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Diaries of a Lodge Owner
In 2009, sheet metal mechanic, Steve Niedzwiecki, turned his passions into reality using steadfast belief in himself and his vision by investing everything in a once-obscure run-down Canadian fishing lodge.
After ten years, the now-former lodge owner and co-host of The Fish'n Canada Show is here to share stories of inspiration, relationships and the many struggles that turned his monumental gamble into one of the most legendary lodges in the country.
From anglers to entrepreneurs, athletes to conservationists; you never know who is going to stop by the lodge.
Diaries of a Lodge Owner
Episode 75: Behind the Rod - Willie the Oil Man's Healing Journey Through Fishing
What if nature holds the key to healing your deepest wounds? Join us as Willie the Oil Man shares his moving story of overcoming personal tragedies through the therapeutic power of the great outdoors. From the heartrending loss of his best friend Kevin in a boating accident to the physical challenges of a demanding career in the oil field, Willie reveals how fishing became his sanctuary, offering solace and strength during life's most challenging moments.
Amidst tales of resilience, Willie opens up about the camaraderie found within the fishing community, recounting unforgettable experiences with friends like Ryan Bonnen and his best friend Kyle. The episode explores how these connections provide a lifeline during tough times and the importance of maintaining an open-door policy with friends and colleagues. Willie’s journey is a testament to the power of outdoor pursuits, emphasizing how they can foster healing, personal growth, and a renewed sense of purpose.
This episode of Diaries of a Lodge Owner is brought to you by Nordic Point Lodge A luxury outdoor experience with five-star service.
Speaker 2:You know, at that point in my life I took a step back and I, uh, and I fished and I fished and I fished and I fished, and I fished, and I fished and I fished.
Speaker 1:And the brotherlyhood and camaraderie behind those rods helped me this week on the Outdoor Journal Radio Podcast Networks Diaries of a Lodge Owner Stories of the North. It's another episode in the Behind the Rod series of diaries, but this time it's not me behind the North. It's another episode in the Behind the Rod series of Diaries, but this time it's not me behind the rod, it's Willie the Oil man. On this show, Willie shares with us a tragic experience he had when he was young and talks about the pain and trauma that followed and what he did to heal. He talks about his stages of healing and how he ultimately learned to look inward, forgive and, in his words, truly be with yourself in reflection and the role the outdoors, nature and fishing played in this process. So for those of you out there that are struggling with hard situations or know people who are, have a listen to Willie's story. Maybe his experience and how it changed him can help Enjoy this one. Folks, it's another edition of Behind the Rod with Willie the Oil man.
Speaker 2:Hello, folks, and welcome to another episode of Diaries of a Lodge Owner Stories of the North. This morning, folks, I'm Willie here again and I'm running solo on an adventure. Here again, I'm going to do an episode of Behind the Rod On an adventure. Here again, I'm going to do an episode of Behind the Rod, one that's special to me, that I've been thinking about and talking about with Stephen for a long time, and it's one I think that everybody can sit back and relate to, and at some point in your life, whether it's early midlife or later, it's probably happened or it's going to happen where you need to reflect in the outdoors. And that's what we're going to do today, folks. We're going to sit back and talk about some stories about how fishing and getting back to your roots in the outdoors can help you get through some of the toughest times in your life. And I just want to give you some examples and some stories, as some trials and tribulations I guess it would be as to things that I've been through and I've seen in my life, and maybe somebody listening needs to expand their horizon in how they deal with things and maybe it could open up the world to them to go into the outdoors or into fishing and maybe get what you need there and you require when it comes to healing, and maybe get what you need there and you require when it comes to healing. So, folks, let's kick it off with a. I hope everyone's well.
Speaker 2:Our diaries we want to welcome all our diaries, family and friends. We love having you here. We love your support. We feel it with your comments and your questions. Keep them coming. Folks, we love answering that stuff. It makes me and Steve feel really good. You know it makes us. We know storytelling is old as time here and we love doing it for you folks and getting your feedback is absolutely amazing, so let's dive right into it here.
Speaker 2:So, folks, when at some point in your life, like I said, you will go through some tribulations, whether it be death in your friend circle or your family circle, loved ones. It could be business issues you know, I've had them too where you go through corporate issues and managerial issues and work issues, no matter on what scale. No matter on what scale, and you know relationship issues, issues with your children. You know, maybe you're a listener right now to Diaries. That is a young man or woman that you know is looking at you know the future and needs some help when it comes to guidance and reflection and all of those things. If you sit back and you really think about them, you know it's. You need to clear your mind and you need to be in a place where rest and relaxation is number one can utilize the outdoors, as I have in my past since I was a young man. You know it can be a great tool for you moving forward. Yeah, so you know folks, you can pick up a rod, you can go for a walk. You can. You know you can. There's lots of things you can do in the outdoors and I know the first time that I had an experience where I needed the outdoors was when I was 15 years old and my best friend his name was Kevin Smith and I so happened to.
