Happy New Year!!

The sun sets on another year, I wish everyone a Happy New Year and hope 2009 is a good one for all! With the world in turmoil, we will be striving to do even better to show all of our guests the Best Canadian Experience ever!


I played with the Old Guys and Dads versus the Local Midget team(15-17 y/o) and had a blast! We won 4-3. Yours truley scored a hat-trick and hit the post, got to hit my nephew and his friends a few timestoo. The Old guys may not be too fast but they are wiley and can pass... Re-match is in Feb, the kids didn't like losing thats for sure. I better keep my head up next time.
This is Stan and the little guy is Barry. The coaches of the Midget team. They both played Senior till well into their 30's and can still play. Check out the gear.

There are some huge piles of ice out on the lake. It was 12-14 inches thick when this stuff broke up. The wind is powerful out there.

Our E-Holiday card just went out today, Here is the link Happy New Year

Merry Christmas!!

Merry Christmas Everyone. It is cold here in Canada but it is a White Christmas from coast to coast for the first time in many years. Just the way it should be. All of us at Amik wish everyone a very Merry Christmas and a Awesome New Year.

Here are a few pics from around here. These are my girls playing outside.


Looks cold but Canadian Kids are Tough!!!

Another cold morning but not much wind....it is all good with no wind, no matter the temperature.

3 Goals in 20 Seconds!!!

It is as cold as a witch's you know what here in Manitoba, Minus 45 windchill!! Great weather for working outside allday!! And for Playing Hockey, we have one of the coldest rinks around. Sometimes it is colder inside than out!

Billy Mosienko who is from Winnipeg, scored 3 goals in 21 seconds for the Chicago Blackhawks in 1952 and that record was beaten on Sunday by a 11 year old winger on our team. We won quite handidly but Riley was on fire scoring 3 goals in 20 seconds! It was so cold in the arena that it was a good thing we only have 2 lines so no one has to sit on the bench very long:)

Here is Dradon, he didn't see many shots so we had to keep him warm as he watched the play in the other end!

The Ice looks cool when you can see the cracks.

We found some more fish too. A place called Ernie's reef, we always set there but never usually catch much for fish. There is a first time for everything!!! Usually by this time of year the fishing is not so good. Feels good to still be catching walleyes like crazy!

The Head Party!!

There were 37 contestants in our local deer contest and 9 heads brought in. It seems more and more hunters are letting the small ones go, which is nice to see. I was at a hockey game and was late in showing up but got to see a few of them.



This one was shot only a few miles from my place, I didn't even know he was there! Sure reminds me of my brothers deer last year. Here is the post 2007 Deer Party

The winner scored 161 and change. A real trophy!

Bombardier Time Already!!

We have had a nice fall and deer season is over, no big buck for Johnny! Hunted quite a bit but didn't see anything worth taking this year. My standards are getting quite high now. Our local end of season deer head party is this weekend. I hope to get there to get some pictures of some Bucks from around my place!

The ice is getting thicker and finally we have 11-12 inches close to shore. The 1954 "Auto-Neige", we call it a "Bombardier" is back out there as a 3rd man. My brother has made many changes and improvements to the old girl to make our lives easier. He has put a net roller on the front to pull out the nets, and a net puller on the back to pullem back in, he loves to work with metal!

Fishing has been better than we have seen in many years so we are both tired and sore but happy to be catching fish! The Bombardier is nice since the net puller does all the pulling, Jamie takes out the fish and I clean them all. Suckers, Northerns, Whitefish, and the oh so valuable Walleye!

Here is Jamie on our first day out west withe Bombardier checking the ice.

So many days start out nice and calm.......


And before you know it it starts to blow!!!! It can be so nice in shore but drifting and cold out on the lake!


Then it gets even windier, Manitoba, where we live is a very windy place for some reason, gives you a good tan though!!!!

Good times out on the Lake!!

The Old Jigger!!!

The Battery died on our electric Jigger so we thought we would bring out "The Original" We come to realize fairly quickly that technology has come a long way. It is a lot more work setting nets the old way. We finished off the day on some good ice but will be buying a new battery for the electric Jigger so we don't have to use the Board any more!






