It was a very good weekend to be up north. After getting packed, the smoked fish guy and I left Duluth about 10:00 a.m. on Thursday morning and headed north to the Gunflint Trail. After a quick lunch, we headed across the portage into one of our favorite lake trout lakes. It was another beautiful, sunny day-continuing a string of good weather this September. We caught a couple lake trout right away after the portage on the way to the campsite. After getting set up we paddled to the honey hole on the point and caught several more eating sized trout before dinner. Dinner was freestyle lake trout, steaks, and mushrooms. Meals are always top-notch with the smoked fish guy along.
Friday turned out to be a very memorable day. After breakfast burritos, we went after the trout. It was an epic day of fishing. Not usually ones to count fish, for some unknown reason we started keeping track of our catch for the day. We ended up with 31 lake trout. We caught them 30 feet down over 50-70 feet of water. We got them on spinners, spoons, jigs, and slip bobbers. Basically we got them on anything we put down there. To top it off, it was a gorgeous day-we even got a swim in during lunch. That evening we had double Kek Burgers (lake trout bacon cheeseburgers) and were able to tune in a Twins victory on the radio. What a great day!
On Saturday the weather finally started to turn with some wind and clouds being present. Still, we caught quite a few trout, although it was less than half of what we caught the day before. It was on Saturday that I noticed my map case wasn’t attached to the canoe like usual. I couldn’t find it anywhere. It had the permit in it, so there was some concern. That night we cooked up a BWCA jambalaya (red beans and rice, sautéed andouille sausage and vegetables, chunks of lake trout) and, amazingly, we were able to tune in the Iowa Hawkeyes football game on the radio. The smoked fish guy is a massive fan of the Hawkeyes and he was in 7th heaven as they pulled off a big upset of Penn State.
The wind came up overnight and we packed hurriedly on Sunday morning due to impending rain. It rained and blew a good amount that morning and we only caught one lake trout on our way to the portage. We didn’t find the missing map case on the portage and it wasn’t in my truck. We got the gear loaded up and hit the road, listening to the Vikings as we went. To my chagrin, Mr. Farve pulled off the miracle victory. Does this mean I have to cheer for him? I got home mid-afternoon and was pleased to find my map case stuck in the front door with a nice note from a gentleman from Pine City who had found it on the portage. He got my address from the permit. That was sure nice of him. It wrapped up a very good little canoe trip.
Nature Moment: As I made the journey from camp to the latrine on Saturday, I noted the unusual amount of mountain ash trees. The trees, heavy with ripe berries, were in several locations around camp. I remember that the berries attract lots of birds and as I was seated and contemplating life, I heard some chirping right above me. I looked up to find myself only a few feet from two ruffed grouse in a mountain ash tree. Like typical grouse they didn’t seem to care about me, and just continued to eat the berries.
Monday, September 28, 2009
Monday, September 21, 2009
A Northwoods Jaunt
It was yet another spectacular weekend here in northeast Minnesota. We have had a run of very nice weather this September. On Saturday my mom and dad were visiting and we had an ambitious day trip planned. Right on time at 8am, my lovely bride, the wonder kid (now age 2), mom, dad, and I left Duluth and headed up the north shore. We headed inland at Beaver Bay and went through Finland to George Crosby Manitou State Park (about 1.5 hours from Duluth). Manitou is more rustic than other state parks. There is simply one parking lot with a network of trails. There are 20 designated hike-to campsites along the trails. The easiest sites to get to are located near Benson Lake, a pond stocked with stream trout. There is also a small, but very shady and pleasant picnic ground at Benson Lake.