Speaker 2:The story goes is there was some fishing going on right after ice out in Cobourg, ontario, just outside of the pier. Obviously, in Lake Ontario that time of the year the water is freezing. We're talking. I think it was 16th of May. I believe was the date. I think it was 16th of May, I believe was the date, as I said, a lot of the ice had just gone out a month prior it was a late season, I remember that and a boat that we were fishing in had capsized A little 14-foot in had capsized uh little 14 foot aluminum had capsized and uh, my best friend was, uh happened to be in it with us and he, uh, and he didn't make it back to shore and uh, he ended up getting uh the autopsy was he had he had bumped his head and he had gotten hypothermia and went down. We ended up finding him a few days later washed up on the Coburg Beach. Thank goodness we found him. It was amazing that we were able to recover his body and, you know, at 16 years old at that time now, you know, my birthday was right in that range I put him in the ground and, you know, at that point in my life, you know this person was Kevin, was my, he was my best friend since I was, you know, five years old. You know I'm playing mini hockey in the basement with them, with my, you know, with his dad's squash balls. His dad was a police officer in Coburg.
Speaker 2:I remember fishing. He was we, we were one of two of the only people that fished in Coburg. As young men majority of the kids. They might've fished with their parents, but they weren't. We weren't the only two that would uh that actually like ventured out on our own, like we had our own hip waders and vests, and you know I had a spinning float rod at that time, nine footer. You know my grandfather had bought me and uh, you know, we know we had.
Speaker 2:Uh, since I was I can't even remember, like you know, I was like seven years old, maybe eight, you know um, we'd fish the Coburg Creek and we would fish rainbow trout, steelhead salmon and uh, as you, you know, in the years we would, we would make it a whole event, you know we would. You know, in the years we would make it a whole event. You know we would sleep on the couch together and wake up at midnight, knowing it's fishing, opening a fishing season, and get our stuff ready and then fall back asleep because we're children, you know, until four or five in the morning, and then Kevin's dad would take us down to the creek and you know we learned to grow into men that way, together in fishing, and all of a sudden this person was gone from my life and that's a really tough thing to deal with. When you're, you know I didn't have the best you know home life growing up. You know, my, my mom was a saint God bless her. My sisters tried really hard but my dad was a really my dad was a really, really violent man he was. He was very, very he was not a nice person to grow up with.
Speaker 2:So you know, besides from this, you know, fishing was my retreat and Kevin was my retreat from my dad and my shitty family life and my, you know, and then to have that taken at a young age was really rough on me, you know, and I didn't really rebel, I didn't really, you know, I kind of just went in limber mode as for progression, for a bit, and I didn't get depressed, I fished and I fished and I fished and you know I whether it was, you know, traveling all the way to Bancroft, to my grandfather's place, even if no one was there, I was just going at fish. If I needed to get away, if I needed to go down to the Colborne Harbour, sorry, and cast a line, or Colborne out to we'd go to a little lake out there, or down into Bay of Quinny, or out to Rice Lake, or out to Scugog and Port Perry, and you know, anywhere it didn't matter At that point in my life. You know, fishing was a time where I could reflect on my relationship with my best friend that had passed away. It was a time that I could drain my thoughts and it was a time that I could get back to a tranquil place where it was just me and my mind, and that's where I was going out with all this, you know, and that first story of mine in my life is I want you all to sit back and remember that, like you know, you have to be able to get to a place where it's just you and your thoughts. And that's when I realized, you know, I'd always taken that road as a kid and I thought it was just for Kevin and just because to get away from my household, but it really wasn't. It was God's way of telling me and karma's way of telling me that. You know, this is how you clear your mind and this is how you become. This is how you do a reset, this is how you become one and reset, and you know those.
Speaker 2:I spent a few years, you know, under the gun, mentally and with my thoughts, with Kevin, and you know how his life could be over, so young and short, and how I'd, you know I have to grow without them and him. And you know, every time, you know, I would cast that line. I didn't catch a fish, it didn't fucking matter, it was just to be out in the bush and just to have time to breathe from society, you know. So now we've got into the episode a bit here, folks, and you know you've heard the first story that I've told you know about Kevin, kevin William Smith, my best friend. You know he's from when I was a child. You know. God bless you, kev, looking over above us. Every day I think of you as I sit here right now in my podcast. I'm in my garage, folks, and you know I have a big tackle bench and workshop here. My boy Kev, his picture lies right above my workbench, you know, and I've had that picture, you know, since I was 15 years old, of him playing goalie for us on our hockey team.
Speaker 2:You know, and yeah, the amount of power and release of power and release power of to keep going forward and to understand what was going on, but also the release of the stress, you know that's a huge thing when you can decompress and go. I'm going to be all right. You know, life is going to be okay, you know, and, and when you're a young man going through what I went through, at that point I, I really, uh, I really needed that, you know, and and I can honestly say that there's lots of my life that that situation molded me for. You know I excuse me, I'm just going to sip my coffee here. Folks, I, you know, I look back and I think I'm, you know, everyone starts to get to know me a bit here on this show, over the last, you know, 30 episodes or 40 episodes, you know, and since I've been on here with Stephen and rolling forward and I'm a passionate person, you know, I'm a very hard worker, I'm a committed man, but I uh, you know, I also know that, when, you know, I'm an emotional person.
