skills in the media relations environment.  To serve the publishing industry by providing them access to and information about unusual trips and destinations; and to be a participant in the global community of adventure travel and ecotourism.

Norm:

Have you found that adventure travel today is much more popular than it was several years ago, and if so, what do you attribute this to?

Nancy:

Adventure travel has become a very popular form of travel, making it the fastest-growing segment of the travel industry for the past 5-7 years, according to various industry specialists.  Adventure travel takes many forms and can mean anything from a bus tour through a national park to extreme mountain climbing in Nepal.

The reasons for this are many including the fact that the baby boom generation has had access to travel during their lives.  They tend to be well education, high wage earners and very curious about the world around them.  These tendencies make them a natural for adventure travel where they can do such things as: a cooking school in Provence, a bike tour of the Canadian Rockies, a safari to Kenya, an adventure cruise to the Galapagos, a backpacking trip in Moab, skiing in Jackson Hole, wildlife expeditions to Churchill, Manitoba to view Polar Bears, a Native American guided tour of the Ute Tribal Park, etc.

No more are travelers content to drive through Glacier National Park- they now want to hike the glaciers, view wildlife and learn to fly fish on their vacation.  These factors have led to the genre of adventure travel.

Norm:

No doubt, you have experienced many adventure experiences. Which ones would you consider to be your favorites and why?

Nancy:

My personal favorite adventure is whitewater rafting.  I did not begin adventuring until I was 40 and recently divorced.  I took my first week-long rafting trip on the Main Salmon River in Idaho with a client.  I was frightened to death and determined that I would do it and survive.

I did survive the River of No Return and have now done that trip 13 times as well as the Middle Fork of the Salmon, many stretches of the Colorado River as well as other rivers.

River trips are wonderful because they include many other elements such as hiking, fly fishing, wildlife viewing and camping.  I also enjoy hiking, camping and fishing with my husband, riding horses, snowshoeing  really anything that takes place outdoors, in nature, and involving some activity or personal challenge.  I’m a 58-year-old grandmother and if I can do it, anybody can!

Norm:

Readers of Sketchandtravel.com are always on the lookout for unique romantic getaways. Would you be able to recommend five adventure tours that you would not only consider to be adventurous but also romantic?

Nancy:

• Lapa Rios Eco Lodge in Costa Rica is a spectacular and romantic destination.  It is located on the Osa Peninsula of Costa Rica so there is plenty of surfing, wildlife tours, hiking and water sports available right outside your door. Activities at Lapa Rios are focused around the rainforest and the nearby Ocean.   Rainforest hikes, bird watching, Ocean Kayaking, horseback riding, catch and release sport fishing and surfing are some of the activities offered.   Furthermore, guests can take massages, participate in Yoga classes, relax at the pool with a tropical cocktail or just take a nap in a hammock and maybe observe the birds, monkeys and other animals that come by.   For many guests, the highlight is a tour to Corcovado National Park by plane or a night camping in the jungle.
• The Ashley Inn in Cascade, ID is the most beautiful Inn I’ve ever visited  it’s so sweet and romantic with a fireplace in every room, a spa tub with lighted waves for soaking, very feminine dcor and the most attentive staff anywhere.  And, you can board the historic Thunder Mountain RR line right behind the Inn for a trip that follows the Payette River Scenic Byway.  There are dozens of creeks and rivers for fly fishing, Lake Cascade 2 blocks from the Inn. Its Idaho’s own little mountain kingdom  perfect for a romantic getaway.
• Canyon Villa in beautiful Sedona, AZ, is located right on the border of the Coconino National Forest.  Of course, everyone knows that Sedona is a getaway for the rich and famous and you don’t have to be rich OR famous to stay at this beautiful Inn.  It’s a hideaway just for the two of you and when you’re ready to peek outside your door, you are surrounded by the red rock beauty which beckons you to come out and play.  Options include jeep tours, horseback riding, golf, tennis, and spas, biking, hiking and shopping at Tlaquepaque, a unique arts and crafts village with shops, galleries and fabulous restaurants.
• Brooks Lake Lodge in Wyoming’s NW Corner, just outside Grand Teton National Park, is a very special place.  Listed on the National Register of Historic Places, the Lodge is secluded in winter only reachable by dogsled, snow coach of x-c skis.  Their lodge rooms and individual cabins are so cozy; you will just want to snuggle together with a cup of hot chocolate or a special bottle of wine.  Gourmet food is prepared by the four star chef and a winter wonderland awaits you when you want to be active.  To top it all off, Brooks Lake Lodge just added complete spa facilities, so you can share a couple’s massage to soothe those sore muscles after a day of play.  The Lodge is open in summer as well but nothing compares to the winter getaways at Brooks Lake Lodge.
• Hidden Creek Ranch in Harrison, ID, just outside Coeur d’Alene is a dude/guest ranch second to none.  The cabins offer the perfect retreat for the two of you, all decorated in Native American style.  Gourmet food and wine are served in the dining room; horseback riding takes guests through forests and up the mountainsides each day.  Hot tubs are discreetly positioned behind the cabins for late night soaks under the moon.  A very well-trained staff will attend to your every need.  Each Wednesday evening, owner, Iris Behr, leads a special program of Native American ceremonies, including a pipe ceremony and a traditional sweat lodge.  What a wonderful way to connect with your spouse or lover than to share such an intimate evening.  Massages are available as well as yoga and meditation classes; fly fishing lessons, an adventure challenge course and much more await you at this beautiful Ranch.

Norm:

What does travel mean to you?

Nancy:

Travel is an exploration, a learning experience and an opportunity to refresh and restore my spirits through trying new things, meeting new people, etc.

Norm:

How many months of the year do you devote to travel?

Nancy:

It varies, according to my business, but counting both business and leisure travel, probably about 5-6 months are spent on the road.

Norm:

What advice would you give to anyone who never experienced a travel adventure tour and would like to try it?

Nancy:

Be sure to go with a reputable outfitter or operator.  Try something you’ve always wanted to do the options are limitless!  Ask for references from others who have traveled with the company you are considering booking with.  The company will provide you with lists of what to wear, what to bring and what to expect.  If they do not answer your questions and treat you with courtesy and kindness go to someone else.

There are resources out there that provide professional credentials to outfitters America Outdoors, the Dude Rancher’s Association, etc.  They will work with you to find the right trip and the right outfitters or operator.

Norm:

Is there anything else you wish to tell our readers?

Nancy:

I have had a much more wonderful life in the years since I began adventuring.  Experiential travel is so fun and exciting.  I’ve met wonderful people and it has enriched my life beyond measure.  I encourage everyone to get out there and learn about our world, about the cultures of the world, about nature and wildlife.  It will make you a better citizen of the planet earth!

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