Sounds of an approaching plane increased as the easily recognizable Otter appeared just below the clouds from across the lake.  It was due to pick up Mark, Kara and Tim for their journey back to civilization and to drop off the second wave of hunters and camp crew.  The pilot was right on schedule.

 

On the plane were bear hunting enthusiasts Jim Thompson and Darrel Bahner from Kansas and Bob Reil from Michigan.  The remaining passengers, Nolan and Candis Blian, were a husband and wife team from Manitoba.  Nolan would replace Tim as assistant guide, and Candis would take Kara’s place as camp cook for the week.

 

It was nearly 1:00 p.m. by the time we finished saying our goodbyes to the first group and welcoming in the second.  All three of Monty’s new clients wanted to hunt that afternoon, so we all scrambled to get them to their bait sites. 

 

I decided not to hunt since my bait still had not been touched.  I really didn’t see the point of sitting over an inactive bait site, so I chose to bide my time.  I would help Nolan and Monty out as much as I could and planned to spend the next seven days fishing, or at least until my bait site showed some sign of feeding activity. 
  
Seeing as though my schedule allowed me to stay for another week, I figured Monty could use the help around camp with the daily chores.  And, since I didn’t mind casting for “lake gators,” there was always room in the cooler for more walleye and pike fillets to use for our late-night banquets of deep-fried fish and chips.