We started out our adventure by hiking downhill to the Manitou River, where we took in a very scenic waterfall. The water was low, but the cascades were still very nice. My mom took advantage of the low water and scrambled up the rocks beside the waterfalls to get closer. The rest of us observed from a flatter location. We then hiked steadily back up hill along the river and then inland across some ridges, eventually coming back to the car. The wonder kid fell asleep in the backpack the final couple miles and her head kept bouncing against the back of my head, but she didn't seem to mind. All in all, about 5 miles of hiking. Back at the parking lot, we grabbed the coolers and food and had a picnic at Benson Lake. It was a very nice day. I threw in a line for some trout, but it was very shallow around the edge of the lake and shore fishing didn't look promising. I had no bites.
After a relaxing lunch we drove up to the the old Finland Air Base. It was a cold war era radar site. It has been closed for some time, but the old houses and barracks are still there. There was still someone living in one of the houses. The actual radar building was still there the last time I had looked, but this time that road was gated off. From there we stopped for gas in Finland and then cruised home on the North Shore Drive. It was a very fun little trip.
Nature Moment: We didn't have any wildlife encounters of note-the woods were quiet. But that in and of itself is notable...It is a sure sign of fall when the woods start going quiet. There were very few songbirds calling, fewer squirrels chattering, and no frogs peeping. Pretty soon there will be snow on the ground and the only wildlife noise will be the resolute gronking of the raven.
On Sunday we checked out Hawk Ridge (www.hawkridge.org). It is a world-famous raptor migration spot in Duluth. The hawks, eagles, ospreys, and falcons that migrate south from northern Minnesota and Canada tend to fly past this spot because they are unwilling to fly over Lake Superior. When they arrive at the lake, they follow the shoreline south, which concentrates them in Duluth before they spread out again futher south. Mid-September is the busiest time for migrating hawks. A couple years ago there was a day in which over 90,000 hawks flew by Hawk Ridge in one day. That was unusual, but they do regularly see 5,000 hawks a day. We were only there an hour and saw many small hawks, several osprey, vultures, and other birds.
This week I will be heading back to the Gunflint Trail for a final try at some lake trout. It has been so warm that the trout will likely still be holding in deep water and fishing may be a bit tough, but it will be nice to just get out, of course.
We started out our adventure by hiking downhill to the Manitou River, where we took in a very scenic waterfall. The water was low, but the cascades were still very nice. My mom took advantage of the low water and scrambled up the rocks beside the waterfalls to get closer. The rest of us observed from a flatter location. We then hiked steadily back up hill along the river and then inland across some ridges, eventually coming back to the car. The wonder kid fell asleep in the backpack the final couple miles and her head kept bouncing against the back of my head, but she didn't seem to mind. All in all, about 5 miles of hiking. Back at the parking lot, we grabbed the coolers and food and had a picnic at Benson Lake. It was a very nice day. I threw in a line for some trout, but it was very shallow around the edge of the lake and shore fishing didn't look promising. I had no bites.
After a relaxing lunch we drove up to the the old Finland Air Base. It was a cold war era radar site. It has been closed for some time, but the old houses and barracks are still there. There was still someone living in one of the houses. The actual radar building was still there the last time I had looked, but this time that road was gated off. From there we stopped for gas in Finland and then cruised home on the North Shore Drive. It was a very fun little trip.
Nature Moment: We didn't have any wildlife encounters of note-the woods were quiet. But that in and of itself is notable...It is a sure sign of fall when the woods start going quiet. There were very few songbirds calling, fewer squirrels chattering, and no frogs peeping. Pretty soon there will be snow on the ground and the only wildlife noise will be the resolute gronking of the raven.
On Sunday we checked out Hawk Ridge (www.hawkridge.org). It is a world-famous raptor migration spot in Duluth. The hawks, eagles, ospreys, and falcons that migrate south from northern Minnesota and Canada tend to fly past this spot because they are unwilling to fly over Lake Superior. When they arrive at the lake, they follow the shoreline south, which concentrates them in Duluth before they spread out again futher south. Mid-September is the busiest time for migrating hawks. A couple years ago there was a day in which over 90,000 hawks flew by Hawk Ridge in one day. That was unusual, but they do regularly see 5,000 hawks a day. We were only there an hour and saw many small hawks, several osprey, vultures, and other birds.