Speaker 2:So when, uh, times like this in my life, you know, these, these things have really helped me and this getting into the, getting into the woods and nature, connecting with fishing, that opened my eyes and made me who I was today in a lot of aspects, as I said, you know, and I think that comes very true with all parts of life and as you walk these paths and these stones in life. You know, at that point in my life I didn't know, when Kev passed away, when I was a young man, 15, 16 years old, I had no idea For those couple of years up to 17, 18, when you were finding yourself again and getting through these issues and doing it through the outdoors like I did. It creates the man you become or the woman you become. You know. It creates the man you become or the woman you become, you know. And then life goes on. You know, if at my situation I never needed any extra help, you know. But I know there's lots of people out there who do you know.
Speaker 2:And if you're one of those people that you can't climb that mountain alone, you know and you need assistance or you need just a different release. You know, pick up the phone and call your friends and pick up the phone and you know, ask your buddy to go fishing. Up the phone and you know, ask your buddy to go fishing. You know there's it's really important that we do that. And you know I think the resource thing is pushed very heavy, you know, these days and I think the resources are great that everybody has access to, but I think your biggest resource is you and I think if you realize that you need help or if you realize you need to talk how, no matter if it's just you know, I do it to this day. If I need to vent or if I need to call, I call my partner Dave, or I call my partner Steve, you know, on the show and or the other people that are close with me, and whether it's a personal problem at home or whatever, I do it right now, I've done it. I did it last week with Steven. You know, don't don't ever feel that you can't do that, that you can't do that, you know. So you guys heard that.
Speaker 2:You know, a young story of mine kind of molded me a certain way when I was a young man. And then, you know, when you get into, you know, everyone knows, my career drifted towards the oil field at one point and man, I love the oil field. At one point and man, I love the oil field my tone of my voice just changes. There's not one day that goes by that I don't miss being an oilman. I have it tattooed on my neck and I miss it every day. You know, my body's beat up. I don't know if anyone knows this, but I had a double knee replacement at 39 years old from my legs being crushed on drilling rigs and from the impact of working, and I'm waiting for a shoulder replacement now.
Speaker 2:In January I was pretty rough on my body and you know, over that oil field time that I'm talking about, I'd had some other tragediesies, which we've spoke about. You know we lost one of our motorhands into a drill string. I think I told that story on here back some episodes ago. You know he got sucked into the drawworks and this was many, many years ago. This was over 20 years ago. And, yeah, he got sucked into the draw works and he ended up. He crushed his body and we ended up having to cut this gentleman out of the draw works with our grinders and when you have to do things like that, it's something that changed me.
Speaker 2:Like you know our heroes out there in my world. You know our ambulance and our police and our veterans and the people who fight for our country to keep us free. Those people have seen things that only you and I could imagine in a nightmare. And you know, I think we should remember that because I've seen some shit like that in my day, but I've seen it once or twice and they weren't paying me to see it and it wasn't my passion in my job. And I know that those people deserve a lot of respect and every day to wake up and go, that's their job and passion to help, because I know that I couldn't do that every day. I can help every day in extents and points, but not in the way that they do so. Tats off to all our first responders out there who have seen things like that, you know.
Speaker 2:But you know that was an incident that, again, I had to grieve about. You know that situation was different. I was, you know, I was a co-worker with that person. That person was they were young, you know, they were young starting a life. You know they weren't young like Kevin, they were young as in, they'd already made that step and they'd already proved themselves to society, you know, and they'd taken that jump from school and having a career and starting a family. And then it's just taken away for one bad decision. You know the decision actually was the one, the person who had passed on this instance and he knew better, you know, but I guess it was a hard lesson to learn for him, but it was very unfortunate.
Speaker 2:And again, I, you know, at that point in my life I took a step back and I fished and I fished and I fished and I fished and I, you know, I actually went to ice fishing. That's what I did. I ice fished a little when I was a kid, but down southern Ontario we didn't have ice like we do up here or out west, you know, northern Alberta, northern Saskatchewan, northern Manitoba, northern BC we don't. We out here, you know, you get feet, if not, you know, meter and a bit of ice. Right, we're uh, so I wasn't used to that. So I, uh, that's what I did, I, I, I, I got linked up with some, some from friends in the in the local fishing ice fishing world.
Speaker 2:Uh, one of them actually was an old boy you know, he was 75 years old. One was a young guy he's 2021 and just a group of us and I, uh, I kind of started chumming around with them and and picking up some more of the ropes on the ice fishing side. You know, obviously, the ice fishing one and just a group of us and I, I kind of started chumming around with them and picking up some more of the ropes on the ice fishing side. You know, obviously, the ice fishing side, I, you know, I'd I'd ice fish, but I'm talking, you know, like I do on the on open water get, get specific and get good. You know that's, that's something I wanted to do. I wanted to get good and I, my drive and passion was coming from I needed to vent and I needed to. I didn't know this at the time, I just knew that this is what I wanted to do. Well, now, like I say, looking back, I, I now know I needed that release and I needed that venting adventure in my life.
