December 2007 Newsletter
Well, it is so hard to believe that 2007 is almost over and the 2008 season is right around the corner! The spring started out with a bang, ice out on April 28th. Lake Trout fishermen were in to the Pipestone Outpost the first three weeks of May, lots of Trout and Northern, which made them happy! Walleye opener hosted a few new groups, not to mention the old faithfuls! The Blau, the Devick and the Ziles group filled up the Jackfish outpost in May. It is always great to see our old friends! The Shrontz/Keil party grew this year, new faces are always good! They spent their week up in Cabin 5. The Wanderi's and Olson's had a great week, always great with their guide(s) Dave and Arleen Ericson! Burr Nussdorfer and family were up for the first time ever, and hooked up with the Thorndyke group!!!!! I am almost positive they will never forget that week!!! Tom, you certainly made an impression!!! The Floyd Bryant group, our most southern group for the year (Arkansas) had a great week with more bass in the boat than ever in their past 6 years! The Lackeys came for the first time this year, all three generations in one cabin! The youngest boys were just as avid as the older boys! The Bettanhausen group spent a week with us, the boys got some good fishing in, Gary found a new tanning spot and even fixed the tile flooring in the bathroom! The Marmon group found out that "Doug -you really don't know what you are talking about!!!? Ha Ha! Good one Jim!! The Hagen group had some good luck on his trips here this year, both of them! Nice fish caught that week! Without Keith, the Hanna group about fell apart! Until Steve took the reigns and pulled himself out!! Another great week, and always good to see our outpost guys come in for the weekly Tuesday night fish fry! The Lauer's spent their week back at Jackfish after a few years absence - good to have you back! Vern sold his cabin (as we read in the Fort Frances Times!) The Thieland boys had a great weekend especially knowing that Dad was running the shop! Rick Turner head his group for the week, we missed TommyBoy, as did the rest of the group. BJ made a big hit with the group, as did the wild natives in the forest! Bill and Joe Pierce made it back for the week; fishing was second to the scotch and cigars for these two!! The Hartman's had a great time at Jackfish; this was an all Dads and sons group! The Pirner/Welch/Tynan/Wells parties spent the week together at camp......what a great time we all seemed to bond! Ron just bonded a little closer to the big reef than he wanted to!! It's all good, no one got hurt except a little pride!! Nancy's desserts will always make to newsletter, not to mention her seamstress skills! The Wells group definitely wins the most time on the water that week! The oldest Pirner had a hard time keeping up with the youngest Pirner; it will be hard to top that week for biggest and first fish caught! Skin and Joyce spent July long weekend with us, and Jo found the secret to catching walleye's.....Keep talking and drink Caesars..thought we'd share that with you! The Kevin John's party of 2 couples.....wish I would have been able to join the walleye days..hmmm, or maybe not!!!!! Sheri..don't use a straw!!!!!!!! Annies caught 3 that week, 2 she released and the other one is definitely a keeper! Congratulations you two, on your engagement! Oh, yeah, and Kevin, did you learn something from this?
The Halberg group made it up for 2 weeks this year on Pipestone...what a great time they had, with some beautiful muskies caught! Their group is getting cuter with the addition of Billie this year! You might say that she was the "Bond" girl!!! The Wetherington group was content sitting in the screened in porch of Jackfish without a road between them and the water! Glad you decided to spend a week with us! The Carlson group.....hmmm, 3 trips this year??? Sounds good to us! The beer stores of Ontario thank you!! Just kidding, lots of fishing done this year, we even got in on a couples weekend, which was great...right down to the baked bread! And Finkster, Doug said you can use the furnace next time!!!!! The Nuests new yacht looked pretty good at the end of the dock!! Danah, Doug planted an apple tree at the lake, bring the rolling pin! The Hoff party filled cabin 5 for 4 days…long enough for a fish fry (or 2!) and a couple day out flights! The Ernie Schmidt group got in a week at Pipestone, some good bass and northern fishing was done! The Demler/Ferrell group had a new construction job on the front of the new fish house! Good job done supervising boys! The girls on the other hand kept busy in the kitchen!!! Rick Larson's group was entertained by The Bragg's antics! Never a dull moment!
