Monday started out calm and the winds stayed light and variable all day. Smooth as glass paddling through Boulder, Tiger and Never Fail bays while on our way to Fish Stake Narrows meant trolling while travelling would be the plan.

Each of us caught a couple fish while paddling with the biggest pike by me (27"), smallmouth bass by Curt (17") and walleye by both Jaden and Curt (15"). Nothing exceptional but since all were "bonus" fish, we were happy with the results. We crossed LLC west to east to go check out the pictos on the Canadian side. This was the first time for me seeing these particular pictos, and they were phenomenal, with more panels and clearer than I have seen, especially the moose.

After the pictos, we headed back to American waters and into the Fish Stake Narrows area. The first site east of FSN was open. We noted that, passed by and checked both island sites closer to FSN, which were unfortunately taken, so we turned around and claimed the island site as our camp for the next few days. It is a very nice site with plenty of space, trails to explore, a decent landing off to the side of the site and views of both sunrise and sunset.

Monday ending up getting fairly warm and stayed sunny all day. We fished for a couple hours in the afternoon between our site and the rock pile in FSN. Jaden and I boated 9 fish; a mixed bag, of pike, walleye, and bass; but Curt got blanked. There was someone else at FSN every time we went over the next few days, not surprising with the high water levels creating great current there. When we went back that night, we watched the live bait guys catch 30 or so while we caught only 2. Sometimes it's like that.

I discovered my in-camp diversion during this first evening on the island- someone had hidden toy soldiers around the site. One was in between the thick bark of a big pine tree near the side canoe landing, and the other was left to overlook the fire grate area. It was good to know the site was secured while we were away. This small LNT "violation" brought many smiles to my face and resulted in a half dozen searches over the next few days to see if more well hidden soldiers were left behind (there were!), which resulted in this island getting it's new name.

We finished the day with a long campfire until after 11:00, thanks in part to a large wood pile left behind by a previous visitor that we couldn't even burn through in the next 3 days despite our best efforts (thank you to whoever that was)! All the best planning, reminiscing, and storytelling happens at the campfire and we did plenty of that for sure!