Day 9, September 20th Burntside to Bentpine

A big storm blew through last night complete with thunder rolling across the lake and lightning flashing wildly. It rained HARD most of the night. The morning dawned windy and damp but not raining. We watched the wind blow the storm eastward over coffee and cornmeal pancakes. The sun broke through a small sucker hole for ten minutes so we decided to break camp and head to Bentpine through Claire.

Our research indicated that we could “paddle [the creek] in normal water levels” and that the portage was “swampy but passable.” Hmmm, with healthy skepticism we launched at about 11am. With an eagle soaring overhead I caught a bass while saying a farewell to Burntside, a lovely lake. Approaching the creek we had to pull over a small beaver dam to access the short portage. We paddled up the narrow foot deep stream full of grass and rocks but quickly had to resort to lining the boat through waist deep musk-keg like hummocks of muddy grass that eventually petered out and we had to resort to dragging the boat through grass and rocks before being able to paddle/pole through the grass and muck into Claire. An eagle mocked us, gliding freely above the pretty little lake. We munched an energy bar as we made the quick paddle to the other side in a light rain and wind. So the portage into Bentpine from Claire is not recommended. While it is accurate to say “it is swampy but passable” it then transitions into a steep up and down “jaunt” with mossy slick rocks. Tony labeled it a “real b*ll buster” and while I can’t address that reference specifically I will say it was a pain in the “you know what.” Bentpine Lake on the other hand is beautiful with scenic islands and rocks. We were happy to be there. We paddled, trolling into the wind toward a mid-lake island camp, only catching a couple of pike. It’s a very pretty site with limited level tent spots. We set up camp around 400pm and the sun blessedly came out from the clouds intermittently so we a chance to dry our gear. Tony fished from camp with no luck, while I made pesto pizza for dinner. Scrumptious! The wind died around 630pm. It was nice to just sit quietly in camp and drink tea without the wind for a couple of hours. We went to bed early to read. It was quiet, very quiet and then the rain started to pitter-patter on the tent. Oh well.

Day 10, September 21 Bentpine Lake “Here comes the sun”

We got up at 700am with the sun dappling lightly on the tent for 10 whole minutes! Things were VERY wet but big blue holes in the sky mixed in with the clouds.

We enjoyed a breakfast of coffee with sausage hash browns. The sun broke through for real around 930am and with it a breeze started up from across the lake. We hung a line and took the opportunity to really dry out. It felt great. At 11am we packed a lunch and headed off in search of the elusive fish structure. . . Heading the advice, “if they’re not biting go deeper,” we bounced a number of weedless lures, jigs, and rapalas near the bottom. The wind and weeds were our nemesis. We caught a bunch of the maniacal pike but no walleye. We ate lunch on a rock watching an eagle fish the lake. No luck either. We trolled back to camp picking up another pike and decided to stop fighting the wind for a while and wash up. We took a brisk bath in the shallows and hung our clothes to dry. Tony “read” in the tent for an hour while I prepared dinner so we wouldn’t have to cook in the dark after the evening fishing expedition. (Bear Valley Minestrone soup with sausage/chicken and biscuits.) We headed off fishing at about 530pm with the light playing delightfully on the islands, rocks, and trees. Most of the trees are just beginning to change color. Our eagle soared in the bluebird sky. It was windy but it had been clear all day. We fished with no bites until about 700pm and then just as we were turning to head back to camp I got a hit on my deep diving tall dancer and reeled in a nice walleye. Encouraged, we fished as the sun set but no other takers. We paddled back in full darkness and sat near the fire eating our hearty dinner. We hushed each other as we heard a bunch of wolf pups yapping from across the lake. Wow. It was nice to finally have a sunny day even if the wind did blow.