Episode 135: From Guest To Family Artwork

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.

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Diaries of a Lodge Owner

Episode 135: From Guest To Family

March 04, 2026 • Outdoor Journal Radio Podcast Network • Episode 135

0:00 | 1:16:04

A chance phone call, a cedar boat, and a river that never leaves your blood. That’s how our friendship with Omer began—he arrived from Israel with no rods, no experience, and a map in the glove box, then asked to stay and help. What followed were seasons stitched together by wood smoke and fish fries, a duck hunt mishap that blew a hole in a boat, and a brutal late‑season muskie run where ice formed around our lines in the dark and we had to ride the bow to break free by morning.

Omer opens up about life in the Israeli reserves, the shock of October 7, and the invisible toll of sirens, drones, and uncertainty. He talks about marriage ending, a job paused on day one, and the hard choice to show up for duty while holding a young son at home. The details are raw and human: sweating through sleeves in desert heat, waking to sand inside a sleeping bag, and craving the cool, clean air of the North where snow melts and the wind smells like pine and river rock. Through it all, he finds steadiness in simple rituals—splitting wood, long troll passes for muskie, and the patient craft of photography.

We also revisit the lodge’s living history: staff legends in hot kitchens, guests who rent the whole place just to run a scotch tasting, and the field-tested rules that keep chaos fun. Then we point forward. Omer is between jobs, renewing his passport, and plotting a short return to Canada for spring on the French—sauna on the dock, ice-out air, and the quiet work of opening a place that feels like home. He’s also planning the reverse invite: shawarma after old stones in Jerusalem, the Mediterranean’s edge, and green hills that prove outdoor life thrives far beyond big game.

If you love northern stories, muskie fishing, resilience, and the way wild places turn strangers into family, press play. Subscribe, share this with a friend who needs the North, and leave a review so more people can find the river.

Introducing Omer Kadosh

SPEAKER_04 0:05

Yeah, so that's what attracted me to Canada. I said there's no dust, like uh like like that there is dust, but not like that, and there's no sand. You know, and in the lodge I remember the air was so clear and there was like this I don't know specific smell in the lodge, you know, like something in the air. Yeah, I just fell in love with it.

How A Chance Visit Became Home

SPEAKER_06 0:25

This week on the Outdoor Journal Radio Podcast Networks, Diaries of a Lodge Owner, Stories of the North. Isn't it funny how chance encounters can turn into something special? And today's guest came into my life just like that. He exemplifies perfectly and was probably the origin of our Chaudiere mission statement. They come as guests and leave his family. And he became a piece of Chaudiere history and a character in my story. And it is now my pleasure to introduce to all of you my old friend from Israel, a reservist who first stepped on our dock in our first season. Omer Kadash. On this show, we'll dive into the tales of those early days, hunting and fishing adventures, and some behind-the-scenes stories, and a few of the moments that turned a guest into family. We'll also hear a bit about his life in the Israeli reserves and how these two worlds, so different yet somehow intertwined, came together here in the Canadian Wilderness. So settle in and join us as we reflect on a friendship that's traveled across continents, and we'll find out how the lodge became a meeting place for stories from around the world. Here's my conversation with Omer Kadosh. Welcome, folks, to another episode of Diaries of a Lodge Owner. And today I am, this is one of the um most exciting podcasts for me. Um, we have a great friend of mine and uh um a guy that I haven't seen in years. Uh his name is Omer Kadash. And um, Omer, welcome to the show. Thank you, Steve. I'm glad to be on. Yeah, yeah. So listen, um, let's just uh let's just go back and um um talk a little bit about how our paths crossed. So I've I was trying to think about it earlier um uh this morning. Um what year would it have been? Like maybe 2012? So I think it was 2010, no?

SPEAKER_04 2:55

2010? Yeah, I think I was yeah, that's that's a funny story because I remember I was I uh I got out of the army at uh uh 2009. Yeah, and then I remembered I wanted to go and do some uh some outdoors to experience the great outdoors, and I was just uh uh some family from Canada came to visit here in Israel. And I remember that they told me that Canada was the best place for uh for outdoor activities, for angling, you know, and uh fishing and hunting and all of that. And uh then I figured, you know, I had a great bond with them. And then I figured, you know, absolutely, I'll come and I'll visit. And I'm not the most um how do I describe it? Like I I like to know where I'm going, how I'm gonna get out of it. And at that time I was, you know, trying to think with myself, where will I go and uh what will I do, you know, and where can I find a lodge or somebody that will take me fishing. And a good friend of mine just said go. It's only don't don't overthink it. Just go, and I promise you the thing will uh things will uh um fall into the right pieces. And um so I flew, and I think I don't remember exactly how I got to you to show the air lodge, but I remember I don't know if do you remember Gideon? Gideon was my uncle.

SPEAKER_06 4:34

Gideon was the he was your uncle, right?

SPEAKER_04 4:36

He was my mother's uncle. Oh, really? Yeah, so I don't remember if he found you. Yeah, he didn't gave me the contact. Oh, he did find you.

SPEAKER_06 4:46

He did. He found me and did all the he booked your booked your stay, and and uh I'm pretty sure he dropped you off in Doki's.

SPEAKER_04 4:54

Um, no, that's that's the funny part. He gave me your contact, yeah. And I remember I called you once I got to Canada. Yeah, remember that I told you I have no fishing experience and I have no uh no rods or tackle or anything, and you just said, come along, we'll sort you out. Yeah, yeah. Everything you need. And then I rented a car and I started driving up north.

SPEAKER_06 5:22

I remember I had a map back in the days before the uh GPS.

SPEAKER_04 5:29

And I navigate navigated my way to uh to the keys, and I remember when I got into the marina, I was walking around, you know, like I didn't know how to get to the lodge. And I remember you told me to go into the marina and say that uh that I arrived at Chaudir Lodge and somebody will come and pick me up. And that's how we started. That's that.

SPEAKER_06 5:51

Yeah, I know that's crazy. So you got out of the army and you did uh what is it, three years mandatory?

SPEAKER_03 5:58

Yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_06 5:59

Yeah, yeah. That was um, I I was I was really excited to have you come and stay. And and I remember I thought uh I didn't know what to expect because like I mean, you were fairly young at that point. You're like 21 or 22, maybe.

SPEAKER_03 6:15

Yeah.

SPEAKER_06 6:16

And uh you come by yourself. You'd never you'd never really operated a boat. So we we got you uh we got you in a cedar strip and give you a couple of fishing rods, and you went out every day and tried to uh and and tried to catch fish. And I'm not sure how successful you were for the first bit. I wasn't successful without any help. Yeah.

SPEAKER_04 6:38

No idea what I was doing.

Duck Hunt Mishap And Lodge Life

SPEAKER_06 6:40

Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. And um, I I remember when the the night, the Friday night, when you come to check out, you were like, Hey, Steve, um maybe sometimes uh people uh just uh stay a little longer. I can maybe help out. And uh I think you uh you stay well, you stay for the rest of the year. And um we really built a wonderful friendship. Yeah, you know, and uh yeah, that is right. That is that first year because um um I don't want to mention any names in in this uh in in this uh this is the only time I haven't mentioned names, but you remember our hunting trip?

SPEAKER_03 7:21

Oh man, oh man, that's that's I was I was wondering if we're gonna talk about it.

