“The walleyes just weren’t where we normally find them,” commented Mike the last night of our week on Birch Lake, Ontario. Tracy, Larry, and I were in agreement. “It seems they were more relating to rocks and boulders. Could the drop of the lake a couple feet have had an impact?” questioned Tracy. “And, we only caught 695 fish this year,” added Larry. What–only 695?! A few years ago the trio had invited me to join them on their Canadian fly-in with Kay Air out of Lac Seul. Owners, Peter and Karen Kay, have been flying them to remote lakes north of Lac Seul for over twenty years. (www.KayAir.com or 807-222-2434 is their contact info). Tracy Hayward, Mike Woods, Larry Hamlett and I left Cedar Rapids on a Thursday. We spent an overnight in Minnesota then an overnight in one of the Kay Air Outpost Cabins on Lac Seul before flying out in Pete’s 1939 Beech Craft early Saturday morning. We got our gear unloaded and headed out to fish. Let me summarize the week: unsettled weather with rain every day! One day we got caught in a rain storm on our way back to camp where it came down so hard you could hardly see your partner in the back of the 14 foot Alumamarine boat powered by a 15hp Yamaha four-stroke tiller! “I don’t mind the rain but the lightning is not for me,” Mike told us. This year, we fished all the “old” spots plus checked out a few new ones. We looked for where the wind was blowing to determine where we fished and for those walleye infested weeds. But, the weed walleyes were not in abundance so we adjusted for location each day to the rocks and drop-offs. Mike dragged a one-quarter ounce jig with a pink and white twister tail around most of the week–he had the “bite” this year! I pulled my spinners off a Quick Swap bottom bouncer–a slow death hook, a few beads, then a chartreuse Spin-n-Glow was my go to rig for the week. I used Uncle Josh Pork chunks as the bait and used up some live crawlers the previous folks had left behind in the refrigerator. I tried to duplicate Mike’s set up but would always change back to the spinner–guess it’s what you have confidence in. Our neighbors for the week caught over 1200 fish! No excuses for us even though Tracy was “down” not feeling well for a half day. Like past years, Tracy cooked, Mike and Larry did boat chores and cleaned fish, and I did dishes and cleaned up the cabin for the next group. You might recall a couple years ago, a week after we returned home, Larry learned he had a cancerous brain tumor. He’s fought the big C but has had a recent set back with cancer found in other parts of his body. He was unable to run the tiller motor this year because of arm pain so Mike, Tracy, and I drove boats so he could fish. His attitude is an inspiration to us. What keeps people going back to the Canadian fishing experience? Sure, it’s the water, woods, and fishing. But the time with good friends has to rank high on your list. We did book our cabin for 2020 with Karen after paying our bill before heading home. It gives ALL of us something to look forward to. Hope you enjoy the pics and thank you, Mike, for posting on walleyewisdom.com! Spike