Quebec – The Outdoors Guy

February 25, 2017

Maple syrup season is upon us!

Image result for maple syrup sugar shack

Tapping and maple syrup season is here, based on weather at least!

I heard from my pal “imacdon” who was already tapping last weekend, and I’ll be heading out to my garage shortly to gather the spouts and pails for our own little operation.

My daughter Grace and I produced a whopping 1 litre of syrup last spring from just two trees. Not a ton but still fun.

Ahhhh, there is nothing quite like maple syrup production, and I have spent more years than I can recall with my Dad working the sugar bush at the Arundel Natural Science School. Times I will never forget..not easy work, mind you, but extremely rewarding and tasty.

What a blast it was – laying lines, repairing breaks, tapping, watching the evaporator, taking-off the syrup and running the old creaky canner. The entire operation is a blast right down to the moment when that batch of syrup is ready to harvest…man, it tastes awesome when its warm, doesn’t it?

There is a true science involved in any maple syrup operation; from understanding maple sap’s sugar content at various times of the season, knowing the colour, taste and density of different syrup grades, to understanding basic things such as building (and maintaining) the perfect fire to keep your evaporator going strong. Its not as easy as its sounds.

Then there’s moment when the ‘webbing starts’ at precisely 7 degrees above boiling point of water, and your pure maple syrup is ripe for the picking (or pouring I should say)

Old school syrup producers have never used modern gauges and I’m sure never worried about it either. They can read more in the webbing off their ladle than a thousand sophisticated gauges could predict..now that is science in itself.

The final product, well, it is a thing of beauty and there is really nothing in the world that compares to the taste of fresh maple syrup, or taffy on snow. Canada produces over 90% of the WORLD’S supply of maple syrup(majority produced in QC and eastern ON) – a statistic we should be extremely proud of.

Maple syrup production is a big part of our heritage just like hunting, fishing or the fur industry.

So, get out there and enjoy some pure Canadian goodness!! The forecast looks good for sap to run over the next few days and lets hope favorable temperatures remain long enough for another great season! (Last spring btw was one of the best syrup seasons in recent memory)

Now, out to my garage I go to gather some equipment..and then wake my daughter up!

Outdoorsguy

May 27, 2013

Outdoors Guy Annual trout trip solves mystery

(Sr. Outdoors Guy with a nice cold water brook trout we caught, with surface temp ranging from 49 – 54 degrees F)

My annual trout fishing trip to Temiscaming with my Dad and brother-in-law’s is a time I look forward to all year long..regardless if we catch a lot fish, mystery or otherwise.

This year certainly was a great trip fishing-wise, and a very poor one weather-wise, with bitter cold daytime temps and even 3″ of snow on the tent one morning!

Oh well, when you’re catching fishing like this, who cares!!

(Photo of ‘mystery trout’ now beleived to be an Aurora trout)

(Here’s Bruce with a great looking male brookie pulled from ‘Lac Perdu’)

This year we released 12 trout(10 brook, 2 mystery) – the most trout we ever have released; including one fish well over 3 pounds!

(Not a bad looking camping spot!)

(Not a bad tent set-up too!)

(The boys working on breakfast inside the tent)

Mystery solved!!!

Ok, thanks to Maple(& others) for their assitance in finally identifying our mystery trout!

What I had always considered to be ‘Quebec Reds’ appear to be the endangered species called Aurora trout. Although we only caught two this year (both released) we have probably caught more than 20 of these special fish over the years.

In our secret lake we call Lac Perdu, brook trout and Aurora trout appear to live together(& spawn) in harmony. The brookies account for probably 90% of the lakes population with Aurora accounting for maybe 10%.

Now that we know what they are, and after reading up on this rare fish, we will no longer keep any of them from this lake. According to what I read, the Aurora experts are not coming out and labelling the Quebec Aurora’s with that name, as they claim all Auroras’ are found within Ontario waters.

The QC Aurora’s currently found in only 2-3 lakes(I gues 4 now), at the moment, appear to be a mystery. The original Aurora’s were distributed only in lakes around Sudbury, and most of those fell victim to acid rain.

Just one more reason I enjoy my annual trout fishing trips. You never know what you’re going to catch!

