Big Fish, I hear you are among the living...

If you would like to be able to make a post instead of just comment send me an email to rsmcouts(at)gmail. com. I can't hardly wait.

Man cave update

Texas Bob,Mudslinger, Fish Finder,Big Fish,No Pulp, and Cody had a successful day at the man cave, poured the other half of the floor. fill dirt, limestone and the lumber should be delivered Friday morning. We called Richard today during our ten minute lunch break, I left a message ,told him I would try to call him on Friday as soon as I talk to him ,more info will be on the blog, back to the man cave ,long time until dark.

Startin' to come together , Pepper

Looks like this group is starting to shape up a little. Most of these guys apparently don't like spring training. We've heard recently from Reel Maverick and Anchor Boy. WawaWalleye is starting to come around and I here Big Fish is thinking about a comeback. Now if the rookoe PITAIT can step up a little, I think we might have a team here.

I may not be ready on the 15th.

In years past, I was always as excited as Ryan is now, as our trip approached. This year for whatever reason I have seemed to loose touch with the concept of time. It was just yesterday when I realized the the 4th of July was this weekend. Don't get me wrong, I'm still looking forward to heading north, but I haven't made any preparations. I haven't gotten any gear together, I haven't even bought new line yet. I'm on vacation starting July 11th and was planning on using that time to go to Cabelas, buy what I need and start getting gear together and doing laundry. It is clear to me now that I'm needed to go out and work on Dad's man cave that week so my plan has been thrown out the window. Seems like 5 out of work guy's isn't enough to complete the project. If nothing else maybe it will silence all of the complaints from those 5 guys that I've been getting about my lack of help. 860 miles is a long way to have to listen to that noise.
But just know this, when I crawl out of the plane at Pine Lake the spirit and beer will fill me up. So you guys might want to make a plan on how to get my drunk ass up the hill.

Speaking of beer. It is now in my possession. 27 cases $460.00. Good news too, Miller Lite was on sale for $7.99 a case. Bud light and Coors light were $21.50 a case. Bad break for some of you guys, but life is good if your last name is Couts.

Dad please give Richard a call so we all leave on the same day.

See all of you in 2 weeks.

I wish it would rain...

...so the Camp Director would provide some information. It must have dried out enough to get some concrete to the man cave is all I can figure. I will keep assuming we are leaving on Thursday night until I hear otherwise. The group from Pittsburgh is leaving Friday morning and should have a report for us when they get back. It looks as though they are forecast for pretty nice weather.

Tomorrow gets us our first ridiculously extended forecast for fly-in day.

Two weeks. Two Boat Spotlights, and the eye on weather and bugs begins...we are inching closer.

Reel Maverick is like Chris Perez....

...he likes to keep things interesting. We went to his all-star team's game tonight. The opposing teams pitcher had a one hitter through 5 innings and Reel Maverick had the one hit. His team scored 4 in the top of the sixth to take a 5-1 lead. His team then gave up three in the bottom of the sixth to make it 5-4 with two outs and a runner on third. Enter Reel Maverick to the mound. He hit the first two batters to load the bases with 2 outs and then struck out the next kid on 4 pitches. He didn't want things to be easy. Nice game Connor. You did a nice job. We'll see if those skills will translate to your boat. :)

All Points Bulletin...

Chsst...We have a report of missing campers....Please reply if you know their whereabouts. The missing campers are...No Pulp, Big Fish, PITAIT (Pain in the Ass in Training[Cody])Anchor Boy, and the entire Teach A Kid To Fish boat.

Seems like it is going to take Fireworks to get these people interested in this trip.

Final Biggest Loser Weigh-in

Today marks the final weigh-in for our Biggest Loser contest at work. My starting weight for the contest was 216 and my final weigh-in was 198 for a total weight loss of 18 lbs which is 8.33%. By the way, I won. I will be able to set aside a few extra dollars to wager on the boat of my choosing. My actual weight this morning was 194 which means I lost another pound this week. I am thinking 189 is a possibility before July 15th. We'll see. This weekend won't do me any favors.

Gambling is not allowed at Bushwood, sir...

It has come to my attention (shockingly) that not everyone agrees with the direction of my confidence rankings. Well you had better start developing a mental list of your own because you are going to get a chance to place a wager on the boat you have most confidence in.

