Boundary Waters, Trip Reports, BWCA, Stories

Sawbill, Easy-Breezy
by bottomtothetap

Trip Type: Paddling Canoe
Entry Date: 09/03/2020
Entry & Exit Point: Sawbill Lake (EP 38)
Number of Days: 5
Group Size: 4
Day 3 of 5
Saturday, September 05, 2020 The next morning we were greeted with gorgeous views of a still lake and islands surrounded in misty fog. But as soon as the sun gained some height in the sky, the wind picked up again as well. That rather discouraged us from going out in the waves for some morning fishing but we were content enough to just hang out and give Steve a chance to try out his new Jet Boil stove and coffee press during our leisurely breakfast and to try some casting from shore. By lunchtime this had only yielded a snaky little northern for me so we were going to have to take on the breeze and the bouncy water for some earnest fishing. We found some decent-sized rocks and tied them in to each of our canoes so we could drop them as anchors to help us hold position in the chop. Jeff and I went over to the west side of Sawbill to check out the area by Handle Creek while Craig and Steve were going to work some islands nearby. Our location produced only a couple of small bass for Jeff but Craig had managed a nice smallie by the islands. Unfortunately, Craig and Steve's rope then soon lost it's anchor so they were going to have to return to shore. Jeff and I decided to take over their spot and another small bass or two soon took his bait.

Just for something different, I decided to start casting a Dardevle spoon and quickly felt a snag in the rocks. Except, the "snag" started moving ("rock" bass?). Then the pulling got pretty intense and I told Jeff to get the net. As I got the fish near the canoe it went on a run and zinged line off of my reel. I tightened the drag and again worked it near the boat and again this fish ran still zinging line against the increased drag. For a third time I worked the fish in near the canoe and this time got a glimpse of a light tan-colored thick body that exceeded three feet in length. After another jerk or two this beast began to tire so I was able to get it in close enough for Jeff to reach it with our short-handled net. I just managed to get the huge head (and nasty teeth) above the surface as Jeff got the net to it. Then, with one final thrash of it's head, the fish ripped it's mouth free of the lure and was gone. Dang! No fish, no photo, but...still plenty of fun! It's not thought that Sawbill has any muskies but with the behavior of this fish and it's color (much lighter than a typical northern) that's almost what we were thinking. I was not able to note any side markings or other features to distinguish it as a muskie so it was likely "just" a big feisty northern. At any rate, what a thrill! I was eager start casting that Daredevle again but then I noticed the lure. This fish had pretty much destroyed the hooks, bending them way out of their normal configuration. Time to re-rig. The next hour of fishing produced nothing for Jeff or me and since we already had a great story to tell we decided to get out of the wind and return to camp.

Craig had released the one keeper bass he caught and all Steve was able to do from shore was another small northern so instead of a fish fry we were going to be eating the freeze-dried food we had brought as back-up for supper. This was actually pretty tasty (Mountain House spaghetti in red sauce) and set the tone for another nice evening with a fire and, as before, a break from the breeze and glass-like water once the sun set.