This beautiful ice is great for skating on!! So clean it is almost scary. It has been Minus 20 Celcius lately so the ice is making really fast with no snow out there.



My Brother Jamie with a nice Walleye!

Lake Manitoba Freezing Over!

The freeze up is a little late this year but most of the ice in Long Point Bay on Lake Manitoba is perfect. My Brother and I set a bunch of nets and hopefullly the wind does not break it up. There was about 2 inches of ice and it was perfect for setting. Here are a few pics. The next ones will be of fish, hopefully.


There was some open water 20 feet away from where our net ended up. This would make most people nervous!!!! I've been doing this since I was 10 years old. Just be careful and make sure you and your partner don't fall in!




Then after one more cold night, there was lots of good ice, No open water.... except out in the big lake. It takes awhile to freeze that big body of water.




This is the Jigger. It travels under the ice to take the line out for pulling our nets under the ice. There is about 2 inches of ice here.



I have been hunting a lot lately but haven't seen any bucks worth shooting. They are there but just haven't hooked up yet. Hunting slows down a lot when fishing starts:(

Hockey well under way!

Rena and I are back in Manitoba now and settling in. Hockey is well under way and I am happy to report that Maija's team started out with a win!! Most years we get a beating in our first game of the season but these kids are going to be contenders this year!! This was also their first game of Body contact and they took to it like naturals. After each one on the team(only 9 skaters) got nailed at least once. My daughter Maija got nailed on her first shift. The team we were playing had a few 2nd year PeeWee's on their team so they really took it to us right off the hop. We were down 3-1 at the end of the first and it did not look promising. After having a talk with them to settle everyone down, a new team came out. We scored 3 unanswered goals in the second to take the lead after 2 periods. The biggest thing was that we were taking the physical play to them! Our team looked like they had been playing hitting hockey for years. We totally dominated in the 3rd period getting one more goal icing the win at home. With not many skaters, they will have to get in shape and be tough as nails. Ironman Hockey I call it!! Lets hope they can keep it up.

The Bucks have just started scraping here in Manitoba and it is snowing here today and getting colder. This will definately get them fired up and next week should be good hunting. My stands are set up and I am ready for the rut. Maybe this is the year.......

New Pictures!!

Things are winding down here in Red Lake. Spending some much needed time in the office with Rena! Here are some new pictures from 2 couples who were at Blackbirch this summer.

It's Official!

The Otter is up on Dry Land and is going to get some much deserved rest! Our season is over. Still a fair amount of work left to do around the base in Red Lake but it is nice to a get the Otter put away before we get a big snow storm!!



Smokin a Big Cuban on our last night in the Bush!



We did a lot of work around the camps this fall. Here is just one of the projects. Morleys had a new fish cleaning table/deck. I will tell you the rest of the projects and improvements in our Fall Newsletter. If you haven't been receiving it, just sign up on the right hand side of my Blog.



Rena and I should be back in Manitoba soon. My Senior Hockey team has taken a year leave of absence from the league due to lack of players. It's very sad, the first year I have not played organized full contact hockey in 29 years! I hadn't thought about how long I've played until just recently but this would have been the 30th season. It looks like I will be skating a couple times a week though. Also I'm coaching Maija's team again and it looks like we will have 8 skaters and a goalie, first year PeeWee's, first year of body contact. There will be no whining about ice time this year:) They are going to be a great bunch! I've coached all of them since they were Squirts and they all want to win!!! With a small bench, they will have to learn to play smart. My Oldest daughter Taina is playing Girls Hockey exclusively this year on a regional Bantam AA Team. Rena will be travelling with her most of the time.

I know Deer Season is coming also so keep an eye on my Blog for any Big Bucks I come across!

Another Good Moose Video!!!

2nd Weeks Hunt!

The second week of moose hunting was a great week of hunting. We had a variety of weather as you would expect, but most importantly we had a little calm, calling weather. James was on Loree lake with some new hunters and it was also his first time on Loree in quite some time. The fire has since taken most of the west end of the lake and is just staring to grow back. Excellent moose habitat! I expected James to do well there. And he did!