SPEAKER_06 7:27

Well, we're we're not gonna mention the names of the people involved, but um man, I remember it so clearly, so vividly. Oh yeah.

SPEAKER_03 7:36

I'm wondering if you remembered it.

SPEAKER_06 7:38

Oh hell yeah. Well, we ended up uh and and just to make it a uh um uh uh a bit of a shorter story, um, we went out fishing uh or uh duck hunting, actually. Yeah, and um um one of the fellas that was with us um had a bit of a mishap, and uh the gun went off in the boat and and blew a hole the side of my boat.

SPEAKER_04 8:06

Oh man, I remember it so clearly. I was I was shocked. I was well, me too. I remember your face turning around, you know, and looking at it.

SPEAKER_06 8:15

Oh man, that's well, I saw I saw I saw what went on, and I was like, holy shit. Oh Mary, you said, I've been patrolling the Gaza Strip for four years, and that's as close as I've come to getting shot.

SPEAKER_04 8:36

Pretty much something like that, yeah.

SPEAKER_06 8:39

Oh yeah, no, but that was uh that was that first year, yeah. And then um um uh do you remember if it was that year that we went out? And uh did you go with um um fishing and catch a big fish? I forget.

SPEAKER_04 8:55

So there was I've been there three times.

SPEAKER_06 8:58

Yeah, well, you come up the following year, yes, exactly.

Cold-Season Muskie And Icy Waters

SPEAKER_04 9:01

2010, 2011, and then I can't say it's the best time because they were all the best time, but the last time was 2014. And that's where you took me out with Matt and um Matt O'Brien.

SPEAKER_06 9:17

Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. Matt and Kyle Guerron. Yeah, yeah, yeah. And then you got almost frozen. Well, talk about that trip because that was a very interesting trip. Just to kind of set that up, um, it was after the season was over, yeah, and um uh it was at the end of the muskie fishing season and um like end to end um the November 30 uh 30th. Um so tell that, tell tell talk, tell me your side of that story.

SPEAKER_04 9:50

Oh, in my eyes, I remember arriving. Um I I think you picked me up this time. Yeah, yeah, and we went we went grocery shopping and everything. Yeah, I remember we came to the uh to the marina and it was all snowy. Oh yeah. I was thinking to myself, what what what am I getting into? Like, what's gonna happen if somebody falls into the water or you know, I don't know, get hypothermia or something. Oh yeah. And uh, you know, we started going, and I was I was clearly underdressed. Like I didn't have the photo at all. Yeah, and you gave me there was an orange um jumpsuit motor suit. Yeah, yeah. There was one of this and then another blue one. I still have the pictures, I look at it all the time. When I tell people I went to Canada to fish, I show them the pictures. And they all look at me like, how the hell did you end up there? And uh, so I remember, and we started fishing. We did we we caught two muskies. I say you guys, I didn't do anything. I was just fishing.

SPEAKER_06 11:01

I didn't do anything either. It was Matt and Kyle, but it was a double header, actually.

SPEAKER_04 11:05

Exactly. Yeah, we were trolling, and uh it was a double header.

SPEAKER_06 11:09

I don't remember the sizes, but I think they were around 40 inches, 42, 43, somewhere in there.

SPEAKER_04 11:15

They weren't trophy, probably, but they were they were big inches.

SPEAKER_06 11:18

Yeah, they were getting they were they were big, but they weren't trophies.

SPEAKER_04 11:20

Yeah, I was super excited about it because the first two trips I didn't catch a muskie. Yeah, I did catch a nice uh pike with uh Chris Shock. Oh yeah, good old Chris. Yeah, so how is he? Are you in touch with it?

SPEAKER_06 11:35

Still doing good. Actually, I did a podcast with Chris and Sue and uh and uh Katie. Uh you'll have to look it up. That was uh maybe a year and a half ago.

SPEAKER_04 11:45

Oh yeah? Yeah, yeah. I will because you know, I I'll jump back to the beginning of our conversation. I started listening, you know, I'll go even back, and then we'll go.

SPEAKER_06 11:57

Can I go back? Yeah, 100%. There's no rules here, buddy.

SPEAKER_04 12:01

I have so much information to share. So I was the last weekend I was with a group of friends. We were um we were having like a we call it a bacheloretteless party. Like there's no bachelor, but there's no party.

SPEAKER_06 12:17

Nice.

SPEAKER_04 12:18

Yeah, so we do it like once in a while when you make it. Yeah, yeah. Where we get all the guys when we need somewhere a break. And a close friend of mine, uh, he moved to the states a couple of years ago, and now he came. So we did this uh for him, and he's actually the guy that at the beginning that at 2010 told me just go. Yeah, you'll see that everything works out. And I told him that you want to to have me on the on the podcast. And he says, like, dude, what the hell are you waiting for? You gotta you gotta do it. And I didn't even know, like I didn't even think about looking at the about checking Spotify. I don't use Spotify at all. So and he says, Did you check it on Spotify? I'm like, No, I didn't even. So he goes on his phone and checks and says, No, there's like 130 episodes. And then I had a two-hour drive home and I started binging the show. I started, and I actually started with the um uh with uh episode 130. Okay, Lodge Life Unfiltered. I remembered it, and that was the best episode so far, and I started going backwards now. Good, yeah. I love it, and I love the stories.

SPEAKER_06 13:40

Oh, yeah.

SPEAKER_04 13:41

I don't remember how I got to that part, but I don't know why why I jumped back.

SPEAKER_06 13:47

Well, you wanted yeah, yeah. You said you had so much information, yeah, yeah. So that's great information. But we'll jump, we'll jump back into this story here. Um, the muskie trip. So we caught those two fish at the end of the trip, pretty much at the end. I think we were there for three or four days. Yes, yes, but it was um um unseasonably cold.

SPEAKER_04 14:12

It was cold, and we were the only ones.

Frozen Night Escape And Aftermath

SPEAKER_06 14:15

It was, yeah, we were the only ones on the water, crazy enough to be out there. But to give people an idea of how unseasonably cold it was the whole time, um, with the wind chill, it was like minus 30. And the water cooled down to um it was below freezing. It was like 30, well, 32 degrees Fahrenheit is is is freezing. It was like 30 degrees for two days, and the only reason it hadn't froze up was because the wind was so strong that it kept the water moving and it couldn't freeze.

SPEAKER_04 14:52

Yeah, I remember that we heard the water crystallize like while while we were driving the boat, and I think to myself, what's gonna happen? I don't know if we crash into some, I don't know, like some ice burn.

SPEAKER_06 15:07

Well, I that was the last night. Um, that was the uh the 30th of November. Uh and uh I left that night. You guys dropped me off at uh we come in at uh Wajok, which is the the um um uh the lodge right across from from Shaudier. And I remember you guys took me wow, when we come around the corner at um coming towards Shaudier, that's when we heard the the water crystallizing and freezing. And the plates of water of of ice on top of the water, the boat was kind of cutting through because that wind dropped. Like, I mean, it was flat. The water just went from from it went from windy to the water was flat as piss on a plate. And uh the the it started free and it froze fairly quickly, um, to the point where in about I don't know, maybe 300 yards um our baits were in the water to they come up out of the ice and were on the we had to pull them in. Yeah, wouldn't go into the water, so there was that skim of ice, and um I'll never forget watching it off the side of the boat because it was at night, like it was dark. I don't know how like it in November, uh December, it gets dark real early. And uh watching those plates of ice forming with uh and uh with the uh navigation lights on the front, it was throwing a little bit of light there. And then uh you guys uh took me over to my truck because I had to get home, and uh you guys stayed the night. Yeah. One last night. And then what happened?

