Northern Paradise
Cobham River, 2008
2008 and Cobham River outpost are just a memory, but like all of our trips what a memory it is. Veterans; Uncle Bobrrr, McGyver, McFish, Orvis and sons, were joined by rookies Ken and Zach Langhans for an outstanding Canadian adventure.
Right from the beginning we knew weather was going to be a factor and we weren’t disappointed. It began with a 2 hr tornado delay at wally world on Indy’s west side and ended with a 2 day departure delay due to clouds and fog with plenty of rain and wind and icy docks (nice slide Ken) in between.
Clayton Wright's 40 inch Northern Pike Bob's Big Boy 
After a marathon 24 hr journey north we finally arrived in familiar territory and were welcomed by the friendly faces @ the world famous Balmer Motor Hotel. After recharging with a bountiful feast and frosty adult beverages we bedded down with visions of Walleye and Northern in heads. After a hearty Balmer breakfast we learned that Mother Nature had once again changed our plans as we waited patiently dockside for transportation to materialize. We started weighing gear and loading the plane around 1:00 pm and hit the water with poles in hand by 4:00pm………………..off to the falls and let the slaughter begin.
This was our best Northern year ever with bigger fish than we’ve ever encountered. Total count for Northern Pike was 283 with 3 fish over 40” (biggest is Ken’s 41”er), and 12 fish over 30”. The Walleye count was 438 and if Ben and Zach had gotten their jig legs a few days earlier we’d have been well over 600. The biggest Wally was only 22” but the majority fell into that 18” to 20” “fun to catch” (and eat) size. One thing for sure we never went hungry for fish. Ben and Luke and Zach were awesome sous chefs handling all the chopping, cleaning, prepping duties including a great batch of homemade peanut butter cookies that were a perfect compliment to “moonshine” gimlets……OUCH! The “everybody does a breakfast” duty worked out nicely and I think it is a new tradition giving everyone a shot at feeding the masses.
This trip was a real Marlin Perkins “Wild Kingdom” adventure with 22 different species being counted at camp and on the road. We saw all the usual suspects including eagles, osprey, and deer; but this year there were lots of moose, a couple of bears, plus fox, coyote, porcupine, and turkey along the way. Must be global warming! The trip was completed with a stop in Madison on the way home to be treated to breakfast by Chief Elsworth and to fill him in on this year’s adventure. Nice to sit there and see the continuity from Els to Luke, and to remember that 1st trip to Tetu all those years ago.
Amik Outpost Website Click on Blogs for their past fishing reports and current info.
The biggest difference on this location is that is mainly a river system with numerous small lakes and open bays connected over more than 40 miles of navigable river. This is also a relatively new camp and these waters should hold lots of big fish.
2007 reports from the website list a 31" walleye coming out of this camp, and check out the date on the 44" monster caught at this camp in the photo below.