Here are some close-up shots of the QC Aurora we caught two years ago. The ones from this year were released safely at boatside and no photos were taken:

You can see how they differ from regular brook trout with a lack of ‘halo’ spots and lack of vermiculation on the fins and upper half of their body.

Outdoorsguy

September 26, 2012September 7, 2017

Outdoors Guy – Memorable Hunts

I thought perhaps a fun way to gear up for the moose and deer season would be to recount some of my more memorable hunts, and I invite you to do the same.

Here’s one of my favs that goes way back to November, 1996- the story featured in Rack: Adventures in Trophy Hunting magazine the following year:

STORY OF OL’ TOOTHLESS

Our hunt camp is nestled in the woods two hours north of Montreal in Argenteuil County, Quebec. It has been a hunting and fishing camp in my family for close to 50 years and the saying, “knowing the woods like the back of your hand” would be an apt expression for our hunting gang.

Even though it is situated on public land and host to many other southern Quebec deer hunters each fall, we are still quite successful in our deer hunting endeavors. Our strategy of finding “quiet corners” to pursue whitetails has really paid off for us, as we have been rewarded with some nice bucks over the years. It seems Quebec’s increase in deer herd since the early 1990s also have helped our success. Most mature bucks harvested, albeit very few, are usually found on private land with the private landowner getting first dibs. This is why the story of “Ol’ Toothless” is even more surprising.

Alarm number 1 shatters the silence at 5 a.m. on that fateful morning. Since I was assigned the job as catalyst for the gang, I dragged myself from my bunk and began preparing my “last breakfast” for the boys, while pondering our morning destination. It being my last morning to hunt for the 1996 season and last chance at a buck, I was eager to get to the bush.

I thought maybe starting with a small chase closer to camp would be wise. This drive formed a natural funnel between two lakes, flanked by a stream on the east side. We also have taken deer on this drive, but have not pushed it recently due to the amount of hunters frequenting the area.

As the drive began, I made my way along the creek bottom and back up on the ridge, slowly moving through the funnel. Approaching the middle with a lake on either side of me, shots started sounding off across the lake. Bang! Bang! Bang! They echoed off the lake. Then two more shots followed. Sounds like the old man’s .30-.06, I thought to myself. Something told me to run to the lake’s edge to cut off any escaping deer.

Making my way to the lakeshore I ran full out, clearing spruce and balsam branches from my face. That last shot seemed a lot closer for some reason, I thought, just as I broke into the open lake edge. Wondering if my father got one, I could not believe my eyes when I arrived!

At the lake shore I watched in disbelief as the largest racked deer I had ever seen was swimming across the end of the lake, at about 80 yards. Staring for a moment in disbelief, I saw a shot hit the water about 30 feet behind the deer. I thought I had better nail him or he will be up on the other side and gone in a second. A well-placed shot in the back of his neck and the big boy was down instantly.

I sprinted my way around the end of the lake and across an old beaver dam, like a mink jumping from log to log. The buck was lying in a few inches of water when I yanked him up on the bank, just as my father arrived. Neither of us could believe the size and beauty of this buck’s crown. He was a heavy 13-pointer with long tines and sweeping beams. As we hugged and shook hands all we could say was, “I can’t believe it!”

The rest of the guys finally made their way to where we were with the buck. None of them could believe a deer this size existed up here. After we field dressed the deer, I examined him more closely. Having recently finished the Fish & Wildlife Biology program at SSFC, I was interested in determining the big fellow’s age. To my great surprise, I found that he had no front teeth whatsoever, and his molars and pre-molars were extremely worn. “An Ol’ Toothless One!” Harold said. We all chuckled. I estimated the old boy with his sunken face to be approx. 8.5 – 9.5 years old, based on dental condition. We measured the main beams at just fewer than 26 inches each, the outside spread of 23.5 inches and both G2s between 11-12 inches.

I subsequently had the head caped out and mounted, but it was not until I scored it myself that I knew it could be a new provincial record, for the Buckmasters Trophy Records. Under the BTR system, the inside spread measurement is not included as it is deemed to be a measure of air not antler. Rick ‘Whitetail Guru’ Poulin of Barrhaven scored the old boy officially at 141 ⁴/8 inches BTR in the typical category and discovered that it was the new Typical Provincial Record whitetail for the Province of Quebec.

