It's another glorious calm morning, light but overcast. Weird weather report calling for scattered sprinkles--huh, never heard that term before--scattered sprinkles. After a cup of coffee and cereal, I take the camp down, press another mug of coffee and load up the canoe. With fresh coffee at my feet, I push off to the north, take a quick photo of my 1-night campsite, and head for the great LLC pictographs.

Last time I gazed upon these pictos was 2008, but they still seem new to me 12 years later. I continue north and then veer to the west and point the canoe at Fish Stake Narrows.  I look to my right and I see a campsite unoccupied so I paddle over to check it out for a future trip. It's not bad, about 3 stars overall with a landing on the south side that I used but a better landing on the north side of the campsite. I pass through the Narrows and continue my paddle to the top of Lady Boot Bay and the nice campsite at the top of the boot. I stayed here with my boys back in 2008 and it hasn't really changed much, except the fire pit has been built up and someone built a nice wooden bench similar to those I see in front yards or gardens back home. There is a nice flat tent area with soft pads that could easily hold 2 or 3 tents.

This campsite is well protected from winds and has beach landings on the north and south side of the campsite. In 2008 I caught my personal best smallie (21.5 inch) from shore on the southern beach.  I plan to stay here on my next solo trip in September--hope its open.

As I continue north from Lady Boot Bay, the wind completely dies away and I'm paddling through glass. It just doesn't get any better than this!! I get a really cool photo with clouds and my flicker minnow reflecting off the water. What a great day to be traveling and it hasn't sprinkled on me at all!

As I make my turn to the west and towards Twentyseven Island, the wind picks up a bit from the northwest, but its light and no whitecaps. I pass the big island and take a quick photo of this interesting rock outcrop.

I turn south into the bay leading to the Takucmich portage. I'm hoping the campsite is nice so I can stay here 3 nights and fish for the lakers known to inhabit this deep clear lake. After making quick work of this short easy portage, I paddle about a hundred yards around to the small site on my right hoping its open--and it is!! The firepit is near the canoe landing, and there's a couple tiers that include a really nice tent or tarp area on the upper tier and on the second tier a slightly inclined smaller tent pad. While on the uppermost tier, I'm attacked by a large squad of mosquitos, which is really strange with it being sunny now and 2:00 pm. So I decide to put my tent on the middle tier--it fits, but barely and I have to put the stake for one of my vestibules at the base of what looks like an alder bush. After inflating my sleeping pad, I put it and the rest of my clothes and tent gear inside the tent. Then I hop in the canoe to get water. As I'm filling up the jugs with the crystal clear water, I decide take the 15-minute paddle to the island campsite on the far eastern side of Tak. As I near the island, I note the expanse of big red pine on the island and wonder if I should have stayed here instead.

After parking the canoe, I make my way up and over the knob to firepit on the SE side of the island and am bombarded by, yup, you guessed it, DEERFLIES!! They bang off my hat and sunglasses as I examine the campsite and walk back to my canoe. I'll take my smaller campsite, even with the mosquitos.

Back at camp, I erect my bugnet without the tarp in case the mosquitos come out in droves this evening or in the morning.  Dinner is another PBJ because I'm too damn lazy to even boil water for a freeze-dried Chicken and Dumplings.  I really love my PBJ.  Very few mosquitos down here by the canoe landing, which is weird since they're all over on the upper tier.  Really weird.  I take a few minutes to snap a few photos of this nice campsite.

When I pass the tent, I notice a dozen hornets on my rainfly and flying around it.  What??  Sure enough, I discover a hornet nest at the base of the alder bush and I'm pretty sure they are pissed off at my tent.

