Weird week...

My father in law and brother in law are hunters.
They live for the deer season in particular. Two weeks out of the year they disappear into the bush in the hopes of filling the freezer full of Venison ....but more importantly to get away from it all.


It took me a while to to get on board with this whole delio as I was very much under the influence of the Bambi vibe...
Poor wittle things..
...that is until I tried Venison chops on the BBQ with Montreal Steak spice.
Bambi can lump it...besides the population of deer here are very good and we don't need a situation like northern MI where you are taking your life into your hands driving on the highways at dawn and dusk.


On our first run to the Cadillac Michigan area Morin and I added a significant amount of travel time to our fishing trip just having to slow down because of the abundance of deer. It would be a helluva thing to have one come flying through your windshield.
The getting away from it all thing is something that I really dig...


Generally there is a crew of four that take advantage of a sugar shack that isn't being used this time of year. They will roll back into town a week later quite often with nothing to show for their time and effort other than facial hair and stink.


Sounds like a blast.
Card playing drinking and bad food. Sign me up.
The boys hunt very close to where we fish this time of year and this year they were kind enough to extend me an invite. I am not a hunter but I am a drinker and a card player and there is nothing like the smell of a wood burning stove....
I was there for two nights.
I had to clear the mouse turds away in the loft to make room for my sleeping bag.
LOL
The first night rained so hard that I had to sleep in the car. The sugar shack has only a tin roof and shortly after midnight the joint began to sound like a snare drum. I am no Mary but WTF!!!??
I got up that morning to a stiff neck and a blown river. Not a good way to start the week. The hunters too were a little down in the mouth so rather than hang around camp and be miserable I bolted for a river a little farther north.
When I got there I was surprised to find that the water albeit high and fast was quite fishable. I managed two strong-backed Steelies that this river is known for and a confused looking Lake Trout???
My friend Dave filled me in that they are actually quite common for this particlar river.
Hmmm...
I would've liked a pic of the Laker at least for the memories but my camera was right next to the empties on the table in the shack.


I was a wee bit hungover. Nothing like a combo of Scotch ,Red Wine and English ale to put you against the ropes...
After I fished that river which shall be nameless I had to scoot home for a dinner party we'd planned with some good friends.
The plan was to return the following day early in the morning and fish my brains out...Sugar Shack it...then fish hard the following day with Morin.
Ah November ...
So I pick Owen up from school and he greats me with Daddy ....my throat is sore...
Of course it is ...why wouldn't it be....Jesus H Christ....
I love my kids more than life itself and my son is a low maintenance angel from heaven but I cannot remember a Fall that has been without a steady string of bugs in the Norland house...sometimes it can get very depressing.
So we have a look in Owens throat and it looks like a grenade went off in there. I whip him in to the Doctors to find out that he has Hand Foot and Mouth disease.
WTF!!!!!!!!
"yes...we've seen quite a run of this this year"....
WTF!!!!!!!!!
After having fifteen heart attacks the doctor manages to assure me that it isn't that big of a deal other than the fact that it is very painful. It is a virus that is common and should clear up on its own in 7- 10 days.
ugh
..Oh well..I tried to pull the plug on the trip but my lovely Wife assured me that it wouldn't be neccessary. God I love her....and my kids...
...and fishing...
So...early the next morning I am forcing it on a river that I know well enough to know better...handicapped not only with high water but with a guilty conscience.
It was only fitting that I had my ass handed to me...
6 solid hrs and nary a tug...rotten fish.
Back at camp the boys were celebrating over two deer. My brother in law got himself a Buck that weighed in at the butcher at right around 3 bills. They were beside themselves. Good for them.
:o/
The next day was better. I hit a fish right off the bat and I could exhale...


The river has been a wee bit tight so far this year.


Hardly worth the effort ...unless you are in love with it.
The deer camp thing was fun and will surely become a tradition with me.
I bought Owen some Lego today and it put a smile on his poor little face...
I hope he is feeling better tomorrow.
When my kids get sick it just breaks my heart.