Cabin 14

“Wonderland consists of a series of five, interconnected ponds that are fed by underground artesian springs. Each pond features deep, cool, clear water with colours that vary from deep blue to teal and azure.

One of the ponds is completely ringed by trees that come right down to the waters edge. The reflections of the trees, combined with numerous deadfalls that are visible beneath the surface of the water, combine to create a hypnotising mosaic of shapes, images and colours…”

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“It is a land frozen in time, an ancient place, shrouded in both mystery and legend.

 The people of Great Bear Lake – the Sahtu Dene, have lived here since the beginning of time as we would perhaps understand it, and through the generations have handed down stories of Na acho – the gigantic mammals and birds that once roamed the earth.

 While it is unlikely that you will encounter a T-Rex today, the lake now boasts a new generation of giants – Lake Trout…”

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“I have fished a good many places on Great Bear Lake over the years.

While they have all produced big fish at one time or another, particularly Macintosh Bay, where on one rather remarkable day four of us caught and released thirty lake trout totalling 901 pounds – including one monster that tipped the scales at sixty six and one half pounds– the place that brings back some of the fondest memories is McGill Bay…”

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“It became readily apparent that if there was any mischief afoot on these fishing trips, Uncle Harry was, if not the architect, certainly a willing participant.

There were legendary tales, such as the one where my Uncle Sid’s false teeth somehow found their way into the mouth of a long dead ground hog, and Sid’s reaction when he woke up and found the little critter lying on the pillow next to him, smiling sweetly...”

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 After many years of planning, the stars and planets were finally in their proper alignment, and I was about to make my first trip to the legendary Tree, or Kogluktualuk River in Nunavut, to fish for what are arguably the worlds biggest Arctic Char.

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“While the aforementioned Thymallus arcticus, or Arctic Grayling, clearly bears no resemblance to a salmon whatsoever, these scrappy little guys are actually members of the salmon, or Salmonidae family. 

Fishing for Thymallus can be very frustrating at times, because they have this annoying habit of either being excessively compliant – they will at times attack a soggy old cigar butt with great enthusiasm – or developing an advanced case of lock jaw, and will only hit one very obscure fly pattern, which you can bet you will not have…”

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“Although my Uncle Sid and Uncle Harry were brothers, I have never met two more different people.

When asked to describe the two of them, a rather insightful friend of the family commented that,” It would take a royal flush to beat that pair!”

True enough and, while there were certainly many differences, there were also a number of similarities, which together, served to define them as very special and unique characters…”

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“A Mighty River is Made Up of Many Single Drops - Afghan Proverb

There is something very special about being on a river.

They come in all shapes and sizes, and while we have managed to mess up quite a few of them, there are still an impressive number that, having been left to their own devices, continue to provide us with the opportunity to imagine ourselves as being “Les Voyageurs,” as we travel along them to this day…”

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“It was at that point I noticed that our large mesh cook tent had been transformed into a large cook tent frame. This was because a good portion of the mesh, that had once formed the walls of the tent, was either missing entirely, or had a huge gaping hole in it.

 Every time I asked for an explanation, they just laughed harder and harder, and it was several minutes before they calmed down enough to sketch out the story…”

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“The first time I met the Shangbanger and Son, who are otherwise know as Ed and Rodney Harback from Harriman, Tennessee, I would never have guessed that they were Great Bear Lake legends in the making.

Even though they are father and son, you never met two more different people. Two peas in a pod they were not…”

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