Speaker 2:You know, you know, at that point that was different. You know, I met a group of young to older men that were into the same thing as me. You know, a lot of them coached me in some areas and then, you know, I'm a pretty quick learner and I got to. You know, I'm not a ceiling kind of guy. So I, you know, I ended up becoming the leader of that group. You know, I ended up becoming the leader of that group and we had some awesome fishing adventures, some ice fishing adventures all over, all over out west, and a massive lake trout, big pike, big walleyes, some crappies, some big rainbows, but what I never told those guys and I still never have. We've talked, I've talked to them lots about my incidents on the rig, or you know, at that point, or you know, with Kevin, and you know my family and situations that you needed to vent to for friends, that's how it started, but I've never, I never, told them that they helped me. You know the brotherlyhood and camaraderie behind those rods helped me and that's important.
Speaker 2:You know, again, that was the next step. You know, in my life of tribulation that I had to deal with something that I didn't even know. I knew I had to deal with something, but it wasn't a week or two. I wasn't sad, I wasn't emotional. I'm talking months later, but that was my way Getting back, doing what I did when I was a young man, when Kev passed, but just in a different path and a different route. You know, and if you sit back and I think about it, you know it's really that one molded me into the man that I've become now, even more so.
Speaker 2:Life goes on. You know I've a few more years go by and you know it's not really just. Life continues. You know I have a couple of kids born and you know you're moving along. And then I lost another person in my life. I actually lost two. I lost. I lost a baby with my ex, with my ex and whom I was with for 13 years. And then I lost, within a 24-hour period, I lost one of my drill and rig crew to a car accident. Yeah, that was a bad one. He had a couple of young kids, just like two, three years old. That was a rough one and we know everybody listening to this, whether it's a family member from high school or from work, or personal, or a grandparent or work related. We all know somebody who has died in a car crash and we're going to know more. You know it's a statistic that keeps on, continues to grow, unfortunately. But that was a bad one.
Speaker 2:You know, for me that was one that uh it, uh it. It really got to me knowing somebody's family and their young family. You know if anybody here knows me at work. You know my employees. They're welcome in my home, like like they're my kids. You know my door is open. You know I'm not afraid to have anybody come in my house and come. Know my door is open. You know I'm not afraid to have anybody come in my house and come and help them. We're not afraid to keep an open door so our people and our inner circle knows we're always here for them because we kind of expect that from everybody else. You know, that's kind of the relationship we want with our employees and our friends and the group we keep and, uh, yeah, to to know that person's wife and their children and to see them struggle really got to me.
Speaker 2:That was one, uh, that was one that I started. You know I just fishing wasn't enough. And I don't say that it wasn't enough, the outdoors was enough and the fishing was enough in the end. But at the start, you know, a few months in, you know work had got slow. I was getting a little down and out. You know you go from making a couple hundred grand a year to making 50. When the economy swings it's pretty rough on you, you know. And you know another young guy had passed there and we put him down and his family was really struggling. I know his wife would reach out to me all the time. Family was really struggling. I know his wife would reach out to me all the time and it was a hard thing to do to answer the phone to somebody's wife who had passed on your crew and talk to them about that person. It was tough, so I ended up going in a direction that I never thought I would.
Speaker 2:But I needed more. I have a busy mind, as everybody knows. My mind rolls 24 hours a day. So I took fishing and I decided to go to the next level of it and I went tournament fishing and not many people know this, but a lot of people know I was a tournament fisherman and not many people know this. A lot of people know I was a tournament fisherman. You know a middle of the pack, you know semi-pro guy. You know, and average, you know an average stick in the field. But no one really knows why I got into it and that's why Because I needed more to take up my mind. You know I had a. You know it's a.
Speaker 2:My job used to be. It was a really high frequency job, which means you know I didn't sit in a corporate boardroom making decisions over coffee and drinks, you know and uh, over a relaxed atmosphere, and I didn't pound nails for 12 hours a day, you know, with a plan. You know my job was detailed analytics and detailed drilling practices with extreme elements, extreme physics, extreme pressure, extreme calculus, for every connection I had to make and pipe in my equations. It was an extensive job mentally when you were there. So you had that. I had my regular family. I had just lost a child, you know, my ex did you know, and now you know we buried this young man and I got his wife calling me and fuck sakes.
Speaker 2:So, tournament fishing I'd always thought about getting into it, but I was like this is the time I need more, I need to drive more, I need to occupy my mind more. So I hopped into my first couple tournaments and I felt better. You know, I felt I wasn't thinking about, I wasn't thinking just about that situation anymore. I wasn't thinking about how, when I go back and drill my next, well, how I'm gonna have to talk about Troy on the show or on the, on the drilling rate for, excuse me, on the show. You know I I don't, I didn't want to have to. I wanted to talk about Troy when I wanted to think about him and when, you know, and, and you know, unfortunately I was the big boss. So everybody would come to me with their problems. You know, all the, all the bosses. No one ever listened to this, you know. But sometimes those bosses need to vent too, and that was. You know that was mine. You know I start. All those things started going away because I was venting.
Speaker 2:Tournament fishing, you know I was. I had a target, I had a goal, I had two or three days or up to a week to pre-fish. I'd had. You know, I had a challenge ahead of me, I had goals and rules and direction and it was great and I had again another circle of friends and people that I've connected with in my life that again helped me and brought me to the person I am today. You know those people are.
