Merry Christmas & Happy New Year
from
Perrault Lake Camp
Today is December 1st; the Christmas season is officially upon us! It’s exciting isn’t it? It’s like the bottom of the 9th in a tight game for all the marbles. Hopefully I can master the Holiday hustle like a champ! Our very own Blue Jays came so close to winning the World Series earlier this year. What a time to be a Toronto Jays fan! Anyway, here’s your friendly heads up folks… We are in the home stretch of the annual routine. The 1st of December sneaks up on me every year… T-minus 24 days until Christmas and 30 days before we set our intentions and start all over again. These next few weeks are definitely the quickest and busiest of the year. Daylight is at it’s least but at this stage in our family life, I hardly even notice. If it weren’t for the progressively advancing expiration dates on the milk carton I would be oblivious to how quickly time flies!
Since camp closed back in early October, life up north has been mostly hunting and hockey! These two activities are wildly opposite in nature but the best of both our worlds. I, Amy, drew a Bull Moose tag for gun season. It’s been years since I last had a tag. The pursuit has brought Mark and I back to the peaceful backwoods. We have spent every spare minute walking trails, perched on high ground, staking out wetlands and riding the old goat trails in search of a trophy bull moose. My guide is one of the best there is. He is also patient as I truck along trying to keep up and stay quiet. It’s more awkward than you think. Gun season runs mid October to December 15th –we are still looking for a moose. Despite scouring our favorite locations for weeks, I have yet to take a shot. We’ve heard a few but only had eyes on one. From 296 yards across a swamp Mark spotted one. We watched a big bull with a nice set of horns gingerly graze the willows along the forest’s edge. What a treat it was to observe him! I stood in a bog so as to be far enough off the travel way to legally shoot. The weather has turned cold. Several hard frosts had covered the wetlands with a tin layer of ice. A dusting of snow brightened the marshy field of brown reeds and cattails between us. Rifle resting in position on the shooting stick, I had him in my sights. The bull had no interest in venturing into the marshlands. He barely moved. I don’t even know how Mark spotted him in the first place. He was in my crosshairs staring us head on, ever so gently swaying his great rack with a few steps here and a few steps there. I tuned into the sound around me. The faintest cracking: tick, tick, tick; the tiniest splintering of the ice under my feet. I could feel myself getting shorter, sinking ever so slowly into the wet mushy bog. It was only a few inches of water in the thick grass. Enough for wet feet. Focus! The Bull Moose slowly turned broadside only to duck into the spruce trees and disappear. At the time, I had not felt an urgency to shoot. We were enjoying the hunt. Watching the sun come up through the poplar stands, seeing wildlife, smelling fresh air, and feeling the stillness of a calm frosty morning in the forest. It’s good for the soul. Plus, a 300-yard shot is a bit out of my league. And then, getting around the swamp to have a look would have eaten up the rest of our day. Most of all, if a miracle was to occur in Perrault Falls and I actually hit the target it would have been a recovery nightmare getting the harvest back to the truck and of course, we had hockey later that night. So for now, there’s at least one big one out there. Stay tuned… With any luck we’ll hit a homer late in the game!