SPEAKER_04 16:49

I to be honest, I don't remember what happened exactly. I remember we we did eat good food. There was good food. Yeah, a few beers with them.

SPEAKER_06 16:58

And then that water in the morning.

SPEAKER_04 17:01

Ah, it was uh it was frozen. The boat was the boat was solid frozen, yeah, and we needed to break the ice around the boat so we can get out. Yeah, yeah, yeah. And I I kept thinking to myself, whether it's like something that they do on a regular basis, or are they as surprised as me? They were definitely as surprised as you. They looked cool, they they look like they have it under control. I was probably, you know, just looking out all frenetically.

SPEAKER_06 17:33

Oh, yeah, for sure.

SPEAKER_04 17:35

I absolutely we're out on an island, you know, in the middle of nowhere, and and I kept thinking, what if something happens, you know, how do we call backup?

SPEAKER_03 17:43

You know, how do we how are we gonna get out of there?

SPEAKER_06 17:48

So yeah, yeah, it was it was well that ice, Matt and uh Kyle told me it froze two inches solid overnight. Yeah, and they and and Kyle had a bigger boat, it was a 20-footer, and he said that he had to drive the boat, the bow up onto the ice, and you guys were jumping on the bow to break it through.

SPEAKER_04 18:10

Yes, yes, yeah.

SPEAKER_06 18:12

Oh, yeah, that's a crazy, that was a crazy trip.

SPEAKER_04 18:15

I was wondering if the ice is gonna damage the boat.

SPEAKER_06 18:19

Well, that's a great question. Um it uh it doesn't usually just because you know it's uh you're you're getting up on top of it, but it very well could. It very well could, you know, but it didn't that day.

SPEAKER_04 18:33

So thankfully.

SPEAKER_06 18:34

Thankfully, I think it dented the bottom though. Kyle, Kyle did say that it uh it left marks.

unknown 18:41

Yeah.

SPEAKER_06 18:42

Yeah. But that's not normal. That though those that whole that whole situation was not normal, you know, from the the the the the deep freeze temperatures to the wind and then everything dying in in um the snap of a finger and that water freezing so quickly. Like it was crazy.

SPEAKER_04 19:06

For sure. But I'll tell you what, this is the best memories. This is the best experience. Like you I remember it as something so special.

SPEAKER_02 19:14

Yeah.

SPEAKER_04 19:15

When I tell people about it, especially here, when we don't get so much uh we do get a little bit of snow and ice, but only on the top mountains, you know, and it's it's not something that people here are uh accustomed to.

unknown 19:28

Yeah.

SPEAKER_04 19:29

Tell them that they they just lose their minds. Everybody just yeah.

Finding Community At The Lodge

SPEAKER_06 19:35

That's awesome. That's awesome. Yeah, and then uh, like I mean, there was quite a few years where you spent a lot of time with us, like three, the three two two years for sure. And then your one trip was uh was cut a little bit short because you hooked up with my buddy Jason Lilly.

SPEAKER_04 19:51

Yeah, that that was the the first time I was there. Oh, was it the first time? Yeah, it was the first time. So you remember that my friend that told me that things will fall into place? Yeah, so that's exactly it, because when I left the lodge, I um I would have been there working on the roofs and exactly. Jay was in the lodge, and when he left, he left before me. And when when he left, he gave me his number and he told me when you're finished when you're finished in the lodge, and when you finish your trip or whatever, call me. You can come stay with me for a few days, you know, help me around, be with me for a bit. Yeah, and uh I remember when I left the lodge, I called him and he invited me over, and it I had a blast with uh Lily also. Great guy. Yeah, we had a lot of fun. I helped him uh a little bit, you know, in his shop. Yeah, uh in his workshop for a bit. And um he actually introduced me to the UFC. I didn't know about the UFC. Oh, really? But yeah, I he had DVDs in his place of the UFC. I I I remember it, so I remember so many details. It was UFC 117, and I think it was Anderson Silva versus somebody. I don't know, so that's like the UFC, and I still follow it. Yeah, that's good.

SPEAKER_06 21:16

That's great. So now listen, um, you said that uh you you first come when you got out of the army. Yeah. So in Israel, you've got a mandatory three years. What was that like?

SPEAKER_04 21:30

Oh, the army was uh how do I describe it? It was it was one of the uh most um character-shaping experiences of my life. That's that's how I can uh that way. It's uh it was hard, you know. It was um eventually when you look back, you you're a kid when you're going to the army, you're 18 years old, you know, you don't know anything about anything. It's just yeah you go in there and um I don't know, that's i i i it's a part of life here. You know, all of my friends did it, my brother did my father did it, you know, my grandfather before him. So it's all it's the same thing, it's the same uh route we all take.

SPEAKER_09 22:14

Yeah.

SPEAKER_04 22:15

Um but it's only three years. The the the reserves after it, that's also a big part of your life. When there is no war or anything, it's just you know, you come for a few weeks once a year, and uh you meet the guys, you know, and you you have a laugh and uh you know you do your thing.

SPEAKER_06 22:34

Yeah.

SPEAKER_04 22:35

But October 7th, completely um, you know, uh how do I even say it? Like it was Life changing. Exactly. Life-changing is the word, yeah.

SPEAKER_06 22:47

And October 7th of uh of 2025?

SPEAKER_04 22:51

Uh 20 uh 23.

SPEAKER_06 22:53

Oh, 2023.

SPEAKER_04 22:54

Yeah, yeah, it was 2023.

SPEAKER_06 22:57

And uh life has been, you know, when it was pretty I So tell me what tell uh just uh so all of the uh all of the uh Diaries family understand, in 2023, what what happened?

Life In The Israeli Reserves

SPEAKER_04 23:10

Um I don't know. Is it okay if we not go into the politics? Because I don't know if people will like it or not, or you know, it's yeah.

SPEAKER_06 23:20

If you don't want to go into the politics, that's fine, but I don't mind.

SPEAKER_04 23:24

I mean, I I would love to tell you how it affected me and my family, you know, and friends and everything, but I don't know if it will come. I know that it's a very taboo, I know, like it's a very unpopular uh subject around the world. And uh I don't know.

SPEAKER_06 23:40

Yeah, I don't know. I don't want you to get in any uh I don't want it to affect you in a negative way at all.

SPEAKER_04 23:45

No, no, no, it won't affect me at all. I just my life were completely, you know. I had um I was married in 2021.

SPEAKER_09 23:54

Yeah.

SPEAKER_04 23:55

And uh and we started having a bit of trouble, you know, even before the war. And then the war started, and I went away for uh four and a half months.

unknown 24:06

Yeah.

SPEAKER_04 24:06

For reserves for the first uh tour.

SPEAKER_06 24:10

And then in those four and a half months, are you on the front line or like what are you doing? I remember I remember being very concerned about you and texting you or emailing you everyone.

