Boundary Waters, Trip Reports, BWCA, Stories

Remembering 9/15
by QueticoMike

Trip Type: Paddling Canoe
Entry Date: 09/09/2001
Entry & Exit Point: Quetico
Number of Days: 7
Group Size: 1
Day 6 of 7
Friday, September 14, 2001

It was cold and calm with a hazy, misty fog floating through the air in the morning. As I stood along the shoreline at camp a bald eagle appeared out of the mist and flew directly above my head. It was so close I could hear the wind coming off its wings. Since it was calm I was able to hit the west side of the island and do some more top-water fishing with the Lucky 13. In about an hour’s time I was able to pick up 5 smallmouth in the eighteen totwenty inch range. I wanted to stay longer but my plan for the day was to pack and move before the wind came up. At the first portage to the stream heading south there were already four canoes there, three tandems and a solo. I had a brief chat and portaged by all of them. I paddled the stream up to the portage and did the up and over to Burke Lake. I paddled Burke Lake is a decent time to the landing at the last portage over to Bayley Bay. There must have been twelve or more people there. Three were leaving and the rest were just coming into the park. The people coming into the park had to be mostly rookies by the way they were reacting with giddiness to finishing such an easy portage. I briefly talked to one gentleman there, but no news was given to me about the” civilized” world. I still had another day before needing to know what was going on there anyway. I was glad to see there weren’t any major rollers on Bayley Bay when I arrived. I made my way down to a campsite towards Inlet Bay. After setting up camp I decided to fish a little cove near by and to my dismay there was a motor boat back there fishing. He was fishing in a non-motor area. I made a few casts and then went back to camp to wait for him to leave. While I was there a float plane taxied off of Inlet Bay and couldn’t had been more than 100 feet above me. That was the first and only time I had ever seen a float plane it that bay. I went back to fish the cove later and only came away with a few hammer handle pike. I did manage to get rather close to a bald eagle back there that didn’t mind posing for a few camera shots.