From all of us at UFD…we want to say a special Happy Thanksgiving to all of our Canadian fishing fanatics!

You know me…I never tell my trip stories in order I like to mix it up. But the above picture is on our first day at the camp. That’s me between the Inukshuk…which means Rock People as far as I can tell They are pretty cute I must say!!

Lots of crazy things happened on my trip to Mackay Lake Lodge in Northwest Territory, but it was by far my best trip EVER!!! The fishing was great, the company was awesome, and the sites were just beautiful. However, there were some adventures to be had on this trip for sure!!!

First of all, as many of you know, I was very excited because this camp offered a hot shower and running water. I was excited about this aspect because my Heidi Klum status definitely depends on whether I can shower everyday and wash my hair. Well…needless to say…we showed up and the water pump was sitting inside of the shower stall instead of inside the lake. Therefore, I was janked, and there was no shower…which also means there was no indoor toilet. So yeah…another outhouse for this Fisherbabe. All I remember thinking is…”The stupid (insert cursing here) fish better (insert cursing here) be worth this (insert cursing here).”

But overall…the cabins were alright. All four of us slept in one, and it was a cozy little home that made me feel like an explorer.

We got in late so we could not fish that first night. AND THEN…the next day, we awoke to the shouts of my father-in-law that our boat was under water!!!! It had SUNK, because the wind was so crazy and the waves crashed over the back. It was INSANE…to say the least!! Whew!! We all kinda just stood on the dock and stared at it for a while…then we decided to just let the wind die down and go grayling fishing. SOOOOOOOO…I CAUGHT MY FIRST GRAYLING!!!

Yes…that is my hubby holding up the dorsal fin on my grayling because those are slippery little suckers, and I was super afraid of it slipping right out of my hand while my photo was being taken. So he lent me a hand.

Isn’t it adorable…what a cute fish!!! I really enjoyed catching the grayling, and on a more serious note…those little suckers fight like the dickens. It took me quite a while to bring this bad boy in. It was very fun and challenging as I had to hop from wet, slippery rock to wet, slippery rock to keep it from getting away. WHAT FUN!!!

After grayling fishing, we decided to tackle the boat drama and finally figured out how to rescue our sunken ship. I should have taken a picture of that..LOL!!

That evening we went fishing but did not catch anything note-worthy that night. We were all tired so we headed back for some camp grub and some shut eye. The very next day we headed across the water to a spot called NoDinkaNarrows for some BIG MONSTERS. I was excited about this spot, because my hubby told me that the last time he visited Mackay, he had seen the biggest fish he had ever spotted on the fish finder. WHOOOO…

And wouldn’t you know it, the lucky man pulled out the biggest fish of the trip on his first try!!! My beloved caught a 34.5 pound lake trout. It was enormous. I was dumbfounded…our net was not even big enough to hold the darn thing. I had to sink down and scoop the crazy fish up and under the net just to get its fat head into the net…then we hurried and pulled it into the boat. I was so happy for him…the biggest fish he ever caught.

What a Catch!!

Then I’ll be damned if the crazy man did not throw out his stupid line and bring in the second largest fish of the trip. He caught a 30 pounder just a few casts later.

By this time…I was quickly going from proud wife to bitter wife!!! Okay that isn’t true…but I wanted a big one of my own, ya know!!!

My biggest this day was an 18.5 pounder which I was pretty proud of…but next to this monster, it looked pretty small…LOL!!!

BUT WAIT…what do you know…my luck changed a bit, and the next day I caught my biggest fish ever. I threw out the Lucky Strike Half Wave (thats what the 34.5 pounder was caught on, as well) and BAM…a fish hit like a ton of bricks. I was so nervous and anxious. It was SO HEAVY and was fighting and sinking like dead weight. I thought I was going to lose the monster, and I could feel that it was heavier than anything I had caught before. WHAT A FIGHT!!! After about 20 minutes of reeling and fighting, I pulled in a 25 POUND LAKE TROUT!!!

And then…the very next day…I caught another monster. Wow…I was so excited!! The second fish I thought was not as heavy. My hubby asked, “you think you need the net?” I said…”oh…I don’t know. Maybe you can hand net it…LOL.” Um yeah…I got it up to the boat and the hubby yelled…”Uh no…don’t think I will be hand netting that one!!” We got that baby in the boat and it weighed a whopping 23 POUNDS!!!!

Overall, I caught a 25 pounder, a 23 pounder, an 18.5 pounder, two 18 pounders, a 14 pounder, and two 13.5 pounders. So yeah…I caught some amazing fish on this trip, and Mackay Lake is such an amazing Lake Trout Fishery that there are not words for how great it is.

Another great thing about this trip was the new and interesting experiences that I had. There were lots of firsts for me on this trip. For the first time, I got to see the tundra and step on it. It’s squishy, by the way!! I got to see the Northern Lights and go to Yellowknife. I got spermed on by fish (more on that story later…believe me, it is worth the wait), and I got to visit Northwest Territory and go farther North than I have ever been!!! I saw a Caribou up close and personal, also!! It was such and exciting trip!!!

The views in this place were the most extraordinary of any of my trips. I felt so alone and so isolated in the tundra…like perhaps we were the first humans to step on some of the islands that we ate lunch on. When you shut the boat engine off…you actually heard the silence. I had a lot of time to reflect and center. The one thing I was able to figure out is that life is truly precious…and that I am a very lucky fisherbabe!!!

More to come soon~

Happy Fishing~

LIZZY aka The Fisherbabe

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