Off Season at Seagull!

The colors are alive in Cook County as we head into fall and our off season.
Whew! We are ready for a break from the daily routine at Seagull. The time has come to take life a little easy for awhile. We are excited. Our canoes are put to bed, cabins cleaned and ready for 2009.

Our first priority is taking my yellow lab Sadie to the vet tomorrow for surgery in Two Harbors. She has a ruptured ligament in her left knee that requires surgery to get her running and fetching again.

We finished another great year at Seagull thanks to all our loyal paddlers and cabin customers. We had a great staff once again which makes our job easier.

I am planning to relax a bit before diving into 2009 plans. My Mom will have surgery in AZ in October to get her back on her feet and I plan to be there for that surgery.

Life is good at Seagull and I hope it is good for all of you as well!

Deb

Foggy Mornings in September

It is the time of the year when we often wake up to foggy mornings. Some of the images can be incredible. It also slows down our towboats a bit if we can't see more than a couple blocks in front of us.

The mergansers are hovering around the Seagull dock each morning lately. I think they are enjoying the quieter mornings at Seagull.

My garden is producing lots of cherry tomatoes, cucumbers, onions and lettuce and is wonderful on the dinner table. We planted those raised garden beds several years and my goal was to be able to have my own salad in the Northwoods!

Our fall is busy with starting to close down Seagull Outfitters for the season. We are working on fix it projects, remodeling and a host of other chores. Another great season at Seagull is nearly behind us. Thanks once again to such wonderful customers and staff that make it all possible!

Deb

There is still time!

Hello Everyone,
Do you have an itch for a fall canoe trip in the BWCA or Quetico? You still have time to plan that fall trip. The weather and scenery are beautiful. No bugs, fall colors, cooler temperatures,and water that is still swimming temperature are just a few reasons to come up with friends and family in the fall. Fishing is also a great reason to come up during the fall months. The fish are getting their feed-bags on in preparation for the long Northwoods Winter.
Wylie caught this 29.5 inch walleye this week.
The fishing will only get better from this point until your favorite northwoods lakes freeze over. If you have any questions planning your fall trip, give us a call or email.

Thanks and keep your line in the water,
Van

Last Minute Fishing Before School Starts

Hello Everyone,

The weather and fishing has been heating up recently. Walleye are still being caught and stories of nice stringers have been told. Slip-bobbers and leeches have been the ticket in the BWCA, while a jig and plastic combo has been producing in Quetico. They're catching marble eyes between 15 and 20 feet.

The smallmouth are still hitting on just about anything that can be fished. We had a customer catch a smallie on a yellow Starburst!!! Most people are catching them from the surface to as deep as 30 feet down.

The northerns have also been cooperating quite well with anglers. Jeff caught this beautiful 41 inch pike last week.

Thanks and keep your line in the water,

Van

Hello Everyone,

Fishing has really been great as of late. Many of our canoe and cabin customers have said that this has been the best fishing they have seen in awhile.

Walleyes have been right around 12 to 20 feet of water. The most effective way has been slip-bobber and leeches or casting deep-running crankbaits. A lot of "eater" sized walleyes have been taken with some BIG fish mixed in.

Maggie caught this 27.5 inch walleye on Seagull with her parents.

The smallmouth bass fishing has also been excellent with a lot of nice smallies having been taken. Any presentation that can be fished from 5 to 10 feet has produced. I caught a 16 inch smallie on a plain red hook with no bait while trying to set depth on a slip bobber!

Northern pike have also been cooperating quite well with fisherman. They have been caught from on the surface to 20 feet down.

Thanks and keep line in the water,

Van

It's August!

It's hard to believe it's August already. The weather has been amazing for the past few weeks, with sunny warm days and beautiful sunsets. It's the perfect time to squeeze in that last trip before the kids go back to school!

The Janis family stayed in our Ogish cabin this past week and had a great time. Maggie might just be a future Seagull employee!! She had lots of fun berry-picking, and she showed the boys a thing or two by catching a 27 inch walleye on her pink fishing pole. I guess we'll have to give her a few more years before we put her to work.

Here's Maggie in her new staff shirt with some of the staffers (from left to right)- Shira, me (Crystal), and Lindsey.

The cabin guests aren't the only ones taking advantage of the great weather. Shakti Khalsa and her little dog Layla went paddling out on Seagull for a few days. Layla had a great time swimming and hanging out around camp. Doesn't she look ready to take on the Boundary Waters?

The Plath family paddled out of Seagull in our catamarran. The catamarran's a great option for families with small children because it's so stable. They look ready to go camping!

Look for the winner of July's photo contest- we'll post it in the next few days. August's photo contest is just beginning, and the theme for this month is food. Send us your pictures of the great meals that you managed to whip up out in the woods- your favorite camp dish, your delicious fried fish, your amazing triple-decker s'more- anything you can come up with!

We look forward to hearing from you!

Crystal

This summer has been full of great times, especially with the family. We have had experienced families carry out their traditions in the BWCA, families introducing their kids to the wilderness they love and families coming for the first time to check out what the Northwoods has to offer.

With everything that the BWCA has to offer, everyone finds something to love- from seeing moose or watching that perfect sunset to out-fishing the rest of the boys.

Nick recently enjoyed his stay in one of our cabins; he even caught a few fish.

He was even nice enough to let Dad in on some of the action!

One trip to the BWCA with the whole family can lead to many possibilities, maybe even a family tradition that can be carried on for many years to come!