For the next few hours after dinner…….we all sat around the fire, talking about fishing, the area, and plans for the next day. All the other guys also enjoyed cigars……..I opted out.

Day 6: Wednesday, May 26th, 2010 South and West Lakes

Since GadgetMan had made a few trips into this area over the last couple years, he was calling the shots on where we would daytrip. On Wednesday, we decided to head to South and West Lakes. While GadgetMan had never been to those particular lakes in the past, you really never know what these little gems will hold. Most people paddling through North Bay are doing just that……paddling. Rarely, will you find folks taking enough time to seriously fish anywhere. This is almost always the case if you pick an area that is on a loop, or a common route. South and West Lake are portage lakes into Shade, which is a common destination lake.

Breakfast was quick and dirty again. I brewed the standard 2 pots of coffee, and boiled some water for anyone who needed it. Most had a breakfast bar or oatmeal. I ate another of my Mountain House freeze dried egg meals. As I stated before, I will definitely be taking these on future trips.

We were on the water by 7:00am, and fishing towards the northernmost corner of North Bay. We had a great wind pushing us slowly down the bank. We found a perfect drift.

When fishing in the Boundary Waters, it is really important to eliminate water that may not be productive. Yea, you might catch a 5lb smallmouth in a particular cut, but if the odds are against it, you’re probably wasting your time. Our trips are primarily fishing trips, and my group generally has a good idea of where we plan on fishing the entire trip. On all trips, this can change, and in fact it usually does, but if you have a pretty decent fishing strategy in place before you ever reach the park, you can amplify your fishing success significantly.

While the “perfect” drift was pushing us down the eastern bank, heading towards the portages, this particular bank was not that great for fishing. There were many decent fishing spots, but not for 2 or 3 canoes. We basically drifted for a while, fished a hole, and then paddled past Wayne_E and Eddie_M and drifted the next spot. When they were done fishing their particular hole, they would then paddle past us to the next hole.

Wayne_E and Caleb_E decided to kick back a little again in camp and planned on meeting us at 12:00pm for lunch near the portage into South Lake.

Using the leapfrog method of fishing the key spots in North Bay, it took us about 3-4 hours to fish down to the portage. We fished around the campsites and islands before the portage, and then decided to go ahead and paddle up the creek to South Lake.

At the creek into South Lake, we met up with Eddie_M and John. This is where I first learned that Eddie_M had “deep-sixed” his new g. Loomis rod and reel. There is not much you can say about that. It sucks. REALLY SUCKS. I’ve been there, done that. Fortunately, he had another spare rod, which he would guard with his life the rest of the trip.

The creek leading into the South Lake was loaded with pretty decent bluegills. It would have been a perfect place to tie on something small and load the boat with slab sized gills. Since we wanted to fish both South and West Lake, we chose to paddle past the area and continue on our way.

Midway up the creek, we had to cross 2 beaver dams. These were not too big, and we were able to up and over the canoes. I didn’t see any portages around the dams, and we all speculated that travelling through this area in the summer would be very challenging. I suspect with the low water levels, this creek will be pretty much dried up by late June or early July.

We managed to navigate the beaver dams fine, and dispatched the 14 rod portage into South Lake using the “up and over” method. “Up and over” is the method we use when daytrip fishing and the portage is less than 30 rods. I put my daypack on my back and we grab the front and back of the canoe and “two-man” carry the canoe over these small type portages. In most cases, this is much easier than unloading the canoe, flipping it over, and reloading it on the other end.

The canoe is a little heavier this way, and it sometimes can be cumbersome, but it works for us.

On the other side of the South Lake portage, I casted a tube out to the landing and immediately caught a largemouth bass. There were a ton of largemouth and smallmouth bass in this portage cove. I also saw some serious bluegills, but again, we chose not to fish for them.

We caught quite a few fish in South Lake, but they were mostly smaller than average. We did manage to catch some of the biggest largemouth bass of the trip in South Lake but the average was a lot smaller than other places we had already fished. We also didn’t catch any northern pike in South Lake, and I wonder if there are any in it.

We fished passed the portage, mostly because the wind was still blowing us perfectly down the lake, and it made for a great fishing drift. Eddie_M and John_H also had a pretty good drift down the lake, and they actually beat us to the area we thought would be the “magic cove”. The cove was really not too magical but we did manage to catch a number of 1.5 – 2lb largemouth bass, which are always pretty fun.