SPEAKER_04 24:19

Yeah, yeah, yeah. We did email each other. The first uh few days were um just chaos, you know, because the attack was in the in the south. South south of Israel, but we didn't know what will happen up north. Uh so uh my unit went straight up north because we didn't know if anything will happen over there. Uh it was very tense but quiet. And then we went down uh to the south of Israel. Uh it wasn't the first line, but uh we did have some uh activity, let's just call it that way. Yeah, but my um during these two years, it's already almost three years, my um so I um I'm not sure how to say it, Steve. It's um because it's also personal, you know. So I have the reserves, and then my son, it was about a year and uh I don't know, several months when I needed to go to reserves.

SPEAKER_06 25:19

Yeah, and then you have no choice, you're going.

SPEAKER_04 25:22

Yeah, you know, there was uh it was a um a feeling of like you know, full-on war, like from all fronts, you know, like everything is uh closing in on you. And uh I had to leave uh my ex-wife and uh my boy. And uh, you know, you don't you don't even think because you we knew that we had to go. I knew that I had to leave everything and go do what I gotta do to protect my family, and um but in these two years, um we we decided to break up. When I got back home after the first uh the first tour, she decided that she wants to break up. So that's that, and then I I started a brand new job on October 8th, 2023. But I didn't even go to the new job because I went straight to reserves. So I didn't even step in the office. I just called my manager and told her, listen, this was all chaos. I can't come. So yeah, so that's that, and then when I come back.

SPEAKER_06 26:21

Now, when that happens, was that job waiting for you when you got back?

SPEAKER_04 26:25

Yeah, according to the law, they must.

SPEAKER_06 26:27

Yeah.

SPEAKER_04 26:28

So they paid me my salary while I was away. Yeah, but they get it, yeah, but they get it back from the government, so it's not better on them. But so so that's that. And uh then uh I got back. Uh I lost my job because I well, I I wasn't actually there, so I couldn't keep up with anything, you know. I didn't even start, so I lost my job.

SPEAKER_06 26:51

Yeah.

SPEAKER_04 26:52

That's if if this can stay between us, you know, if you can edit it out.

SPEAKER_06 26:55

So there's no editing it out. Whatever you uh whatever you say is live. Oh yeah, we're live. Well, no, it's not live, but uh, there's not much there's not much editing that goes on.

SPEAKER_04 27:06

Oh, okay. So we'll just leave it.

SPEAKER_06 27:10

Yeah.

SPEAKER_04 27:10

Anyway, it's been uh several uh several uh tough years.

SPEAKER_06 27:15

Yeah, yeah, no doubt. So but what's it like to go on to that uh to to to be immersed in wartime and uh not be and have people shooting at you?

October 7 And Personal Upheaval

SPEAKER_04 27:32

I I wasn't I wasn't shot at like you know what person to person because that's not what I do. I do uh artillery. But we did so tell us what you do. So we did have um we did have drones attack on us, and we did have uh, you know, like um bombs all around us wherever we were. If you wonder what it's like, you know, it's just you hear a siren and then you run as fast as you can and you go into a safe place and you just wait until it's over. It's scary, for sure, it's scary, yeah. When you hear the explosion, you don't know if it is an interceptor missile that was able to take down the missiles that was fired on you. Yeah, yeah. Something that landed inside the base or whatever. It's uh it's not pleasant. Like we were I can tell you that I was most of the time on uniform and with protective gear and uh with shoes on. And um you're you're fast, you know, it's very it's very intelligent. But um after all, uh other units and other people have it ways way worse than I do, so I can't even complain about it.

SPEAKER_06 28:48

Yeah, yeah. I guess that's the way that you look at it. Um, you know, dad always uh would say, Hey, listen, Steve, you gotta and and I'd always be down, eh? Uh you know, there's something going on or whatever, and he'd come up, he'd say, Listen, Steve, you gotta appreciate days like today, because tomorrow could be worse.

SPEAKER_03 29:09

You know, and that's you said it on another episode in the yeah, yeah, that's right.

SPEAKER_06 29:15

That's right. Uh that's one of those things that I always think back to, you know, when you think you've got it bad, like I mean, tomorrow could be a lot worse. Yeah. Or other people are are fighting uh a lot bigger battles, you know what I mean? Although your battle was pretty big.

SPEAKER_04 29:32

It was big, so it was death and the divorce together, and then they lost hijab. It was all combined, it was a couple of uh rough years. Yeah, uh, but now you know it's uh we we we're stable and it's all good. I uh I actually I'm in between jobs right now.

SPEAKER_06 29:49

Yeah.

SPEAKER_04 29:50

And I was waiting to talk to you to share with you the feel the the the thought that I had of coming to visit again.

SPEAKER_06 29:59

I think that's a wonderful thought.

SPEAKER_04 30:02

I have no idea how to do it. I don't know. Um it's a shared custody of my son, so by uh that won't be a problem. I mean, she she will be she'll be okay with me for uh for going out for a few days, for uh flying for a few days. But I'm not sure how we're gonna discuss this. I'll talk to you and we'll see, but it will be a dream of mine right now to visit you in person in Canada and uh maybe fish together and they have a that will be you know well let's make it happen.

SPEAKER_06 30:35

Let's make that happen for sure.

SPEAKER_04 30:37

This will make me way more than happy.

SPEAKER_06 30:40

This will make me you gotta take advantage of what life gives you, and if you've got a little bit of time right now, hey, yeah, take advantage of that.

SPEAKER_04 30:49

Yeah, so the the the bad news is just uh that I just uh renewed my passport yesterday, and it's gonna take me six weeks to get the new one.

SPEAKER_06 30:59

So well, that's good because it's uh it's awful cold here. We're we've we've had a a good old-fashioned winter, and there's about well, a solid three and a half, four feet of snow on my backyard.

SPEAKER_04 31:11

Oh wow.

SPEAKER_06 31:13

Yeah, yeah. So we're I'm not getting up to the French until end of April.

SPEAKER_03 31:18

Oh, okay.

SPEAKER_06 31:20

Yeah. So no, we've got a little bit of time. But speaking of weather, I remember you uh you told me a story about um what it was like to be, and this is something that I've never experienced or even thought of, but what it was like to be in a sandstorm.

SPEAKER_04 31:38

Oh man.

SPEAKER_06 31:39

Tell us a little bit about when you're you you were in the reserves or or then I can tell you.

SPEAKER_04 31:45

I there was an episode that you said that you were a sweater. Yeah. So if you're a sweater, I'm one as well. I cannot and it's so funny because I live two-thirds of Israel is sand, it's desert. And it's funny because I live in the third that is not, and I hate the desert, I hate the heat. That's what attracted me to Canada at first place. Yeah, I wanted somewhere with cooler weather because I hate it. I hate the touch of the sand or dust on my person when you're sweating, you know, when you sweat, it's it's awful, it's the worst. And uh so being you know in the army where you can't probably shower every day, yeah, you gotta sleep in it in the sand or whatever in the in uh in a sleeping bag, straight on the ground.

SPEAKER_09 32:43

Really?

