On the first weekend in February a group of friends get into their trucks and snowmobiles and head deep into the woods to their favorite trout pond. On this trip the weather is rotten and the forecast is worse but this is the opening weekend of ice fishing and this group from the Avalon southern shore in Newfoundland would have to be next to dead to miss it. They drive four hours, then another twenty kilometers over wet ponds on their snow machines in rain soaked dark to get to a log cabin in the woods for their annual winter retreat at Indian Bay. To some this may feel like a painful process, but to these men it’s pure bliss. They’re the first to admit it’s not just the fish but the sheer fun of it that will draw them away from the cozy comforts of home and head for the cold, damp wilderness.

It was twenty years ago this group of friends bought the cabin. One night they sat around the stove wondering what name they should call their retreat and the conversation turned to all they things they thought they should do with the place. Don Graham suggested that for him it was “Cabin Enough” and from that their philosophy took hold

Indian Bay, however, changed a lot since these men arrived on the scene. Back then it was famous for it’s trout fishing. At that time the bag limit was twenty-four fish per person per day. But the arrival of the snowmobile and the ATV opened up the remote ponds and they simply could not stand the pressure. People were concerned and the government set up a management plan.

The old days are over. The fishing season at Indian Pond is shorter than the rest of the province. The bag limit is reduced to six fish per person per day and you can only take six trout home. This ended what they called the meat fishery where people took home as much as they could freeze. Today it’s simply a recreational fishery and the stocks seem to be holding their own over the past few years.

To the group at “Cabin Enough” these rules are fine and fit in with their philosophy. To them the new bag limit is fish enough. Besides, they claim fishing is just a small part of their retreat. It is the friendship and music and food and that keeps drawing them back.