The Evolution of the Bloody Caesar – Cabin 14 Style

Brownie and T were unable to join us this year, and Brian, who had planned to be here from the get-go, didn’t arrive until Monday, because he was waiting on a part for his outboard motor.

Guy never hear of oars or paddles?

It rained all the way from Whitby to Beaverland, and continued throughout the remainder of the day. I was, as it should be first to arrive just after 3pm, thereby acting as something of a bulwark against any potential bad Ju- Ju we might otherwise encounter during the week. Next up were Gary and Dave, and to be honest I don’t recall when Nick, Cridd’s and the Moffatt’s turned up.

He's Making a List and Checking it Twice!

But let’s not get ahead of ourselves, because before you can check it twice, or even once for that matter, it really helps to have made a list, and if you did, actually look at it.

I suspect that most fishing trips involve making lists of things to bring, such as gear, bedding, food, libations and such, with ours being no exception. In fact it could be said that there is more time spent making up, and amending the grocery list than there is actually fishing.

It would seem that while in some cases lists had been complied, there were some who either didn’t bother making one up in the first place, or if they did, simply lost, or just otherwise ignored it.

For example:

• Chief Constable Criddle – no underwear. Although the jury is still out weather that was an intentional omission or just plain injudicious*. Mrs. C – can you please pack his bag next year?

• Grant – no pillow. He did say that he definitely planned on bringing one, but hey, that’s what rocks are for. Just wrap one up in a blanket.

• Cousin Dave – no measuring cup for the breakfast coffee, but more on this later.

As tradition demands, we had Gary’s Sawgeeg for dinner this evening, and as always, it was salubrious!

The welcome cooler took a real shit kicking, which may explain, at least in part, why it was an early night for all.

And finally,  you may be pleased to know that no fish were harmed, or for that matter pursued, in the course of recording today’s events.

* Please note that I used the word “injudicious” rather than “stupid”, because I wanted to spare Russ’ feelings.

May 26

Burnt Offerings

The rain finally stopped at some point during the night, and the day dawned warm, sunny, with little or no wind. This weather would stick with us throughout the day, and was I suspect, at least in part the reason why the fishing was somewhat challenging.

But before we get to that, there is the matter of our breakfast, or as I have referred to it: Burnt Offerings.

As Brian was contemplating his navel elsewhere while awaiting his outboard part, it fell to Cousin Dave – and to Cousin Dave alone – to prepare breakfast.

Not one to criticize or complain, especially when someone else is doing the work, but in this instance I feel compelled to offer a few, let’s call them observations.

While the bacon was spot on, there were no breakfast potatoes – which was too bad because Dave makes really good home fries - the coffee really sucked, and the eggs were somewhat north of well done, and more or less scrambled rather than over easy. And no, you cannot blame it all on the egg flipper, and in this instance I mean the actual utensil, not the operator.  But to be fair, without Brian, Cousin Dave could be said to be working without a net.

Hell, maybe it was just a case of the cook having dipped into the welcome cooler once too often yesterday.

Finally, I would also like to “observe” that the toast was really good. Now I wonder who was on toast?

Nick, Cridd’s, Mike and Grant managed to breach the Beaver dam and got into McFee Lake. This was no small accomplishment, because that damn rodent had had several months since our last visit to shore up its defensive infrastructure.

Although they did manage to bring in 2 Walleye, at least for today it was something of a wasted effort, because the majority of the fish caught were either Bass or Catfish.

Dave, Captain Gary and I opted to stay in Bruce Lake, and we didn’t fair any better. I caught 3 Bass – a couple of them were pretty big – Cousin Dave pitched a no hitter, and the Captain did catch a 19” Walleye (released) which as it turned out, was the biggest fish of the day, and for the week so far for that matter.

Given the weather conditions and substandard fishing, all boats were in by 3:30pm.

