Fall 2016 Lake Agnes Trip
by adludwig
Trip Type:
Paddling Canoe
Entry Date:
09/07/2016
Entry & Exit Point:
Moose/Portage River (north) (EP 16)
Number of Days:
5
Group Size:
4
Discuss Trip:
View Discussion Thread (11 messages)
Day 3 of 5
Friday, September 09, 2016
One of our highlights of the morning were the birds we saw as we traveled to Stuart. I have spent a large part of the year bird watching all over the state, but there was something special about seeing ducks, hawks, and herons in this wild and rugged place. As we paddled, Dad and I would shout out "Broad-winged Hawk" or "Blue Heron" to try and interest the non-birders in the other canoe. We got to Stuart and found a little breeze, but we headed out for a spot we usually shore fish from first. It gives our behinds a break after being in the canoe for 3-4 hours. I was reminiscing about all the walleyes I caught from shore, when BAM!, I got my first strike. I caught a good pile in a short amount of time. These Stuart walleyes are real beauties and run quite a bit bigger than those we were catching in Agnes.
After a lunch of beef jerky and trail mix, we hit the water to chase some more of these walleyes. We kept enough to bring back for dinner, so now we were just fishing for fun. The guys trolled around the lake, exploring some new waters, while my Dad and I stayed pretty close to our familiar spots. We did this for a couple of hours, with everyone catching their fair share of walleyes, As we started heading in to the shoreline where we had our walleyes stringered, Dad got a huge strike. We thought for sure he had a monster walleye on, but it just kept going on these big and powerful runs. We soon saw the massive pike he had hooked into. He was playing it with very light line, so we took our time, before finally flipping it into the canoe. We got some pics of this beauty and then let her go.
We pulled up on shore and filleted out the walleyes we had kept. Then we decided to start the journey back. It had been a great day on Stuart, with loads of walleyes and a trophy pike to boot. As we neared the last portage into Agnes on the Boulder River, "crack", we heard a sickening sound behind us. Chris was left holding just the handle of his canoe paddle. Well, at least we were mostly back to camp... We made due and got back to camp and enjoyed a big dinner of walleyes and hash browns.
After dinner we attempted to repair the paddle, for the whole day we had ahead of us tomorrow, fishing on Agnes, and more importantly for the journey back on to the car on Sunday. We didn't even get back out fishing that night, as the day had us all pretty tuckered. Instead we made a big campfire, drank some hot chocolate, and enjoyed the sunset and stars.
Today would be a travel day. 2 out of the last 3 years, we have made a day trip over to Stuart Lake. We first decided to explore this gem, when from many sources, we heard the walleye fishing was incredible. Now it takes some time to get over to Stuart, as you must navigate a part of the Boulder River, and then on to the never ending Dahlgren River. We got a nice early start by eating a small, light breakfast. In years past, we ate our huge pancake and bacon breakfast this day to fuel up for the trip. We opted to eat fast so that we could get on the water and spend a little more time at Stuart. The morning again was picturesque. We enjoyed the cool as we navigated through the 3 rather long portages.
One of our highlights of the morning were the birds we saw as we traveled to Stuart. I have spent a large part of the year bird watching all over the state, but there was something special about seeing ducks, hawks, and herons in this wild and rugged place. As we paddled, Dad and I would shout out "Broad-winged Hawk" or "Blue Heron" to try and interest the non-birders in the other canoe. We got to Stuart and found a little breeze, but we headed out for a spot we usually shore fish from first. It gives our behinds a break after being in the canoe for 3-4 hours. I was reminiscing about all the walleyes I caught from shore, when BAM!, I got my first strike. I caught a good pile in a short amount of time. These Stuart walleyes are real beauties and run quite a bit bigger than those we were catching in Agnes.
After a lunch of beef jerky and trail mix, we hit the water to chase some more of these walleyes. We kept enough to bring back for dinner, so now we were just fishing for fun. The guys trolled around the lake, exploring some new waters, while my Dad and I stayed pretty close to our familiar spots. We did this for a couple of hours, with everyone catching their fair share of walleyes, As we started heading in to the shoreline where we had our walleyes stringered, Dad got a huge strike. We thought for sure he had a monster walleye on, but it just kept going on these big and powerful runs. We soon saw the massive pike he had hooked into. He was playing it with very light line, so we took our time, before finally flipping it into the canoe. We got some pics of this beauty and then let her go.
We pulled up on shore and filleted out the walleyes we had kept. Then we decided to start the journey back. It had been a great day on Stuart, with loads of walleyes and a trophy pike to boot. As we neared the last portage into Agnes on the Boulder River, "crack", we heard a sickening sound behind us. Chris was left holding just the handle of his canoe paddle. Well, at least we were mostly back to camp... We made due and got back to camp and enjoyed a big dinner of walleyes and hash browns.
After dinner we attempted to repair the paddle, for the whole day we had ahead of us tomorrow, fishing on Agnes, and more importantly for the journey back on to the car on Sunday. We didn't even get back out fishing that night, as the day had us all pretty tuckered. Instead we made a big campfire, drank some hot chocolate, and enjoyed the sunset and stars.
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