Speaker 2:You know Brian Gustafson. You know it was Brian when he first opened the shop. You know he, I have so much respect for Brian. You know I just had Jamie Bruce on here. Jamie and him are best friends and but Brian doesn't know that. You know, like, when I reached out and I needed, you know he helped me with a sponsorship and we you know it wasn't the money I was making, the fucking 200K a year. It had nothing to do with it was that somebody believed in us or in me to go fishing and somebody just wanted to be there and support us in no matter what way, or if it was giving us a sticker for our boat, just the recognition, and that meant something.
Speaker 2:You know, and at that point in my life, you know there's, you know there's Jerry, the Jerry Kruzak of the world. Jerry Kruzak is, he's going to be on the show here. He's a, he's a. He's a man that commits all his time to the fishing world and the people, the charity fishing world. You know the kids' foundations and the fish futures out there. Those people are a dying breed, you know, that are willing to give all their time for the future of our sport. You know, and so, jerry, I met Jerry that way. Jerry was, you know, mike Dottoli. You know me and Mike. We had a couple of rough times, you know, in and out, but me and Mike, mike is, you know, he has his own podcast at a Winnipeg there. Mike is one of the most salt of the earth people in the world.
Speaker 2:When I was going through my you know my right around this time, I'd actually and out and you know, and that's all I was doing. I was, I had my boat, I had my ranger boat on my, my truck or my ass hadn't escalated at the time, I think, and uh, and that's all I did. I couldn't get my mind off anything in life. All I wanted to do was fish and I would fish one tournament to the next. I'd go from Lake of the Woods to Pine Falls, pine Falls to Estevan Saskatchewan, estevan Saskatchewan to buttfuck nowhere Manitoba, all the way up to Northern Alberta, you know, northern Ontario, back again, and it was a rat race. But I was learning to tournament fish for one.
Speaker 2:I wasn't thinking about all the shitty things going on in my life in the past and I was building positivity from the ground up. You know I was. I had traction again, I had faith. You know I had in life not myself in life, you know and more reasons to exist longer and passions and drive. You know, I think that's a huge thing. When you go through these things, folks, these these bumps in the road, is you have to be able to have have positivity going forward and confidence and goals. You know it, it's huge. I know I'm hopping back here, but that's a huge thing and please remember that always, no matter what, one goal a day, one goal in your life, can make the difference between succeeding mentally and crashing you know, and if you have one goal a day or one goal in life at the time, you know that's something that you can strive for and build on.
Speaker 2:You can always build. So tournament fishing was that for me. You know I, as I said, I met some of the greatest people I know as friends now, and some of them I've kept, some of them I haven't, and but again it molded me into the man I am now. You know that took that aspect for me, as I said, and you know I started to heal and then I fucking started to love tournament fishing right. So you know I'm a competitive dude. I don't care if I end up 200th or 2nd or 1st or last, I am competitive the whole way. I'll fight for every inch. Sometimes it's the death of me and sometimes it's the worst strike you could have, but it is who I am and that's what I like to do.
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Speaker 2:Like now on Spotify, apple Podcasts or wherever else you get your podcasts. So I took my tournament fishing career Basically, you know it was fun but it was a release. You know I still tournament fish to this day. I do two or three a year. It was, you know, red Lake, andrew from Red Lake there he does a little bit of stuff with me for fun my buddy Jerry Kruzak, and them Dave Prop and you know, stevie Fish Vanity with me this year. You know I do the Kenora Walleye Open down here in Kenora. You know JP, he does a great job down there. You know my best friend, kyle, my best friend now these days and best man at my wedding, Kyle McMahon. We, uh, we do that one, you know. And and now I look back and that's that, the relationships, the mental health help, the physical help, the, the, the growth in different career avenues. You know all because I went fishing and because those building blocks took me that way. If you really look back and think about it now, if you look back folks, nordic Point Lodge, you know Lake of the Woods Fishing Adventures you know that I built and I sold it to Adam Brow here in Kenora. You know it now. You know Lake of the Woods Fishing Adventures. You know that I built and I sold it to Adam Brow here in Kenora, you know he it. Now you know Nordic Point Lodge, which me and Krista built, you know it.
Speaker 2:If you look at those things, I wouldn't even I wouldn't even have went that direction. You know I'd always sure I'd. You know my grandfather had a lodge growing up, you know, and that was kind of. You know, I'd always sure my grandfather had a lodge growing up, you know, and that was kind of. You know where I was raised and I'd always wanted to in the background. But really would I have, you know, would I probably have just went and got myself a small cabin in the woods and done my thing. You know, probably. But the direction my life changed, because of the positive routes I'd had to go to help myself, because of the tragedies that had just occurred, is how.
Speaker 2:I got there you know, and if you think about it, if you take yourself back, if you just open your mind and look and go, I've been there. You know Will just came full circle in these stories. You know, and you can do that. You know, if somebody's listening right now and I'm helping them, you know that's what this episode is about. And if you're not, if there's not hopefully in the future, somebody can go. Man, I remember what you know Willie the oilman said on that podcast that day. You know, maybe I should try that.