The Evolution of the Cabin 14 Bloody Caesar – Step 1

The 5 steps in the evolutionary process are said to be: mutation, non-random mating, gene flow, finite population size (genetic drift), and natural selection.

Now in fairness we are talking about the evolution of the Cabin 14 Bloody Caesar, so you may be wondering how any or all of the above fits in. And while any or all of them could have some application to the occupants of Cabin 14, when it comes to the Caesar, some are clearly not applicable, others are tenuous at best, but there is one that can perhaps be applied in this instance – mutation. Not necessarily mutation in a strict evolutionary sense, but mutation in the sense of something changing, but retaining the essential elements of its former self.

As you may recall, I’ve mentioned in past Beaverland journals that Nick makes about as good a Bloody Caesar as you are likely find anywhere. So good in fact, that one would wonder why he would agree to change or mutate it, and in doing so mess with perfection.

By definition change means to replace something with something else, especially something of the same kind that is newer or better, with the first principle of change being that it is constantly occurring, and in fact is inevitable

So who are we to try and hold back the inevitable?

Step 1 in the process was not what I would describe as a radical change or mutation, but was somewhat more subtle in nature. Starting from the usual Cabin 14 Caesar baseline, he added some protein and flavour enhancers, in the form of the Tiger’s pickled beans, and Mrs. T’s pickled eggs.

And while I still prefer the original, the rest of the crew enthusiastically embraced the new version, although trying to figure out how to get the pickled egg out of a rather long, tall glass once all of the liquid had been consumed, initially created something of a challenge, resulting in several Caesar stained shirts, and gave birth to the Great Cabin 14 Egg Hunt, as those eggs that “got away,” were enthusiastically perused as they rolled about the cabin.

And speaking of pickled things Mike, the Wicked Pickle Moffatt, was in charge of preparing dinner this evening, which was to feature burgers, fries, and as an added bonus, onion rings flambe à la Mike.

He managed to off load the responsibility for cooking the burgers to Cousin Dave, who after claiming (?) that he didn’t know how to operate, and/or cook on the gas BBQ, somehow managed to dump that responsibility onto Gary. At least now I knew the burgers would be perfectly cooked.

Mike did a good job on the fries, but when it came to baking the onion rings, he somehow managed to set fire to the parchment paper that he had lined the cookie sheets with, while the rings were still in the oven.

I’m not sure if it was the sun, Caesar’s, other libations or a combination of all 3, but with the exception of Chief Constable Criddle, everyone else was in the rack before 9!

May 27

Best We Get a Start on That Ark

It started raining about 9am, and didn’t stop until after 10 the next morning. Trust me when I say that it was potentially going to be a very long day.

As for breakfast, my only observation is that the coffee was much better today. Well that, and the toast was really good once again.

With constant rain comes opportunity. For example, it gave Russ the opportunity to head into North Bay to both pick up some underwear, and a new egg flipper. Hopefully that will help to improve things on the breakfast front, although I’m still not convinced that the flipper has anything to do with the quality of the eggs being produced.

With nothing but time on our hands, stories were told and embellished, naps were taken, the Cabin 14 Caesar was taken to a level never before imagined, cocktails were consumed, chicken wings were served, many emails were sent and received, and several games of cribbage were played. I was told by Russ that it was imperative that I mention his stunning come from behind victory over Gary in game 3 of their cribbage match, thereby taking 2 out of 3 games, which according to him, all  came down to some superior pegging.

Now back to the evolution of the Caesar.

After much consideration, a decision was taken to name this latest version:

The “Hammrrr” Cabin 14 Caesar.

This monstrosity consisted of the most recent version of the Cabin 14 Caesar, with the addition of a burger patty, chicken wing, and 2 pieces of Velveeta cheese. One decided improvement was that rather than putting the pickled egg in the Caesar itself, it was placed on the skewer holding the burger, chicken wing and cheese. I’m really going to miss the Great Cabin 14 Egg Hunt.