SPEAKER_04 32:43

You know, you have no idea, you have nowhere to go, you have no clothes, you know, it's it's the worst for me. And you gotta you gotta wear the protective gear, and you gotta wear the helmet on, you know, and it's and you just sweat. And there's a thing in the in boot camp, and you know, in the like not in the reserves, in the regular army, you gotta have your sleeves down, all the way down. And you know, yeah, and you just sweat. I remember in boot camp, that that was the worst part when I felt the worst hit. It was, you know, you just stand information for hours at a time. You never just stand. You stand information and you can't move. That's where they break you and they rebuild you. So you move and like, I don't know, let's say you have an itch or something, you know, scratch your nose and they say, Catosh. Oh no. Move that way, you know, they put you like uh in a different formation, they gather a few guys, and then they start abusing you. And it's not actually abusing, we call it abusing. You know, they say, Okay, you gotta crawl all the way to bed to that tree and you come back. And then you gotta run all the way to that tree, and then you gotta come back. You know, just like physical, um, you know, like uh Yeah, physical workout. Exactly, like roughing you out.

SPEAKER_06 34:01

Yeah.

Coping With Wartime Stress

SPEAKER_04 34:01

So that's the worst, you know, and I was sweating and I was hot and I get dehydrated, Steve, regularly. Like even now in in office conditions, if I don't drink like three liters a day, I wake up with a headache.

SPEAKER_06 34:18

Yeah.

SPEAKER_04 34:19

Yeah.

SPEAKER_06 34:20

So I'm like you. I drink a ton of water and sweat profusely. I uh the heat is not great. Like I'm I'm exactly like you. I'd be standing in formation, and the sweat would be rolling off my eyebrows into my eyes and burning my eyes out.

SPEAKER_04 34:36

Yeah, that's the stuff. It happened. I'll share with you a picture later on of me.

SPEAKER_06 34:40

I'll share with you a funny picture of me with full gear, you know, just just sweating, just smiling and sweating, you know, like so so what when you get when you see one of these sandstorms coming, um can you breathe?

SPEAKER_04 35:01

Uh it depends how bad it is. I remember one bad.

SPEAKER_06 35:05

Tell us a little bit about a bad like a bad experience you had in one of those.

SPEAKER_04 35:09

I can't fully I don't know if I've been through a fully bad one. Like I remember that was one time that we couldn't leave the the um like the barracks, like the rooms.

SPEAKER_06 35:21

Yeah.

SPEAKER_04 35:22

Because it was uh impossible to breathe outside. Because it's wind, you know, and sand.

SPEAKER_06 35:28

Yeah.

SPEAKER_04 35:28

And um but I remember one time that I just went to sleep. We were having like uh we were out in the field, and I was going to sleep, and I was sleeping in my sleeping bag, and I just woke up fully covered, you know, fully, fully covered with with sand, you know, and it goes everywhere. It goes into your pants, into your shoes, you know, whatever. It's awful, it's just awful. And then you start sweating, and then it combines into like this I don't, it's just horrible.

SPEAKER_06 35:59

No doubt. That's uh that's crazy.

SPEAKER_04 36:02

That's not gonna happen when there's sand and when there's uh sorry, snow.

SPEAKER_06 36:06

No, no, we have snowstorms, but the good thing about the snowstorm is the snow melts, yeah. So you know, that's uh all we gotta worry about is visibility.

SPEAKER_04 36:16

Yes, that's what attracted me to Canada. I said there's no dust, like uh like like that. There is dust, but not like that, and there's no sand, you know. And in the lodge, I remember the air was so clear, and there was like this I don't know, specific smell in the lodge, you know, like something in the air. You know, I just fell in love with.

SPEAKER_06 36:35

So that's the that's the bush, that's the trees, that's the fresh air, the smell by the water. That's uh that's yeah, that's that's how that's that's what gets into your blood, uh the French river and that smell and that place and that that uh it's it's just such a special, special place, you know. I um I ended up um I've got the place right across from the lodge, so I still have um a place. Yeah, where would was Alec Buscemi working with us uh when you were there? Um He was the guy that came across from the island. It's it's that island, right across from the lodge. If you stand on the main dock and you look just to the left. Ah, okay. I remember that. You know when the the you know the cut across the across where it's narrow by the shoreline?

SPEAKER_03 37:24

Yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_06 37:25

That that island right there. So it's as you're going back to Dokkee's.

SPEAKER_04 37:29

Oh, yeah. So it's the island before Dead Man's Island? Yes. Okay, okay, okay. Yeah. I remember it. If you look on a map, I can remember everything.

SPEAKER_06 37:40

Yeah.

SPEAKER_04 37:40

Remember how the the cottages look and how the I remember everything.

SPEAKER_06 37:45

Well, yeah, because you had to. You didn't have a GPS to figure out how to get home in the boat. You needed to remember landmarks.

SPEAKER_04 37:53

No, I just I fell in love with everything I saw over there. Everything, you know. I I remember how the the cut the cabins looked like and how the the staff quarters looked like and the kitchen and everything.

SPEAKER_06 38:07

Yeah. Yeah, no, it was a wonderful spot.

SPEAKER_04 38:11

Yeah. The first time I was there, it was uh Daryl in the kitchen and Kyla. Yeah, and Sarah, and the second time it was uh uh Micah and Phil.

SPEAKER_06 38:23

Yeah, yeah. That was a great though that those the the those are those were great kitchens. Yeah. Uh Daryl and Kyla, they uh they did a very good job in that first year for me, and then um and then Micah and Phil, they were legendary.

Why Israel Still Feels Like Home

SPEAKER_04 38:39

They're legendary is the word for them, yeah. They were and the thing is with everybody, they were super nice to me. Super nice, super friendly. You know, they were all asking like general questions, you know, and uh I don't know. Yeah, I think they liked me, you know, they immediately like uh got along with me. Yeah, yeah. I remember I had I had long conversations with conversations with Micah about all kinds of stuff, and you know, it took me to have boat beers and then road beers. Wow, yeah. I remember we were driving on the long way to the keys roads on the Doki's Road. Yeah, and you know, we we went to the beer store, we got some beers for everybody, and then we started driving back, and he says, Do you want a beer? And like, what do you mean you want a beer? We're driving. He says, Road beer.

SPEAKER_06 39:31

Yeah, yeah. Yeah, no, that's Micah.

SPEAKER_04 39:35

Yeah, that's super illegal here, but I I imagine the. Yeah, I was I was, you know, I was wondering if I should, but then he said there's nobody here, it's okay.

SPEAKER_06 39:48

We just well, that old Dokey's road, especially the way Micah drives at like you know, 30 kilometers an hour. Yeah, yeah. No, that's uh that's uh that's great back in the day.

SPEAKER_03 40:00

Yeah, very fun memories, very, very fun.

SPEAKER_06 40:03

Yeah, yeah, no, that's uh it uh it was it was a really, really great time in in my life, and and uh you know, meeting you and and how how serendipitous that whole situation was was amazing, you know. I remember uh Aunt Beth and Uncle Barry were there when you were when you were there with us.

SPEAKER_04 40:26

Yes, yeah, Chuck and Heather. I remember them presents, of course.

SPEAKER_06 40:30

Yeah. Yeah, we we really had a a lot of fun. And and back in those days, like closing and and we did actually we did a wedding um that first year for some people from um uh Hardy Bay. Um and uh Sarah made the cake, and I'll never forget, I think I told this story, but um Grammy, my grandma, you remember uh uh uh grandma Ruth, she was up, mom mom's mom, and uh she was doing the dishes, and Sarah was uh an open lesbian, right? And um Graham came up to me uh after the wedding and she said, Boy, I like that Sarah. And I said, Oh yeah, why? She said, uh Grammy said, Sarah told me I have a nice ass. Oh yeah, they were yeah, they were uh they were a great crew. I'll tell you what.