Our days were spent immersed in Mother Nature’s rejuvenating natural wonder. Evenings and weekends now belong to the kids in a fantastically contrasting environment. Jack and Carmen are thriving in sport! The arenas and gymnasiums are noisy with chatter, cheers and the occasional obnoxious cowbell and loud cup. (We’re old-fashioned clap with your hands parents.) Jack is a freshman in high school. He made the high school hockey team, he wears and A with the AA travel team from Red Lake and when he isn’t on the ice with one of those teams or in need of some rest he plays with the local house league team in Red Lake as well. Jack has all the hockey he can handle and he is loving it. Last week the high school team took their player stats. Our young man stands a proud 5’ 11.5”! Ha! On skates he’s looking Mark dead in the eyes. Although Jack often tries his best to wrestle and out muscle his dad it is to Mark’s relief (with some real effort) Mark’s still got him…
Carmen is in 6th grade now and really enjoying her share of hockey too. She made the AA travel team in Red Lake, a competitive all girls team- Girls of the North- and she wears her house league Ear Falls Eagles jersey with pride. Carmen’s secret weapon is speed. She is a tremendous skater. She is also acclimating well to the physical pace of the game. At her age they don’t allow body checking but they do let a lot of “competitive contact” go. Back in November in a game vs. a team from Thunder Bay Carmen was battling for position in front of her net. The boy, who stood just a bit taller than her, gave her a shove in the chest and said, “Calm down little girl.” She looked down at her chest to where he had the audacity to make contact, looked him square in the eyes and said, “Don’t call me little girl!” Before he knew it her arm flew out to shove him right back. That was the end of that. We later asked her about the exchange, she was thrilled to retell the story. Carmen and I also share a love of volleyball. She and I play and practice as much as she wants to. To my delight, sometimes that’s a lot! I also coach The Wolves, the local junior elementary school team. Our little pack has been together for a couple years. I am so proud of the progress they are making. Carmen is well skilled and her group is dominant in game play. The grades 4-6 windup tournament does not keep score. We focus on fundamentals. The wolf pack keeps score, they know exactly who won and by how much. Yes, The Wolves promptly informed me that they won all their games and the tournament!
Moving on to December 2nd. The bay has frozen over. It is snowing outside, 16 degrees Fahrenheit with a light wind. It’s a nice day in the neighborhood. Jack and Mark have demolished their advent calendars. Carmen’s will be clear by the end of day. Today Mark and I will get out into the yard to work on our winter project, the new cabin 3! Back in August we tore down little old cabin 3. It sat up the hill from the boat launch and the fish house. A bit of an eye sore from the outside, it was a long skinny little cabin for 2 with a lovely pine interior. Old cabin 3’s greatest downfall: it sat right along the waterfront with no lake access or view. New cabin 3 now offers a lakefront facing covered deck to fully appreciate the serenity of its location. It is a 2-bedroom cabin –2 twin beds in 1 room, 1 twin bed in a second small room– full bathroom and open kitchen/ living room with a wall of windows to let in the summer sunshine while looking out over sparkling waves. Coming to you for the 2026 season!
Speaking of sunshine and soft water, the 2025 season was a great one! Passing too quickly with it’s own interesting mix of good people and memorable moments. The Leaderboard is a testament to many of those special times! You can find the full list posted on our website. The top catches of the season are:
Walleye Emily Voelker of WI 31”
Musky Konrad Kremper of IL & Zach Phillips of IA 50”
Northern Pike Cody Maeder of WI 42”
Smallmouth Bass Claire Boyd of NC 19.75”
OUR HEARTIEST CONGRATULATIONS GOES OUT TO ALL ANGLERS!
December 3rd, it’s a sunny -6F in Perrault Falls, -26F with the wind-chill. Winter is here! It’s the coldest day of the year thus far, a great day to hibernate with hot coffee and the last of my advent calendar. Today is dedicated to sorting through all the much-appreciated photos from 2025. Thank you to everyone who shared his or her exciting experiences with us this season. Joyful and accomplished smiles, wildlife action shots and beautiful moments in the great outdoors commemorate many wonderful memories up north! On bleak, freezing days like today, the annual photo reel is a welcome reminded of how fortunate we are to be part of happy times with great people! I particularly enjoyed the stories behind each of the leaderboard photos this season.
Cody was fishing with his wife Beth and their young son Wes when he caught that big northern. Can you imagine how exciting that would have been to a 4 year old! I believe it is the biggest fish our young friend Wes has ever seen up in Canada, for now anyway. This trio spends A LOT of time fishing and they are well versed in trophy angling. I can’t wait for the day when Wes runs up the steps to tell me that he too has joined the ranks on the leaderboard!
Our top walleye angler, Emily, had an extraordinary week up here in July. Her party of 4 arrived as 3 which means that she was fishing alone. This capable young lady is also a dog lover, guess who kept her company while she captained her vessel and boated an impressive list of trophies? Lucy! In addition to the 31” walleye listed above Emily and lucky Lucy caught and released a 29” walleye and a 40” northern!