Without a doubt, this was the perfect combination of cocktail and appetizer platter rolled into one. Maybe Nick should patent it.

Brian proved that he is indeed a true Moffatt, by making his appearance – with pizza in hand mind you - just before dinner was served, which today consisted of chicken, ribs and Croatian potato salad.

While dinner was put on the table earlier than usual, it left plenty of time for a few games of Chase the Ace before lights out.

BTW – Cousin Dave won his second consecutive hockey pool, it’s still raining, and I don’t think anyone even thought about going fishing today…

May 28

Shrove Tuesday – No Potatoes Required

While it was going to be yet another breakfast without potatoes, today we were paying homage to Uncle Harry, and would be chowing down on “Apple Jack” pancakes and peameal bacon. And while Uncle Harry would never have  served anything that started with “Apple Jack,” if he had tasted them, I’m sure that he would approve.

Brian and Cousin Dave were now back in the saddle, and both the coffee and our breakfast fare were now back up to snuff.

While it continued to piss down during breakfast, all of the various weather apps were in general agreement that it would finally stop between 9 and 10.

It stopped at 10:15am.

Once the rain did stop, the remainder of the day was mostly overcast, with a bit sun mixed in, light to moderate winds, and with temperatures in the mid-teens. Pretty good conditions overall.

We started off fishing the “hump” in Big Martin, and then moved on and covered most of Bruce. For our efforts we were rewarded with 3 Sunfish, 1 Perch and 1 Catfish. Let me tell you, when it came to dodging Walleye, we were head and shoulders above the rest.

The rest of the guys fished the back end of McFee and did fairly well, especially Nick and Cridds. They brought in 7 Walleye, and released several others, including one that stretched the tape to 20 ¼ inches, which was now the biggest Walleye of the week.

Mike and Grant caught 4 Walleye and were able to bring in 2, and Brian contributed 1 to the larder.

All boats reported that they were catching an inordinate number of Catfish. We have always caught a few here and there in years past, but this time around they seem to have become rather prolific.

You’re Going to Need a Bigger Plate

Dinner featured steak, shrimp and Farmers potato’s, which are sliced potatoes baked with a shit load of cheese, onion, butter, cream of mushroom soup, and sour cream. They are a bit like scalloped potatoes on steroids, and perfectly complimented our grilled steak and shrimp.  As a special treat for Cousin Dave, I brought him a dry aged tomahawk rib steak, that was damn near as big as his head, and which may have taken him all of 6 bites to polish it off.

There was a time when it was pretty much automatic for everyone to go out after dinner, but over the past number of years, that has no longer been the case – until now that is - because Mike and Grant decided to give it a go this evening. Apparently they had a very nice time, particularly since they didn’t have any fish come along to disturb them.

And speaking of Mike. He had been having all manner of trouble with his trolling motor, and for reasons that may never be revealed, initially ignored my advice, which was based on years of experience dealing with trolling motors, that the problem was not the motor, but his battery. At first he was inclined to try every manner of work around, except the one that would have actually solved the problem, but did eventually get around to replacing the battery, and guess what – no more issues. Imagine that…

A cold front moved in this evening, and the temperature plummeted to +3. Might be a bit of frost on the pumpkin come morning.

May 29

You Have My Permission But…

Why does there always have to be a but? But I’ll get back to you on that.

Let’s start this off with some good news. Thankfully Grant, rather than Cousin Dave, won the hockey pool, thereby denying Dave a 3 peat. Now why was this a good thing?  Because there would likely be no living with him if he won 3 in a row, and it saved us the trouble of having to set up a Royal Commission to investigate the matter.

One of the more recent additions to the breakfast menu, is the “Boogie McMuffin.” In theory it’s a great idea – as is anything that features Gary’s sawgeeg – but in application it remains something of a challenge. The challenge so it seems, is keeping the various components – sawgeeg patty, egg, and toasted English muffin – warm prior to final assembly.