SPEAKER_04 41:30

Very fun, like very outgoing, very oh yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_06 41:33

And she was a workhorse, that's Sarah. I'll tell you what. I've never seen anybody to this day carry plates like that girl. Oh yeah, she'd carry out five plates at a time. Yeah, that's it. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Three stacked on one arm, two stacked on the other. Dance around in there and not drop a thing. Me go out, I have to carry one only. Yeah, uh just one, two hands on one plate. Otherwise, I'm risking lose.

SPEAKER_10 42:07

Back in 2016, Frank and I had a vision to amass the single largest database of muskie angling education material anywhere in the world.

SPEAKER_11 42:16

Our dream was to harness the knowledge of this amazing community and share it with passionate anglers just like you.

SPEAKER_10 42:22

Thus, the Ugly Pike Podcast was born and quickly grew to become one of the top fishing podcasts in North America.

SPEAKER_11 42:29

Step into the world of angling adventures and embrace the thrill of the catch with the Ugly Pike Podcast. Join us on our quest to understand what makes us different as anglers and to uncover what it takes to go after the infamous Fish of 10,000 casts.

SPEAKER_10 42:43

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SPEAKER_11 43:01

Tight lines, everyone.

SPEAKER_10 43:03

Find UglyPike now on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or wherever else you get your podcasts.

Trading Sandstorms For Snow

SPEAKER_05 43:13

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, Ang and I will be right here in your ears, bringing you a brand new episode of Outdoor Journal Radio. Hmm. Now, what are we going to talk about for two hours every week? Well, you know there's gonna be a lot of fishing.

SPEAKER_02 43:34

I knew exactly where those fish were going to be and how to catch them, and they were easy to catch.

SPEAKER_05 43:39

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.

SPEAKER_00 43:46

All the other guys would go golfing. Me and Garchomp Turks, and all the Russians would go fishing.

SPEAKER_12 43:52

The scientists. But now that we're reforesting and it's the perfect transmission environment for line.

SPEAKER_11 44:00

If any game isn't cooked properly, marinated or eaten, you will taste it.

SPEAKER_05 44:05

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.

SPEAKER_06 44:20

So now what you're you're you're you're talking about possibly coming and visiting. Now you're in accounting. Is that what uh is that what you were you you went to school for? Insurance. Oh, insurance. That's right.

SPEAKER_04 44:37

Insurance underwriter. Yeah.

SPEAKER_06 44:39

How do you and do you enjoy that?

SPEAKER_04 44:42

Uh I do. I love the I tried to do a bit of broking, which I found out that is not for my taste. It's not my cup of tea. Not broken and not uh sorry, re-insurance broking was not also uh my cup of tea, but uh underwriting for sure is something that I uh I like and appreciate. My uh my father is an uh insurance broker. Oh yeah. So my grandfather was an insurance broker. My father was really with him, yes. My brother, which is uh Air and F younger than me, worked with my father. Yeah, and I I went on my own uh own way and uh worked as an insurance underwriter for the big companies here in Israel.

SPEAKER_06 45:26

That's awesome.

SPEAKER_04 45:27

Yeah, yeah. So that's what I do.

SPEAKER_06 45:29

Generations.

SPEAKER_04 45:30

Yeah, yeah, it's something in our blood, I guess.

SPEAKER_06 45:33

Yeah, yeah, yeah. Yeah, I you know, I I gotta tell you, uh, I keep coming back and thinking about um the fact that um that um uh you're in the reserves and how that just changes your life in uh in a split second. It must be it, it's gotta be hard mentally uh to to to be in the reserves and know that at any moment at any moment you're gonna get a phone call and you're gonna have to drop everything.

SPEAKER_04 46:04

It is because there's there's so much involved in it, you know, there's politics which I absolutely hate.

SPEAKER_06 46:12

And I yeah, you're not religious at all either. I don't I remember you telling me.

SPEAKER_04 46:29

You know, you're torn between like like something that you were um I don't know, like something when you know you gotta defend your country and you gotta defend, but not just the country, because it eventually my friends and my family and my son died.

SPEAKER_07 46:47

Yeah.

SPEAKER_06 46:47

When October 7th happened, the first thing I did I and October 7th, that was when uh in 2023.

Memories Of Staff, Guests, And Chaos

SPEAKER_04 46:56

Yes. So then when that happened, I remember I I slept with the window open because I like the the cold breeze breeze.

SPEAKER_06 47:03

Yeah.

SPEAKER_04 47:04

And um I heard, you know, like from far away, like boom, boom, and I just I wake up instantly, you know, and I said, I know that noise, something is not wrong, you know, that's something is wrong, so something's not okay. And immediately you go on Telegram, which is the worst thing because it's the worst kind of news, and you see everything. Yeah. And I saw what's going on. And I live, it's so funny because Israel is such a small country. So when you look at it, in the center of it, the width of it is like, I don't know how much in kilometers, I never checked it, but I guess it's less than 40, perhaps. And I live on the east side, like right on the border. Right on the border. There's a hill behind my house, behind my apartment, and over the hill is like a border. So I went straight up on the roof to see what's going on, you know, if there's any invasion from this house from this uh uh direction, you know, to see what's going on. And I knew that I was gonna get called. I knew several hours later I got called, and you know, they told me to prepare your bags and everything and your gear, and uh we we we may be called. And uh, you know, it's it's a it's a hard thing you gotta deal with at the moment because my wife, my ex-wife, uh she was uh she was super stressed out, you know. She was always shivering, you know, and uh, you know, crying and don't leave us, don't leave us. And you know, my boy, which was a baby, was crying anyway, you know. But it's it's a baby, it's always crying, you know, and it adds to more that tension and pressure. And uh actually, you know, uh a friend of mine called me for my team and he says, Hey man, uh you you want to go together? And I told him, Yeah. He picked me up and then we we went, you know. Yeah it's uh like it's a feeling of uncertainty, you know. You don't know what's gonna happen and uh what to expect, but uh you just do it.

SPEAKER_06 48:58

You just do it yeah, you do it because you have to.

SPEAKER_04 49:02

But you know, I wish I wish it was the other way, but yeah, sometimes you gotta do what you gotta do.

SPEAKER_06 49:08

Yeah, that um and it's uh it's it's tough. Like I can't even imagine. Um here in this country, we've been blessed uh for for generations to not have to do any of that, right? Yeah, you know, and and um uh the uncertainty, and and then once you're there, you you don't know, you don't know when the next attack is coming, and if you're going to be in the middle of it, and if you're gonna make it home. And like I mean, I'm sure that you uh that um um in your lifetime you've had a you've had friends that didn't make it home. And that's gotta be tough.

SPEAKER_04 49:50

Yeah, so it's uh you know, I I gotta paint you a a a pretty a nicer picture about this place because it's not that bad. You know, it's yeah, wonderful and great life and great family and great great friends. Um but you know it's funny because the the both the quality of living here and the um how do I say like the quality and the like the level of living, like it's it's it's it's high, it's very high, you know. Life is good here, and people live up to a very long age here.

SPEAKER_06 50:23

So that's great.

SPEAKER_04 50:24

So they say that something about the stress keeps you young or something. I don't know. But it's definitely you you you can feel it.

SPEAKER_06 50:33

Like yeah, always like that, it comes in waves, you know, like that's that's a great that's a that that is a great angle. Yeah. Tell tell tell me a little bit about why Israel is great. Uh your quality of living is is high, and and this doesn't always happen.