Back under my bugnet, the wind dies down and I watch baitfish break the glass surface and every now and then either a bass or lake trout chases after them.  I'm guessing lakers since the surface action is over 100 feet of water.  Before heading to the tent, I click on the weather radio for the latest report.  It's now calling for rain rolling in tomorrow afternoon and potentially severe storms with large hail and gusts up to 70 mph after midnight.  In the afternoon, winds are supposed to gust over 20 mph from the south.  Not good.  My site faces south.  The last thing I want is a repeat of Stuart Lake.  So, since the campsite I have in mind on 41st Island is better protected from a southerly wind, and less than 2 hours away, I decide to leave Camp Hornet in the morning.  If I can get up early enough, I'll have a couple hours to troll for lakers and maybe have a laker dinner before the rain hits.  At least, that's the plan.  I carefully enter the tent and read for a bit.  I hear the constant buzzing of the hornets and can see their shadows on the rainfly--creepy.  Next thing I don't know is I'm fast asleep in spite of the buzzing.  Somehow I sleep like a baby.

July 13.

I'm up early and carefully and slowly take down my tent as several hornets buzz around near their nest, and then quickly drag my tent away from the tent pad. Success!! But I admit to having the willies for a bit. I press a cup of coffee and down a couple granola bars as I pack up my remaining gear and load the canoe. The last thing I do is press one more cup of coffee as I paddle eastward under mostly sunny skies and ready my trolling rod for some lake trout action. At 30 ft, I cast out my blue alewife flicker minnow and let out enough line to get it to its max trolling depth of 23 ft. My canoe glides on the almost glass surface as my depth finder reads the depth--40ft, 50ft, 60ft, 70ft, 80ft, 90ft--and BAM!! My rod bends over and the drag starts to sing. I grab the rod out of my holder and tighten the drag on my Shimano Stradic reel a couple of clicks. After several minutes, I'm able to finally gain some line on the trout. Then I can feel him shaking and spinning as bubbles hit the surface and then I see him. A beautiful medium sized laker. I land him in the net and with the trout and net in the water, I quickly paddle to the shoreline for a quick photo. A nice 21-in trout!! Gonna have a nice dinner of fried laker sandwich tonight!!

I fillet the trout, push off the ledgerock and troll around this area of the bay. About every 15 minutes I get a hit, land 2 more lakers of similar size (20 and 24 inch) and lose another just before trying to net him. Unfortunately, I have to leave Takucmich and head to 41st Island so I can set up camp before the rains predicted for later this afternoon and evening begin.

I make it through the short downhill portage back to LLC at 8:30 and head west. There's only 2 campsites in this area that I know of, and as I pass the eastern side of 41st I see a tent on the 3-star site. Uh oh. If the site on the NW side of 41st is occupied, I'll be forced back to 27 Island to the east, or continue west toward Snow Bay. At 9:30 I paddle through the island studded western bay of 41st Island and see a grove of young and medium-aged red pine rising 20 feet or so above the shoreline. Then I see the firepit and the site is....OPEN!!

I'm in heaven and so relieved because I've been wanting to stay at this site for about 20 years!! I park the canoe on the rocky shoreline which affords a dryfoot landing. I climb up the hill and this site is absolutely fantastic!! My buddies know of my affinity for red pine and this one has hundreds of them. Large flat rocks have been carried up from the shoreline and ring the firepit (and two additional illegal firepits that folks have used to grill fish over a bed of coals). There's even a flat cleaning table about waist high made of more flat rocks. Next to the firepit I find two cleaning boards and a wooden yardstick--these will be put to good use over the next few days. The pines provide multiple tarp locations as well as flat test pads and would be a hanger's paradise. I pick a tarp spot about 20 yards up the slope from the firepit where the pine grove flattens out. It's perfect for my CCS tarp in that I can direct the upcoming rainwater to either side and have it flow away from my ground cloth and gear. Did I say this site was fantastic?