It was getting late in the day so we quickly portaged into West Lake and started fishing.

Again, we caught a few fish quickly at the portage. West Lake is a long, narrow lake. You could paddle down the middle of the lake and fish both sides easily. Again, the wind was just right to push us gently down the bank, which we used to our advantage. We caught a few smallmouth bass, a couple northern pike, and I caught a bonus walleye. This might have been my first walleye on a tube jig. As usual, every walleye gets put on a stringer, because we eat EVERY ONE we manage to catch. We also had a couple walleye still on a stringer off a deep point near our campsite……..At least we thought we still had some walleye on a stringer.

We had been in the canoe for nearly 13 hours and still had at least 1 more to go to get back to camp. We were still catching fish but at this time, I was done. GadgetMan and I headed over to the point where the walleye were stashed the day before, only to find the rope leading off into the woods. Gadget followed the rope up into the woods and found a carcass of what used to be a decent walleye. Something had gotten to the fish. It was probably an otter or an eagle. Whatever it was, it basically eliminated any possibility of having walleye for dinner.

Back at camp no one else brought any fish back. I was not going out again, so GadgetMan and Eddie_M went back out to catch some more fish for dinner. They were successful, which is not always the case when pressured to catch fish for food.

Once Eddie_M and GadgetMan came back to camp with some fish, Eddie_M and I quickly cleaned them, and prepped them for baking. 

I always bring a few different types of spice for baking fish, and this trip was no different. We baked some fish using blackening seasoning, and baked some other fish using olive oil and Italian seasoning, and baked some more using olive oil and lemon pepper. As with all of our fish dinners, I also made stove top stuffing, and instant mashed potatoes.

After dinner, we started making plans for the next day. I boycotted and told GadgetMan that I really didn’t feel like doing a monster day trip to Ranger Bay. Wayne_E also boycotted, so it was decided that Wayne_E and I would stay around North Bay and try to catch some lake trout, and the other guys would take a long daytrip to Ranger Bay.

Day 7: Thursday, May 27th, 2010 Ranger Bay/Laker Fishing

The Ranger Bay crew was up and ready by 5:00am and left the camp by 6:00am. I didn’t get up and make coffee. Fortunately, Eddie_M had used the stoves enough to get them primed and made the 2 pots of coffee for the group.

Eddie_M, John_H, GadgetMan and Caleb_E all went to Ranger Bay. Wayne_E and I slept in.

Somewhere around 10:00am, I woke up……….Yelled over to Wayne_E to see if he was awake, and asked him if he wanted some breakfast. I always pack too much food and this trip was no different. We had half a bottle of extra syrup and about half a bag of pancake mix. Since it was extra, and since I didn’t want to pack it out, Wayne_E and I decided to have a nice pancake breakfast.

After breakfast, Wayne_E went back to his tent and took a nap. I tried, but it was too hot. Instead, I went out and gathered some firewood…….Lots of firewood.

Wayne_E woke up around noon and we decided we should go out and try to catch some lake trout. I got out my fish finder, and made sure it was ready to go, and then looked at a map to find a couple areas that should produce some lake trout. I found 3 spots that looked really promising, and two of them were around our campsite.

The first spot we tried was literally 50 yards off the front of Cigar Island. This area is the second deepest spot I could find on my map. The deepest spot that I could find was in front of White Island. After locating some spots, I started digging through my bag to find my laker baits. I hooked up two poles for myself and 1 for Wayne. For Wayne, I gave him my favorite 2 oz hair jig. This jig is a chartreuse hair that is beat up so bad I painted the jig head with some glow in the dark fingernail polish. On the two poles I setup for myself, I tied on a white 2oz hair jig, and on the other fishing pole, I tied on a clown colored crank bait.

Once ready, we headed out to the first spot we decided to try. After about 5 minutes of fishing, I realized I forgot my life vest. Since the wind was blowing pretty hard, and I really didn’t want to go swimming without a vest, we decided to head back to camp to get it.

In camp, I also realized that I had broken the tip off my favorite fishing rod. DAmn……I got out my extra rod, quickly changed the reel, and was ready to head back out in a couple minutes.

Wayne_E and I headed back to the deep hole in front of Cigar Island.

Once I got the finder setup the way I wanted, I started marking smaller schools of baitfish. Then, I started marking larger schools of baitfish. All of the baitfish schools were on the bottom, which was not expected. I thought we would find suspending baitfish and lakers following the baitfish. Instead, we found them deep. I was still trolling a crank bait, but there was no way I was going to get it deep enough to entice anything if they were on the bottom in 90 ft of water.