This week I will be heading back to the Gunflint Trail for a final try at some lake trout. It has been so warm that the trout will likely still be holding in deep water and fishing may be a bit tough, but it will be nice to just get out, of course.
Tuesday, September 8, 2009
Labor Day Lake Trout
After getting most of my gear ready to go the night before, the dog and I left Duluth after work on Friday. The Labor Day weekend traffic wasn't bad at all and we cruised to Grand Marais with a stop in Tofte for gas and some food for supper. Made it up the Gunflint Trail at dusk without hitting any critters, but did see two wolves cross the road about a mile apart from each other. I got to the boat landing at about 8pm and did some shorefishing until about 10pm on a point near the landing. No luck, but it was beautiful night with a red sunset and a full moon. It was hazy the entire weekend, I assume from wildfire smoke, which accounts for the red sunset. We slept in the back of the truck on a cool night.
Saturday morning I was up early and we were crusing down the lake on calm waters while the sun came up. I made radio contact with Mac, who had been on the lake since the day before. He described what campsite he was on and I headed that direction. On the way, I spotted several boils on the water indicating feeding fish. I quickly tied on a topwater plug and caught three nice smallmouth bass in short order. I arrived in camp and learned of Mac's slow fishing on Friday. I set up my tent and got organized and we headed out on calm waters to fish. Mac nailed a nice lake trout right away and we thought we were in business. Unfortunately, it was the only fish of the morning. We had a couple strikes, but no takers. The wind had steadily building all morning, and by afternoon, we were unable to fish the deep water trout spots. The walleyes were not biting closer to shore, and the wind never died all evening.
On Sunday we were up and on the lake right away. The wind had calmed a bit and we were able to fish the area where Mac had caught the trout the day before. They were still there and they were hungry. Fishing spinners and spoons about 40 feet down (2oz of weight) in 60 to 70 feet of water, we caught several smallish trout with some nicer ones mixed in. It was a good morning. After lunch, Mac packed up and trolled his way back to the landing. The wind had picked up again, so after getting another trout in waves that made fishing uncomfortable, the dog and I hung out in camp most of the afternoon. We got out again in the early evening and caught a few more lakers.
On Monday I packed up camp, loaded the canoe and took off an tour of the lake, trolling as we went. I spotted some nice campsites and fishing spots for future reference and caught a few bass, a northern pike, and a few more lake trout. I also spotted the two most inexperienced canoeists I have ever seen in the BWCA. I gave them some basic pointers about map reading and finding campsites. I hope they live. It was very warm and dead calm most of the day as I worked my way back to the landing. I loaded up the truck at about 3pm and cruised home. Overall it was good trip with fairly good lake trout fishing and very pleasant weather.
Nature Moment: Sunday evening, when it was nearly dark, I was doing some shorefishing from camp. I had set a cup of leeches on a rock near my pole. I neglected to put the lid on the cup and a couple leeches were attempting to escape, hanging outside the cup, when suddenly out of nowhere, a big green frog leaped on to the rock grapped a leech and ate it. He rotated around the cup, grabbed another leech and ate that one, and then hopped away. I had never seen a frog eat anything except bugs before that moment.
Nature Moment Runner Up: As I drifted around a point while fishing, a beach campsite came into view. On the beach were an older couple enthusiastically making love. Awkwardly, I turned around headed the other way, but it was obvious I had ruined their moment.
Nature Moment Runner Up #2: As I drifted around a point while fishing, I came very close to a campsite with a nice smooth rock out front. On the rock were two college age women in their birthday suits, arguing about who should jump into the cold lake first. When they spotted me, they both decided to jump at the same time.
