Brule Lake - September 2016
by adludwig
Trip Type:
Paddling Canoe
Entry Date:
09/02/2016
Entry & Exit Point:
Brule Lake (EP 41)
Number of Days:
5
Group Size:
2
Discuss Trip:
View Discussion Thread (2 messages)
Day 2 of 5
Saturday, September 03, 2016
Our game plan for the day was going to be to head up the Cone Lakes and get out of the wind. We made our way up the quaint little portages all the way to North Cone. We started fishing on the Western side of the lake, letting the wind push us down the lake. I was jigging on the drop off when I got my first strike! I was using my ultralight with 2 pound test line, and knew I was in for a battle! The fish stayed deep and was heavy. I was hoping for a big old walleye, but suddenly a large northern came to the surface. After a few good runs, Jarod wrangled it in his little net, which was quite the entertaining chain of events.
We never got a true measurement on the fish, but we estimated it at 30 inches. It was a gorgeous, thick and healthy fish. After a few photos we let it go and kept on fishing. We worked the point on the eastern shoreline, but even on this small lake the wind was becoming an issue. We pushed down the finger of the lake on the eastern side and I started catching smallmouth bass with some regularity. In fact, I had landed 5 fish in a very short amount of time.
We paddled back to make another pass in an area that was full of fish. On the second pass, Jarod finally struck his first fish of the day!
After catching a few more, we headed for Middle Cone Lake. We had a nice chat with a family that was just coming into the lake as we were leaving. We had told them we had some luck fishing and pointed them to the "hot spot". The little bit of water moving out of this lake was pretty cool, so we stopped for a couple photos.
We were getting a little hungry, so before fishing we thought we would stop for lunch on Middle Cone. We had passed the campsite on the western shore on our way through earlier. The site was still open, so we pulled ashore. The site isn't much to write home about. We ate our summer sausage and crackers, while the wind whipped pretty good on this little lake. The site was almost completely on a side hill, so it didn't see too desirable as an actual spot to camp.
The bite on Middle Cone was fairly slow. We got a bass right after starting to fish, then went all the way down the lake on the southern shore, and only caught one more little smallmouth. We were ready to get back to camp now, so we started making our way back. When we hit Brule, we knew we were in for a workout! We had paddled in to a pretty good breeze yesterday, but the wind was roaring now. We systematically made our way back to the campsite, hiding behind every point or island we could on the way. Finally it was time to cross the last chunk of big water. We slowly made our way through the three foot rollers. I was so glad to have a trustworthy paddle partner in front of me this trip! It was a little nerve-wracking, but I never felt out of control. We landed at camp, and almost immediately started work on dinner. We cleaned fish and made the now famous fish tacos. We chunked up the fish and breaded it with a combination of Cajun Shorelunch and Penzy's Taco Seasoning. We fried up the fish nice and crispy, even a little charred. Then we threw them in a tortilla along with shredded cabbage (coleslaw mix), lime juice, and Chipotle Mayo. Everyone loves taco night!
After dinner we once again bobber fished and watched the sunset. It had been a great day. We made plans for the next day and watched the sunset until we were drowsy.
Saturday morning started with a hearty breakfast. I like to try a couple of new things every year, and this year one of the things I wanted to try was biscuits and gravy. I found some packages of just add water biscuits and sausage gravy mix at Menards, that we were going to pair with some Johnsonville pre-cooked breakfast sausages. Jarod tackled the biscuits, which needed to be oven cooked according to the directions. Jarod used two pans and plenty of butter to make some drop biscuits. As he worked on those, I browned up the sausages and then as the biscuits were close to done, I made the gravy. This ended up being the best breakfast I had ever had Up North! It was the perfect serving amount for 2 of us and I believe it cost me under $5.
Our game plan for the day was going to be to head up the Cone Lakes and get out of the wind. We made our way up the quaint little portages all the way to North Cone. We started fishing on the Western side of the lake, letting the wind push us down the lake. I was jigging on the drop off when I got my first strike! I was using my ultralight with 2 pound test line, and knew I was in for a battle! The fish stayed deep and was heavy. I was hoping for a big old walleye, but suddenly a large northern came to the surface. After a few good runs, Jarod wrangled it in his little net, which was quite the entertaining chain of events.
We never got a true measurement on the fish, but we estimated it at 30 inches. It was a gorgeous, thick and healthy fish. After a few photos we let it go and kept on fishing. We worked the point on the eastern shoreline, but even on this small lake the wind was becoming an issue. We pushed down the finger of the lake on the eastern side and I started catching smallmouth bass with some regularity. In fact, I had landed 5 fish in a very short amount of time.
We paddled back to make another pass in an area that was full of fish. On the second pass, Jarod finally struck his first fish of the day!
After catching a few more, we headed for Middle Cone Lake. We had a nice chat with a family that was just coming into the lake as we were leaving. We had told them we had some luck fishing and pointed them to the "hot spot". The little bit of water moving out of this lake was pretty cool, so we stopped for a couple photos.
We were getting a little hungry, so before fishing we thought we would stop for lunch on Middle Cone. We had passed the campsite on the western shore on our way through earlier. The site was still open, so we pulled ashore. The site isn't much to write home about. We ate our summer sausage and crackers, while the wind whipped pretty good on this little lake. The site was almost completely on a side hill, so it didn't see too desirable as an actual spot to camp.
The bite on Middle Cone was fairly slow. We got a bass right after starting to fish, then went all the way down the lake on the southern shore, and only caught one more little smallmouth. We were ready to get back to camp now, so we started making our way back. When we hit Brule, we knew we were in for a workout! We had paddled in to a pretty good breeze yesterday, but the wind was roaring now. We systematically made our way back to the campsite, hiding behind every point or island we could on the way. Finally it was time to cross the last chunk of big water. We slowly made our way through the three foot rollers. I was so glad to have a trustworthy paddle partner in front of me this trip! It was a little nerve-wracking, but I never felt out of control. We landed at camp, and almost immediately started work on dinner. We cleaned fish and made the now famous fish tacos. We chunked up the fish and breaded it with a combination of Cajun Shorelunch and Penzy's Taco Seasoning. We fried up the fish nice and crispy, even a little charred. Then we threw them in a tortilla along with shredded cabbage (coleslaw mix), lime juice, and Chipotle Mayo. Everyone loves taco night!
After dinner we once again bobber fished and watched the sunset. It had been a great day. We made plans for the next day and watched the sunset until we were drowsy.
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