The author (center) with Peg and Bob Hunger

Unplugged

              Giving new meaning to MySpace

by Jonathon Schlafer

             If asked to go on a fishing trip to Canada for a week…I think a lot of teenagers would say – “no cell-phone, no internet, no MySpace – no way!”

             But I grew up fishing and listening to tales of my dad’s adventures to Canada…so I was eager to see for myself if Dad was just telling stories.

             As it turned out, I wish all my friends could experience the Canada wilderness I did last summer because Canada is my kind of space.
              We headed to Lake of the Woods, Ontario visiting Whitefish Bay Camp owned by Bob and Peg Hunger. I felt welcome after eating just one of Peg’s meals and by the end of the trip I found myself thinking…“I wonder if they need a dock boy for the rest of the summer?” Not only is the food and hospitality great, but the fishing is pretty good too. I don’t think I caught anything shy of 15 fish a day. And a few were monsters too!

              One day, as we packed up the boat for another exciting day of fishing, I could feel it was going to be a good day. Clear skies, a little breeze, and warm. It was the perfect recipe for another great day in the Canadian outdoors. But we didn’t expect that day to become one of Dad’s favorite fishing stories.

              We pulled our boats into a shallow bay within sight of shore and started off there with a bang, pulling up some nice pike. But just as we were beginning to think about hightailing it out of there my dad screams “I got a big one!” But dad screams that about every fish, so I wasn’t really thinking much of the statement. Fighting his fish a bit I began to realize, this time, it wasn’t Dad’s imagination. His pole was bending so much I thought it might to snap.

              The funny thing about the situation was that my Uncle Jon and Cousin Ben –with us on the trip – were nearby and making fun of him the whole time. They didn’t believe he had a big fish on, just like I didn’t at first.

              Getting the fist look at the pike I hollered out “Holy cow! How big is that thing?”  “I don’t know but it’s pretty huge!” dad replied over his fits of reeling. Uncle Jon’s and Cousin Ben’s jaws dropped to the floor when they saw dad hoist the humungous, 40-inch Northern into our boat.

              After a few pictures dad released his trophy saying “In all my years of fishing, (and my dad is pretty old so I took this comment pretty seriously) this is the biggest fish I have ever caught!”

              At that moment, the trip could have ended. Watching my old-  man catch his biggest fish ever was a thrill. I could have gone home right then with no regrets. How could our trip to Canada get any better?

              Well, things did get better back at the lodge…Peg’s dinner. Dad says all Canadian lodges have great food, but I have a hard time believing anything compares to Peg’s desserts. Her fresh blueberry pie was “supernatural”.

              Another favorite memory from the trip was the night Bob asked me to feed the Bald Eagles. I actually jumped from the chair (dad said he’d like to see that kind of a reaction back home once in a while). I headed down to the boat carrying a bucket of fish guts from the cleanings all day and we made our way to a rocky reef a couple hundred feet from the shore. We dumped the guts out on the rocks and sure enough, as we were getting back into the boat; two bald eagles circled overhead, waiting to eat the fish. I had never seen a Bald Eagle that close before. It was AWESOME.

              The best part of the whole trip was spending time with my dad, and my uncle and cousin too. It was really cool to just hang out and get to know them. I felt totally relaxed after this trip…even Dad was relaxed. I learned things about my own dad that I didn’t know before. I wouldn’t trade my week at Whitefish Bay Camp for anything.

              If you know teens that are too “plugged-in” take them on a Canadian adventure because they might actually prefer “my space” to “MySpace”.