The first night in Camp I will be accepting wagers (in whole dollars only, Larry) on the following boats:

Bob/Trent - S.S. Camp Director
Troy/Andy - S.S. Eye to Eye
Bernie/Aaron - S.S. Almost Heaven
Larry/Cody - S.S. Boy Was He Pissed
Theron/Connor - S.S. Teach a kid to fish
Steve/Ryan - S.S. Gin is Toxic

The boat with the most fish pots is the winner. It doesn't matter if you fish with someone else one or two days, the pots you win on those days will be awarded to your original boat listed above.

Any large bets will be investigated throughout the week because I can already hear the wheels turning on some of the Monroe County folk.

You don't have to bet. You might not have enough confidence to bet on anyone. That is fine. Payout will be determined by the total amount bet and the amount bet on the winning boat. For example, if 100 dollars total is bet on all the boats and 40 of those dollars is bet on, oh I don't know, Gin is Toxic, then the payout is 2.50 for every 1 dollar wagered if that boat wins. So if you wagered 10 bucks on this boat (you really should), you would get 25 dollars.

There are only six possible outcomes so I am not going to get into the whole win/place/show. Win only. The Commission (me) will not be deducting any fees for service. All money bet will be paid out.

Might as well keep things interesting...Start your mental list now.

Things are starting to come together

Well with just over two weeks before our trip, things are starting to go our way. Gas prices are coming down and the exchange rate is going up. That and the Gas money we already have and this trip will be almost free. After I win about 6 fish pots I will come home ahead of the game. I only have 7 days of work left. I took an extra week off so I will have time to pack. See you soon boys.

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Wow...things are flying by....

Day left...17.

Days of work left...11.

I am an optimist so I went ahead and rolled the countdown clock back to Thursday night at 9:30 instead of Friday morning.

We haven't really discussed what time we would leave Thursday night but the earliest I could be to Gnaden would be around 7:30.

Only two more boat spotlights to go...Rumor has it, these last two might bookend the current list.

Went fishing yesterday...

Dad came up yesterday and I let him help me with a couple of toilets. Then we took the girls fishing. I let him use one of my rods so he will probably want to do that while we are in Canada too. I just hope I don't have to put any bait on for him or tie any lures on. He came up to help me with my toilets but he left with packaging for his over-fifty boat seat and a fixed rattle in his truck.

All in all, it was a pretty productive trip for everyone. He and I needed that to get us in a positive frame of mind after last wekend's debacle. Yesterday probably helps out our boat spotlight quite a bit. Just a few more hurdles...

Let's have the every year conversation...

I know we are good on depth finders but what about nets, minnow buckets, walkie-talkies, and boat coolers? Theron and Connor, I have a good boat sized cooler if you guys need one. Dad and I will be using Old Red. Uncle Bob, I think you said you have a couple of nets. Theron and Connor will need one.

Worm and Beer

The family and I went and ordered the worms yesterday. The price went up a little this year. I am being charged $50 a flat. Three flats at $50 each = $150 dollars. Now I just need to figure out how much I am going to charge each of you for the worms. If I play my cards right I can make a nice little profit off of you guys.
I also found a guy who will sell me the beer for $16.99 a case and he isn't going to charge us any tax. Once again, i am going to make some money off of you guys. I'll probably let my boat partner in on the profit, but the rest of you guys are screwed.

pop and water.

It was a wet and rainy day, too wet to mow grass, I put my cb in the truck this morning, this afternoon I went to town and picked up all the pop and water we need for thr trip. I will try to get hold of Richard this week.

Boat Spotlight: SS Boy Was He Pissed

You might be asking yourself, "How in the hell could these two manage to boat any fish with the amount of planning it will take to screw with the rest of camp as much as they will?" I have no idea.

But they will. Cody will have the Rookie fortune working for him. We'll have to check the record books but I don't know that a rookie has ever gone the whole week without winning a fish pot. The question is, how will he deal with being so far away from his text machine. The trouble is that we won't know if he is actually homesick or if being in a boat with Larry forced him into said sickness. Time will tell I guess.

His boat partner (and dare I say, mentor) hasn't changed since the minute he started going on this trip. He will sit in his boat seat with his straw hat (and apparently now an umbrella) and drag that Erie Dearie around the river until something gets in the way. All the while making mental notes with regards to who he wishes to mess with at dinner. He will catch fish, he will make lots of mental notes, and inevitably make the rest of the camp laugh at various moments throughout the trip.

