I started going to Garden Island Lodge on Lady Evelyn Lake in 1999 when I was 10 years old, these are odds and ends stories of my time up there.

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In 2008, at Grandpa’s Island aka Eagle Island, Dad did the ultimate hold my beer moment of “Hey look watch this” as he casted in front of a Pike and caught it.

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At Mowats landing, twice Al would be standing talking to people, and all of a sudden a dog would show up and pee on his leg.

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One year dad and I took my Mazda CX-5 and on our way out from Mowats, I got a nail in the tire. Drove it to Watertown and the next morning drove to the Costco. Replaced the tire and were on our way.

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Mom came up with me to Canada in 2023 because Dad passed away the year prior. Mom caught a 21 inch walleye and I netted it. I went to measure it, and the fish flopped into the lake. Initially we thought it had gone back to the deep but as our boat drifted, it turns out that it was still floating, stunned. I grabbed the net and netted it again, and got a good measurement on it.

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Al was trimming his nails at breakfast table as well as using new skin. I call him out on it and he says why not there.