This is Ivan the native person that was so kind & nice to us when we camped out in The Key River Area Of The Georgian Bay.
He told us to follow him when he took out fishing parties for Key Harbour Lodge & he would show us where all the good spots were.
He always used & red & white Daredevil ( middle sized one ) & 20 pound line.
As I recall Ivan would sometimes put his head on top of the boat motor & sleep while his party was catching one fish after another in the same spot.
Ivan knew this area better than anyone & could take you places way back in very few knew about.
He knew where to find big yellow pickerel that would get stranded in deep holes when the spring flow subsided & he would take people there to catch them on night crawlers.
He knew where really big largemouth were & in fact had customers catch them on night crawlers back in the area of the bass hole.
Al Lytle also knew about surface lure fishing for largemouth back there as I can recall him taking his young son back to fish for largemouth one year after we told him they were hitting on the surface.
Ivan went way back in one day & never came out & I heard it took them three days to find his body where he had passed away.
They finally found his boat but had no idea where he had gone inland on this particular island.
Ivan knew all the islands all the way out to the Bad River & beyond.
He was trully a legend to me , countless other fishermen & outdoorsmen who were blessed to have crossed his path.
Thanks Ivan!
Yes how well I remember Key Harbor Lodge, Ivan, and the best shore lunches imaginable. I went with my “future father in law” as a youngster 12 YO and again a couple times. Ivan was our guide and I remember giving him a bottle of Hi Karate cologne and making his day. We went to the Bustard Islands and every day while Ivan fixed lunch we fished with a live perch from shore.
Ivan loved to have a refreshment or 6 in the evening but he was definitely an excellent guide. If I remember correctly, Ivan was about $10 or $12 bucks a day in 1965, my first year at KHL I thought the owners were the Lyte Family. We stayed in a cabin and I still remember the green box for lunch with Beans, Bread, and all the fixins to fry the Northern Pike. I cannot figure out to this day how Ivan and his Rapala Filet knife took a Northern apart, and never did you get a bone in your fish.
I received an email from a person who used to hire Ivan To guide them out of Key Harbour Lodge.
The trip from Britt? Up the Key River and catching perch in the morning for bait, along with Ivan teaching me how to count after the bobber went under to 10 before setting the hook. All great memories. Fishing for walleye in the evening in the river. It didn’t get any better that that
Wow!! I almost fainted when I ran across this! We camped at McCleod’s Camp (very near Key Harbour Lodge), and had Ivan as our guide many times. Our family still talks about him, and we have him on film and a gazillion photos. My aunt and uncle (from Ohio) kept in contact with him by letter for a long time.
Thanks for this!!!!
Ben,
Thanks for sending me this link. What I remember more than anything was Ivan’s strict instruction to follow in the prop wash of the lead boat. He didn’t have to tell us twice.
Greetings! Nice to read the positive comments from everybody that knew him. Did anybody by chance meet my grandfather Frank Kewakundo or my father Nelson Kewakundo? Pics of my dads family are hard to come by,thanks for posting!
Jim
Wow! this is great Ivan was my father and I am so proud to say so. I think of him daily. I would like to connect and find out more as he left my sister and I when we were very young. I can recall the day they found his body. I was 7 yrs old than. There is so much I’d like to learn about him. I can be reached at 705 774 9591 or via email at mcquabbies@hotmail.com much thanks will be appreciated.
I am hoping and will pray that someone reads and responds to my comment. It will make my day.
hey mom i read this about grandpa i love fishing too eh?
Jim and Sharon,
I’m sorry to hear of the void in your lives by not having your father around. I was but a young boy during our fishing trips. These were three generational family excursions. Perhaps you can take comfort knowing that he took care of us like a father. I remember we were frying fish outside and it started raining. Ivan grabbed the frying pan with hot pads and ran for cover. Hot oil was splashing everywhere and it didn’t seem to phase him one bit.
May God bless His dear child, Ivan, through Christ.
Tim
ivan was my grandfather. the father of my mother i think i should show this to her