Speaker 2:I am just a regular blue-collar dude sitting in my garage with my dog. I got a fishing lodge. You know a wife and a family. You know I make an okay living and I just love life. I'm not nothing special. You know I'm no Angelo Viola or you know Austin Matthews or Josh Allen, or you know I'm just Will Palowski.
Speaker 2:But I know that the trials, tribulations and the growth that I've had to do in my life to get me to where I am and to be the person I am today is why I wanted to talk about this episode and I think it's really important that that everybody uses. You know those, those outdoor skills, whether it's camping, maybe you're a hunter, maybe you like to hunt sheds. I know my buddy, brian Gustafson fuck, he loves he could hunt sheds for weeks with his dogs, dogs. Maybe you just want to train dogs out in the bush, you know Whatever it is. Maybe you're into art, photography, you know Whatever it is you are into, it doesn't have to be fishing, but I'm telling you, it has to be the outdoors. If you really want to find yourself and your soul, you need to be just you and yourself and I'm telling you, the commitment to doing that is well worth it. We, you know, we skip forward now. You know we skip forward now. And you know, at the point in my life now, you know, I'm 40 plus years old, you know, creeping up on 50. I have a beautiful wife, five amazing kids. I just actually, you know, life is okay, but I just actually lost my father-in-law, probably six months before I bought the lodge, and my mother-in-law currently is is Pally Liv, kind of hanging on by a thread. God rest her, god rest his soul and God bless her. But you know, folks, the again these are, you know, dawn passing away was something that, something that I, you know, I dealt with in a completely different way. Again, I, I was.
Speaker 2:I was I when I was younger, I went to church with my mom. You know she would think it was kind of her release. My mom's family was really religious. I'm half American. My mom was born in Buffalo and Niagara Falls, new York, and you know my mom would go to church. Her family was really religious and it was her release, I think, from my dad and from to reconnect and relate with her family. And she was religious, she believed in the Lord, which we did too. You know we went to Sunday school and we, you know, but it had been many years, many years since I'd since I'd practiced religion, you know, but it had been many years, many years since I'd practiced religion.
Speaker 2:You know, and you know when I was, when Don passed Krista's dad, you know we were close, he was. He doesn't Krista's only got sisters, he didn't have a son. You know we were close, he was. He doesn't Christa's only got sisters, he didn't have a son.
Speaker 2:You know my brother-in-laws are, they're awesome people, but they're not outdoors guys, they're not men-men when it comes to, like, the sports world and the fishing world and the outdoors and the sports.
Speaker 2:You know the lacrosse and the football and the hockey, and that was me. You know my relationship with my father-in-law was like that and you know we had a short relationship because he had passed so fast. But you know we would go out and I went and showed him my first boat I was going to buy to get Lake of the Woods Fishing Adventures going. You know I took him down to his last Remembrance Day ceremony. He was a big part of the local Royal Canadian Legion here in Kenora and for many years he was actually on the board and kind of worked his way up and it meant a lot to him and I remember his last remembrance day standing in front of that building with the flag at half-mast and I got to be there with him. You know it's a picture. Now Again it stands here, you know, in my home and and yeah, don you know we never really connected through fishing.
Speaker 6:I wish, I did.
Speaker 2:Um, but when he passed, it was right at the point where we were buying the watch and there was oh man, I can't count the times where, after he passed, I was again. I was, I was already fishing, I was at the top of my game when it came to the to my to business grow starting. You know, I'm, you know I, I, I. I was just getting into the lodge, you know I just had Lake of the Fish, lake of the Woods, fishing Adventures booming, the guide company, we, you know things were looking up for us and and, and we were just starting to take the next step. And that next step, you know, I thought he was going to be there for, and he wasn't, and there was.
Speaker 2:You know, I didn't know I didn't. Again, I needed a direction where you know, what am I going to do? How am I going to cope with this? I didn't think about it, it was a subconscious thing. But how is this going to be dealt with? You know I wasn't. You know I tournament fished a little bit. I'm fishing outdoors and now I'm going to get. I need some help here and he was that person.
Speaker 6:Well, he did help me.
Speaker 2:When he dawned past, it ended up driving me back to the Lord and you know, I pray every day again now, and I didn't for a long time and it relaxes me. Whatever your beliefs are, I'm not preaching a belief. I'm just preaching, you know. You believe.
Speaker 2:Take that time and and you know, right now, this, the, the dealings I the latest dealing I went with with with a tragedy was, was this and you know and I'm going to relate this back to fishing by by a story and so my father-in-law passes away and we have the lodge and we're powering forward and you know, there's days where I'll give you an example. There's the first time I ever did it.
Speaker 2:I had an inspection in our kitchen. And what the fuck do I know about building a kitchen at a fishing lodge? Like I don't know shit. I'm an oilman, I'm a fisherman, I don't know nothing. So I but I ended up piecing it together and following the rules and regulations and the advice I'd gotten, and we pieced together a pretty good kitchen for Chef Machete.