So far cracking that code has proved somewhat elusive, but once you throw it all together and slap on a slice of cheese – it’s all good.

Our Captain decided to take the day off, and told us that if it was safe to do so, we had the green light to head into McFee. And here is where the “but” comes in. He wanted us to be back in camp no later than 3:30. Hey, his boat, his rules.

All of our boats were in McFee today at one time or another, but no one really set the world on fire, but having said that, all but 1 boat brought in at least 1 Walleye. Part of the problem was that it was hard to hold any kind of a drift line, as the wind seemed to be blowing from all 4 points of the compass at the same time, so when you combined that with the bright sun and the damn cold front, it didn’t make for ideal angling conditions.

Me and Cousin Dave, who kept on insisting throughout the day that he could smell bacon (?), caught 2 Sunfish, 1 Catfish and 3 Walleye. 2 of the Walleye were 21 ¼”  and 18 ½” respectively and were released, but the 3rd was outside of the slot size, and made the trip back with us. My 21 ¼” was, for the time being anyway, our biggest Walleye.

Brian and Grant caught 5 Walleye and brought 4 in. Mike caught a Pike, a Catfish, and also saw a Moose – which he didn’t bring in – while coming through the narrows into McFee. Nick and Cridds caught 1 Pike, 3 Bass and 5 Walleye, 3 of which they contributed to the upcoming fish fry.

You may recall that I mentioned there were an inordinate number of Catfish being caught earlier in the week, and although we continued to catch them, the numbers were down considerably. Perhaps most of them had sore jaws at this point.

Our repast this evening featured Gary’s Shotgun Shells as the first course, followed by Lasagna, Cesare Salad, and “Keg” style garlic bread.

And just in case you were wondering, Cousin Dave and I did make the curfew.

May 30

The Dam Busters

Grant won his second hockey pool in a row, meaning that we are going to have to keep a close eye on him from this point forward.

The weather was effectively a carbon copy of yesterday, and while it had dropped to +2  early this morning – complete with a frost warning - by the time we hit the water, it had warmed slightly, so it was very comfortable out on the lake.

I had mentioned earlier that the McFee Lake Rodent had had the better part of a year to strengthen its defences, but Cridds and Grant, with some assistance from Brian had been doing a great job foiling its master plan to create a wildlife, or in this case Beaver sanctuary, that would be reserved for its own exclusive use, and possibly a few of his closest friends.

Good luck with that by the way.

The little bugger had been really, really busy overnight, and it took Grant and Cridds more time than usual to clear a path for our boats. Seems like the time may have come to introduce a “natural” predator or 2.

Cousin Dave continued to go “old school” by using a piece of split shot, a gut hook and a night crawler. There was a time when that was about all any of us used, but over time we found that a jig (and minnow) was a more versatile and effective option, particularly if you didn’t have a consistent drift to work with. So far “old school” had not been terribly efficacious throughout the week, and today produced 1 small Walleye, a Pike and a couple of Catfish.

Having said that, he did lose a nice Walleye at the boat, because despite our chat yesterday, he continued to pull up on the fish when it was next to the boat, rather than gently guide it into the net. More often than not that added pressure will result in you losing the fish, particularly if it’s not hooked all that well to begin with.

Its worth mentioning that Gary, Dave and I set a dubious record of sorts, by all 3 of us getting snagged at the same time.

All boats caught today, with Nick and Cridds catching 4 small Lake Trout, and 2 Walleye, 1 of which joined us for dinner. Mike and Grant caught 4 Walleye and brought in 2, and Brian caught 1 Walleye. If there were any alternative species caught, no one was admitting to it.

We had a delicious fish fry tonight, featuring Panko breaded Walleye, and all the usual trimmings. And while I have still not figured out how he does it, Mike somehow made sure I got the one fillet with a bone in it. I really have to hand it to the guy, because he manages to do it to me every year, and despite trying, I have yet to figure out how.