Saturday morning I was up early and we were crusing down the lake on calm waters while the sun came up. I made radio contact with Mac, who had been on the lake since the day before. He described what campsite he was on and I headed that direction. On the way, I spotted several boils on the water indicating feeding fish. I quickly tied on a topwater plug and caught three nice smallmouth bass in short order. I arrived in camp and learned of Mac's slow fishing on Friday. I set up my tent and got organized and we headed out on calm waters to fish. Mac nailed a nice lake trout right away and we thought we were in business. Unfortunately, it was the only fish of the morning. We had a couple strikes, but no takers. The wind had steadily building all morning, and by afternoon, we were unable to fish the deep water trout spots. The walleyes were not biting closer to shore, and the wind never died all evening.
On Sunday we were up and on the lake right away. The wind had calmed a bit and we were able to fish the area where Mac had caught the trout the day before. They were still there and they were hungry. Fishing spinners and spoons about 40 feet down (2oz of weight) in 60 to 70 feet of water, we caught several smallish trout with some nicer ones mixed in. It was a good morning. After lunch, Mac packed up and trolled his way back to the landing. The wind had picked up again, so after getting another trout in waves that made fishing uncomfortable, the dog and I hung out in camp most of the afternoon. We got out again in the early evening and caught a few more lakers.
On Monday I packed up camp, loaded the canoe and took off an tour of the lake, trolling as we went. I spotted some nice campsites and fishing spots for future reference and caught a few bass, a northern pike, and a few more lake trout. I also spotted the two most inexperienced canoeists I have ever seen in the BWCA. I gave them some basic pointers about map reading and finding campsites. I hope they live. It was very warm and dead calm most of the day as I worked my way back to the landing. I loaded up the truck at about 3pm and cruised home. Overall it was good trip with fairly good lake trout fishing and very pleasant weather.
Nature Moment: Sunday evening, when it was nearly dark, I was doing some shorefishing from camp. I had set a cup of leeches on a rock near my pole. I neglected to put the lid on the cup and a couple leeches were attempting to escape, hanging outside the cup, when suddenly out of nowhere, a big green frog leaped on to the rock grapped a leech and ate it. He rotated around the cup, grabbed another leech and ate that one, and then hopped away. I had never seen a frog eat anything except bugs before that moment.
Nature Moment Runner Up: As I drifted around a point while fishing, a beach campsite came into view. On the beach were an older couple enthusiastically making love. Awkwardly, I turned around headed the other way, but it was obvious I had ruined their moment.
Nature Moment Runner Up #2: As I drifted around a point while fishing, I came very close to a campsite with a nice smooth rock out front. On the rock were two college age women in their birthday suits, arguing about who should jump into the cold lake first. When they spotted me, they both decided to jump at the same time.
Friday, September 4, 2009
Welcome to the Arrowhead Angler!
September 4, 2009
I am resolute in my resistance to Facebook, but the Arrowhead Angler has become a blogger. I'll be posting my adventure reports here and my many fans can read them at their leisure. This blog may be a couple years late since I don't get out quite as much as I used to, but I'll give it a try.
Every trip report will include a "Nature Moment" that highlights a unique wildlife encounter or other natural moment that stood out on the trip.
After work today I am heading to the Gunflint Trail. The dog and I will sleep in the back of the truck tonight and then paddle to the lake in the morning. We are hoping to meet up with Mac, as he left yesterday and will be camped somewhere on the lake. We'll stay until Monday and try to get some lake trout and hopefully a big walleye. The lake we will be at doesn't have fast fishing, but there are some nice ones.
Here is a summary of my adventures so far this summer...
Believe it or not, I didn't make a trip on the fishing opener in May. Never thought I'd say that, but other things were going on.
A friend and I went to up the Gunflint Trail on Memorial Day weekend. We had good weather and the Lake Trout were biting. My friend, a rookie with lake trout, caught several decent fish, I caught a few. I did catch a number of decent smallmouth bass as well, but we never saw a walleye. Nature Moment: While fishing in the Alpine River, we heard a weird "whooshing" sound. We looked up to see a falcon or some type of hawk diving so quickly towards the water it made a jet-like sound when the air rushed past its wings. It dipped behind a hill, so we couldn't see what it was chasing. A few minutes later it did it again.
