Dad called early last week and asked if I wanted to do a snowmobile/ice fishing trip to the camp in Indian Bay the following weekend. Always up for an adventure I agreed and plans were made for a four day extra long weekend to the Kittiwake Coast.

I loaded up Project Powertek REV, my 2006 Skidoo MXZ 800 along with all my gear and drove to Dad & Iris's house in Bay Roberts. Dad would be riding his trusty & reliable 2011 Yamaha Multipurpose which he bought brand new 10 years and 5000km ago back in 2013. We loaded both machines into his enclosed trailer along with all of our gear and hit the highway West to Indian Bay.

The drive was beautiful with clear sunny skies and typical winter temps of around -8ºC. We grabbed a quick bite to eat at Splash-N-Put after passing through the park and continued our drive turning off at Gambo.

We reached our final destination shortly after 2pm.

We unloaded the machines, stowed our gear in Dad's Pelican sled and hit the beautiful freshly groomed trails to camp.

The groomed trails are a huge improvement compared to the many arduous rides for Dad and the boys years ago, it's well worth the cost of a trail pass whether a weekend or season pass.

After a fantastic ride we arrived to the camp at Backup Pond approximately 4:30pm. This was my first time back here in almost 24 years! I made one trip just after it was built and simply never got in for another trip in all those years since!

• Indian Bay Trip May 14, 1999

I had one small hiccup all weekend with the sled, I fouled a plug during the last stretch on the ride in. After turning off the groomed trail I helped get Dad's machine and slide over a large angled drift crossing the trail to the pond and left my machine idling. The plug gave out immediately after while crossing the pond, a fresh set were swapped in and I never had a hitch after. The old plugs were a few years old.

The camp is quite well appointed with all the comforts of home and is impeccably well kept. It's approximately 24'x24' plus an addition for fridges and a bathroom, it's a very practical layout. The beautiful vaulted ceiling makes this relatively small cabin feel extremely spacious inside.

With my snowmobile fixed, gear put away, generator fixed, and woodstove lit, Dad and I ran down to the pond to get a few buckets of water. Water is carried in garbage bags inside five gallon buckets which are tied closed for the ride back to camp preventing spillage.

Supper this evening consisted of pan fried Turbot and some flavoured rice.

After an early start this morning and a long day travelling, we hit the bunks early so we could have an early start the following morning.

Saturday was seasonably cold at -9ºC with moderate winds and overcast skies which quickly cleared off to a beautiful clear sunny day.

On the breakfast menu today were my homemade Moose/Bacon sausages paired with fried eggs & toast.

After breakfast was cleared away we hit the trail and headed up Backup Pond towards the island to do some ice fishing.

Conditions on the ponds were not ideal for snowmobiling but we made it work. Glare ice from the previous week's thaw & re-freeze meant snow for cooling the machines was sporadic. However there was enough hard pack around which loosened up enough to do the job as we picked our way along.

It was great to try out my Automatic Hook Setting ice fishing rigs in a new location, one which is renown for holding large trout! This trip will hopefully put these rigs to the test!

We set out lines on back of the island but never had any luck, after awhile I picked up and moved across the way just out from a brook and re-planted my lines.

I quickly hooked a lovely mud trout, I called Dad and he joined me re-setting his lines.

Dad still loves his traditional ice reels and this Ice Fishing Buddy he bought years ago, I believe it may have been from a 3rd St. John's Wesley Rovers Fundraiser a long time ago.

A little while later I hooked a second nice trout in the same hole. It was an awesome morning on the pond with lots of people stopping by for a chat including many who follow our Shed-Headz Outdoors & the Newfoundland Hunting and Angling Junkies Facebook groups!

All in all not a bad morning fishing on the ice!

Lunchtime we headed back to camp and threw together a quick lunch of fried homemade fresh fish white puddings and a tin of beans.

These puddings are similar to fish cakes only better and more convenient to take in the woods. I slice them into discs and fry them up brown and crispy.

After lunch we decided to head out for a run on the sleds taking advantage of the groomed trail network.