Speaker 2:But on inspection day, the uh, I had a real asshole for an inspector, uh of my hood range when the for the fire suppression. And I'm four days before opening the camp and the guy fails my setup, which he approved. So I had two steel hood range units side by side mounted up. Anyways, he approved this on an agreement. I spent thousands of dollars, installed it and basically he failed it.
Speaker 2:So now I'm days before my giant opening of the biggest point of my life and I'm all by myself. I'm really emotional. And I'm days before my giant opening of the biggest point of my life and I'm all by myself. I'm really emotional and I'm, you know, for one, I'm running out of money and two, I'm in northern Ontario, like you folks know where I am by now Like I'm Nordic.
Speaker 2:Point Lodge is an hour and a half northeast of Kenora. So we're an hour and a half northwest of Dryden. I'm straight north of Vermilion Bay, I'm almost to Red Lake. I'm in the middle of nowhere. Where the fuck am I going to find a range hood that's 12 feet long, you know, three feet diameter, with a big giant blower on it like McDonald's or A&W, to make this HVAC system go? It's impossible. And I, you know I almost had a couple tears. I was so sad just because I'd put so much into this. You know, as you and Krista, you know, sorry, you guys are going to hear from me and Krista, and you know, you know, you know the passion Steve talks about what he put in the show to air Like it's a lot. So I prayed, is what I did. I prayed to Don and I prayed to God and I asked Don, you know, please just make this work. You know.
Speaker 3:And I was fishing.
Speaker 2:Obviously I went fishing because that was my sanctuary and that was the base. Was the fishing? Well, sure enough, and this is no bullshit, I get back to shore in my boat. I caught a couple fish. I was feeling a little better about the fishing, decompressing me, and now I was able to talk to Don and my boy and you know, I was, you know, kind of decompressing and I prayed and, wouldn't you know it, my phone rang and it was a buddy of mine, willie Rattray. Willie Rattray, you know it. My phone rang and it was a buddy of mine, willie rattry. Willie rattry, I told him my problem and he says, willie, I got you. I know a guy, I know a guy who builds, who does exactly what you're doing, or what you need for the food industry, and I was like you gotta be, shitting me and he he did.
Speaker 2:He connected me with this gentleman in Winnipeg. I called him up, I gave him the instructions. He wrote it out, gave me a price. He stayed all weekend. I went there Sunday night at nine o'clock, meeting Chris at night, to pick up this hood range, drove it back at one in the morning. You know Kyle McMahon, my best friend again, and Dennis Cronley, one of my. Dennis is a stud, my worker, dennis. Oh, they're up there and these boys are giving it their all to get this unit in for me and I'm just standing there going. Don good Lord, thank you Like.
Speaker 2:My release this time was not just it was fishing, it was the camaraderie. But there was loss involved in that camaraderie and it took me to prayer, you know, and it was remarkable. I've told another story on here A few months later, our Ryan Bonnen. We had Ryan Bonnen coming up. Jay Siemens hooked us up with Ryan Bonnen, the videographer, and he's like, this guy is like, he is amazing. So this guy comes up and we get these few days of footage that we needed. Everything was going awesome.
Speaker 2:But my guys I think we told this story like I said, my guys couldn't put a muskie in the boat. They saw 40 muskies but they just couldn't get one to turn and put it in the bag. And I had one day left of the filming. So me and Kyle, my best friend, went out and we were going to go put one in the bag. You know, we thought and, trying to be heroes on the last day, that's all we can do is swing for the fence. And I remember I got down in my. I got a 205 competitor and you know I was sitting in my boat and I fired it up and it was 4.30 in the morning and the dew was just coming off the water. And I'm waiting for Kyle. I'm always fucking waiting for Kyle. Still, everyone knows everyone's Kyle's the slowest guy in the world. I'm waiting for Kyle and I looked up and I said Donnie, I need your help on this one. You know these are. I know I'm every time. I only talk to you when I need your help.
Speaker 2:But I got a lot of money and I got a lot of people riding on this video for my camp. I need this and yeah. So you guys all know the story. We went out. Kyle missed one on the top water, you know. Half an hour later we ended up.
Speaker 2:I had one come boat side on the figure eight, you know. I saw it coming. It was coming in hot. I yelled at Kyle to grab the fucking net before it even came and Kyle was looking at me like what do you mean? Get the net? I said get the net. This fish is coming in the boat. He came up beside me and he was still a foot back from my bait. He flared his gills out and he was. He couldn't have been eight inches from the boat. As soon as I seen that, I just dropped it down and I popped it away from his face the fast I could, boom, boom out out. And as soon as I popped it, double, popped it out, he grabbed it on the corner and it was on. I turned that fish's head around. Kyle had the net in the water, 51-inch tiger muskie in the bag and I remember the whole time. You know the whole incident, ryan Bonner. They were running the gas and the fucking around and Kyle holding it without the net because we didn't want to kill him.
