After a buckwheat pancake breakfast, we decided to paddle downstream this morning and fish the area below some rapids. Fishing a floating jig and leech above a split shot I had the hot hand and landed a series of really nice smallies (to ~18”). In the current below the rapids they put up a heck of a fight! At one point I yelled over the roar of the water, “Man, I love this kind of fishing!” Shady sarcastically responded “What [kind of fishing is that]? When you’re the only one catching fish?” My hot hand cooled but with some persistence I caught the walleye we knew was hiding down there. Throw in a few pike-it was a great morning!

We fished right through lunchtime but we had a snack before heading back upstream to camp. While eating we met a group on the move. Seriously! As we understood it, they had put in on Moose Lake (assuming the popular one near Ely) Wednesday, rounded American Point (Saganaga n’est-ce pas?) and were back to this point nearing Alice. I don’t know whether to believe it or not, but it sounds like an almost superhuman haul. Shady and I agreed that their apparent trip leader looked like a guy from the “Strangers” group photo-far left QPassage (QP)?

For the second day in a row we had rain throughout much of the afternoon. After dinner the sky stopped dumping and we got out and fished topwaters for smallies. Shady fooled a beautiful 18.5” Smallmouth with a skitter pop. Storm clouds were mounting on the horizon but fortunately we saw no more rain on this trip. We had a nice sunset to go with our campfire.