SPEAKER_04 50:51

Yeah, for sure. It's uh uh it depends, you know, on the places in Israel, because I live in central Israel, you know, close to Tel Aviv, like super liberal, super, you know, advanced, and um you know, there's a lot of good, you know. When I come to think about it, it's uh I mean I'm trying to to to figure out like how to say it, where to start, but it's uh you know, it's just uh a lot of a lot of nice things to do. Uh the people are very nice, um uh very warm. You say it's like the Middle Eastern, you know, like uh mentality and hospitality and uh Mediterranean, sorry, not Middle Eastern, the Mediterranean. And um, you know, just a lot of great things to do, great food, great restaurants, great, you know.

SPEAKER_06 51:46

So listen, if we were gonna turn the tide and I'm coming to visit you in Israel, what would we do?

SPEAKER_04 51:55

Oh, okay. So, first off, let's let's do it play by play. You land, I obviously come and pick you up, and then we're gonna go. So the the airport, the uh Ben Gurion Airport is in the center of Israel. We're gonna go. Ah, let me think straight to Tel Aviv. I'll show you. You know what? I'll take you to Jerusalem first because it's close. We'll see a little bit of the old city, you know, and all the myths of cultural.

SPEAKER_06 52:23

Yeah.

SPEAKER_04 52:23

And uh we'll see some uh sightseeing, do some sightseeing.

SPEAKER_06 52:27

Yeah.

SPEAKER_04 52:28

And then we're gonna go eat Shawarma, which is some good food, but that we're gonna do up north. We're gonna drive an hour and a half up north. We're gonna do some more sightseeing, gonna get some good food. Nice. Yeah, and then we're gonna go get a cigar and a nice bottle of whiskey. Nice! Yeah, and then we're gonna sit and enjoy that. Some good conversation, and then we're gonna drive around. I'll show you around. I'll introduce you to you, to my family, of course. And uh, but there's a lot when it comes to um outdoor activities. We have a lot. I'll share with you a few pictures uh later that I actually I went on uh like a small uh small hike, uh nice hike yesterday of about eight kilometers behind my house. So there's a nice stream, and everything is green now in this time of year. Yeah, you know, every everything is pretty, you know, there's uh a lot to see. And um what was it? How much rain do you get? So I'm not sure exactly in millimeters, but but since let's say between November and maybe the end of March, I think we we we don't get a lot because you know the the entire climate climate change, we we feel it we we feel it very much around here. We don't get as many rainy days, but when it rains, it's poor it's pouring rain, you know, and it causes a lot of damages. Um but it doesn't have to rain, so it will be uh green and nice.

SPEAKER_03 54:01

Yeah.

Future Visits, Seasons, And Sauna

SPEAKER_04 54:02

Yeah, so so that's that. And we can go to the sea, see the the Mediterranean Sea, which is nice. Um but about so so we have a lot of hiking trails, you know, and there's a lot of ATV, you know, and the off-hoading and stuff like that. But when it comes to fishing, that's why I wanted to go to Canada, because it's not as developed, and it's not there's actually there's not so many bodies of water as in Israel.

SPEAKER_06 54:27

Is there any is there much of any fishing in Israel at all?

SPEAKER_04 54:30

Um there is sea fishing.

SPEAKER_06 54:32

Uh sea fishing, yeah.

SPEAKER_04 54:34

Yeah, but it's a different kind of fishing. And uh fishing from the shore in the sea sounds like I don't know, it's you can catch, I think, big fish, but it's not as good as deep fishing, deep sea fishing, which is completely different, and you need a boat. And when it comes to rivers, we have several small rivers, but no big fish.

SPEAKER_06 54:54

Yeah.

SPEAKER_04 54:55

So it's not like crawling for a ma ski or uh you know, fishing for a pike, yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_06 55:02

Yeah. Is there any hunting in Israel? Like do you uh is there wild game there or not really?

SPEAKER_04 55:08

We there there is a way. I mean, uh some people have licenses licenses to hunt, but it's uh very few people, and it's like old, very old uh permits that they can renew. But I don't know if there are any uh if they're giving away new permits. And uh wildlife, we don't have any big game. Yeah, so we have wolves and we have boars and stuff like that, but not with no deer, no moose, no uh no bears, stuff like that.

SPEAKER_06 55:39

Yeah.

SPEAKER_04 55:40

Uh so hunting is not a big thing here, no.

SPEAKER_06 55:43

Yeah, yeah, yeah. So um but everything else sounds good.

SPEAKER_04 55:49

Now if you come, if you come, Steven, this will be my other dream. My first dream will come to you. Second one, if you come to me, I will treat you, I will tell you many.

SPEAKER_06 56:01

I'm coming. Uh never mind. I'm gonna come.

SPEAKER_04 56:07

You saw the burger from the picture. Oh, yeah. So we're gonna eat well.

SPEAKER_06 56:12

That's awesome. Well, you know what, Omer? Um, I'm I'm I'm in. Uh I'm coming to uh to Israel. And you know what? Um it's great that um that you're you're safe now and um things are things are a little on the quiet side, obviously you're not in the reserves at the moment.

SPEAKER_03 56:33

Yeah.

SPEAKER_06 56:34

Um and um what are what are your what's your outlook here uh um uh for the next little bit? You're gonna find uh you're gonna spend some some time and uh and take a little uh a little Omer time.

SPEAKER_04 56:48

Uh yeah, that that's what I'm doing right now. Uh you know, take care of myself for a bit.

SPEAKER_06 56:54

Yeah.

SPEAKER_04 56:54

And uh I am uh considering, I am seriously considering the possibility of coming to visit.

SPEAKER_06 57:00

Yeah.

SPEAKER_04 57:01

Yeah. I still don't know how it will be and for how long. You know, it's it's gonna be if if I will manage, it's gonna be a quick trip, a very quick trip. But you know, uh, it's something that you talked about in your podcast that you needed to buy the lodge for yourself and you wanted, you felt like you needed to do it. Yeah. So now I feel like I gotta do something for myself, you know, even just to just to fuel up, you know, just to get some uh you know, some fresh experiences. Yeah.

SPEAKER_06 57:31

Well, I um you know that um uh you've got a place here. Um and uh uh I would uh I would uh love to have you over.

SPEAKER_04 57:43

Yeah, thanks for very much.

SPEAKER_06 57:46

Yeah. And what what's the date? It's uh Feb uh end of February now, so that's six weeks is March, middle of April. Yeah, you know what? That'll be uh that'll be about the well Muskie doesn't open until June, but um uh Bass, Walleye, and Northerns open uh the third Saturday in May.

SPEAKER_03 58:05

Oh yeah.

SPEAKER_06 58:06

So but I we get up to the cottage earlier than that to open it up. We can't fish, but we uh but we hang out up there and it's uh we've got uh sauna on the dock and uh the the ice in and ice out uh uh times of year are probably some of my favorite times of year there. Well yeah you know oh yeah, when the the spring is um the spring is is coming and the ice goes out and and it's the first time that you can get over to the to the island and to the lot or to the cottage. Just that smell in the air. Yes, yeah, spring smell. It's a very earthy and um um wonderful smell.

SPEAKER_04 58:50

That's exactly what I need. Yeah, that's exactly what I need right now.

