Up early...today we have a date with Rabbit Lake. Over cocktails last night I was expressing a little disappointment over not having caught any walleyes or lake trout. I told TM not to worry though...because tomorrow was my birthday and if we were going to catch any lakers, it'd be on my birthday. I'm so smart. Quick breakfast and on the water before 8am. We paddled over to the Rabbit portage and were over in 15 minutes. It climbs quickly up from Ester before leveling out towards Rabbit. We paddled across with the goal of fishing the points that dropped into deeper water. No action for the first hour or so...wind was blowing a bit, but not bad. After a while, I tied on a leech and we paddled up to the point, parked the canoe in the shallows and cast out to deeper water. While retreiving my leech I saw a fish follow, and thinking it was a bass I let it drop and watched the fish hit it and turn. That's when I saw the spots...laker on! After a quick fight I netted my first laker ever...a 17" fish that was promptly invited to dinner. A little later I happened to look to my right and see a flash under TM's swimbait. He let his bait drop and another fish hit his bait. I thought it was a bass until I saw it double over his rod (6'6" St. Croix M action). After a good 3-4 minute fight I netted his fish, a nice 20" laker. Happy Birthday to me!

We paddled to the southernmost site on Rabbit and had lunch, salami/cheddar on wheat. Ok site, not bad...but I've seen better. Now with dinner on the stringer we fished a bit more and decided to portage back into Ester. After the portage, we cleaned the fish and set about getting dinner ready. Lake Trout confit, with a tamarind balsamic reduction...micro greens with a cilantro vinegarette, with creme brulee for dessert and some Turkish espresso to finish. Ok, maybe not....howabout fried lake trout, with potatoes and onions, whisky, and smores for dessert. Yeah, that's a little more realistic....best birthday dinner I've ever had. Great end to an awesome day.

Lakes: Ester Lake, Rabbit Lake, Ester Lake