This boat lacks the focus to be a serious contender for the top of the confidence list. Larry will have a great time and because of this, Cody may be looking to make a trade by about Tuesday.

The real dilemma for me is whether or not this boat lacks the necessary focus to be above the SS Camp Director on my confidence list. I just don't see it.

Confidence List:

SS Eye to Eye
SS Camp Director
SS Boy Was He Pissed
SS Almost Heaven

Chsst...Attention Cabelas shoppers...

We have a sale in our bargain cave on swim whizzes. (now called the believer). It can be yours for only 18.99...for one. ....chssst.

Grocery list

to Mudslinger:
If you want to e-mail my items, send to smcouts(at)sbcglobal. net

Dad, I edited your email so your box doesn't fill up with spam.

Fly in

Next week when Trent and I have a break from the man Cave construction, we will call richard and check on the camp condition and the tentative fly in date. more info to follow at a later date.

News and Notes.....

*Gas Prices are getting better... (60 cents a gallon is about 20 bucks a man in savings.)

*Exchange Rate still sucks...

*55 degrees and raining today in Chapleau. The end of next week will be our first glimpse at the fly-in day weather.

*I am packing very lightly this year. I am bringing one duffel bag that will have everything but my rods in it.

*I doubt there will be any mosquitoes so I will probably leave the bug spray at home.

*There are only three more boat spotlights left.

Weigh-in Day

Down another pound to 195. Total of 19 lbs lost. I am not going to reach my goal of 185 it would seem but I am going to see how close I can get. Hope all is well with everyone.

Grocery List and Worms

I completed the update of the grocery list last night. I will be emailing the list to those needing it sometime this week. Seems like a lot of food, but we never have much left at the end of the week. 26 cases of beer and only four gallons of milk. Don't let the women see this post. If anyone wants something added to the grocery list, just let me know or you can pick it up yourself and we will reimburse you at camp (This doesn't mean that Larry can buy a new fishing rod and have us pay for it.)
I am also going to order the worms this week. Three flats is a lot of worms, but I think Larry puts a new worm on every cast. Troy also uses a lot of worms. He sets the hook on air a lot causing him to rip the hook out of the worm. I believe Andy will be the better fisherman in that boat this year. Keep the posts coming. See ya all real soon.

One Step Closer...

Mother nature washed off my Rods, Reels, Tackle Box, and Lures on Sunday. It also conditioned my rain suit for the possible Canadian elements. I am going to clean up my workshop this weekend and make that packing headquarters.

Hope the man cave is coming along nicely in Gilmore. Hope all is well in Monroe County and Morgantown. Theron and Connor are well on their way towards proper organization for this trip. Boats are all running well in Gnaden. Dad even has his list on a chalkboard in the garage.

Getting down to crunch time. Just over 3 weeks.

fathers day fishing trip

My sons and I went fishing today to celebrate Father's Day. I hope this trip was not an omen. We got about 2 miles from our launch site running wide open thru the speed zone and the motor died. So we trolled over to the shoreline and fished for awhile before trying to restart the motor, It didn't start. Did all the usual checks and motor was getting gas. Aaron then took off the cowling and the cover to discover disintegrating wires. Cut a section of wire of the bilge pump harness and tried to patch things up , but no luck. So we headed back toward the launch with the trolling motor. And then the thunderstorm began. rained in buckets, then the lightning was getting pretty close so we beached the boat and waited for about 1 hour in a downpour. I walked about a half mile to get the truck so we weren't standing out in the elements for the entire hour . After bailing the boat with the cooler(the water level was to the top of the batteries) the boys got back in, switched over to the fresher battery and headed towards the marina ramp. I took the truck around and about dark we got loaded up and headed back. In spite of it all, we had a good time and a whole lot of laughs. A fathers day we will always remember. We're going to try it again next year. Should have the motor fixed by then.

No activity

Twenty five days left until we leave and nobody is on the blog, I guess no one is excited to head north like I am, maybe their will be more activity in the next couple of weeks. It is raining outside so I had to come in and harass the rest of you fellows.

short timers

Time is getting near close to leave for the great North. I am starting to pack, checking my list twice as I go, don't want to forget anything, Motown and Big Fish's boat revue started with a bang and ended with a boom' beware action is louder than words .

5K complete...

