OK…how much time ya got??? Take a second…grab a snack…maybe a beer…on second thought you better grab a six pack and a 4 course meal…you’re gonna be here a while!!!
It was my first trip to Ontario Canada to a lake called Northern Lights. It is a fairly big body of water and we planned on making a base camp on one of the islands. Anyway…the first of many bad experiences was when we got out of our vehicle to take a pic of a moose. Got back in the vehicle and our transmission was locked up. Now I don’t know how many of you have been to Canada but in this area the logging trucks rule and if you are in the way ( which we were) you are in trouble. After 2 VERY near misses a nice gentleman finally stopped to help us. Turned out he had a similar incedent happen to him. We had a short in our trailer lights that was blowing fuses which was in turn causing our problem. Anyway we replaced the fuse an low and behold we were on our way. Once we got there we were greeted by a very friendly French man who had setup the boat my wife and I would be renting for the trip as we didn’t have one of our own. We loaded up and started out on our journey a crossed a white capped very large body of water in which none of us really knew where we were going. Got about a mile out and our motor died. Now keep in mind we are in about a 25 mph headwind. By the time I finally got the motor running again we had been blown back about 3/4 of a mile! Now I am no mechanic nor do I claim to be. We got about 3/4 of the way to our destination and once again the motor died. Luckily we had just come around a point and had a little protection from the wind. It took about 1/2 hour of me tugging rope to finally get it started again. At this point we are trying to decide if we should just turn around or keep going. Of course we just kept going. We got to a point where we were actually about 200yds from our camp site when the motor died AGAIN!!! Needless to say we were back in the wind and loosing ground rapidly. I pulled and pulled and finally got it going although on one of the tugs my hand came off the rope and I knocked my new polorized glasses into the water….OK…I lied…I was so ticked I bounced them off the bottom of the boat and then they flew into the water!!! So anyway…we finally get to the camp spot and figure that my father in law and I will take his boat and tow the floating death trap back and let me tell ya that was a fun ride.
We get back to the campground and the French guy that setup our boat procedded to tell me that WE put the fuel hose on backwards and was lucky the motor ran at all. So I figured no harm no foul. We headed back out and let me tell ya the boat ran like a champ once it was able to get a little petrol.
OK…take a second…stand up…streatch…I am just getting started!!!
We fished for a couple days with marginal success but catching enough fish to eat. Getting out of the boat to pull it up on shore I managed to get my feet wet. Well…I did have sandals on so I figured it was no big deal. Within about 6 hour I had the worst swelling and itching that anyone could imagine. It would not quit. Now I normally would spare everyone the gross details about my rotten foot problem but I want to give you the FULL effect of my miserable trip. At certain points I had to rake my feet a crossed rocks just to get any relief. So this contiunes and I decide to tuff it up and just have a good time and try not to let it bother me. I figured as long as some one carries me to and froom the boat I will be ok. Anyway…fishing was still just so so but we were cathcing fish. Really nice smallies and some ok walleyes.
Well on about the third day the group decided it was a good day to take off from fishing and go find a good place to swim…they had to drag me kicking and screaming!!! I was there to fish but me being the kind hearted and unselfish man that I am I went along and just roasted on a rock while the other played in my walleye water. Like I said before…I am a kind hearted individual that was taught to always hold doors for women and all that good polite stuff. So I decide to hold the boat with one hand and my wife’s hand with the other to help her get into the boat without falling…well it worked well for her anyway. I ended up on my butt bending my lower spine on a rock that didn’t want to give. I couldn’t stand, couldn’t do anything for that matter. Of course everyone helped me up and into the boat. Now at that point I had never experienced any kind of back problems so the trem muscle spasm was all new to me although it didn’t take long for me to develop a very hateful relationship with it. I ended up in base camp doing nothing for a day and strongly considering packing it in. I couldn’t do anything. I didn’t want to ruin anyone elses trip so once again I toughed it out. I figured we only had a little time left.
OK….now for the good part of the trip. On the last morning my father in law talked me into trying to fish for a little while before we had to make the LONG boat trip back. I figured that if I was going to be in that much pain I might as well be in pain with a rod in my hand. We went to a place that had been affectionately named “Darcy’s Rock” after my wife of course who caught a 6 1/2 lb smallie there. We were fishing a slip bobber with a 1/8 ounce jighead on ultralight euipment. I believe I had on 4lb line not that it matters…anyway…to make a pittifully long story short…well…sort of…I ended up catching a 8 1/2 lb walleye. It was my biggest ever. My father in law recommended that I mount that fish but there was NO WAY I wanted any kind of a reminder hangin on my wall of that trip!!! I won’t even get into the ride back home!!!! Anyway…if anyone is actually still reading this I thank you for your time and patience in reading all of this babbling about my worst fishing trip EVER!!!!!! 
I am planning a trip to Fort Peck for some 
