“Rainbow” Trout that is. Chicago sports fans may remember left handed pitcher Steve “Rainbow” Trout, formerly of the White Sox and Chicago Cubs and who also played later in his 12 year major league career with the Yankees and Mariners. As a life long Cubs baseball fan, I remember Rainbow Trout as a key member of the magical 1984 Cubs team that won their division for the first time in 39 years. Rainbow started the season off by pitching a complete game against the Mets in an 11-2 Cubs win that kicked off their division championship run on opening day. He also pitched game two of the NLCS that year going 8.1 innings for the win against the Padres (basically the last happy moment of post season ball for Cubs fans that year).So why all the baseball history? Just a little background on
one of our guests this past week in camp. Not often we can boast about having a current or former professional athlete among our guests, but last week we sure could! What a great experience it was and I even had an opportunity to chat with Steve some about those years in the majors and specifically some memories of his years with the Cubs and about former teamates like Gary “Sarge” Matthews, Keith “Zonk” Moreland, Jody Davis, Ryne Sandberg, Ron Cey, Larry Bowa, Bobby Dernier etc. as we traveled to Dryden for some camp supplies. It was an awesome experience for the entire camp and Steve was kind enough to leave me with an autographed book he wrote entitled “Home Plate-The Journey of the Most Flamboyant Father and Son Pitching Combination in Major League History” as well as an autographed baseball.
So other than having professional athletes in camp, what else is new? Well… another FOURTEEN (yes 14, not 4)vehicles crammed their way into Bear Claw Wilderness Camp parking lot last week to experience a week in heaven and some excellent fishing from camp. Maybe it’s the EASY boat ride to camp, the comfortable amenities like hot showers, flush toilets, electricity 24/7 etc., the serenity of our wilderness setting or simply the ability to easily and consistently fill a stringer with tasty walleye and northern pike that keeps them coming back… Regardless of the reasons, August and September continue to be very popular months with our guests and for that we remain thankful. A great case in point was Andy Augustine a camp regular who was able to join Mom and Dad (Esther and Keith) for one week of their three week stay. Andy fishing from his 21′ Warrior boat released the following walleye: 29″, 26″, 24″, 23″, 22″, four 21″ and a 20″. Not “just” a walleye fisherman, Andy also released 10 northern pike over 32″ during the week with his biggest a 38″ beauty. Not quite as good as last year in terms of HUGE fish when Andy released 44 1/2″ and 44″ beasts within a 24 hour period, but still a pretty darn good week by MOST fishermen’s accounts.
Fall colors are coming on quickly now, bear hunters are in camp and the weather is still beautiful…looking forward to another three weeks of being busy in camp. Here are a few pictures to enjoy until next time.
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| Steve “Rainbow” Trout- thanks for memories! |
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Earl Gransee’s with a fine stringer
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| Sally Lundy shows off one of hundreds of walleye caught during their August stay |
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| Jim Pondo and a nice 39″ northern |
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| Hey big fella, it’s past your bedtime. |
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| I smell doughnuts here somewhere! |
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| Smile for the camera… |
