Breakfast in canoe country

I know this is a trout lake so I set out in the canoe and troll the main lake north on the east side of the big islands. I want to scout out the portage to Shepo for a day trip later on.

This is how I load for a day of fishing. There are two dry bags filled with water in the stern and a pack with my food barrel. This is weight needed to balance Luna's 50 lbs. in the bow. I also keep an extra cup fastened to my seat in case I need a sip from the lake. In the big lakes it's safe to do this out over deep water. I would not do this near shore or in a shallow lake.

As I troll near the tip of the long island to the north I felt a fish on. It was heavy but wasn’t fighting, instead letting me slowly pull it to the boat. Then, apparently seeing my canoe it took off. Down it went as my drag started singing. It was a while before I could coax it back near the boat and then I saw it. A very large lake trout! I was so happy it wasn’t a northern pike. Conscious of breaking the line I let the fish play itself out before clamping it’s lower jaw with my orange fish gripper.

I knew it was way too big to eat so I worked quickly in order for it to survive. Luckily the barbless hooks came out quick. I took a pic then held it in the water by its tail until it was strong enough to powerfully dig for the bottom. **I didn't measure it to limit the time it was out of the water. These are delicate fish and the less stress on them the better chance of their survival.

What a thrill. That was by far the largest lake trout I’ve ever caught I estimate around 30 inches but it was very thick. The coloration was something I’ve only seen on Burt Lake. Very dark with pink hues. The trout up here have been silver, dark green, and this dark pink. I caught a beautiful copper colored one in Quetico also. Just awesome fish and they are becoming my favorite to catch while up in these lakes.

I then went to a campsite on the north end for lunch. Both the sites in this area are not the best. A lot of blowdown and poor landings.

Luna is 10 now. Such a good companion on these trips.

Back in camp I saw two tandem canoes cross through the lake coming in from Thomas. As far as I can tell I have the lake to myself. I have to believe the park closure right before my trip contributed to this. We didn’t see many campers while on Thomas either.