Saturday, May 23, 2009

We woke to the wind rustling the rainfly during the night. Sammie just rolled over and went back to sleep. I took note of the wind direction and mentally went through a quick count of trees that were upwind of us. Nothing big, we were safe. I woke a few hours later and started packing gear. We had a first days breakfast of bacon and eggs and got set to go. The wind at our backs we checked the time and headed for the portage. I seen the father and son had not yet made it to their canoe as we were paddling away. I hope they had a good trip.

Sammie was excited when we crossed Quadga in a mere 8 min. There was a couple gear bags on the portage off to the side. I told Sammie to put ours across from theirs and not to get them mixed. Theirs looked much heavier than ours! We got across to the Isabella River and as Sammie was catching her breath I casted a few times into the rapids. I landed a few fish and set them back and we were off to Bald Eagle. We made good time paddling down the Isabella River watching for wildlife (Moose). I noticed the amount of otter slides and had a feeling fishing would not be good to me here. I casted a few here and there while we paddled down the river but the fish wanted no part of it.
We got passed by a couple heading into Bald Eagle and a couple day trippng from Bald Eagle. Small talk revealed Bald Eagle was not even half full and the campsite I was aiming for was taken but the second choice was open. We headed for our next landmark the BFR (Big Freakin Rock) just before the portage to Bald Eagle. We tackled the portage and as I was loading the canoe on the Bald Eagle side I looked up to see a bald eagle soaring above us. I got Sammie's attention and pointed up. She got to see her first and not even close to her last bald eagle of the trip.
We headed on our way with clear skies and and a decent wind in our face. Being on Bald Eagle a lot I knew of the wind and the waves very well. I was planning on taking the west shoreline up to the far end of the lake to grab our home for the next 2 days. We rounded the bend and I could not believe my eyes... just a ripple on the water. It was 11:30 and there was just a ripple on bald eagle? did I take a wrong turn or what? Crossing Bald Eagle took right at an hour and as we rounded the island on the north side I seen our destination was open and awaiting us. We made camp had a quick lunch and were back in the water. I was hoping Sammie would get a few fish on the line today. I paddled us around the bays picking out spots to fish. I had landed a couple small northerns and was getting ready to head for a point about 80 yards away from us when I told Sammie to toss the lure up on the bank and real it back from shore. I seen the water have a slight roll and her line went tight. As her voice got louder and more high pitched she worked it towards the boat. I netted it and got a good picture of her and her first northern before putting it on the dinner line. Now she can tell everyone she caught dinner at least one night. It did not seem to matter to her the fish avoided her like the plague for the rest of the night. I caught a couple here and there and we headed back about 5 to get the fire going and dinner started. I had promised her after the first night that I would not do any more late night dinners. We ate, did dishes, and talked about our travels then watched the sun set just over trees. Tomorrow would be a day without the packs and full of fishing. With the sun down and the wind calm we had a nightcap and headed to bed.