But.... the funniest story of the week first. James was calling away on a undisclosed part of the lake and laying in the brush to eliminate any body movement so you can hear better. As he was laying there, he heard some rustling in the brush behind his head. As he turned his head around to have a look, There stood a WOLVERINE!!! Less than 3 feet away and getting closer! With lightening speed he stood up in fright and yelled "Holy Sh#T"! The wolverine did not like the sound of that and took off in the opposite direction:) Both participant's hearts were pounding I'm sure.

Later in the hunt, they saw some moose up on the hill in the burn one afternoon and could not get close to them, but James is smart and when he knows there is a moose in the area, he will out smart him! The next day he set up a ways away from where they saw the Bull and Cows. The cows answered first which is quite normal and then came the Bull. He was coming with wild abandon too! Right to the spot where he James was standing! Ron (the Hunter) had an easy shot, 20 yards, a nice respectable 36-40 inch Bull. James had a camera set up and I will put up the video when I get my hands on it.

They kept hunting the rest of the week and one evening James thinks he found the KING! He grunted and walked in figure 8's in the bush but would not come to the lake. James tried to go to him but the burned out area was absolutely un-walkable, maybe the Bull did not want to go through it either! They went back the next morning but they were very far off and eventually were gone. James said he had never heard such a low, mean grunt in all is years of Moose Hunting. Trust me, he knows where he lives:)



Anyone, let alone a wolverine would be crazy to mess with either one of these Tough Bushmen!!!
Nice Beards Eh!!!
We've hunted together since we were 18 years old. So many good times.



I was looking after some old friends/customers the second week, Mike and Dick. The first moose I ever called in was for Mike. When I was 19, 15 years ago... This was his third hunt with us and he is 3 for 3! Dick, his Buddy, has been with us 6 times and has harvested 4 moose on those hunts. This year we were only able to take one moose. And we worked hard to get him. I had a bull answer on the first day of the hunt and kept hearing him every other day after that. I knew eventually I would wear him down. Numerous times he would answer but just not willing to come and play:) I would have gone after him but he was across a small lake over a huge hill that was already a long haul from the lake.

During the second last day of the hunt we went back again, it was a bit windy but I was calling anyways. As you get late in the hunt, it's human nature to start to doubt yourself and loose confidence, but I know better. My thoughts went back to the hunt when Dick and I got a Monster Bull during the last hour of the hunt on the seventh day, I told myself to be patient and it will happen..... At the same time, I was watching an eagle fly in circles, maybe a quarter mile away. Then he screeched loudly. I knew something was up:) I continued calling and then I heard it, one grunt. Usually I tell myself I need to hear that more than once and just started to lay down and when I called him back. Then I heard it 2 more times! And he was close!!! I just started to head over the hill to get Mike because I had him watching another spot I called in earlier almost half a mile away, and looked across the valley and here he was a Bull Moose, coming right at me. The next few minutes were quite a blur as I was totally sprinting through the burn headed to get Mike and then back to the Moose. He saw me coming and didn't know what to think when I showed up covered in sweat, rushing him to dress down so we could move faster.

We moved as quickly and quietly as we could moving back to where I had spotted the Bull. There was just one problem, the wind, it was so not in our favour. Blowing right at him through the valley and really thick brush. I estimate we were back in position within 20 minutes of the last time I saw him. I called quietly trying to coax him into answering us so we could figure our next move. He was gone! I thought for sure he had smelled us. Then after awhile I heard some brush breaking from what I figured was over the next ridge, even further from the lake! With the wind it was hard to tell where it came from. I asked myself, "Do I want to do this?" meaning go really, really far from the lake. I had a bone to pick with this guy and away we went, through the impossible brush after him Mike right with me.