Trails were cold and crisp but impeccably groomed. The surface was loose enough from the busy weekend traffic to keep our liquid cooled machines at operating temperature.

Photo Credit: Max Pickett

Along the way we ran into buddies Bill Hillyard and Max Pickett who are in for a short weekend of snowmobile riding, they are staying at relatives of Max on Four Mile Pond. Bill was riding his beautiful new Yamaha Sidewinder, and Max his Skidoo Expedition Extreme 850.

We rode all the way to Travers Brook before heading back to camp, it was quite a spirited, brisk and absolutely awesome ride!

When we got back we grabbed a couple more buckets of water which should last us the rest of the weekend. While it was still light outside I fuelled up the generator & both snowmobiles, topped off injection oil on my machine and brought in a bunch of firewood. It was easiest to do this while I was still suited-up and daylight, this way everything is ready to go the following morning, or for a last minute evening adventure!

Today's supper menu was barbeque striploin steaks with a side of rice.

While I prepared supper, Dad had a few tunes on the accordion.

Another dandy meal in the country!

After supper we headed across the pond to the beautiful camp of Elsie & Lloyd Spurrell. We ran into these long-time friends of Dad on the pond earlier today and took them up on their offer to drop in for some stories and a song.

The kitchen table in their camp is absolutely beautiful. It is covered in pictures from decades of adventures both at this camp and all over Newfoundland and Labrador, sealed under bar top resin.

Moose hunting, trouting, salmon fishing, bushplane crash, it's all represented and every photo has a story! It's a truly fantastic piece of their outdoor history and a beautiful idea for any camp.

Of course no evening can pass without a thorough array of delicious snacks!

Sunday morning arrived albeit with a later start than normal after a late night across the pond. Breakfast today consisted of my homemade Jalapeño Cheddar Moose Sausages, eggs and more pan fried fresh fish white puddings.

Today we hit the trails for another ice fishing adventure, we headed first to Number 4 pond just offshore from the old warden shack. A dusting of fresh snow overnight certainly made crossing ponds much better today, the fresh powder easily kept the machines cool & slide suspension rails lubed.

Dad had the lucky hole on Number 4 catching one pan size followed by another dandy big mud trout. He did hook another slabber but it came off the hook just as it breached the water coming up through the hole.

Fishing cooled off on Number 4 so we picked up our lines, headed over to Number 3, drilled some holes and re-set our lines.

This time the luck was in my favour. I was showing another gentleman how my Automatic Hook Setting ice fishing rigs worked when the one furthest away triggered. I knew by the bend in the rod I had something decent on and sure enough I pulled up this dandy.

As the sun set and darkness fell we packed up our gear and headed back to camp for supper.

Not a bad day's catch!

On the menu tonight was my infamous backwoods boil-up concoction of thinly sliced moose, onion & mushroom marinated, and pan fried. This was paired with my usual French onion white rice.

Absolutely outstanding!

This evening we relaxed around camp and I read through a log book the boys have filled out for every trip over the last 25 years. Some get quite creative such as these two entries, the first about heating up frozen shingles for the new shed and the other about Dad driving the Argo when he first installed the new canopy top in 2007. Interestingly the very first entry in the log was from my own very first trip here in May 1999.

Monday morning we had a quick breakfast of boiled eggs on toast, then set about packing up our gear for the trip out and cleaning up camp for the next adventurers.

Weather was warmer today and a little overcast. The trails were once again absolutely beautiful and perfectly groomed. 

We made it safely back to Bay Roberts after an uneventful snowmobile ride and drive home. I loaded Project Powerteck Rev back onto my open deck trailer for the final leg to Torbay but not before enjoying a dandy supper prepared by Iris. This was one of the best trips we've done in a long time, it was last minute and everything worked out great. No breakdowns, perfect weather, great fishing, awesome snowmobile riding and most of a memory to last a lifetime. Take advantage of every opportunity you can to get outside and do something great!

Cheers, MIKE

Copyright © 2025 Michael Smith