The annual Goerdt clan trip was in mid-June this year to accommodate the addition of Ben, a high school senior. This year we split the trip in two halves, one in the Quetico (Canada) at Carp Lake and one in the BWCA at Knife Lake. We had a great campsite on Carp Lake, but the fishing was slow. Nice lake, with lots of bays, islands, and reefs, but just never connected with the walleyes or lake trout. The smallies were abundant and hitting on the surface. The shortest route from Carp to Knife includes a moderate portage that doesn't see a lot of use. It wasn't bad except for two really nasty slopes on the east end. We spent four days on Knife and hit the lake hard, but the fishing was fairly slow again. One evening some of the guys got a number of nice walleyes, and the bass were going crazy on topwaters, but the lakers were few and far between. The fishing on Knife hasn't been as fast the last couple years as it was when I first started going there. Still, the weather was nice (bugs were bad), and the characters on this trip keep things entertaining. And we ate like kings. Ben did get his first lake trout and saw a bull moose. We also had a northern pike that kept trying to eat our walleyes as we reeled them in one evening. Nature Moment: We were anchored near a rock one evening with a walleye on our stringer. Soon a very large snapping turtle was hovering near the boat eyeing the stringer. This is not an uncommon occurrence. What was uncommon was the tenacity in which the turtle attempted to pilfer the walleye. It tried sneaking around the rock and coming in from the back, it attempted to climb over the rock in a rush attack, it would not quit. Taps on the head and whacks on the back did not deter the creature. It hissed and snapped and clawed at the paddle. It was not fazed. We finally gave up and went fish elsewhere, Scrappy the Persistent Turtle was the victor.
In late July, the dog, a buddy, and I went to Brule Lake, on the southern edge of the BWCA, for a weekend. The cool summer we had this year created some odd fishing conditions on Brule Lake. We fished in the usual summer spots (10-25 feet deep) for mid to late summer walleyes, but didn't catch anything. We finally found a few nice fish in five feet of water. Overall fishing was slow again (or am I losing my touch?). The mosquitoes were bad in the evening. Weather was cool and windy. Nature Moment: The first night in camp, we got all set up and we hanging out near the lake, but the dog was nervous and agitated...he kept growling at the woods. He would wander in a little ways, and then would back out, growling. We couldn't hear anything big moving about, so we dismissed as a pine martin or something small. The next time the dog went in the woods, however, he came flying back out and we did hear something sizable moving towards us. A quick look down the trail revealed a bull moose. The moose was unfazed by our presence and continued to hang out and eat. In fact he hung out all night and into the next morning. We named our pet moose Horatio.
That has been it for my adventures this summer. I'll be going this weekend and will have the annual last fling at lake trout at the end of September and the stream trout trip in October. After that I will be waiting for ice. I am excited for winter already. I made some phone calls this week and learned two guys could get dropped off by dog sled on Knife Lake for five days of winter camping and the musher would charge only $200 per guy. Trust me, I am more than aware that hiring a mushing professional for such an endeavour is the way to go, and $200 seems reasonable. I am saving my pennies now.
I am resolute in my resistance to Facebook, but the Arrowhead Angler has become a blogger. I'll be posting my adventure reports here and my many fans can read them at their leisure. This blog may be a couple years late since I don't get out quite as much as I used to, but I'll give it a try.
Every trip report will include a "Nature Moment" that highlights a unique wildlife encounter or other natural moment that stood out on the trip.
After work today I am heading to the Gunflint Trail. The dog and I will sleep in the back of the truck tonight and then paddle to the lake in the morning. We are hoping to meet up with Mac, as he left yesterday and will be camped somewhere on the lake. We'll stay until Monday and try to get some lake trout and hopefully a big walleye. The lake we will be at doesn't have fast fishing, but there are some nice ones.