Finished my first ever 5k today in 30:51. My goal was 10 minute miles and I snuck in just under. Need to pick up the pace on the weight loss train but this is one more thing I wanted to accomplish before Canada.

Boat Spotlight: SS Almost Heaven

When I first started thinking about how I would rank the boats, this is the one that came to mind first as the potential leader. Bernie never says a word about how many fish he catches but somehow at the end of the day somebody asks "Who got the big walleye today?" The answer has been Bernie....A LOT. I hate that. ***Pause for random jab at Trent***...and who can forget the clinic he put on during the 2009 Virtue where he single-handedly almost kept his team out of last place by measuring the biggest walleye and biggest pike of the tournament?

Aaron H hit the ground running in 2009 and continued to bring in quality fish last year. He did a lot of boat hopping so it would be hard for me to put the credit on his various captains. Rumor has it he jumped from boat to boat because nobody could handle Larry for more than two straight days but I don't know about any of that.

So I originally thought, "This is going to be the boat to beat...". I have since rethought my position. These lucky a-holes have been doing this to easily for too long. This is the year the struggles come. I predict a net disaster or broken rod, or something that is going to keep these two out of the top of the list this year. Also, you can't ignore the trip and expect the fishing Gods to reward you for it. Big Fish has been noticeably absent from the Blog this year and while his brother has attempted to make up for his shortcomings, I just don't think that has been enough. I mean for Pete's sake, THE CAMP DIRECTOR has finally embraced the blog and we can't get Big Fish on here once a month?

The mighty Nemegosenda will rise up with a fury and hand out the punishment to Bernie for ignoring this trip and Aaron will suffer because of it. You can't put yourself inside the blast zone and expect to walk away unscathed. These two are in for a long week.

Confidence List

SS Eye to Eye
SS Camp Director
SS Almost Heaven

4 weeks from today we will either be driving or flying....either way we will be headed the right direction.

Next up...SS Boy Was He Pissed (that should be fun...I may start writing it now.)

Wednesday Weigh-in

Down to 196. A supreme accomplishment given what I ate and drank last week. I am also currently leading the Biggest Loser Contest here at work. I am down 7.14%. 5K this Saturday. I won't be breaking any land speed records but I have a goal. We'll see how that goes. 4 weeks from tomorrow night (or Friday morning). SS Almost Heaven boat spotlight coming up on Friday. I am a little disappointed in Big Fish's blog effort this year. His boat spotlight might reflect that a little bit.

New additition

Last Monday was a great beginning on the new man cave,Larry,Bernie,Matt,Cody,Trent and I worked endlessly to get the water line and footers dug and laid. Thursday the footers were poured since then Trent, Larry, and I have been busy laying block. Blocks should finished by Friday. Floor will be poured next and then wood construction. While some people are running their mouths we are building are biceps to pull in the big fish. If you want to have some fun come to my house,we work hard and drink alot of beer. Captain Bob

Things seem slow....

For there only being 32 days left, chatter seems a little slow. Must be a lot of stuff being built, you know, garages and what-not. My tackle box could use a little work after the camping trip. Probably some new line on a couple of reels as well. Just a couple more weeks and it will be time to start making the pile of stuff in the basement. It is getting closer.

I'm all warmed up...

Just spent 4 days camping at the finger lakes and got quite a bit of fishing in. Also a large number of Blue Lights went by the wayside. I tested out a couple of items for food. One that sucked and the other that was fantastic. The one you can write off is canned potatoes for hash browns...they suck. The one that is great is corn on the cob in the fire. If it is something we want to consider, we can do it pretty easily and quickly.

I will post a picture of fish when I get back to a regular computer so you guys know what you are getting yourselves into...

Boat Spotlight: SS Eye to Eye

I am not going to lie, this was my favorite boat to name. I am a sucker for a good double entendre.

Ladies and gentlemen, i would like to introduce your odds on favorite to bring home the money this year. It is a combination of proving ability, years of experience, and just plain old being due.

Andy is no longer tagged with the rookie label. He has a mount to prove his ability. The easier it gets to pull the anchor rope, the easier it gets to go looking for big fish. Andy may suffer the senior year blues but that is doubtful...another big year is a real possibility.

Troy has a lot of trips under his belt and has caught a ton of fish. The really big one seems to have escaped him for a number of years. He seems to be around for lot of huge walleye being taken over the years but the rod he is holding never seems to be the lucky one. This could be the year. There is probably only one other person in camp more due for a big fish. Future spotlights will reveal who this might be.