May 31

16 Years is Long Enough Don’t Ya Think !

This may have been the best day of the week weather wise. It had warmed up some, as evidenced by the mist on the water this morning, and there was a steady breeze from only one direction, rather than the swirling winds we had to contend with over the past couple of days. It also seemed to wake up the fish.

Being in the lead for the big fish contest going into our last day, I decided to give the other guys a chance, and took the day off.

Fishing in McFee, Nick and Cridds caught 3 Pike, 1 Bass and 15 Walleye. Mike and Brian caught 3 Walleye, and Dave and the Captain, well the Captain actually, caught a 16” and 22 ¾” Walleye, and in doing so, broke a 16 year drought by winning the big fish contest.

Couldn’t have happened to a nicer guy ! And while I wasn’t there, I’m willing to bet that at some point, Gary used one of Uncle Harry’s more famous lines, and suggested to all and sundry within ear shot, that if anyone caught a bigger fish than him he would:

“Blow them right out of the water !”

Once everyone was in and the boats taken out, it was time to pay the piper, to the tune of $615 pp, which for a 7 day stay, including all of our meals, was fantastic value.

Tonight was supposed to Croatian Night – perhaps my favorite meal of the week - where we would pig out on homemade cabbage rolls and perogies.

Do you know what happens when you take several dozen raw perogies, toss them into a bag, freeze them, and then thaw them out? You get a giant, sticky, gooey perogy ball, that is impossible to separate into individual perogies.

No worries though, because someone came up with the idea to substitute Nachos for the perogies, and we enjoyed a meal that had a slightly more international flavour than had been originally planned. 

Cabin 14 Bits & Bites

• Thank you Sarah for getting rid of the dorky lamp, and for installing a large, leather sectional, with of all things 2 sections that reclined electronically no less!

• The fishing patterns were somewhat different from years past, and while most of us gave it a go, Bruce Lake was simply not producing. Fortunately, and despite the McFee Lake Rodents best efforts, there were fish to be had in McFee.

• Cridds, Grant and Brian, nice work yet again for keeping our access to McFee open.

• Still no minnows to be had in camp. That needs to change, if for no other reason than I really HATE fishing with worms!

• To all of our various camp cooks, many thanks for all your hard work, the great food, and especially for the outstanding toast – lol.

• While not the best year numbers wise, everyone caught a few, and we had more than enough for our fish fry. Now if we only had minnows…

• Thanks to Nick for creating the “Hammrrr” Cabin 14 Caesar, and while I’m not sure  if anyone other than Cousin Dave could handle one, it was nevertheless a sight to behold.

• Nice work Captain – it was about time, and thanks for breakfast!

• I always try and get an accurate count on how many Walleye we catch throughout the week, and if my numbers were reasonably correct, we would have released at least as many as we brought in. I suppose this means that the slot size is doing what it was intended to do, by protecting the size of those fish considered to be most important to the spawning success of the Walleye in this fishery.

 A Final Thought

What’s Wrong With This Picture ?

In todays world probably nothing at all.

Having made this trip for well over 40 years, it’s hard not to get nostalgic for the “good old days” from time to time.

When I first went to Beaverland, it was like being in the middle of nowhere – which to a certain extent it was – and any communication with the outside world was limited to serious emergencies only, via the pay phone next to the Rec. Hall. No daily, or hourly play by play of the day’s events posted for all to see and comment on.

When not out fishing, we just hung around the cabin and talked to one another while sharing a cocktail or 2.

But having said all this, I did point out earlier that change is constantly occurring, and at the end of the day is inevitable. It is what it is as they say.

True enough, but there are times when I think back fondly to the days when there were no sonars, electric trolling motors or GPS, and it was all about a piece of split shot, a gut hook, a night crawler – and just us.

And as for what may have happened within the confines of Cabin 14 throughout the week, the rest of the world was just going to have to wait until we got home to find out.