Here is a summary of my adventures so far this summer...
Believe it or not, I didn't make a trip on the fishing opener in May. Never thought I'd say that, but other things were going on.
A friend and I went to up the Gunflint Trail on Memorial Day weekend. We had good weather and the Lake Trout were biting. My friend, a rookie with lake trout, caught several decent fish, I caught a few. I did catch a number of decent smallmouth bass as well, but we never saw a walleye. Nature Moment: While fishing in the Alpine River, we heard a weird "whooshing" sound. We looked up to see a falcon or some type of hawk diving so quickly towards the water it made a jet-like sound when the air rushed past its wings. It dipped behind a hill, so we couldn't see what it was chasing. A few minutes later it did it again.
The annual Goerdt clan trip was in mid-June this year to accommodate the addition of Ben, a high school senior. This year we split the trip in two halves, one in the Quetico (Canada) at Carp Lake and one in the BWCA at Knife Lake. We had a great campsite on Carp Lake, but the fishing was slow. Nice lake, with lots of bays, islands, and reefs, but just never connected with the walleyes or lake trout. The smallies were abundant and hitting on the surface. The shortest route from Carp to Knife includes a moderate portage that doesn't see a lot of use. It wasn't bad except for two really nasty slopes on the east end. We spent four days on Knife and hit the lake hard, but the fishing was fairly slow again. One evening some of the guys got a number of nice walleyes, and the bass were going crazy on topwaters, but the lakers were few and far between. The fishing on Knife hasn't been as fast the last couple years as it was when I first started going there. Still, the weather was nice (bugs were bad), and the characters on this trip keep things entertaining. And we ate like kings. Ben did get his first lake trout and saw a bull moose. We also had a northern pike that kept trying to eat our walleyes as we reeled them in one evening. Nature Moment: We were anchored near a rock one evening with a walleye on our stringer. Soon a very large snapping turtle was hovering near the boat eyeing the stringer. This is not an uncommon occurrence. What was uncommon was the tenacity in which the turtle attempted to pilfer the walleye. It tried sneaking around the rock and coming in from the back, it attempted to climb over the rock in a rush attack, it would not quit. Taps on the head and whacks on the back did not deter the creature. It hissed and snapped and clawed at the paddle. It was not fazed. We finally gave up and went fish elsewhere, Scrappy the Persistent Turtle was the victor.
In late July, the dog, a buddy, and I went to Brule Lake, on the southern edge of the BWCA, for a weekend. The cool summer we had this year created some odd fishing conditions on Brule Lake. We fished in the usual summer spots (10-25 feet deep) for mid to late summer walleyes, but didn't catch anything. We finally found a few nice fish in five feet of water. Overall fishing was slow again (or am I losing my touch?). The mosquitoes were bad in the evening. Weather was cool and windy. Nature Moment: The first night in camp, we got all set up and we hanging out near the lake, but the dog was nervous and agitated...he kept growling at the woods. He would wander in a little ways, and then would back out, growling. We couldn't hear anything big moving about, so we dismissed as a pine martin or something small. The next time the dog went in the woods, however, he came flying back out and we did hear something sizable moving towards us. A quick look down the trail revealed a bull moose. The moose was unfazed by our presence and continued to hang out and eat. In fact he hung out all night and into the next morning. We named our pet moose Horatio.
That has been it for my adventures this summer. I'll be going this weekend and will have the annual last fling at lake trout at the end of September and the stream trout trip in October. After that I will be waiting for ice. I am excited for winter already. I made some phone calls this week and learned two guys could get dropped off by dog sled on Knife Lake for five days of winter camping and the musher would charge only $200 per guy. Trust me, I am more than aware that hiring a mushing professional for such an endeavour is the way to go, and $200 seems reasonable. I am saving my pennies now.
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