There is no question this boat will bring a great number of fish in the boat and to the fish house. Is this the year Troy replaces his 23 incher with a truly mountable fish? I think the odds are pretty good and give them the edge to have the biggest week.

So far, through two spotlights the weighting goes like this:

SS Eye to Eye
SS Camp Director

SS Camp Director Reply

Wallete Killer you have just earned the first bunk on the left in the back cabin. Co- camp directors are not being showed much respect for trying to make every ones trip enjoyable.
Trent and I always find things to do around camp because we have are fish caught in the first hour or two of the day,while the rest of you whiners are licking your wounds from the preious days defeat.

Wawa Walleye is back and better than ever!!!

Hello to all of my fishing buddies and Larry too. Sorry I haven't been on here recently. There are a couple different reasons for my absence. I usually check the blog on my phone, and for some reason my phone had not updated in about a week. The last posting that I saw was from Ryan about getting his IPad. Secondly I have been working 12 hour days this week. We have not been very busy at work yet this year and are just now starting to pick up. I count on the OT pay to fund this trip so I need to work every minute available until we leave. Unfortunately due to the amount of hazardous chemicals we work with, (I have some new scares to prove it) they will only let us work 12 hours per day, so I may not have enough money to get into the fish pot this year. Just kidding, I am glad to make the extra money and an looking forward to the trip. I really hope we can get in a day early, that really made the trip nice.

On a different subject today is our 17th wedding anniversary. We are celebrating by me having the house to myself while Patty takes the kids to her brothers in Columbus for 2 dance recitals. Yes I said 2. Two different girls. One is at 2pm and one is at 7pm. I know that Sandy gave Ryan an IPad for there anniversary but Patty gave me the greatest gift of all. She let me stay home and enjoy my day off. I love that woman.

Did WawaWalleye lose his internet access???

He must have moved in with Big Fish.

Boat Spotlight: S.S. Camp Director

What do you get when you put a guy who can’t sit still, in a 15 foot aluminum boat? You get -“Well Trent, what do you want to do?” This will inevitably lead to them heading back to camp to trim some hedges, split some firewood, or mow the grass. There are nearly 70 years of combined Canadian experience in this boat and I think if they were able to make an effort long enough, they could probably be pretty productive…on the water.

Don’t get me wrong, I am very appreciative of the fact that Bob doesn’t let the paths get over-grown and that Trent can build a fire pit like nobody’s business. The problem is, there are other boats that will have to pick up the slack for the fish these guys aren’t going to catch.

These two guys offer a ton to this trip but unfortunately there aren’t a lot of awards in camp for the most well-rounded camper. Nor are there awards for participation. They will have fun. They will drink a lot. They will get a lot of stuff done in camp. They will make sure everyone is having a great time. Don’t discount this. It is all important.

If you are kind of feeling like there is something missing in this review…it is any mention of fishing. Uncle Bob doesn’t really have an interest and Trent is, what I like to call, the locust of fishing - he shows up about every seven years and REALLY shows up about once in every 30.

I don’t think this boat is in danger of winning any fish pots or setting the fishing standard for the rest of the camp to aspire to, but you will have a good time and much of it will be their doing. Maybe I’ll bring Certificates of Appreciation so they don’t feel like they are leaving camp empty-handed. There are 6 weeks left, maybe they can develop a plan to improve their odds, but just in case, you should plan on catching their share of fish.

Next Friday: S.S. Eye to Eye

Chat with Richard

I talked to Richard Tuesday morning, camp is open and ready to go. He wants to put another fridge in the back cabin , the tractor is back together and ready for duffle. There is a possibility that we may get to camp on Friday, more info on this at a later date. Richard, Rodney, and one of Richards freinds were going to camp to fix the water in the back cabin. Trent , once school is out and we start on the garage and you start on your deck, the pounds will fall off daily. Just a reminder for everyone, don't forget about your passports.

Diets SUCK

Well, started my pre-Canada diet yesterday. Weighed in at 194. Want to lose 15-20 pounds before the trip. This could be a long six weeks. Dad talked to Richard this past weekend. I will let him post about the conversation. Hopefully everyone has started to get their tackleboxes organized and their hooks sharpened. Can't wait to see the Chutes again. It truly is one of the greatest places on Earth.