2019 Newsletter Produced By Loon Haunt Outposts, Box 1344 .

2019 Newsletter produced by Loon Haunt Outposts, Box 1344, Red Lake, Ontario, Canada, P0V 2M0 807-735-2400Loon Haunt Outposts – Musings from our 2019 Season2019 was one fast paced year! It wasunbelievable how quickly the seasonprogressed for us. ‘Must be becausewe are getting older! It’s time tothank you all so much for spendingyour fishing holiday with us andincluding Loon Haunt in yourmemories. Here is our year as ithappened .Early June weather was generallydry and cool and I planted theflower gardens while Ryanconcentrated his efforts on buildinga greenhouse to protect thetomatoes, beans and carrots fromthe cold and rabbits. Mid-Juneweather was lovely but lacking inrain. By the end of June the bushwas very dry and our concern nowThe winter of 2018 was bitterly cold was forest fires. Because of the dryand all the lakes in Northwesternconditions, lake levels were alsoOntario were covered with a verythick layer of ice. We figured itwould be a late ice-out but MotherNature surprised us and GooseLake was ice free by May 10th. Billand Ryan were anxious to completea big project at the Unnamed Lakeoutpost. In mid-May they spent acouple of days there lifting thecabin and inserting new supports.Once that job was done to theirsatisfaction, we all readied theMonroe Lake outpost forfishermen. A week later we wereable to fly to Goose Lake with oursupplies and start the job ofopening the camp. A partridge hadbroken a window on one of thecabins and there was an explosionof glass to clean up. (also, a verydead partridge). There was noother damage and we found thelake at normal spring levels.very low. The very dry weather thisJune produced many, many firesand we monitored their locationsdaily to see if the MNR firefightersextinguished them. Some very largefires were left to burn as Natureintended but others nearcommunities or camps andoutposts were quickly put out. Wedo appreciate the skill andaggressive approach the firefighterstook in protecting properties. A

huge fire near the Unnamedoutpost in early July had us veryworried. The winds were taking thefire away from the cabin at onepoint but a wind switch in themiddle of the night pushed the firestraight at the cabin. We werelucky the MNR had put sprinklers onthe cabin but when we were finallyable to fly to the site, we found theouthouse and storage shed hadburned. We lost everything in theshed but it didn’t take too long forBill and Ryan to rebuild. Torrentialrains in mid-July put the fires outand gave the fire fighters somemuch needed help. Returningfishermen were shocked at thedevastation but already greenplants are popping up all around thecabin and lake. Late July andAugust fishermen found fishing notaffected by the fire.It seems that August always bringsbad storms with high winds toGoose Lake and a freak storm onAugust 3rd hit us and snapped offand uprooted a bunch of trees thathad to be cleaned up. I guess thebright side was a supply of easilyaccessible firewood!Walleye fishing was outstanding thissummer with many. many large fishcaught and quickly released. Someguests reported catching theirpersonal best fish this year!Northern fishing was steadythroughout the summer. WalleyeAlley fishing at Goose Lake kicked inright on time and August fishermenreported great success there.We suspected that there would be asubstantial wild rice crop as theconditions were extremelyfavourable. From the air, Ryan andBill kept track of the overall area ofrice plants and it was much largerthan last year. The low water was agreat help in aiding the plants to aquick maturity. Although ricelooked to be maturing well, it wasreluctant to come off. Ryan wasdisappointed with the size of thekernels and when inspected by him,quite a few plants had empty heads.Our processor told us that thoseplants were not pollinated. Wedecide to leave the crop for thewaterfowl and hope 2020 will havea better crop.Sandhill Cranes, Canada Geese andassortment of ducks started flyingoverhead in late August. Duckskept arriving and stopped in thewild rice plantation to gorgethemselves before resuming theirflight south. This fall we observedthousands of ducks stopping for afeed of wild rice. In late September,they were mostly Teals.We rushed through the fall choresand shut down the outposts toconcentrate solely on the moosehunt. Ryan cut good piles offirewood at each outpost and therewas enough work to keep all 3 of usbusy for the hours we were there.The guys really look forward to themoose hunt. This year was astrange one for the hunters – warmweather, mosquitoes, a lot of rainand then black flies. The moose,however, were not responding tocalls and there were no tracks to beseen, resulting in an unsuccessfulhunt for Barry and Mike. No frozenwater lines meant a more enjoyabletime for all of us, however. Whenwe shared our experience withother operators, we found that theymet with the same conditions. Theword on the street was that themoose finally started moving earlyOctober.We left Goose Lake on October 2ndand were able to shut down MonroeLake outpost on the 3rd. Once wereturned home, heavy rains beganand the lakes were at record high falllevels everywhere. Hopefully all willbe well at camp once we return inthe spring.

