Paul Levisen heads a group of fishermen who have gone to the same area of Canada as Roger Nelson and his family. Paul has been going to this area since 1966. One place they camped was by an old gravel pit, which was given the name Levisen Town by Roger.

For many years the Nelson family and Paul Levisen’s group of fishermen would meet at some time during their Canadian trip.

This year’s group consisted of 27 fishermen from our area. This year Roger was a member of the group that took the trip with Paul.

You may be a member of or have heard of groups of hunters that have a traditional deer camp that they set up in their hunting section every year. This group would be similar to that but they are there for the fishing.

They have also adopted a local Canadian they met about 5 years ago. He meets Paul and his group there every year and spends the week as part of their party.

One year they left part of the groceries at home and their Canadian friend was able to get them the supplies they needed. According to Paul’s wife, Dolly, this has happened before. It just goes to show that no matter how much you organize, once in a while things can be forgotten.

Paul showed me the list of groceries and necessities they bring. He keeps track of what gets used and what gets brought back, how much they spend and who brings certain items. This is how he knows what to bring each year. They also have a work committee set up. One day one group does the morning and evening meals and the next day another group does them.

A lot of planning goes into making a trip like this work. Everybody pitches in and it makes the trip more enjoyable when everybody helps in the chores.

Then there is the &uot;critter&uot; situation &045; mainly black bears. Bears are always a problem when camping in this remote area. Paul and Roger definitely differ on how they confront the situation.

Paul has a cook tent he has had since he first started coming to this area. Two of the walls have big canvas patches on them from one experience they had when a bear clawed his way through one wall and was scared off by one of the campers and proceeded to claw his way out the other wall instead of going through the hole he had just entered from.

Paul says he has a very effective way of dealing with the intruders. He has a wrist rocket sling shot with which he shoots steel balls. He says if you hit an intruder with that they don’t take long to leave. He said they always try to leave someone in camp at all times to chase off bears.

Paul said he thinks the bears are more active in the mornings than in the afternoon and evening.

Roger, on the other hand, has domesticated his bear repellent with a generator mounted on the back of the bus. He sets up a perimeter by using an electric fence hooked up to the generator. He says it must work because he has had visitors but none have crossed the thin wire line.

As far as the fishing goes both Paul and Roger said this is one of the better years they have had. Paul said that when he first started coming to this area the limit was one trophy and 100 lbs. of fillets. Now, of course, all that has changed and the limits have been tightened. He also said that the Canadians weren’t very friendly towards American campers early on but that has changed noticeably over the years.

Paul estimates that over the years he has fished 18 lakes in this area. Roger wasn’t sure how many he had fished, but you can bet it is a bunch.

After seeing how well Paul and Roger get along it proves that Danes and Norwegians do have a lot of things in common. These two friends, undoubtedly, do their fair share of good natured Scandinavian ribbing.

Roger says going on these trips with family is what is really important to him.

Paul enjoys going with the same group that he started with family and friends years ago. He said the way they fish has changed. They have gone from small boats and canoes to larger fishing boats with big motors. Their camping facilities range from large and small tents to pickup campers.

Paul’s group changes a little from year to year but both he and Roger have carried on a tradition that they started many years ago. Both men are leaders of separate groups from our area but their common bond is the love for the outdoors and for this area.

The reason they love this area so much is that it’s probably as close as one can get to untouched wilderness.