It was a day I wouldn’t soon forget and I was grateful to have shared it with my Dad.

May 25, 2012September 5, 2017

2012 Ford F-150 the Country Boy Cadillac

truckpic1

Fresh air, clean water and nature’s wondrous bounty all at your doorstep. Yes, growing up in the country certainly has its benefits and I’m proud to say I have been apart of that lifestyle.

Every country boy (& girl) I know either currently owns a truck or has owned one at one time. Quite a few city folks own trucks as well. I have owned two in my life and both of them were Fords. Of course that was many moons ago, and the vehicle I often refer to as a Country boy Cadillac has come a long way since those days.

I consider myself fortunate to be a country boy; fortunate to have an upbringing which brought me deep into God’s country, and back, on more outdoor adventures than you can shake a stick at. One of those special trips is my annual trout fishing trip into Northwestern Quebec in search of nature’s most perfect fish. It is 23rd anniversary of this trip with my father and brother-in-laws.

To gain proper access to nature’s perfect fish ( in case you didn’t know) requires not only good knowledge and equipment, but and a good solid truck as well. This year I was fortunate beyond belief when my old pal Kristine Simpson of Thornley Fallis asked if I would like to try out the new Ford F-150 with the EcoBoost engine?

“Ummmmm, I dunno Kristine. lemme think about it” I said with a smirk.

“OK, I’m in!”

Before I even had the bug spray or fishing stuff packed for my trip, I was Googling the new F-150. Man, there is a pile of info available on this bad boy!

The new Ford F-150, as I discovered, is not unlike the F-150 of days-gone-by except for one big difference – the new EcoBoost engine!!

What is the EcoBoost engine? Well, it is something best enjoyed while pointed northward out-of-town, and driven as fast as humanly(& legally) possible.

The EcoBoost has a feeling not unlike other power plants, that is until you step on the gas, and if you open the window while driving on a bush road, my brother-in-law and I agree, the EcoBoost actually has a similar hum to a jet plane taking off. You can hear and feel the old school ‘spooling’ of the turbo engine; as it quickly and efficiently builds power.

All that to say, the trip was off on the right foot once the truck was packed and loaded on our 5-day trip into God’s country. Yes, the interior layout and comfort was something to behold. Bright and roomy and I almost felt a bit guilty for getting it dirty.

The F-150 FX4 model boasts a lot of great amenities including full leather, Sync command system, Sirius satellite radio, generous drink holders and fully adjustable electric seat controls with lumbar support. (Man, my back loved that)

When it comes to seating and storage space, the new F-150 FX4 comes with comfortable folding rear seats which tuck neatly away against the back wall. Since we usually travel two men per vehicle, this feature is great for allowing extra camping and fishing gear to be stored inside during the trip. (And trust me; I had stuff piled to roof.)

Another feature of the FX4 I really enjoyed was the pop-out step sides, which allowed for great access into the truck box from the sides. When loading and unloading the vehicle, having a leg-up from the side is a real bonus!

Once we arrived at our lakeside paradise in Northwestern Quebec, the F-150 seemed to fit right into the surroundings with its rugged outdoor appeal. Hey, there’s nothing wrong with a bit of style and class when you’re roughing it in the wilderness. That’s what I kept telling the boys anyway.

The tailgate also made a super place to ‘cop of squat’ after a long day on the water, room enough for three tired (but happy) campers.

For those who are into statistics, the new Ford has plenty of impressive ones. The direct-injection twin-turbo 6-cylinder has a tow and payload rating (5,125 kg/11,300 lb and 1,388 kg/3060 lb respectively. As far as gas mileage goes throughout the trip, the truck saw as high as 18 L/100 KM in fuel consumption, but averaged somewhere around 16 L/100 KM, I would say.

All in all, the new Ford f-150 FX turned out to be a worthy fishing companion and a head-turner as well. The truck performed flawlessly, got great gas mileage and held up like a charm to the punishment of 4 hours on some of the toughest roads in Quebec. (& without shaking your kidneys too much)

The 2012 F-150 EcoBoost was a huge part of this year’s fishing trip and from I’ve seen, would be perfectly suited for any hunting or fishing trip you can think of. (And I can think of a lot)

The Outdoors Guy