The young guns in the 50 club commemorated their respective milestones in amazing fashion. Both are avid musky hunters, with leaderboard catches from previous years. Konrad hooked into his musky with an audience of onlookers watching the whole event from the deck of a neighboring cabin along the shoreline. They encouraged him as he fought his musky and cheered in celebration when he finally landed his fish of a lifetime. I was on the dock when the boys came in. At first I thought something was wrong. They were so pumped up, yelling and streaking off the dock to the rest of the group “Konrad caught a 50!”
Not to be outdone and equally as impressive, Zach too caught and released a beautiful musky in mid July. He did it all right, solid hook set, tight lines, patience and a quick release after a photo. Our friend Zach went one step further. Are you familiar with goliath grouper photos where the angler gets in the gulf waters with a catch too big to boat? Zach boldly honored the occasion with the same snapshot. Unbelievable! Don’t try this at home folks or on Perrault Lake. It is documented that muskies have attached swimmers in Kenora and somewhere in Minnesota. The back of a calf looks surprisingly similar to the belly of a medium sized fish. Remarkable memories boys, welcome to the club!
Be sure to follow us on Facebook and check out the 2025 Christmas Photo album showcasing all the fantastic fishing adventures, friendly faces and fun happenings around PLC! Scrolling through the album is also a great way to navigate a holiday food coma!
December 4th, another blast of winter, we woke up to a snowy -5F with hopes of warming to a balmy 10F this afternoon. Let’s see what the power of positive thinking can do with today’s forecast! For now it’s a good day to finish up the Christmas letter! 2025 was indeed a really good year. Much to the credit of our guests, friends and family (and maybe a bit of experience from a pair of weathered outfitters and their super helpful staff) things seemed to flow smoothly. We’ll take it! Our sincerest thanks goes out to everyone who made it up to PLC this season. Thank you for making the long trip north. It is truly our great pleasure to see you all year after year, exchange best wishes, catch up on the bullet points from the year gone by and do our best to offer a better than ever Canadian fishing trip! Moreover, we gratefully appreciate your kindnesses and thoughtfulness towards our family. For the goodies, gifts, treats and treasures, the photos, stories, laughs and memories. THANK YOU SO MUCH!
With any luck we’ll have another set of horns and a great story to share with everyone in 2026. If not, I have already received more than my share from the hunt. Getting out in to nature has been one of the highlights of the year for Mark and I. Peaceful uninterrupted time. While some parts of our day-to-day race by with a blink, our outings have given us a chance to slow down and appreciate the simple things. Towards the end of October, the muddy trails were dry and hard, the tall grass looked like brown straw, cattails were crispy, the last of the golden leaves barely clung to the branches of a few poplar trees. We sat quietly listening to the sounds of silence. We watched the leaves fall one by one from the trees. Even with the breeze, it was so quiet you could hear the soft brushing sound as they touched the tall grass below. After a while the last leaf had fallen. The branches were completely bare, grey sticks bobbing in the wind. The season had changed right before our eyes. I thought of many things including our friends Bruce & Kristy from WI. These two absolutely love lake life. Can’t get enough. They spend all but their sleeping hours on the lake or the deck looking out at the water. Thoroughly immersed in the outdoors. Simply being present. What a good example. Enjoy all the moments! Enjoy the holiday hustle folks! Celebrate with the ones you love!
With our warmest wishes and best intentions we hope for a very Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to all! Cheers to a love of the outdoors, to good company, to health and good fortune, to another good year gone by and to a great year to come!
December 5th, six inches of snow fell yesterday. After we shovel out Mark and I are going hunting, for a few hours anyway. Our chauffer skills are required after school. Today we’re looking forward to a high of 12F and a bit more snow. Easy to see fresh tracks! I’m looking for that perfect pitch but at this point I’ll swing at anything. Maybe today’s the day!
Your friends up north,
Mark, Amy, Jack, Carmen and Lucy