Some odd circumstances resulted in my going on a neat canoe trip June 20-24. Chief Many Little Bottles learned he couldn't go on the first part of an 11-day trip with Lt. Dan, Cpt. Karkov, and the Farmer after it had already been set up. So he recruited me to accompany him to meet them (they found an able replacement) on their route.
We packed up on Friday night, I did some more packing on Saturday, and then we left Duluth early Sunday morning. We headed up to Ely, picked up the permit (which was once again very confusing), and then hit the water. We were able to use motors on the first 11 miles of the trip, which included two portages. We actually brought two 2-horse motors, because we brought an additional one for the other guys on the way back. We got some strange looks on the portages, as we were likely the first people to portage 2 motors but only one canoe in the BWCA. It was calm, pleasant day, and we made good time to the no-motor zone line. We stashed the motors and continued paddling. The next portage was a doozy-340 rods along a rushing river. At just over a mile, I was cursing the weight of my pack, but the portage is very flat and we made it eventually. After three more portages we came to the narrow, winding lake with plenty of current areas. We set up camp on a narrows at about 3:30pm. The spot was small, but good enough for two people and the shore fishing looked good. We threw out our lines and set camp. We had dirty rice with sauteed andioulle sausage for supper. Chief finally caught a rock bass and a small walleye at dusk, but that was all the fishing we had. The mosquitoes were out pretty thick.
On Monday morning we packed up the gear and headed north and west on to the bigger part of the lake. We went through a series of narrows with current, and we caught walleyes in most of them. Most of them were eaters, but Chief did get one about 22 inches. A few bass and small pike were thrown in for good measure. We looked at a number campsites on the way and they were either occupied or not up to our standards. We finally settled on a nice one on a small island-it had everything going for it except the nearby shoreline was likely too shallow for good shorefishing. Decent tent pads, nice kitchen, open and airy (but not too exposed). After we got set up, it started raining. We waited it out for a while, but since it wasn't thundering or anything, we eventually went fishing in the rain. We caught some decent bass in a nearby current area then started trolling leeches over rockpiles surrounding our island. The eater walleyes were there, and they were hungry. We quickly caught enough for supper plus a few more. Chief fried up the walleyes perfectly as always. We had stuffing with chorizo sausage as a side dish. Delicious. The rain let up as we were eating, but then the mosquitoes came out with a vengeance that night.
Tuesday dawned cloudy, but calm and not raining. We hit the water after breakfast and started trolling the rock piles again. We picked up a few walleyes here and there, and we discovered the site of a pre-BWCA regulations resort. We could see the old dock pilings in the clear water. We then trolled around some islands, where a Nature Moment occured (see below), which forced us to find another fishing spot. We discovered a sunken island and caught several walleyes on it-including a nice 23" fish. We wandered back to camp for lunch and soon we got a radio call from Lt. Dan. We directed the other group of guys to our location. After a hearty reunion, the guys got there tents set up and we headed out fishing again. Captain K and his bow man caught several walleyes, while the rest of us caught a few. Chief MLB caught a nice smallmouth bass. The wind had whipped up, preventing our return to the mid-lake reef. We enjoyed a great supper of smoked pork loin, sauerkraut, and au gratin potatoes. We listened to the Twins lose as we swatted bugs that night.
On Wednesday, we packed up camp after breakfast and then fished our way back up the lake in the direction we had come. Chief and I fished all the current areas as we went catching quite a few walleyes. Chief had a very large fish on for a while that fought more like a walleye than a pike or bass, but it threw hook before we could see it. We really got into the walleyes in the final current area, catching them as fast as we got our baits down at one point. We set up camp near the northern most portage which goes around a large waterfall/rapids area. We fished the pool below the falls, getting a few small walleyes. It was fried walleye and pesto noodles for supper. It was the consensus of the group that we prefer bowtie noodles over spaghetti for pesto. This is due to the fact it mixes with the pesto better. The skeeters were out again that night as we heard the Twins lose yet again. Lots of laughs around the fire, though.
On Thursday we packed up and started the trip out. We did the four portages, including the 340 rodder (which was easier for me due to food consumption and smarter packing), recovered the motors, and zipped out the last 11 miles. Saw a lot of people with a lot of gear on the lake and the portages. We ate supper at a local restaurant and headed home. Another good trip. When I got home I learned my Grandma was very ill. She passed away on Saturday night. She was a good grandma. I attended services on Monday and Tuesday and now am back at work.
Nature Moment: When Chief and I attempted to troll around some islands, we were suddenly and viciously attacked by an angry sea gull. Repeated strafing runs that were at most a couple feet over our heads convinced us to head for different structure.
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