LIFE
Fishing trip of a lifetime … for a
MARK PAPOUSEK There a few things I really Wish
love to do – fish and raise money for the Make A Wish Foundation. I am always looking for different and exciting auction items for my fundraising golf tournament – one that will have our bidders thinking: “Wow, this would be cool!” Well, I found a way to combine
my two loves: raising money for Make A Wish, and a fishing trip of a lifetime. The trip was auctioned off at a Y101 (Radio) Golf Tournament at the Pakenham Hylands Golf Club. I had met Denis LeBrun who,
along with his wife, Laurel, own the Bryson lake Lodge (http://
www.lacbryson.com) 90 kilometers north of Fort Coulonge, Quebec. I proposed my idea to Denis
at a fishing show in Carp, and we thought if we could get an Ottawa Senator hockey player to come with me for a few days of fishing up at the lodge, it might generate a lot of interest and in turn make a bunch of money for the Make A Wish Foundation of Eastern Ontario. Denis was right over the top
with the idea. He’s a huge fan of Chris Phillips. Unfortunately, Chris couldn’t make it happen for the three days we had booked in June. However, I knew Jesse Winchester is a fishing fanatic, so I approached him about the adventure. He readily agreed. At the golf tournament
auction that night, a lot of people were interested in this three-day package that included all food and drink, accommodations and the use of 16-foot boats and motors. Basically, all you’d need was a Quebec fishing licence, a sleeping
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bag, and your fishing gear. Well, after all was said and
done and the bids were in, Robert Dick and Doug McIntosh from Neilcorp homes in Almonte bought the package. Now we just had to wait the winter out and get ready for a fabulous three days in June. As it turned out, Robert could
not make the trip, so Doug decided to bring along an employee of Neilcorp and great outdoorsman Pete McDougall. Jesse Winchester was in contract negotiations and was busy staying in shape so he’d work out in Long Sault and follow us up to the lodge later in the day. The plan was to meet at the
Mickey Creek Golf Club in Vinton, Quebec and transfer our food and gear into Doug’s 4X4 truck for the rough and dusty trip north to the lodge. Before we headed out, we were
served the best breakfast in the world by Mickey Creek owners, Wayne and Sue Narlock. Doug had forgotten to bring a warm jacket for the trip, and Wayne gave him one with the promise to return it on the way home. A little more travel on the
blacktop to Fort Coulonge and then it was pretty much dirt road with some rough spots. An hour later we hit the Bryson Lake Lodge turn off, and 16 km later, we arrived at the lodge. My first thought was: how
could this lodge and facility be so beautiful way the hell out here? We checked in and met Denis and two of his staff, Nancy Bertrand and Eric Dagenais. Right off the bat we were impressed with the main lodge and store and a huge sports room with pool, foosball and ping
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