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Back to: The
Thunder Bay Chronicles
Day
1: Travel, Preparation and First Impressions
By Noel Vick
Tommy,
that is Tommy Skarlis of ON
ICE TOUR, blurted out, “You think you’re tired, I’m
working off four hours of sleep.”
I
retorted, “No sleep.”
“What?’
“That’s
right, no sleep. I left
Isanti at two, to be in Walker by five-thirty, and here I am, on
time. I was with
urchins all evening, my wife from nine until midnight, and then I
packed and left. No sleep, just Diet Mountain Dew, cigars, and Ohio
Players.”
 The
ON ICE TOUR bus, which consisted of three trucks and trailers, left
the Leech Lake area and headed north and east.
There’s an ancient fishing adage that goes, “never leave
fish to find fish.” Departing
Leech Lake challenges this thinking, but when the road points toward
hardwater lakers, it’s reasonable to make such allowances.
Ever
traveled with a trucker?
Our
three vehicles stayed in close, sometimes obnoxiously close contact
via Zercom two-way radios.
“We
need to practice Canadian,” radioed Chip from the lead vehicle.
“Ya know…Eh”. (By the way, Chip is Chip Leer, Tommy’s partner.)
“Bro,
go ahead and belt one out,” begged Tommy from position two.
Bro,
is Brian “Bro” Brosdahl, my shotgun travel partner, ON ICE TOUR
Pro Staffer, resort owner, field editor, piscatorial magician,
guide, woodsman, and as surreal an individual as they come.
Together, we sluggishly brought up the rear.
Bro
busted into “Ya betcha dem lakers are oot and aboot…eh.”
The
airwaves of channel 69 flooded with laughter.
Funny,
it occurred to me how closely our own dialect resembled that which
we caricatured…eh. Just
ask a southerner.
Regardless
of how many times I set eyes upon it, a fresh look at Lake Superior
remains awe inspiring. That
first big hook around the bluffs of Duluth…you know the one.
An eastern orb touched beams off fractionally frozen waters.
Seagulls swirled. Later, Gord Ellis, a renowned outdoor chronicler and captain
of the scout team would explain that seagulls, not groundhogs, mark
the arrival of spring.
The
next three hours of highway were treacherous.
Not due to hazardous road conditions, but rather because my
attention was drawn to the starboard side.
Dramatic cliffs; endless lake; early divers loitering in
shoreline pockets. A
few of those buffleheads and hoods were probably leftovers from last
fall.
Chip
and Tommy run a tight ship. And
the only blemish in their planning and organizing was a shortage of
lantern mantles, some very specific Coleman Northstar lantern
mantles. So we went
shopping, lakeside village to lakeside village.
On
first sight, Minnesota’s Grand Marais looked like a retail Mecca
compared to Lutsen and Tofte. We
blanketed the artsy town while staying in radio contact.
Bro and I took to waterfront retailers, Chip and Tommy
inland.
There
it was. A skim coat of
what looked like walkable ice on Grand Marais’ harbor.
Drawn like lemmings, Bro and I edged nearer. Salivating at the prospects of ice fishing.
Giddy. Our
extrapolations of icing coasters and duping steelhead with flies on
a calm summer eve were interrupted by the radio voice of Chip
beckoning for mobilization.
I
think he found mantles.
Grand
Marais resident and outdoor writer, Shawn Perich subsequently
inspirited us that a few guys float-tube the harbor, fly-casting for
stream going trout.
Three
rigs, two open trailers, an enclosed trailer, four snowmobiles, and
four passengers crossed into Canada with ease.
Rapid questions were answered with accurate and succinct
answers. So much for
archetypal fears of half-day delays and cavity searches.
Enter
Thunder Bay.
Best
Western Nor’Wester Resort Hotel, our base camp, is situated at the
southern fringe of Thunder Bay; at the foothills of the Nor’Wester
Mountains (tremendous skiing region); only a cast from big water.
From inside its walls we rested, ate, and hatched plans.
ON
ICE TOUR unhitched and the four of us headed to town searching for
licenses, bait, provisions, and farm-fresh information.
First
stop:
D & R Sports for licenses and back slapping with Coz, the
shop’s perpetually cheerful proprietor.
Second
stop:
Sleeping Giant Taxidermy and Bait.
Here, we engaged Rob Danchuk and his salty but good-natured
father. The pair scoops
minnows and immortalizes fish.
I felt taunted by the mammoth lakers and emblazoned brookies
towering above the bait tanks.
As if I was going to catch ones like that.
It
was at Sleeping Giant that we were introduced to the ultimate
minnow.
“We
need a mixture of live and dead bait.
Set us up,” Tommy said as he heaved three or four uncovered
Coleman coolers onto the counter.
Tommy
leaned over to me and asked, “What kind of minnows will Gord
want?”
“You’re
fishing with Gord?” inquired the elder Danchuk, glancing over his
shoulder. “Gord uses
pearl dace. Here, look
at these, these are Gord’s minnows.”
Tommy,
a tournament walleye angler, nearly soiled his pants at the sight of
them. The mothers of all minnows.
What a deadly weapon they’d be on the PWT.
So supple, so fleshy.
From
that moment on, and for all of time, let it be decreed that pearl
dace will now be known as Pearl Ellis’.
Final
stops:
Possibly the most important sojourns, Chip and I went for Cubans
while Bro and Tommy hunted down cases of Blue.
Somewhere along the way we ended up with groceries.
Tomorrow
we fish…
Webmaster’s
notes:
Noel Vick is a freelance outdoor writer and member of ON ICE TOUR. meadowlark@uswest.net
Special
thanks to:
-
Bill
Lindner Photography (651) 487-0586, www.blpstudio.com
-
The Best Western Nor’Wester
Resort Hotel, located on Highway 61 in Thunder Bay, Ont.
They can be reached at 1-888-473-BEST (2378) or www.norwester.net
-
Ontario’s Ministry of Natural Resources Great Lakes Heritage Coast
Project
(807) 475-1274, www.mnr.gov.on.ca and www.ontarioslivinglegacy.com
-
Sleeping Giant Taxidermy & Bait
(807) 622-9989
-
Old
Fort William
(807) 473-2344, www.oldfortwilliam.on.ca/homepage.html
-
CANUSA
Travel Information Network (807)
475-3035, www.gottagonorth.com
-
The
Neebing Road House
(restaurant & tavern) on Highway 61, across from the Best
Western
-
Nor’Wester Resort Hotel (807) 475-0792
-
Airlane
Catering
(Travel Lodge) (807)
473-1607
-
Wisk-Air
(helicopter service) (807)
475-4510
Tight Lines,
Noel
Vick
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