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This lake has got me hooked

There may be more popular places to fish, but none is as packed with memories

By: Shel Zolkewich

Posted: 08/12/2012 1:00 AM | Comments: 0

Submitted photo Shel Zolkewich has been gathering memories at Lake St. George since she was a girl

Editor's note: Since Shel Zolkewich is one of our Outdoors columnists, we have allowed her to choose a place she likes to go to when she needs a break from her favourite Winnipeg places.

It's dead still. Lightning slashes across the western sky. No thunder. There's barely enough light, but still I cast, from this ancient dock on my beloved Lake St. George.

If you look on a map, you'll discover that Lake St. George isn't a big lake or a popular lake. The roads leading to it aren't great. There may be prettier spots along the banks of the Red or Assiniboine in Winnipeg, or in the Whiteshell, but still I choose Lake St. George for one simple reason.

Over the last four decades, this spot has never failed to make memories.

My parents should have thrown me overboard; incessant nagging from a seven-year old about wanting to catch another fish would have driven even the most patient folks crazy. Instead they sat, in that homemade fiberglass boat, dip net at the ready, for when I finally felt the pull on my line.

Thirty years later, I hold that dip net at the ready, watching my son battle a behemoth northern pike in a little weedy spot, below an eagle nest, that we like to call the Cul de Sac. My boy is a conservationist to the core, so after a quick photo, that big fish goes back into the drink to fight another day.

Parents, siblings, nieces, nephews, aunts, uncles, in-laws and friends -- we all gather at Lake St. George. There are days when the sky couldn't be bluer or the sun warmer. There are other days when an inch of ice crusts on a bucket of water. More than once, we've come down with nasty colds, cured almost entirely by long-time campground caretaker Norman and his pan of freshly-made bannock.

We catch fish here (almost always) and crowd around the filleting table, some getting their first instructions, others practically doing the task with their eyes closed. Supper time!

There's always a fire going. It starts at dawn to take away the chill. At dinnertime, we stoke it up, getting it hot enough to bring that canola oil up to temperature. Boneless fillets, with a dusting of cornmeal and a few spices, slide into the hot oil. Everyone sneaks samples from the roaster. Just testing, of course.

There's a fight between the final shreds of daylight and the first evening stars. Eventually the stars win. We let the fire settle down to a glow. We take bets on who will be up at dawn, in the boat and who won't. After all, there are more memories to be made.

Shel writes about the outdoors, travel and food when she's not playing outside, on the road or eating. She's an avid angler and hunter and wishes she had a third arm to hold the ever-present camera. Her heart lies in the North where there are small airplanes, muddy roads and feisty Northern Pike. You can read about her adventures at shelzolkewich.com

Republished from the Winnipeg Free Press print edition August 12, 2012 A8

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