Fishing with Dad for trophy pike in northern Saskatchewan

Posted On June 24, 2011
Awesome. Sweet. Dude.

Those are the three new words my Dad says he learned during our four days of fishing at northern Saskatchewan’s Milton Lake Lodge (we got back to Ontario on Tuesday). That’s hardly surprising, given we were hanging with Nick Pujic, the hip young principal of Fly Max Films and Fly Nation TV (think surfer culture meets fly fishing), and our guide Naoto Aoki. Naoto, along with his brother, Yoshi, and Josh Nugent, who are also guiding at Milton this summer, all make frequent appearances on Pujic’s flashy fly-fishing projects. And yes, the resulting videos are awesome.

As for sweet, that best describes the pike fishing on our last day, and not just because I landed two giant northerns on the fly (one 42-incher and another stretching the tape to 40.5 inches, but who’s measuring?). It really was a combination of things: the playful banter between Naoto and Dad; the countless fish Dad tagged on his number 5 Mepps Glow; the great weather (sunny, with variable clouds, ending with a smoky haze from a forest fire); the too good food; and simply enjoying the northern Saskatchewan wilderness.

Then there was Dad. He fished hard the full four days, even with a swollen hand from, as he says, “more casting than I’ve done in the past 20 years.” He was out on the lake from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. four days in a row, keeping his lures wet and putting up with Naoto and me obsessively pursuing 40-inch-plus pike (not that his high energy level should be surprising: at 76, he still plays hockey). And when we weren’t fishing, he was charming the staff and guests back at the lodge, sharing his seemingly endless inventory of tall tales.

That’s my pop. The dude abides.

For more on our trip, please see earlier posts on my Outdoor Canada blog.

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Fishing with Dad for trophy pike in northern Saskatchewan

Awesome. Sweet. Dude. Those are the three new words my Dad says he learned during our four days of fishing at northern Saskatchewan’s Milton Lake Lodge (we got back to Ontario on Tuesday). That’s hardly surprising, given we were hanging with Nick Pujic, the hip young principal of Fly Max Films and Fly Nation TV (think surfer culture meets fly fishing), and our guide Naoto Aoki.

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About

Patrick Walsh (Twitter: @OutdoorWalsh)
Patrick Walsh (Twitter: @OutdoorWalsh)

Joined November 18, 2010

///// FOLLOW ON TWITTER: @OutdoorWalsh ///// Outdoor Canada Editor Patrick Walsh grew up fishing and hunting in Bracebridge, Ontario, where he began his magazine career in 1983 as assistant editor of Muskoka Life. Since then, he has worked for a variety of media, both in Canada and abroad, earning numerous writing and editing awards. In both 2011 and 2005, the Canadian Society of Magazine Editors named him Editor of the Year, while Outdoor Canada was honoured as Magazine of the Year. Learn more: www.outdoorcanada.ca.

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