Northern Stories
Where Man Meets Mosquito by Rob Ouellette

In order to catch big specs (speckled trout) you have to find a lake that is virtually impossible to get to. A place where man meets mosquito and returns with an unbelievable story of angling. This is precisely why I started to carry a camera on my fishing trips. To disprove my skeptic co-workers and more importantly capture a lifetime treasure��a photo of my Dad in his glory. In the past 5 years I�ve reconnected with my father in a way that makes most people envious. We were always close, but fishing brought us together and gave me a chance to open his eyes to the joys and experiences I have when I�m on the water. You see, my father is the type of guy who enjoys his work as a Miner, and has worked many long hours to give our family comfortable lifestyle. He has 38 years with a local mining company and I believe I have given him a new passion�.Fishing.

�I can�t believe we made it down that old road without breaking anything on the truck.� My dad said nervously
�That�s why the specs are big back here...most people turn around at the river and if you don�t know where to put your tires your truck quickly becomes a boat.� I replied

We crawled through the dirty stuff and arrived at the lake with only one flat tire. There is a certain uneasiness that comes about you when your 60 miles back in the bush and there�s a chance that you might get stranded, but it�s all apart of the adventure. We set up the tent, threw out the minnow traps and called it a night.

We were on the water at sunrise and on the hunt for some wallhanger speckle trout. We found an area with a series of large boulders so we anchored our �cartopper� just off those and casted out a bobber and a minnow. It doesn�t get any easier than that. The lake was like a mirror and the scenery was breathtaking.

�Oh! My bobber just disappeared!� said my Dad surprised

�When your line tightens up�.set the hook. I�ll get the net.� I told him.

The fish put up a tremendous fight. He would just get him to the boat and it would turn and pull off some more line. We were using light line so you can�t just �horse� it in to the boat. I noticed that it was barely hooked on the side of it�s mouth. Like an old pro and with a smile from ear to ear he guided it into the net and we brought it into the boat. Instantly the hook fell out. Picture this� Two men well over 250 lbs each plus our gear�.dancing around in an 11 � foot boat. I think the fish below us were starting to worry now. The spec measured 4.3 lbs on the digital scale and worth it�s weight in gold to the excitement it brought my father. He shook my hand and I congratulated him on a very fine catch.

�That�s a nice sized fish, and look at the colors on it! Hey, good thing we got it in the net eh?�. My Dad was ecstatic
This was the start of an amazing weekend that passed by all to quickly.

Before you knew it, we were back on �boulder hill� crawling our way home in a rainstorm, hoping the river doesn�t rise too quickly so we could make it across.
�If your mother could see us now�she would say we�re crazy going into that lake. What a trip!�

My Dad asked me one time �Other guys call their dad �My ol�man��, How come you never call me that?�
�Your not my old man. You�re my �Dad� and I don�t want you to ever get old�

From the proudest son in the world,
- Rob Ouellette