Speaker 2:The whole big story was amazing. But where I'm going with all of it was I prayed to Don before I caught that fish and that release. I believe, not the prayer, not the believing in God, not the believing in whatever you want, I believe all of the tools came together to give me that karmatic justice. So, the tranquility of me fishing, the happiness of who I'm with the thoughts and prayers of whom I've had around me, and what I need in the future and a positive form and outcome going forward, that's what I needed. And it put the fucking puzzles together and it caught me that fish. You know, and that's a true story. You know, my people were right around me, they were watching it happen and it's like and that's a true story, you know, my, my, my people were right around me and they were watching it happen and it's like that stuff doesn't happen and I'm like, well, it does to me all the time. And and and I'm a big believer that the, the, you know, you're you, you think you know where you have been and where you're going is going to be based on where you want to be and where you've been. You understand what I'm saying when you have been in the past and going forward, where you want to be and where you change, you make those changes yourself and myself I find those changes in the outdoors and in that passion, that fishing. You know walking in the woods and, uh, you know I.
Speaker 2:I just wanted to tell everybody today. I thank you guys very much for getting to this point. Uh, I hope this uh behind the rod episode wasn't long and drawn out but it's. It was a really important one. If I touched one person out there, it's important and I think that everybody should know that everybody is out there to listen. If you need, you know you can reach out to me, will at nordicpointlodgecom or steven at fishingcanadacom dot com or steve dot n at fishing canada dot com.
Speaker 2:Reach out to one of us and and, uh, tell us what you thought of this episode. You know, did we help you? You know, did we? Did we drive you to go to the bush? You know, did we make you pick up a rod and go fishing by yourself and just vent? I've kind of taken you through some progressions in my life of some fishing outdoors slash mental health dealings I've had with some trials and tribulations and I hope it's helped everybody and I hope everybody got something out of this episode. I know it's helped everybody and I hope everybody got something out of this episode. I know it did for me. I know venting to you about life helps. I know telling stories on this podcast and connecting with my Diaries of a Lodge Owner, family and friends and Stephen. You know it helps get through every day and I enjoy it.
Speaker 2:You know what helps Get through every day and I enjoy it. Folks, on that note, you know, please subscribe and follow us. Like our stuff, comment, give us some ideas for more shows. Andrew, lakeside Marines, yamaha Boats and Motors, we want to thank you. You're amazing. Get online, check out lakesidemarinecom. Get up in the northwestern Ontario. If you're looking for any equipment, I'll get them to see you. Andrew, amazing guy, great people. Second to no one in customer service, in my opinion. Fishing Canada get on the website fishingcanadacom. Check out all the entries and the giveaways and the contests. I know Ange is giving away some amazing prizes Ange and Pete on there and I've met two people actually that have won off that website. So it ain't a fraud thing. Guys, get in there and pump your numbers in there and listen to the episodes and get your free tickets to the draw and folks. On that note, I would like to say thank you for listening to another episode of Diaries of a Lodge Owner Stories of the North. Take care, folks, and have a good one.
Speaker 1:Bye-bye, I'll be making my way the only way I know how Working hard and sharing the North with all of my pals. Well, I'm a good old boy. I bought a lodge and lived my dream, and now I'm here talking about how life can be as good as it seems.
Speaker 5:Yeah.
Speaker 6:As the world gets louder and louder, the lessons of our natural world become harder and harder to hear, but they are still available to those who know where to listen. I'm Jerry Ouellette and I was honoured to serve as Ontario's Minister of Natural Resources. However, my journey into the woods didn't come from politics. Rather, it came from my time in the bush and a mushroom. In 2015, I was introduced to the birch-hungry fungus known as chaga, a tree conch with centuries of medicinal use by Indigenous peoples all over the globe.
Speaker 6:After nearly a decade of harvest use, testimonials and research, my skepticism has faded to obsession and I now spend my life dedicated to improving the lives of others through natural means. But that's not what the show is about. My pursuit of the strange mushroom and my passion for the outdoors has brought me to the places and around the people that are shaped by our natural world. On Outdoor Journal Radio's Under the Canopy podcast, I'm going to take you along with me to see the places, meet the people. That will help you find your outdoor passion and help you live a life close to nature and under the canopy. Find Under the Canopy now on Spotify, apple Podcasts or wherever else you get your podcasts.
Speaker 4:Hi everybody. I'm Angelo Viola and I'm Pete Bowman. Now you might know us as the hosts of Canada's Favorite Fishing Show, but now we're hosting a podcast that's right. Every Thursday, angelo and I will be right here in your ears bringing you a brand new episode of Outdoor Journal Radio. Now, what are we going to talk about for two hours every week? Well, you know, there's going to be a lot of fishing.
Speaker 3:I knew exactly where those fish were going to be and how to catch them, and they were easy to catch.
Speaker 4:Yeah, but it's not just a fishing show. We're going to be talking to people from all facets of the outdoors From athletes All the other guys would go golfing Me and Garton Turk and all the Russians would go fishing To scientists. But now that we're reforesting and letting things breathe.
Speaker 3:It's the perfect transmission environment for the line to be.
Speaker 5:To chefs If any game isn't cooked properly, marinated, you will taste it.
Speaker 4:And whoever else will pick up the phone Wherever you are. Outdoor Journal Radio seeks to answer the questions and tell the stories of all those who enjoy being outside. Find us on Spotify, apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts.