Hey everyone, I joined this forum a while back and have been sifting through the archives for a couple of weeks now. Seems like a great group of people here with a lot of good info to absorb!

I thought I'd take the time to chime in with a bit of an intro.

For a great many years paddling defined who I was. I spent more than 12 years of my adult life mostly paddling solo in the far north, working crappy jobs in the winter to support my passion then spending the open water months in the bush. Many, many 1-2 month trips and a couple that spanned 4 months. Those trips took me all the way to Hudson's Bay and back again.

Quetico has a special place in my heart though and I've spent a great many nights paddling its waters. So many memories!

I vividly recall dragging my boat up the creek into Wildgoose Lake on a hot July day up to my waist in black stinky muck. When I finally reached the lake and waded into the water to wash off I was horrified to discover that the "mud" wasn't washing off because it was hundreds of leeches! I ended up scraping them off with my filet knife then used them to catch walleyes on Wildgoose. I call that poetic justice.

Another time I was camped by myself on a tiny island on Agnes Lake and when I emerged quietly from my tent early in the morning a very large wolf was standing 30 feet away. There was no malice. I froze and we locked eyes for a good 10 seconds before he turned and slowly sauntered into the bush. Still don't know how it got on that island or where it went...

Lots of big fish as well. I can remember fishing Cutty Lake with a friend when he hooked an absolutely enormous northern on a light spinning rod and jig. This fish was all of 25 pounds. After a long battle he finally drew the fish close to the boat where I prepared to grab it. Shockingly the jig popped out and we both sat there stunned - my buddy was in shock. The fish sank slowly down, disappearing into the tannin stained water. Instinctively I reached down blindly and managed to grab hold of the tired fish and managed to hoist it into the canoe.

It's worth noting that first and foremost I'm an angler. Every single one of my canoe trips has been executed in pursuit of fish. I am most definitely NOT an eco tourist.  :)

Round about the age of 34 I met my wife and she pretty much saved me from myself LOL! In very short order my life changed (marriage, kids, mortgage, real job). From that point on my focus shifted from paddling and fishing to strictly fishing. I began to write and have been very fortunate to have been able to parlay that skill into my current profession - traveling to remote lodges and outfitters across Canada and chronicling my experiences.

I'm 50 now and feel like it's time to reaquaint myself with a pack and paddle. To be quite honest it's been my 10 year old son Brendan who has reignited the spark. I feel a great need  to introduce him to the sport while I'm still able to. He's been a very fortunate young man having joined me on numerous fly in fishing trips in his young life, but it's still not the same as a canoe trip...

In any case I'm glad to be here and I hope to contribute as best as I can!

Cheers,  Mike