Just to clarify for you NBA fans, Kobe and Shaq were nowhere to be found at Costigan Lake. I'm sure, because there was no one 7 feet tall in sight. But, that did not deter us from having another great fishing trip, which in my mind makes it a threepeat. As for the Laker's reference, read on.

This was my third trip in with the Saskatchewan bunch, although this year there was a significant Alberta contingent. I am sure it's all part of Vic's master plan to increase the stabilization payments from Alberta to Saskatchewan. And, he was very pleased that the pool money did not make any Albertan's richer either. More on that later.

First off, another big thanks to the Lutter ladies for allowing us to bunk there on Saturday night. Now to business. This was one of the larger expeditions to Costigan Lake, and the first where Vic was in charge. Actually, Vic was the only one who was there that you might call the "Old Guard." Everyone else had some sort of connection to Vic, but he was the only one of the original bunch.

Since you can't tell the players without a program, let's call the roll:

Ed Brunet - Rookie & Head De-boner (& good sport!)
Brad Degenhardt - Degenhardt brother
Chris Degenhardt - Degenhardt brother
Greg Degenhardt - Degenhardt brother
Matt Degenhardt - Degenhardt brother
Pat Degenhardt - Degenhardt brother
Tim Degenhardt - Degenhardt brother
Atol Fugle - Rookie & Kindersley Boy
Joe Hammel - Rookie & Kindersley Boy
Gene Holman - Chief Delegater (especially to boat monkeys)
Joe Holman - Rookie (& boat monkey)
Richard Holmes - Scribe & Collection Specialist (& chief boat monkey)
Jason Kissick - Rookie (also a good sport!)
Jason Liepert - Rookie & Kindersley Boy
Vic Lutter - Management (we were doomed from the start)
Darrin Lutter - Apprentice
George McKinlay - Deep Woods
Mario Ringwald - Steak Chef
Tyler Smith - Rookie & Kindersley Boy

Needless to say we all knew we were in good hands. It went without saying that we could count on Vic's vast experience and you are fixing trailers, trying to set up the kitchen frame, or lost on the lake. It was found to be useful in management skills to see us through any adversity we encountered. He had one piece of advice in particular that came in handy in every situation and spurred us all on to overcome any and every obstacle. Whenever a problem came up, time and again we all looked to Vic, and he'd always came through for us. He would say, with great conviction, "I have nooooo idea! "

You can see how simply brilliant this phrase is, whether trying to set up the kitchen frame, or lost on the lake. It was found to be useful in all those situations. I learned a great lesson in leadership from Vic this trip. Thanks Vic!

Speaking of adversity, the road trip up to Costigan on Sunday had the usual snags. Darrin's trailer frame busted at the spring mount, the Kindersley boy's trailer snapped at the draw bar, Pat's plastic fenders took a pounding, another trailer lost both hub caps and the tie straps on George's trailer snapped. Needless to say this was par for the course on the 200+ km of gravel roads. Everything was handled with a little duct tape and ingenuity. Darrin's trailer had logs cut to replace the springs, and the Kindersley Boys were able to shorten up the draw bar and caught up to us without too much of a delay.

The only problem we couldn't solve was early on, when we stopped in Meadow Lake at the 7/11 to pee. There was a drunk (I think his name was Elvis) passed out on the floor in the Men's room, and no amount of banging him with the door (by the manager) would rouse him. So, all the guys had to pee in the Ladies room. But, at least I can now say I spotted Elvis in a 7/11.

Once we had our gear ferried over to the island we camp on and had camp set up, it was time to catch some fish. These were strictly for supper, as our Biggest Fish Pool didn't officially start until 8:00 the next morning.

Mario lost his sunglasses, which were on his cap. Unfortunately they didn't stay there very long when he started to swat mosquitoes with said cap, and another pair of glasses were sacrificed to the Fish Gods.

I think the Kindersley boys got lost on their second trip into camp with their gear. They didn't come in until after dark, having missed supper. Then they spent a cold wet in their tent as their sleeping bags were left back at the trucks. Fortunately for them, they had brought enough antifreeze to protect them to -35 Celsius. Beside their huge pile of gear on the beach was an even bigger pile of booze. I guess Vic forgot to tell them it was a dry camp. Actually, he forgot to tell everyone. Oh, except for Darrin, who only drank grape soda the entire trip. Such a responsible fellow.