As we were about to get into the low part of the valley, I turned around to look at Mike and glanced up at the big rock we were just standing on. At that exact moment the Bull walked up onto the high rock and stood there with nothing in the back ground but sky. It was so cool! I said to Mike, "There he is, up on the hill" Mike wasted no time in taking his first shot, Freehand and after walking through some thick brush. Whack. It hit. "Shoot him again I yelled" The bull just spun around and stood again. Whack! Another solid hit! The bull had been in the 10 foot tall brush right below us and didn't make a sound. When he heard us leaving, he thought that the cow was leaving so out he came, and stood right where we were.

We worked our way back over to where he was standing when we shot and found has track. I told Mike to go up onto a rock to get a little higher in case he was still standing. Once he got up there he could see him about 50 yards away standing in the brush. Again I heard the 264 Win. Mag ring out. I could tell from the sound that he was done.

After a long hour wait, we walked in to see if he was done and he was. A long haul but definately worth it. I was in the zone. We cut a nice trail and had him out of there by dark. The video of the whole affair is to follow.





Mike was eating an apple when I showed up in a bit of a rush!!!



The happy Hunter!



The Pack Mule!



Smilin' cause there was a beer waiting for me:)



I've seen bad Blackflies before but this day topped any of those others by a mile. They were unbearable. Look at the ones biting my eyes!!!



Home just at dark. Good times to follow.



Mike's turn to wear the famed Moose hat



Supper time, a little blood seemed to have found it's way through, mixed with a little sweat I'm sure!



I was almost attacked too by an animal during that week. I was walking amongst some big Poplars one morning and heard loud running footsteps coming right at me. I could see a big brown figure out of the corner of my eye coming straight at me, fast! I instinctively turned in a fighting stance to face what ever it was and growled loudly. As it came at me I was still not quite sure what it was but when it went by me within 5 feet, I saw it was a 80-90 pound beaver. I guess I was between him and the lake so he felt pretty vulnerable. He tripped on a stick and skidded right on his face. Getting up again and heading for the lake, tripping 2 more times. My heart was in my throat for sure. Funny afterwards!

I am looking forward to next years hunt already!!!

First Moose Hunting Video

Here is the first one, Turn Up the Volume or put some earphones on.....It is so awesome!!!

Success!!!!

Moose hunting this season was very good! We had 8 guided hunts and 4 unguided hunters. We ended up with 5 moose for the guided hunts and the unguided guys from Tennessee saw 2 and heard multiple moose calling but were unsuccessful in bagging a moose. They were so close to a moose one day they could here the moose pulling the leaves off the branches just up in the bush from where they were. Another time they heard one whacking it's antlers on the trees, and also heard a cow on one side of them and a Bull grunting on the other. So close. They really enjoyed themselves and were really happy on the way out! I have so many stories to tell that it will take a couple of posts to get them all out. I am only going to give you the 1st weeks stories today. I have to head up north tomorrow to finish some jobs and close the rest of the camps. It looks like the weather is going to be quite wet.....Great!

During the first week of hunting I was guiding on Blackbirch with a couple of younger hunters from Northern Wisconsin, Franz and Ben. This was the first time that I ever guided someone younger than me, maybe I am getting old? We had a great time and drank the odd beer together in the evening after hunting:) Bob, Franz's Dad, and Gene were also along for the ride and fished and helped around the camp while we were hunting. We hunted long hours, 13-14 hours a day, usually never coming back to camp. The weather was ever changing during the first week but we had some really good calling weather. Right from the first day we had some action. Cows calling me back the first day, bulls starting to answer the second, and things only got better from there.

