Another morning sleeping in until 7:30 am. As I've mentioned, one of my favorite times on these trips is waking up very early and getting out on the water fishing before anyone else is up. I had only managed to do that one morning thus far. Maybe I was overdoing it. A small headache lingered from the previous day’s escapades. A cup of coffee and a stack of pancakes with bacon put me back on track. We had briefly debated doing a large loop and heading up to the south arm of Knife, then west all the way to Moose Lake. I was glad we had passed on the idea as it afforded us several more layover days including this one.

Mid-morning, I took the solo canoe out for another spin and decided to work the north side of Thomas. I was amazed at the schools of fish I could see with the fish finder in 25-30 feet of water. I could even track my lure down to them. But regardless of what was being presented, I couldn’t find much traction. Even QueticoMike’s ShadZ went untouched on multiple passes. I found a little luck in the northern bays and managed to land a smaller sized pike that attacked a rattling crankbait. I did make note on the map of several areas ripe with fish that we could try around dusk. After three hours or so, I made my way back to camp. Everyone seemed pretty content to read, sit in the sun, and catch early afternoon naps.

As we lounged, a group of three canoes took residence at the site to the south. The site is a bit close in my opinion, but not so much that they gave us much bother.

I surveyed the food situation and realized I had probably brought enough food to feed five or six for a week. We were burning through some of the heavier items which made the blue barrel much more manageable. Midafternoon, the three of us collectively decided to head back to the northern shores I had fished that morning to try our luck. I assured Grant and Davis I knew where to find fish, I just could guarantee they would jump onto their lines. The Garmin confirmed the schools were still there, but multiple passes proved their interest in eating was much of the same as it was in the morning. Davis did manage to land a sizable walleye, but despite hitting the same spot for the next 30-45 minutes, we couldn’t replicate the catch. As it drifted past 7 pm, we were leery of sundown and the mosquito hoard that would inevitably descend on camp.

As we approached our campsite, a low-lying smoke trail from a nearby campfire hung in the air. A pair of adults swam offshore the site just south of us. As I eased upon our site, I politely asked if they were aware of the status of the fire ban. “Lifted Friday is what we were told”. Once back at camp, we fired up the Garmin InReach and I sent a message to my wife to confirm the fire ban status. She put in a call to the outfitter who assured her that small campfires were once again permitted. We dutifully collected firewood and I began to lament the decision to leave the Silky saw and Bruks hatchet at home. Thankfully Davis had brought a hatchet of sorts that reminded me more a large butcher knife. It was decent for small and medium branches, but the bigger stuff was sweat inducing. I had gambled that the fire ban wouldn’t be lifted while we were out here and wouldn’t miss the added weight. It was a decision I would end up regretting. Regardless, we were able to collect enough small downed branches to get a fire going. Dinner consisted of chicken burritos from PackItGourmet. I was really started to get impressed with the quality of these meals and they sure did not leave us hungry. We topped it off with some instant cheesecake which always reminds me more of cheesecake flavored pudding. We jokingly debated adding some berries from the neighboring bushes but not being much of a botanist, I decided against it.

As night descended, we all huddled close to the fire, not for the needed warmth but from the perceived protection the smoke afforded us against the mosquitoes. We laid some Thermacell filters on top of the grate for some added deterrent. As darkness ensued, the clear sky slowly presented a brilliant display of stars. As the bourbon bottle made several rounds around the fire, we all stared at the stars for several hours before reluctantly turning in for the night.