SPEAKER_06 58:53

Yeah, yeah, yeah. You get over there and then we get the cottage opened up and every it's cool and and the water is really cold. But um uh I've got a little sauna. Uh it's a five-foot sauna, not a six-footer, and uh it's got the same size of firebox in it, a barrel sauna. And um, I'm telling you, buddy, this thing is hot. It is, it is hot. Um, I know you don't like the heat you've said, but sauna is different, especially when you're on the dock, right? You get into that sauna and you get a sweat going, and um, and uh it's hot, it's so hot it's barely tolerable. And then um, once you spend your two, three, four minutes in there, you come out and you jump right off the end of the dock into like 35 degree um water, you know, which would be like four or five degree water um Celsius.

SPEAKER_04 59:54

They say it's very healthy.

SPEAKER_06 59:56

I believe it is, yeah. Yeah. Oh yeah, it's very healthy. But I'll tell you what, um, I always uh in in those shoulder seasons, one of the the rule that I have is uh if uh if we're going in the water, you got to throw your life jacket on, right? So you've got like wow, you go in, you come out hot, hot, hot like that, and you jump into uh you know three, four degree water, man, you um you uh it takes your breath away.

SPEAKER_04 1:00:22

Yeah, yeah.

Photography, Gear, And Patience

SPEAKER_06 1:00:26

That's right. That's right. So, but um it is uh it's a wonderful, wonderful time of the year. And then in the fall, it's the same, right? We're we usually do a big fall musky trip and um and sauna and and cold water and and uh again, uh those shoulder seasons are wonderful. And then the summer's always good too, right? Yeah, but uh that uh it's uh it's a beautiful, beautiful place to live. Uh, but um I gotta see Israel. You've really piqued my interest.

SPEAKER_04 1:00:57

And you have pics. I started I actually started photography. I don't know if you remember that. I was taking a lot of pictures on my phone when I was there, and then I moved into I started uh doing my mountain biking until I failed in uh 2018 and tore three ligaments in my shoulder. Oh nice, yeah. But uh, and then I moved to um like a DSLR camera, you know, with the lenses and everything, and I started taking photography super serious. Yeah, there's a lot, so I'll send you a few pictures of this, like we'll show you the role.

SPEAKER_06 1:01:29

What now? Um, with the new iPhones, um do you need a DLSR? Can you get better photos? Like, what's the difference these days?

SPEAKER_04 1:01:42

Uh I wouldn't I don't know. I think that with uh with a good lens, the quality of the image will probably be better. Be better. Yeah, but it's also the sensor, not just the glass. But um I think that when you edit the picture, because I shoot raw and then I edit it with Lightroom or uh Photoshop. So I think you can stretch it more and and uh receive more details in the picture. Uh when you use a DSLR or a mirrorless, now it has a mirrorless camera, which is even better. But but iPhones are pretty good, you know, that because the the software is amazing, so uh it enhances the pictures, you know, perfectly.

SPEAKER_07 1:02:21

Yeah.

SPEAKER_04 1:02:22

Uh but there's something about going on a hike, you know, and waiting for the right moment with the sun and everything, and positioning the camera and using a tripod, you know, and that that whole ceremony. So that's the yeah, that's what I liked about it. That's kind of my therapy now.

SPEAKER_06 1:02:37

Good for you. Good for you. Well, photography is very well, you're gonna have to come uh come and go on uh uh a photo hunt.

SPEAKER_03 1:02:44

Yeah.

SPEAKER_06 1:02:45

We'll uh get you out in uh out in the uh in the bush on the French, and you can definitely maybe see a goose or something. Yeah, or even just like I mean, there is so much wildlife out there and and um um the uh the water and the scenery and all of that stuff. You know you were there. Um, but um I got a question as far as photography, and this um uh a good turn he this gentleman turned into a great friend through the lodge. Um and um um he used to take photos of the moon.

SPEAKER_04 1:03:22

Oh have you have you ever tried that? I do, but I only have a 20 uh to 200 millimeter lens, so it's not enough zoom. You gotta have bigger lenses, and I think that there are like multipliers or something that will make the zoom like uh multiply several times, and then you can get the real close-up and real details of the moon.

SPEAKER_06 1:03:42

Yeah.

SPEAKER_04 1:03:43

I have I I tried once, but it was I needed to cope the image too much, and then I lost pixels, and then uh it wasn't as clear.

SPEAKER_06 1:03:51

Yeah, yeah. Because he had some absolutely gorgeous shots, but yeah, yeah, it would take him it would take him hours to set up for them.

unknown 1:04:00

Yeah.

SPEAKER_06 1:04:00

You know, uh with the aperture and uh the um the sensitivity and the length that uh like for for well, I guess it's the aperture that you set so that um uh the it stays open longer and takes in more light.

SPEAKER_04 1:04:16

Yeah, yeah. So the the the amount of time, yeah. So I that's what I would usually do. I would uh I would shoot with a tripod on. So I go lower on the aperture, like F11, F16. And I won't mind if it takes more time because I like the the long exposure effect.

SPEAKER_06 1:04:33

The long exposure, yeah.

SPEAKER_04 1:04:35

But sometimes, you know, if you're shooting sports or wildlife, you gotta go. To capture the the moment uh exactly uh when it happens. So it's uh yeah, that's that's the fun of photography, you know. If you go manual, you can uh play with it and have fun with it.

SPEAKER_06 1:04:55

Yeah, no, that's uh that's great. I I did like I I did start to get into photography a little bit, but uh uh I was uh there was always something else that uh that caught my attention. And uh I did get a couple of good photos, but I didn't um I didn't get into the uh the whole Photoshop and and all of that. And it's a fairly um intricate system.

SPEAKER_04 1:05:19

Yes, the Photoshop is hard to learn, but the the light boom is much easier. Much easier.

Network Promos And Closing Thanks

SPEAKER_06 1:12:10

Yeah, well, that would be outstanding. That would be great. Yeah, and uh folks, thank you again for getting to this point. I really, really appreciate you listening, and uh thank you to our our uh producers, Anthony Mancini and Dean Taylor, and thank you to the Outdoor Journal Radio Podcast Network uh for making this all possible, but not without you. You guys are the ones that uh that keep me uh keep me motivated and keep me going. And um I just want to remind you to head on over to fishingcanada.com, you know the all that stuff. And we have another great sponsor jumping aboard to Rivers Lodge, and that information will be coming very shortly. Um and uh uh it's a place that um that you really should check out. Um uh I've seen it. It is um I don't like throwing the word elite around, but um this facility is is that um anyway, night night Nixon. I haven't said night night to you in a long time, buddy. Uh, so you have a good night's sleep, and thus brings us to the conclusion of another episode of Diaries of a Lodge Owner, Stories of the North.

SPEAKER_07 1:13:37

I'm a good old boy, never meaning no harm.

SPEAKER_08 1:13:44

I'll be the whole you ever saw. I've been reeling in the hog since the day I was born, bending my rug, stretching my line.

SPEAKER_07 1:13:57

Someday I might own a lodge and that'll be fine. I'll be making my way the only way I know how working hard and sharing the north with all of my plows. While I'm a good old boy, I bought a lodge and live my dream. And now I'm here talking about how life can be as good as it seems. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 1:14:35

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 Oulette, and I was honored 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. 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.

Diaries of a Lodge Owner