After 20 consecutive days of hot weather and flat water, the spell was broken on the 4th of July. It was cloudy, windy and cool, wonderfully refreshing after a heat wave very uncharacteristic of the 60th parallel. There were a few who missed the heat (often in the 90s) but for almost all the staff and anglers on this island in the north it was a great relief. There were fleece jackets and rain coats to mark the change.
How did the fish like the temperature change? Apparently quite well. We had our 4th of July fireworks not in the sky but in the lake. Like the fisherman, the fish loved the weather shift. Randy Doerter was quite happy with his 44” pike. There were no complaints from Bruce Kozlowski about his twin trout trophies. Or from James Meehan who boated a massive 42 and a half inch lake trout. Arnie Alfert liked his 44 and a half inch pike. And the two young men in camp this week really celebrated. Nicholas Tallman landed his best ever, a 45 and a half inch pike. Another Nicholas, Nicholas Manship, had a real big smile after catching pike of 40, 42 and 46 inches, also his biggest pike (it would be the biggest pike for a lot of anglers who have been fishing Canada for 20 years). All this on the fourth of July, with a red, white and blue cake after dinner to boot. Let’s have a Holiday everyday.