Chip Tighe of Highland Heights and two fishing friends made the journey to Ontario's Tornados Lodge to fish on Lake Arthur a couple of weeks ago with two goals in mind. Catch big northern pike and don't get lost.
Lake Arthur, near Sudbury, Ontario, is a good lake for catching northern pike. It is also located in a great area for getting lost if sportsmen aren't wary. Chip Tighe of Highland Heights and two fishing friends made the journey to Ontario's Tornados Lodge to fish on Lake Arthur a couple of weeks ago with two goals in mind. Catch big northern pike and don't get lost.
Again.
"When we arrived, lodge manager Nancy Wice said she hoped there wouldn't be 'an incident' this year," said Tighe, 49, a physician. "She's a loving, sweet lady with big blue eyes and blond hair, and truly cares about the fishermen."
The Tornados Lodge and its many cabins are in Port Loring, south of Sudbury and east of Georgian Bay along the Pickerel River. Not exactly northern bush country, but still a wild place, as Tighe and his buddies discovered on their 2009 adventure.
"After we settled in last year, we headed to Lake Arthur," said Tighe. "Dan DePalma and Chris Sullivan, both good fishermen, are from the Stoneboro, Pa. area. Dan has been a friend for more than 20 years, but I'd just met his friend, Chris.
After a short boat ride across Toad Lake, the trio hiked a scruffy trail through wild fields and forest to Lake Arthur. Another boat, motor and fuel were waiting, launching a week of northern pike and bass fishing.
Staying at Tornados Lodge and catching northern pike from Lake Arthur is a summer treat for Chip Tighe of Highland Heights. Waiting on the shoreline of Lake Arthur for his friends to catch up, Tighe made a few casts. More importantly, he put the landing net down.
Once on the water and trolling for trophy pike, they discovered the net had been left behind.
After a good day of fishing on Friday, they returned to their portage point at about 7 p.m. While DePalma and Sullivan headed down the trail, Tighe wandered about in search of the landing net.
"Soon, all of the trees and bushes looked the same," said Tighe. He figured if he headed east, while his friends hiked north, he'd walk right to the trail and connect with them.
"That was a big mistake," said Tighe. Two hours later he was mired in a boggy swap with water up to his knees - and way over his boots. At 10 p.m. it was getting darker, and he'd already stumbled and fallen a few times.
When his friends told Wice that Tighe had not returned, she shifted into overdrive Friday night and began the rescue operation. Helicopters and search crews went into action at first light on Saturday morning.
At midnight, Tighe tugged on his head net. He was wearing a Mayfield soccer team jacket, long pants torn during a fall and wet boots. He slathered on Vicks VapoRub and used dryer sheets to thwart the bugs. Mosquitoes tormented him as he fitfully tried to rest.
Just after 4 a.m. on Saturday, Tighe was back on his feet. Walking as fast as he could, Tighe again yelled for DePalma and Sullivan.
"It was getting to be a spiritual experience," said Tighe. Until he bumped into a black bear.
"All I saw was a black, rubbery nose just a few feet away," said Tighe. "I looked down, and there was bear poop everywhere. It was the scaredest I'd ever been in my life."
Tighe found signs of civilization, including an abandoned maple syrup operation and an old truck plow, but no trails.
"At 10:30 a.m., I heard a helicopter," he said. Tighe scrambled to a clearing near a lake, the sound of the helicopter firing his adrenalin. He spotted a blue-and-white Ontario Provincial Police helicopter, and wildly waved his boat paddle.
In minutes, Tighe was aboard and gulping a bottle of water.
"The OPP guys were great," said Tighe. "One told me that I was really lucky. He said he doesn't mind rescue missions that turn out like this. He minds recovery missions that don't turn out as well."
Tighe did a lot of hiking, but didn't go very far. He estimates he covered about 15 miles of Canadian wilderness, often wandering in circles. He was found about four miles from where he was last seen by his friends.
Tighe wasn't afraid to head back to Lake Arthur in June.
"All three of us were back. We made sure we didn't split up when hiking the trails," said Tighe. "I also wore a visible orange jacket, not black, and made sure I had a safety kit and compass on me, not in my tackle box. I also carried a Bic lighter. They can see smoke from miles away up there."