By noon I've got everything set up in camp. The wind is starting to blow out of the south as expected gusting around 20 mph. It's supposed to increase a bit during the evening and then switch to the SW tomorrow with similar windy conditions. The good news is this bay is not that big and so even with this gusty wind there are no whitecaps. So let's go fishing. I paddle from my peninsula campsite and head into the wind trolling in the 20-30 foot water. There's several small islands and outcrops in the bay that I navigate around while fighting the wind--tiring to say the least. I get no hits and then arrive at the relative calm of the southern shoreline. There's a nice reef here so I try some casts with the ShadZ without success. I paddle west and can't find the 2-star campsite in the SW corner of the bay and guess nature has taken it back. Two hours later I'm back at camp and only have 2 smallies to brag about, both on a Whopper Plopper. One was only about twice as big as the Plopper--"How the heck you gonna swallow that bait ya dummy!!"

Back at camp I lower the tarp on the southern side. The wind is strong and steady now and I see banks of dark clouds on the horizon to the south and southwest. I move the canoe up and put it next to the tarp on the south side to act as a wind break. At 5:00 I fry up the lake trout and splurge with two large buttered whole wheat fish sandwiches and a drink!! This is soooo goooood!! I can barely eat it all, but somehow I force myself. Afterwards I think this must be how grizzlies feel in their stupor state after eating too many salmon skins. After a bit I clean the skillet and plate and ready camp for the incoming blitzkrieg of rain. I hear thunder just before 8:00 so I finish up another chapter and hit the tent.

July 14.

I slept pretty good last night, waking a couple times with rain dancing on my tent fly. I crawl out of the tent at 7:30 looking around my camp and realizing it rained a bunch. There's small piles of duff all around--remnants of the rivers of rainwater that flowed during the night. But everything under my tarp is dry as a bone. There's threatening dark clouds to the NW as I eat breakfast and drink my coffee. The dark clouds move quickly west to east and pass just to the north. The horizon to the west appears mostly sunny--lets catch some fish!! I jump in the canoe and decide to head west into LLC proper figuring that the southern shoreline on LLC should be relatively safe even in a gusty SW wind. I also want to check out the "guide portage" leading into the eastern shore of Snow Bay. It would make it much easier to get into Snow Bay should I face a strong westerly blow when I depart 41st Island. On the way there, I troll my TD-11 flicker minnow and as I come around a point, about half way to the guide portage, I hook into a nice pike. And then another. And then two smallies and two nice fat walleye as I troll back and forth around this point in about 20 feet of water. The wind is just enough from the SW that the waves are not too bothersome near this point, but I need to get over to that guide portage so I reel up and head west into the shallow bay. I find the portage and its not bad, maybe 200 yards, flat, although the landing on the Snow Bay side is rocky and could be a dicey put-in with a strong west wind. I exit the shallow bay and head north and west to check out the two 3-star campsites marked on my maps but only find one of them. I head back to camp catching a couple more walleyes and have a dinner of Camp Chow Turkey with Rice and Cranberry, and it's just great--and this from a guy not normally a fan of rice dishes. After dinner, I decide to do some laundry and take a bath in the lake. While in my birthday suit drying off I hear voices and the clunk of a paddle on a canoe. Last thing anyone needs to see is my white butt, so I quickly don my pants as a tandem rounds the point and sees me--that was close!! We exchange pleasantries and they continue west to find a campsite. I hang my laundry and relax in my chair under the tarp, mostly out of the wind. I finish my first book with a great little cigar and vodka and then exchange a couple inReach texts with my wife. I also send a text to Wade at Piragis and ask if the fire ban has been lifted with all the rain. It's supposed to really blow hard up to 25 mph W/SW tomorrow so fishing the walleye point might not happen--big frown. But, who knows? I hit the tent at 9:00 pm and sleep really hard despite the wind. Next thing I know it's almost 9:00 am--the latest I've slept in maybe 10 years.

July 15-17.

Breakfast is coffee, spam/eggs and panbread with a cinnamon/sugar/butter topping. As I'm eating, I get the latest weather report--potentially heavy rain tonight, winds gusting W/SW up to 25 mph by late afternoon for the next two days (that sucks I say to myself), winds finally subsiding by Friday morning (July 17), then a monster storm predicted for Friday night with winds that may be up to 70mph. That could be really ugly!!

