The Measuring Tape

Well, fall has been wonderful up here so far. With mild temps and a nice mix of cloudy and sunny days, one forgets that we are weeks away from closing for the season. The only thing missing, are some long time guests that have made the fall trip to Tall Pines many times over the years. John and Marie, and Bob and Joyce, campground staples, we miss you, and sure hope to see you next year instead! We got Earl trying to whip up limericks and act as mayor, and it's just not the same :) Water level is still going down, sigh..., but boaters are managing, being extra diligent, and still finding their way into shallow places like Keynote. Water temps still dropping, now in the low 60's. Minnow bite was on fire last week- we could barely keep them in stock- but crawlers and plastics are working as well.

Fish pics coming in:

This was a team catch on this 40+" muskie; Sharon caught and reeled it in, but Mike

netted and released this beauty:

They also landed some fat smallies; Sharon's at 19.5" and Mike's at 18":

Bryce got into some nice fish with his Dad Tom:

Jon made his second trip of the season, and enjoyed the fall bite. Not only did Jon make the most amazing rich cheesecake from scratch for potluck, he captained his parents Jean and Keith:

They got some nice walleye:

...and some smaller ones:

Jerry from the Bear's Den caught and released some big fish including this pike:

Cindy and Mark stayed for a second week and caught/released even more beautiful walleye. I know this pic almost looks too perfect to be real- nice catch Cindy and Mark!

And new guests Joanne and Denny learned the lake pretty fast catching some nice fish and enjoying some great views from their cabin:

Neal and Marji are here again for a September stay and when he is not on the docks chattin with guests, he can be found on the water catching all the main species including a 13" crappie:

This walleye measured at 23":

Ryan had some luck this past week with the pike and walleye:

The leaderboard for the last 2 weeks:

And potlucks have continued, with some great spreads. This past week 5 grouse wanted to join the party as they were frolicking right next to the pavilion area during the social hour, and Joanne captured a pic of one:

Picture perfect weather for my birthday this year:

With the cooler mornings, and it getting light later, the morning rush of the summer has evolved into a laid back, slow rolling, nice easy flow (you may even see a sihouette of a paddleboarder out there some mornings)

I actually took this one while I was lounging with a glass of vino (It was after 5:00 in my defense) and it was so calm and peaceful and I just loved seeing the smiles on the faces of our guests coming in after a long day on the water and being greeted by Earl. You can almost hear him calling out through the screen "You got fish?"

Earl's pic of the week was taken by Marji; Earl likes how you can start to see the colors of fall, the fishermen in a camp boat lost in their own world, and one of the numerous jugs and exposed rocks that have caused a few headaches this season due to the low water level.

During a visit with longtime guest Scott and his buddy Dave, Dave got to talking about the measuring tape. He said to pull it out to about 90 (or however long you think you may live) and think of every inch as a year of your life. When you're 20, you got a long way to go on the measuring tape- a lot of life to live. But as you get older, you look at that 65 or 70 inch mark and realize that you only have a handful of inches left! So, what are you gonna do with that time. You gotta live life and do all you can do so that you don't look back over the inches on the tape that represent your past years and have any regret. I love that Dave and Scott live life without any regrets, and know that so many of you that come up to Tall Pines do too. You may regret getting too close to that jug that cost you a prop, but you don't regret taking the time off work to vacation up here, or anywhere else for that matter.

Besides Dave's symbolic value of the measuring tape, it also has a literal use, and that of course is to measure those fish! We got new stickers for the camp boats that have been a hit;

and we've seen all kinds of other measuring devices, from the foldup, collapsible plastic kinds to bump boards to classic tape measures, to one guy marking length on piece of rope as it was such a long fish it went past the 48" tape marker end. We are grateful for guests that do a quick measure and then release those fish back into the water. That feeling when you measure a fish to confirm what you thought- it's a big one- is another adrenaline rush. Thanks to all those that made Tall Pines part of their inch on their measuring tape. May you continue to fill your measuring tape up with many more God willing. All the best everyone and God Bless.