Every time the fish finder would mark baitfish on the bottom the fish finder would also beep, locating what I suspected were lake trout. All of these fish were 1 foot off the bottom. I showed Wayne_E how to bottom jig for the lakers.

We did this for about 2 hours. We were just about ready to call it and the bam…….Wayne_E hooked up. He was not even sure he had a fish, but I was pretty sure he had a laker. In all the excitement, I told him to swing the fish into the boat. That was a big mistake………mid swing, the laker, which was about 5lbs flipped off the hook. I was bummed out, but I figured we might have another chance.

We continued paddling around trying to locate the baitfish. Every time the fish finder would beep, Wayne_E or I would get a hit. I managed to get 2-3 hits, but didn’t catch any fish.

Wayne_E on the other hand, caught a nice 3lb laker, and then caught a nice 8.5lb laker.

I figured the two lakers would be plenty lake trout for all of us, so we headed back into camp. I explained to Wayne_E that fishing for lakers this time of year, when they are that deep really isn’t very ethical. I’m not a big fishing ethics kind of guy, but when you know the fish species you’re targeting will die if you catch one, you need to make decisions on all aspects of fishing for them.

Wayne_E and I had succeeded in catching the most elusive fish in the park. Not many in our group have caught a lake trout, and those that have are among the elite of the elite of our fishing group.

Since it was still early in the day, Wayne_E and I decided to try to keep the fish viable by sinking it deep of the front of the island. We did this for 4 or so hours, but then finally had to clean them because I was afraid they would go bad. In reality, I think they would have been good for a few more hours, but this was one of the hottest trips I’ve ever been on.

While Wayne_E and I were catching lakers, Eddie_M and John, and GadgetMan and Caleb_E were having a banner fishing day in Ranger Bay. They fished there all day. Around 7:00pm we saw them coming through the cut, heading back to the campsite. When they arrived, they told us of the magical day they had over in Ranger Bay. All told, GadgetMan and Caleb_E caught over 150 smallmouth bass. On top of the smallmouth bass, they also caught quite a few northern pike, a few largemouth and a couple walleye.

GadgetMan told me that Eddie_M and John_H were close to breaking the hundred fish barrier, and were going to stay until they did. About 30 minutes later, we saw them coming around the Neil Island cut. The wind that had been blowing earlier had completely died down, and they were fishing across the bay. I yelled over to them, that dinner would be ready in 20-30 minutes.

Once they arrived in camp, I prepped the lakers for baking. This time I only used lemon pepper and olive oil. No sense in messing up lake trout with anything else. As with all other fish meals, I made some more Stove Top stuffing, and 4 cheese mashed potatoes. As an added bonus, I baked a couple loaves of banana bread.

This trip was definitely turning into one of my BEST trips ever.

Everyone did what they wanted to do, and I was refreshed and ready to do some easy fishing Friday, our last full day of fishing in the park.

After dinner, we all decided that Friday, our last full day in the park, would be our last pancake breakfast and we’d take it easy fishing around North Bay.

Day 8: Friday, May 28th, 2010 North Bay Water Rescue

I usually like to take it easy on the last day of a trip. I mostly do this because I want to wind down a little and don’t want to be so tired going back home. This trip would be no different.

We were all up and going around 7:00am. As normal, I started the 2 pots of coffee. After the coffee was done, I started getting the stuff together to have pancakes and bacon.

On trips with 6 or 8 guys, it is really important to have more than 1 cook. On this trip Eddie_M helped me cook whenever we were trying to knock stuff out quickly. Every time we cooked pancakes or had fried or blackened fish, Eddie_M was there to help. That always makes it easier. Not only easier, but it saves on fuel, and allows you to finish up the cooking in 20-30 minutes versus 50-60 minutes. I’ve cooked for 6 by myself before and it is no fun.

After breakfast, we all picked various different routes to fish. Wayne_E and Caleb_E headed to there honey hole near the Lost Bay area. Dave and I chose to float down the western shore, fishing the reefs, and post spawn areas that we found earlier in the week. Eddie_M and John_H headed to their “honey hole” around the Neil Island area.

It was a nice, calm day, and the drift was perfect to fish the western bank. Dave and I drifted this area, and caught quite a few nice smallmouth bass. Under the average for the week in size and numbers, but we still caught quite a few fish.