By late-morning, the wind is already blowing 10-15 mph from the west/southwest. Some blue sky, but large cumulus clouds trying to come together--I can almost smell the rain forming. I grab my canoe and head into the wind to the NW corner of this bay to see if there's any hungry smallies or walleyes. While in this small shallow bay, I discover a little sandy beach and find a 100 yd trail that leads into LLC just south of my walleye point. As I gaze over to the point, I notice the waves are not bad as long as I don't get too far away from the point where the W/SW wind is pushing 1-2 ft rollers into Canada. What the heck, I carry my Rapidfire and fishing gear across the trail, put on my lifevest, and start the hunt for a walleye dinner. Trolling in 18ft of water, I quickly land a nice 22 inch walleye, and then a real fat 24 incher. I beach the canoe and take a quick photo before releasing these nice fish.

As I resume trolling, I get a huge strike in 20 ft. My drag sings as I grab my rod and tighten it. This is a big fish and I'm thinking big pike. I can't reel in any line for a couple minutes and I'm nearing the point and the sharp shoreline rocks. Shit!! I'm forced to put the rod back in the holder and paddle my way backwards and away from the point hoping I don't lose this big fish. I grab the rod again and as I pass the point I can feel the brute tiring. I really just want to get a look at this fish but as I get him close enough he takes line again and dives back down. Another minute and I get him back near the surface and I see him--OMG!! Not a pike, but a HUGE walleye!! I'm now in the rollers and probably across the border as I net this big guy. I quickly get the lure out of his big mouth, grab the yardstick and measure him--28 inches--a trophy!! I realize how stupid I am being in this rough water in a solo canoe, but hey, it's a trophy walleye. I release him and away he goes. I slowly make my way back to the point and realize dark clouds are coming my way. Then it starts to sprinkle and I hear the crack of thunder. Oops! I turn east of the point and ease my canoe into a small cove out of the wind. I'm able to get out of the canoe with dry feet as the rain comes down in sheets. I stumble across the slippery rocks and up a slope 15 yards from shore, hunkering under a large busted-up cedar. The rain subsides 20 minutes later so I head back to the walleye point and catch and release three more walleye, a nice one at 26 inches, along with a couple smallies and a decent pike. I finally land a chunky 20-in walleye that I keep--perfect size for my dinner--and fillet in the calm narrows before entering my campsite bay. What a great day for catching fish despite the wind!

Thursday morning, I'm up at 6:30. The wind is down a bit from yesterday and more out of the SW but it's supposed to rain hard this afternoon. So after breakfast I head back to my walleye point. About a hundred yards from the point, I find an underwater hump that rises to a depth of 12-feet, surrounded on three sides with 21 ft depth and on one side a dropoff into 90 ft of water. This creates a saddle between this hump and my walleye point and I realize fish are stacked in this saddle where I was fishing yesterday. Not only do I continue to catch nice walleye, but I find big smallies lurking around the hump--I land several in the 17-19 inch range. I was hoping for a trophy pike, but don't succeed. I see rain coming my way, so I race back to camp. At 1:00, its starts to rain and then it becomes a deluge for the next 20 minutes--rivers of rain all around the camp. The deluge becomes a steady rain for another hour or so and the temp has dropped into the 60s. With the wind and rain, its almost cold. But the sky is starting to clear to the west--about time! After dinner of Chicken and Dumplings, I send an inReach message to my wife and I notice a text from Wade--THE FIREBAN HAS BEEN LIFTED!! I quickly split some of the red pine logs I've collected and have a very nice 90-minute fire tonight as the skies begin to clear.