Bragging Boards:Thank you for taking the time to enter your catch on theBragging Boards. We all enjoy reading about your successas you answer our questions of location and lure used. Wenoticed, however, that this year our guests were not asdiligent about posting their catch as in years past. A specialthank you to those guests who did!NameBill K.Bill K.Ron K.Ron K.Dave K.Jerry M.Howard R.Brian L.Stu B.Tim C.Max B.Pete V.Andy V.Andy V.Stu B.Scott B.Frances V.Travis B.Dave J.Scott S.Oscar F.Jill L.Bruce and 32263226332223.524323524, 28281238495 total fishJohn W.John W.Tim S.Tim S.Barry K.Barry K.Kyle W.Dan W.Izack T.Hunter T.Cole T.Cole T.Troy F.Troy F.Troy/Pam F.Lane/Scott/BrianLane B.Lane B.Scott D.Scott D.Neila V.Graham P.Terry C.Terry C.Brenda C.Kevin M.Lucian H.Andrew C.Andrew C.Jacob L.Nick C.Nick C.Matt H.Jeff al NorthernNorthernPerchNorthernNorthern9 casts/9 fish2528.537.52636.53726362627.53736, 4231.510102920.5, 21362131, 352126.52621, 22, 2327, 302524(2), 2526, 32, 33232830113033

Jason L.John C.Matt H.Jeff H.Brian M.Owen B.Cam C.Addie C.Louise C.Loren R.James C.Dan G.Grant G.Tim D.Brad E.Max B.Ron S.John F.Randy F.Mike .253226.5322025252824, 27252723.52726242424.5Jason M.Ken N.Luke W.Tyler W.Tyler W.Ron R.Alex W.Andrew W.Luke W.Jon P.Kathy P.Noel D.Ken D.Ken D.Jack G.Terry H.Court 2230(2), 33.530326, 28(2)32.530.52436.5272525(2)29, 3025.52626

Louise’s Chatter On a personal level, this was a yearof loss for us. Our son Scott was This summer Northerns entertained It was a strange year for our Ladydiagnosed with brain cancer inour guests when they attackedSlipper flowers. The single plantsJanuary of 2017 and passed away onhooked Walleyes right next to thepopped up everywhere in front ofMarch 21st of 2019. Even thoughboat. Pete V. and Frances V.the cabins but the large clusters didwe believe his body is at rest and hisreturned to camp with a fun story ofnot present themselves. Onlyspirit is free, it is still hurts to thinknetting a northern “for free”.brown, shriveled leaves were seenthis vibrant, kind and wicked-smartwhere the big, showy clustershusband, father and son is no longer Troy and Pam fished a small lake offusually grow. The Indian Pipe plantswith us. Scott was 46 years old. HeMonroe with outstanding results.were not as plentiful as in past yearsalso left behind his wife Lori andThey caught and released a hefty 31either. The interesting orange fungichildren Cameron and Annadele.½ Walleye as well as a 42 inchthat we call “Cheeto mushrooms”Northern.were late this year and not as We were very pleased with theplentiful as in past years.stellar service we received from Barry and Deb H. each caught theSuperior Airways, our partner insame 28 ½ inch Walleye at Unnamed There was a real noticeable lack oftourism. All the office staff, dockLake.biting insects like hornets, wasps andstaff and excellent pilots providedbees in the early part of the season.our guests with top notch customer Bryan J. caught and then lost a niceHowever, Ryan pointed out hugeserviceNorthern at Goose Lake when Tomswarms of some kind of insects thatV. accidently knocked it off the line.were feasting on something on the Our resident Merlins nested beyondA short time later, Tom caught theJack Pine trees in September. Entirecabin 4 so we enjoyed anothersame fish and retrieved Bryan’s lure.trees were buzzing with them andpeaceful summer without all theirnoise. This spring the flock of Trumpeterswans returned to Goose Lake. Thegroup dispersed and summered onsmall lakes around Goose andNechigona. Lucky guests were ableto view them over the summer, thistime accompanied by their youngones. Ryan constructed a greenhouse thisyear to protect our vegetables fromthe cold weather and the residentrabbits. It worked beautifully for themost part and the plants were lushand healthy. A couple of rabbits did,however, figure out a way to getinside and munch their way throughsome bean plants. Goose Lakeguests must have noticed Ryan’skind gesture to our son when henamed the greenhouse the ScottCoppen Memorial Garden.

we don’t know what they werefeeding on. This year Ryan noticed a species ofbird that seemed to beeverywhere later in the summer.Large flocks of White WingCrossbills were seen at Goose Lakeas well as some of the outpostsand the minnow lake. This was abird we don’t remember seeing inthe past but hope it returns nextyear. Bill and Ryan started constructinga platform beside the dock lasthad caught a 28-inch Walleye andto be used again. We were able toyear and finally finished it this Juneseen 3 moose before noon that day!watch the footage but viewed onlywhen building materials were flownravens and a dark shadow of thein. We decided it would be a great We bought a trail cam this year andbear’s paw.place to have shore lunches and hadRyan mounted it on a tree in Norththe first one on June 19th. The roofBay. After a week or two, he Fishermen spent a lot of time fishingwas added later in the summer andreturned to pick up the SIM card sonorth bay with great results thisfishermen were able to enjoy theirthat we could view any interestingsummer. Shallow north bay iscigars and tell fish tales while gazinganimals. He found the unit rippedregularly not targeted much in theout at the lake. It turned out to alsooff the tree and in pieces on thepast.be an excellent place to store gearground. Ryan was able to retrieve allwhile waiting for the planes onthe bits and pieces and he found the Daily it seemed that guests returningchangeover days.culprit was a bear by the bite marks.to camp had wildlife stories to share.The good news was that the trailCow moose with their calves were The Rick F. group returned to campcam was not ruined and will be ableseen regularly in the early summer.one day and announced that they Guests mentioned seeing bears at allour locations over the summer.There was a bear who lived at theHoney Hole and it liked to stand onits hind legs and check out thefishermen. There was even a bear atthe minnow lake who did somedamage to our equipment there. When the West End Store shut itsdoors in October of 2018, wewondered who would take theirplace. We had come to rely on theirexcellent service in filling preordered groceries. A 1 Foods in EarFalls and Balmertown Foods steppedin and guests reported being pleasedwith the quality, price and friendlyservice.