As soon as a northern pike sticks his head out of the egg he has an attitude, according to outdoorsman Tom Claycomb III, who said he once caught a skinny 18-incher that had two jigs broken off and hanging from his lip. (Photo submitted by Tom Claycomb III)
By Tom Claycomb III
I met with Plummer’s Lodge at the Safari Club International Convention in February and lined up a fishing trip for me and Katy. My daughter Kolby and I went six years ago and had an awesome trip.
We were all set and then… Katy took a bad fall this spring while we were mushroom hunting with the Bowdens and broke her ankle in three places. No biggee, I’d postpone the trip six weeks and then we’d go. I used to rodeo a lot and have broken quite a few bones and in 4-6 weeks I’d always be back in the saddle, but this turned out to be a serious break. Twelve screws and three plates later she was released. Even now, four months later she couldn’t have made it running through the airports, etc.
I tried to get 8-10 other photographers to go but all were tied up so I was soon on the way by myself. When visiting a new area, I’d recommend going at least a day early to explore the town/surroundings – the restaurants, flavor of their food, and sights that are unique to that locale.
The next day I jumped us onto a smaller plane and flew to the lodge where we unloaded, slammed down a fast breakfast and then met our guide and took off fishing. Wow, I could write at least four articles on this trip so I’m going to have to give you the condensed version.
There are multiple fish species in the Northwest Territories but our main target was lake trout. I probably averaged over 40 hits per day and netted over two dozen fish. The last day was the best. I caught 14, 15, 16, 18 and 22 pounders plus a lot of other nice ones.
One day I talked my guide Sam into deviating and we went fishing for northern pike. In Canada they’re looked down upon as a lower class of fish, but I love fishing for them. My brother-in-law best describes them as the barracudas of the fresh water.
They are super aggressive. I’ve had them chase my lure right up to the boat and then drill my lure right from under the boat, surprising the heck out of me on the next cast. They’re ferocious.
But there is something that the Canadian guides do that is legendary – shore lunches. We’d keep a 3- to 4-pound fish and at lunch pull up on shore, build a fire and whip out a shore lunch. They are to die for. Why don’t we do this in the States instead of eating cold fried chicken or a stale peanut butter sandwich?
Then there were other fun adventures. After eating dinner at the lodge at night, Isabella, one of the camp workers, showed me where to pick wild blueberries. To me, store-bought blueberries are inbred and have no taste. Wild blueberries are awesome. But the hordes of mosquitos think it is their job to protect the blueberry patches. My wrist got bit so bad that I had to let the wrist band out three holes.
Then one day we saw three musk oxen up on top of a ridge. I’ve never seen one before.
Well, like all good times the trip finally came to an end after catching lake trout all day long and gaining 10 pounds, due to shore lunches.
If you’ve never fished in Canada, you might want to check it out. I’ve only gotten to go three times but have enjoyed it every time. Especially the shore lunches!
Christian Tip #8 – I had this article written and was going to sleep on it, re-edit and submit it the next morning. I woke up at 2 a.m. and felt redirected to re-write the Christian Tip. Some would have you believe that Charlie Kirk was a radical Christian activist.
Well, let’s do a little comparison. I don’t know about you but I’ve never been arrested for obeying God and breaking man’s rules (Acts 4:19-20). I’ve never been beaten for obeying God above man (Acts 5: 41-42). I’ve never been stoned like Stephen or Paul (Acts 7:54-60, Acts 14:19).
It’d take a whole squad of FBI agents a month to uncover enough evidence to convict me of being a Christian. When’s the last time that someone has sat back and watched me and said I want what you have? Am I just a fat, dumb and happy Laodicean Christian?
Who more resembles Christ? Charlie Kirk or me? The answer is blatantly obvious. Charlie was not a radical. He was the norm. He exemplified the early apostles to a T. He died a martyr because he was hated by them that do the works of evil. Unfortunately, I think he was also hated by many churches because he exposed their lukewarmness. Now is the time for pastors to step up and be shepherds and for Christians to count the cost and cast all caution to the wind.
For more information about anything in this column, contact Tom at tomclaycomb3rd@gmail.com.