Around 1:00pm, we decided to start heading back to camp. By now, it was getting pretty hot. There was very little wind, no cloud cover, and the sun was baking us. Back at camp, we could at least find some shade.

Normally, when it is cooler, I’m usually wearing my life jacket. On this trip, I wore it when the wind was up and we were crossing large expanses of water. I was not wearing my life jacket when we started paddling back to camp.

After about 10 minutes of paddling, the wind started to pick up a little. Not too much. It was just about enough to make you feel the cooling effects, which was definitely welcomed. After a few more minutes, the wind picked up a little more. Still it was nothing to be concerned about and certainly nothing to make me want to put on my life jacket.

That would all change within a couple minutes. In a blink of the eye, the wind shifted ever so slightly and started blowing very, very hard. It was probably blowing 20-30 mph. As soon as it started, GadgetMan and I knew we were in for a fight. Every time I thought about quickly dropping my paddle and putting on my life jacket, I was reminded by the wind just how bad it was. Every time I though I could get a quick break and put my on my life jacket, the wind would gust 10 mph harder. We were quartering the waves, which were now about 2ft high and building. Every time we’d get just a little off track, I’d get hammered by a rogue 3 footer, and a gallon or two of water would splash over the side and into my lap.

To say I was a little scared is an understatement. I’ve been in worse, but not without my life jacket ON MY BODY. It was a foolish mistake to not put it on earlier. We continued to try to quarter the waves, and were about 500 yards from the island, when I saw Wayne_E and Caleb_E coming directly across the bay. Both of us were looking at their canoe and would lose it in the waves, and then see it again. By now the waves were easily 3ft and in some cases, maybe bigger. It was crazy. GadgetMan and I both knew they were taking a poor angle across the bay and would probably end up in the water.

Initially, they did pretty well, but after a few minutes, as they came closer to the island, the waves started getting bigger. This was mostly due to the water getting shallower due to a reef, but it seems like the wind was also blowing a lot harder too. As soon as they hit that shallower water, they dumped the canoe. Some of their gear was floating, but most of it now belongs to the lakers at the bottom of North Bay.

Neither of them had on their life vests. Fortunately they were close by and they both were able to get them on pretty easily. By this time they had drifted within yelling distance. Caleb_E was swimming towards shore, but I yelled at him to stay with the canoe. GadgetMan and I new we’d have to help them get their canoe and get gear. I thought about trying to get some of there stuff now since it was close to us, but the waves were still pounding us, and we were not sure that we would not end up in the water. GadgetMan and I yelled over to both of them to make sure they were OK and not injured, etc, etc. They were fine and were joking about how warm the water was. I’m GLAD the water was warm, and not the 45-50 degrees we were expecting this time of year.

Gadget and I made an executive decision, and turned the canoe nearly sideways to the waves. Probably not the greatest idea, but we figured if we got turned just a little the wind would push us faster than we could paddle. It worked as expected, and we were able to finally get out of the wind. We had been paddling nonstop for about 30 minutes and I was wore out.

Wayne_E and Caleb_E were still floating with the canoe about 300 yards from shore. GadgetMan and I quickly paddled to the nearest point, unloaded our fishing gear and then went out after them. As we paddled out towards them, we were able to pick up a couple items, but for the most part, we could not find any of their stuff. 

Once we got to them and the swamped canoe, I told the guys what was necessary to right the canoe. Wayne_E and Caleb_E helped to get the front of the canoe across our gunnels. Once it was there, I had Wayne_E get to the other side of the canoe and help balance it. The last thing we needed was two water filled canoes. Caleb_E is a pretty strong young man, having worked on a dairy farm all his life. He was able to lift and drain the canoe while his dad helped pull it across our gunnels. Once it was up and drained, GadgetMan flipped the canoe and put it back in the water. That was the easy part.

Now that the canoe was in the water, we needed to get Wayne_E and Caleb_E back into the canoe. Nrmally, getting in the canoe from the water is a tough thing to do. And it is really tough for us bigger guys. GadgetMan and I held the canoe against ours, and had Caleb_E climb in the other side. He was able to get in the canoe pretty easily. After that, getting Wayne_E into the canoe was not too difficult. GadgetMan and I continued holding the canoe next to our canoe, while Caleb_E helped pull his dad into the canoe. After a few minutes, they were both in the canoe. Exhausted, but they were both in the canoe.