Caretaker’s Report 2025/2026 Volume 3 – CARIBOU !!!!
Nov 14- Dec 8
Hi there! I’ve officially been up here at Gangler’s North Seal River Lodge for 72 days. Just over two months now. It’s December 8th, and I’m still holding my own!
The latter half of November brought in a bit more snow and much cooler temperatures. The coldest day so far was -36°C, and it hasn’t gone above -20°C in the last three weeks.
Despite the cooler temperatures, I have managed to keep up with my daily adventures. I began ice fishing on Nov.17, which is nearly a month earlier than I am used to down south.
November 17 was also the day the Caribou decided to make their full appearance on Egenolf Lake. Early that morning, as I loaded my fishing gear onto the snowmobile, I was greeted by an indigenous hunter as he passed through.
With visible excitement, he waved me down to ask if I had seen them yet. To my confusion, I politely responded, “Seen what?”
“The Caribou, they’re down by the boats!” he explained with a large grin on his face. He told me that the evening before, he had been successful in his hunt and that he was on his way to finish cleaning and packing the meat.
With my ice fishing gear loaded up, I began on my way to the lake. As I turned the corner that reveals the float plane base (where the boats are stored by the river), I was immediately taken aback by a sight I could not have imagined.
The river, albeit frozen, was still flowing, however, not with water but with hundreds, if not thousands, of caribou. A gathering of such a dramatic scale, I could never have imagined it on my own.
After a few moments of gazing in awe, I continued on my way to the lake. I entered the nearest bay only to be halted by even more Caribou. As far as the eye could see, the herds were drifting in and out of one another, mingling somewhat reminiscent of humans gathering at a large festival.
With all my grand expectations of this place, I never could have imagined that my first day of ice fishing would involve me trying to find a clear route through herds of Caribou to reach my fishing hole.After cautious, deliberate navigation through the herds, I arrived at my first planned location. I was able to set up my tent and finally put my mini wood stove to the test. Fishing turned out to be relatively slow; however, I was hard-pressed to complain as I spent the day with a premium view of the northern caribou migration in a warm tent. My only regret is that I do not have a better camera, because sadly, the pictures I took cannot do the experience justice.
I have since been able to log about 12 days of fishing, although I have not caught lots of fish- the ones I have hooked into were of high quality. In total, I have caught half a dozen Pike (the largest being around 35 inches), a small whitefish, and 1 Lake Trout, which was a perfect size to eat.
At some point, I had quite the fiasco with what I believe was the biggest Lake Trout I have ever seen. After a long fight on my smallest fishing rod, it managed to spit the hook just before I could get its head up the hole. Unfortunately, that fish was destined to be one of my many “fish stories”. Sadly chalked up to the big one that got away in Egenolf Lake.
I am now about three weeks from the changeover, marking the end of my stay here at North Seal River Lodge. As such, I am shifting gears and will be focusing on preparing for my journey home. I will strategically repack all my gear and ensure I leave nothing important behind.
I will also be performing a few housekeeping duties to ensure the cabin is in fine condition when Ryan, the next caretaker, arrives. On top of this, I will coordinate with Ken & Ryan to ensure Ryan has enough supplies to carry him through the rest of the season.
My personal goal is to spend the next three weeks experiencing as much as I can and enjoying every last moment while I am in such a magical place. If I’m lucky, I might yet be able to land that Egenolf Lake giant before my time here comes to an end.
Stay tuned until my next post, where I will highlight the finale of my experience at Gangler’s North Seal River Lodge!
