Author: John Toone

A NEW AGE? They are often called trophies. That word is a bit loaded. What kind of competition can end with one being stuffed and mounted over the bar fridge? If not a trophy, then a wall-hanger. But that term is undistinguished. Either way, taxidermy fish and game animals deserve to be displayed and the work of taxidermists celebrated as artists and creators. Anglers figured it out about thirty years ago with replica mounts. Catch and release hunting has yet to be a thing. In the days before live-wells and camera phones, those so skilled or fortunate to catch a…

IT IS THE SEASON Tick tock from the woodstove as the camp tent goes darker than dark. The quiet cut by laughter at that crusty old bush pilot who called us princesses for our foamy sleep pads. Within moments of the lantern being snuffed, the wilderness is a cacophony of healthy and unhealthy snores amongst dreams of bull moose in the crosshairs. They are out there. IN THE WILDERNESS Wolves yip at dawn that first morning as we putt-putt across the lake to the choice spots. It is close to the highwater mark on the Shield rock, with lots of…

AN ANGLERS BEST FRIEND Like a briefcase, it means business. Everything depends on the tackle box. With it, there is nothing that lives in the water that cannot be captured, no conditions that will surprise or endanger, no circumstance that will result in a return to shore. That serious, yet also that much fun. When simple things remained simple, your tackle box was pure metal (in the traditional sense) with a metal hasp. Your stringer was made of metal. Your scale was a metal hook and spring. Hell, even your rod and line were sometimes metal. The most popular lures…

NOW IS THE TIME! It may be a shed, workshop, laundry, dining, bedroom, what have you. And it may be all yours, but it can be more than the dank cave where fishing and hunting gear endures a long-suffering death. Let’s assume it is a garage, any refuge where you make all the noise. You alone decide who and what stays and goes. Eventually, the walls may start closing in with season after season of the essentials of every variety. So much potential. Endless possibilities at the ready. But where does that get you? Spring cleaning is a dangerous undertaking.…

IN THE WILDS Hunting can take a lot out of you. It can also light a fire in you. Not that feeling of being some sort of big man because you killed a wild animal. Or that satisfaction after a feed of fresh meat. More like a nagging sense of ambition to keep body and mind at the ready for the next hunt and the next. In the thick of it, this pursuit can be all things fun and miserable. Eight days uncivilized is how to raise your game. Rain delayed, yet we setup camp in the sunshine and daylight.…

Hunting in my deer woods is a team effort. Each season brings out the rivalries between rookies and veterans hoping to prove something to no one in particular. Fitness programs ready the body to endure those sits where trees crack in harmony with your neck and spine. Others rely on deposits of buttock fat linked in time to the invention of Fizz Wizz. Strong backs are for lugging tree stands through clouds of mosquitoes. Strong minds are for thinking you know everything. To bring such a diverse and accomplished team together and to accept no responsibility for their actions, this…

Flying over northern Manitoba, dropping into a remote lake, and to think how insignificant you are on this landscape, it can feel intimidating. I was lucky enough to visit this lodge more than once, catching trophy walleye and northern, seeing my first woodland caribou, and witnessing a bear fight between a black and cinnamon phase. This trip played out a bit different. I was a kid, scared by the wilderness, almost angered at how it is unforgiving. We started to salivate as the boat approached the group of islands, in anticipation of the traditional shore lunch. There was something wrong.…

Illustration by Sara Wilde Guiding is a hands-on way of living. Hands that start fire in the rain, coax meat from game, offer a hot plate of food miles from civilization. Strong enough to tame a displaced northern pike, yet gentle enough to allow for its release. Hands that help call animals, with fingers that point the way. A hand-up when fallen, and pat on the back when you done good, because guides know their strength. Them smarts and that confidence come from choosing a profession where the work is your passion. As guides, there is something about the fish…

If you like to dress like a fool, clear a place in your heart and build a closet in your garage. The fashion police are not welcome on or near the water, and so the fishing outfit has evolved beyond the pocketed vest. Less about self-expression and more about survival, I have experienced shore lunches that could cause the average waistband to fail. I believe that function comes first, but also that the senses of an angler are so refined that they can’t help but make a fashion statement. Neil Young sings about a time when “people wore what they…

Illustration by Sara Wilde The stories that are told at deer camp are works-in-progress that we edit and expand as time and memories see fit. Our character’s involvement may be downplayed or embellished, but as a whole these stories are about the kind of hunter we try to be. One of our camp’s perennial favourites is the opposite. It originates from our first season in the woods near Prawda, Manitoba, about ten years ago now. Truth is, it’s a shameful, heartbreaking story that invites ridicule, but we offer it up. Lessons in life will be repeated until learned, and the…