Thursday of the hunt was the first day we saw a moose, and he was coming fast! I have never seen a moose move so quick. A bull had been messing with us for a couple of days in one spot and Thursday evening as I was calling around the shoreline we heard a big "whoosh" as his antlers cleared the brush. He had stepped out on the far shore across the lake and I was trapped in the open about 200 yards from Franz. By the time I had Franz on his way to me to meet up with this 40-45 inch Bull, he was almost on top of us already, but I was not worried, we were in good position, we were going to meet him halfway on a point. I was quite confident we would have a shot, and it would be around 30 to 50 yards. This determined bull barely stopped as the shoreline he was walking on was a nice sand beach and he was going really fast, not the usual slow stagger a Bull does on his way to a call, not even grunting. Just as he was to the point where we were to meet, he disappeared! Ducking into the thick bush just before he was getting to a spot where we could get a shot. I continued to call and walked in the water to simulate the cows getting nervous. The wind even continued to be in our favour, I still thought we would have a chance at him at this point but the shot would be much closer than 30 yards, more like 10!!! Just when I thought he was going to stick his head out of the bush, right on top of us, he grunted at us, LOUD. He must have smelled us or just knew something was up. As I have heard many times in my life, he vanished silently. The next time we heard him he was a ways off and getting further away. I continued calling like a banshee and worked up the shore where he went and then back to our original position. My calling was working.... we could hear him coming back, in the bush this time. He messed with us until dark about 50 yards behind us but never showing himself again. Quite disappointing but I knew we would be successful yet. Attitude is key during a Big Game Hunt. I have taken a Bull at 7:00 on the last day of a hunt so I never give up.

On to Friday. The weather was a little windy but I could tell that it would go down by the evening. I had the boys out at some spots as I continued to check spots for the most recent sign. Walking in some places that no man should be going. Thick rugged country that was horrible to experience, but that is where there was another Bull. I picked up Ben mid-afternoon and took him to a spot I had never hunted before. I posted him on one side of a small point and i called from various sides in different directions. I was across from Ben when I heard an answer, Ben had heard him a few times before I did since he was closer. Such a sweet sound. This Bull was not an easy one to bring out to the lake. He came within 150 yards I guess from the shore and wouldn't come any closer. The bush along the shore where I had walked earlier was really thick, Really Really thick! He did not want to go through that stuff. He must have grunted 150-200 times. Then he left... I kept working him and then he came back! Grunting along the thick bush trying to get downwind of us but the lake and more thick bush stopped him from going to far. Again he started to leave. I put on my Cow moose charm and brought him back once again. This was a most excruciating experience. It was almost an hour by now of low angry grunts! This time when he came back he was louder and mad! As I heard him make up his mind to come through the rough terrain, you would have thought he was a Freight Train! Ben was about 15-20 yards from me and he needed no coaching, the Bull was about to come out of the bush 50-60 yards across the bay from us and we had talked about what to do when he came out. I saw the last tress moving and the a black spot. He stopped just back from the shoreline, for what seemed to be an eternity. I knew to wait..... Then a few more grunts and I could see the Stagger and the Huge Rack on him coming through the remaining brush to the shore. He was Impressive! We had high water on Blackbirch so the moose had to come out into the water to be in full view. As he Staggered out into water about knee high he stopped!!! Looking to his right and then away from us to his left. That was the time, and Ben knew it too. BOOM!! I could see he shot him right where I had told him to when they turn their head away. He stumbled slightly and turned to his right and stood again, BOOM! Another perfectly placed shot, he took a few more steps and stood again. BOOM! That was the final shot, down he went, in the water. Good thing there was a nice smooth rock nearby to winch him up on. Good times to follow! Everyone came out to the kill site to help butcher and made a big fire to work by since the shots were taken around 6:00. We were all done by 9 or 10 and ready to try to find another one for Franz. I have great video of the whole affair so keep an eye on the Blog for it soon.

As we continued hunting, we had more answers from Bulls but no more willing participants. These guys had an awesome time and plan on hunting again in 3-4 years. I am looking forward to it!!!






This is the spot where Franz and I had the cagey one get away!




Jerry and Dave hunted Shearstone during the first week of the hunt with my long time buddy James. He is an excellent guide! He takes Moose hunting quite seriously and likes to hunt just as long of days as I do. He has experience on Shearstone and knew where they would be. Right from the get go they saw moose. Jerry passed on a spike bull early in the hunt and Dave shot his first moose fairly early in the hunt, a nice spike Bull. Jerry was pleased he passed on the first one he saw because he ended up getting a shot at a nice 2 1/2 year old bull. James said he made a perfect shot. Jerry loves it up here and is already making plans to make another trip next year.


James and I both got some awesome video of some of these moose this week and I have a number of really good stories to tell! I will work on these soon and put them up as soon as I can.