The Ward party had great time fishing for Walleye! And just so you all know.Fletch lives!!! He and family spent a few days fishing for walleye with us, just a little hot with 4 in the boat! Tim Timble from Nashville had a great week; they arrived with a stretch van that looked like they robbed a bakery on the way up! Excellent videos of the eagles, and pretty good thinking with the fans in the cabin!!! The Dixons made their first trip up to Pipestone. The Kendall's made their annual trip to watch the drag races in Emo. The Wallenberg's (and pups) made it for a week from the east coast...really fun to have the family with us..now we have to ask; are you renting a motor home for next year for the trip?!?! The Harris group took up the other cabins that week....mmmmmm, we can still taste your cooking Wing! Beer pong Olympics were priority that week!!! Nice to see all these kids growing up and teaching us old dogs new tricks! Steve and family did the quality control on the boat-test unit! Good fishing that week for all! Bob and Shirley Johnsen will be getting a GPS next year; we can't let you out of our sight!!! The Wiggers family had a great week, Dr. Tom was glad he brought some freezing? for his tackle box, it came in handy. George Dossett group really enjoyed their trip to Pipestone! It was heavenly! Timmy and Kimmy group, introduced us to a couple more family members, it was entertainment at its best. You guys almost had us convinced that BJ was the Colts Linebacker! By the way, good Euchre, partner! The Grimes party kept that campfire rolling for the week! Great fun as always even got to meet Matt this time! The Shippers made it back another year for some good Muskie fishing! Todd Christianson and kids spend a few nights at the outpost on Pipestone. Steve Wilson's group from Indiana had a great Canadian Experience. Nice fish that week! They got to meet some homegrown talent! Frenchy and Dave kept them entertained! And even traded them some tackle for their home made cherry whiskey! The Vandestreet group made it for another trip this year, always enjoy your company! The Rasmussen group grew to 6 this year; they even took an extra day at the end of their week! Good Muskies! The Rainaldo group that stayed at Jackfish had a good week! The Durhams all met up at Hideaway for the week, just a bit of advice...never leave your camera unattended!! The Pellands, as usual, had an awesome Laker weekend! You all live so close, you should come and see us more often! Dean Brandenburg brought us many groups this year, which was great! They flew/drove in from across the US, we had fun meeting you all! Dave, the knife sharpener, is probably still healing up! The Hooymen group boated some beauties, September musky fishing was awesome for them! Old fashions are truly an acquired taste! Tom Reeves group brought some new faces, Sid and Larry will make it back next year! Keep getting better Sid! Jim Stockhaus and groups had some great fishing and some great stories this year! From late night fish fries on the island to cribbage games in the lodge (Danny, maybe next year you will be the victor!), it was fun for all! Shane even made a solo trip for our Thanksgiving in October! The Rose party had a great trip; they even got to cook their own breakfast! Good Bass Fishing and we enjoyed your steak dinner (the next week)!!! The Gents had a good few days with us; they enjoyed our good old CBC! Always fun to make new friends! Lots of fun with the Michels/Lagrassa/Poss group! These boys don't stop! We even got to enjoy a few meals with them! Putting them on cement duty was pretty handy too! Way to introduce the new family? Benny! Glad to see that Tommy and John made it up without going through Minneapolis! We also appreciate the business from our Bed and Breakfast Groups! What a blockbuster year! Our busiest ever! We need to congratulate Ben and Denise on their marriage this year, Kevin and Annie on their engagement. We lost a couple of very important people in our lives this year, Kathy's dad, George, and Doug's brother, Randy. Thanks so much for all of the emails, cards and donations, you are all like family. We have so much to be thankful for, and all of you make it possible to continue doing what we love!!! Have a great and prosperous 2008, hope to hear from you soon, and remember...KEEP YOUR STICK ON THE ICE!! Doug and Kathy.
PS...Come and see us in Nashville January 9-13/2008