I'm really lazy come Friday morning. Hard to believe, but I'm almost fished out. But the wind is down, so after breakfast I head east and troll around Dome Island and other islands around it. Not much action, so I return to camp with some more red pine logs. I decide to depart tomorrow morning and hopefully snag the nice island site in Snow Bay. If not, I'll head down to Sandbar Island where I've never camped before. I spend the evening farting around taking photos of this great campsite. In preparation for the huge storm predicted to roll in after midnight, I take down the tarp and secure my packs and canoe. After a fantastic 90-minute fire of split red pine I hit the tent and sleep great again. The storm with 70 mph winds never happens!!

July 18-19.

It wasn't until I returned home that I found out my camera had stopped working the last several days of my trip--my photos all came out blurry. I'm hoping Panasonic will treat me well since I purchased my little point and shoot camera just last summer.

I'm on the water at 7:30 and make my way into Snow Bay. Well crap! The island site is taken, as are all the other nice campsites including the 5-star on the SW point that I've never been able to check out cause it's always occupied. So I paddle down to Sandbar Island and find a decent site. After camp is set up, I fish for a couple of hours around Sandbar Island only catching a few smallies and a couple of small pike. Back at camp I split some firewood but realize I won't be using it as large banks of dark clouds form all around. It's starts to sprinkle about 7:00 pm and then rains quite hard for a while. When it finally stops, I head in for the night.

Tomorrow dawns and the wind is already howling out the west. By mid-morning it's steady around 20 mph and gains strength throughout the day, probably gusting near 40 mph at times. Being windbound on an island sucks. There's not much to do besides read and take a long rare nap. The wind makes it hard to even enjoy a cigar. After having a dinner of Chicken and Dumplings, and tired of the wind, I head into the tent with a drink and iced oatmeal cookies. Finally, sleep comes.

July 20.

I don't sleep that well due to taking a nap, so I'm up early. I plan to make it into Loon Lake today and since it's only a couple hours to reach Loon, I can putter around this morning. I have a leisurely breakfast of cereal, Nido and blueberries and decide to have three cups of coffee instead of my usual two. I finally pack up and paddle straight south to Loon with a light north wind easing me along. I say goodbye to big LLC as I make it over the Beatty Portage. I find a nice elevated site and have time to fish for a while, catching a couple of really nice walleyes near the mouth of the Little Indian Sioux as it enters to main basin of Loon Lake. There's a couple of motor boats fishing on the west side of the basin, but I don't really notice them at all. I fillet one of the walleye for my last fish fry of the trip. An easy day to say the least.

July 21-22.

I wake up and begin my journey to the tough 1/2 mile Devil's Cascade portage with plans to camp on Upper Pauness. Unfortunately, I'm gonna get wet today as rain is in the forecast. There's a large beaver dam that I have to push over about 10 minutes from Devil's Cascade that I don't recall being there back in 2008.  Beavers can be a pain sometimes. I reach Upper Pauness and am forced to stay on a pit of a campsite--not the way I wanted to end my trip. But I make the best of it, have a nice quiet dinner with my last drink of vodka and final cigar. As I get ready to hit the tent early, I make a final toast to the canoe gods for a memorable solo. And smile knowing I only have a couple hours to get to my car and only two relatively easy slightly uphill portages.

Final Thoughts.

I spend a night in Duluth and a night in Madison arriving home safely on July 24. This solo tested me quite a bit, from a most difficult first day on the Stuart River, a couple of massive thunderstorms and rain, and too many days wrestling with gusty winds.  I meant what I said at the end of Part 1.  The Stuart River EP is one I have no desire to tackle a second time. I will always recall the epic struggle against insects: Deerflies, Ticks, and then Hornets. And my losing battle against one of the most vicious red squirrels I've ever encountered. On the plus side, this is easily my most successful fishing trip for walleye. I normally fish for trophy smallmouth, lake trout, and pike, and catch walleye by accident. But with the gusty winds during most of the trip, I was forced to troll most of the trip, and caught numerous nice-sized walleye, including one 28-inch trophy.  Another positive was I arrived home safely, lost 10 pounds, and no injuries, as long as I don't count a few slight puncture wounds in my fingers from treble hooks.  Ya know, it doesn't get much better than that!!