The Annual Camp Sh*tstorm Canoe Trip was held from August 4 to August 12, 2010. A very fun trip.

August 4: I went and picked up the BWCAW permit after I dropped my Wonderful Bride and the Super Kid off at the airport shuttle. They were going to be visiting family in Pittsburgh while I was fishing. I procured the permit and then loaded up my gear in the truck and drove to the Smoked Fish Guy’s house. Fran Tarkington Fan had arrived a few days prior and we got busy packing the food and other gear. About 1pm, Swimming Turtle arrived on his own, and then Tick Check, Gatorade, Wear-Some-Shorts, and the Freshman arrived in the van. We finished packing and all three vehicles headed up the North Shore, picking our way through the construction and passing through some rain showers with strong winds. We pulled into the outfitter's lot at 5:30pm, loaded the tow boats, and got a ride to the big point. The wind and rain had disappeared and we got lucky and found the boy scout campsite with the beach was open. After getting the tents set up we had pre-made Italian sandwiches and Brewhouse beer for supper. We were able to see some northern lights that night.

August 5: The morning dawned with a stiff breeze from the northwest. We had egg burritos for breakfast and packed up camp. We crossed the whitecaps into Canada to the Quetico Park Ranger Station, where we waited in line behind a crew of teenage girls that were on a 30 day canoe trip. When they were done, we all got the full spiel from the Ranger that likes four things darker as she gets older (“not men, I’ll take any man I can get!”-the actual answer is bread, beer, chocolate, and coffee). She gave a flip chart show of Quetico Park rules and regulations, gave multiple sales pitches for Quetico merchandise, and reviewed some of the finer details of our planned route. When we got going again, the big bay was really roiled up by the wind. Undeterred, we pointed the bows at the whitecaps and pressed on to the first portage, which features a view of a large waterfall and a slippery, steep rock in the trail. We all made it to the next lake unscathed (Gatorade did make a slight wrong turn, but corrected himself before becoming lost) and we paddled on. Many of the campsite were taken as we battled the wind to the next portage, but once the carry was made, we had the lake to ourselves. We set up on a windblown island in an effort to stay cool on this warm day. Tick Check and Freshman managed to get a couple walleyes with minimal effort, so we had fish, steaks, green beans, fresh picked mushrooms, and a hearty red wine for supper. The wind died down that evening and we quickly learned the mosquitoes were out.

August 6: It was calm and sunny as we ate a quick breakfast of bagels and oatmeal. We cruised out of the lake and into its outlet river, which is noted for its waterfalls and rough portages. The paddling and carries were taxing in the warm weather. At one of the later portages, Fran Tarkington Fan got his rod out and managed to catch two bass on 1 cast (on a rapala with 2 sets of hooks). That afternoon we arrived at our destination lake and faced the reality of another five miles of paddling to get to a campsite that isn’t in the burn zone (the fire occurred about 15 years ago). Of course, there was a stiff wind in our faces. We mustered our energy and pressed on to the destination campsite, which was thankfully open. Everybody immediately stripped down and rinsed the day’s grime off in the lake. We got in a couple hours of fishing, during which supper was secured. Red beans and rice with andouille and walleye was on the menu. Mosquitoes were still plentiful.

August 7: The morning dawned calm and sunny. While enjoying the first cup of coffee, Tick Check and Wear-Some-Shorts noticed a small plume of smoke coming from a nearby island. They noticed that the island’s underbrush had recently burned, so they went to investigate. It was indeed a smoldering forest fire on the island. Using the rudimentary equipment available to them, they dumped a large amount of water on the fire. Returning to camp, they stated they should receive some sort of firefighting merit badge for their effort. Unfortunately for them, the rest of us could see smoke still rising from the island. The fire would just have to take its course. We all loaded up the canoes with fishing gear after breakfast and headed to the nearby narrows and it’s current. An eagle’s nest was discovered at the head of the narrows and the eagles followed us around while we fished. Surprisingly, after having much success at this spot in previous trips, there was only one walleye at the narrows-The Smoked Fish Guy caught a 27.5 inch fish. The rest of us only caught smallmouth bass and hammer handle northern pike. We tried many areas of the narrows, and finally found a few fish at the far end in deep water. After an incident with a snag that resulted in a broken fishing rod for Wear-Some-Shorts, he and I decided to head back to the main lake. It was a good decision-we got into the walleyes pretty heavy near a set of rocky islands. As the afternoon went on, the walleyes kept getting shallower and shallower until we were getting them on jigs cast onto a reef that topped out at just four feet. The fish were of a nice average size. Just before dark we check out a nearby shallow bay in an effort to catch some nice bass, but the walleyes dominated the catch in the bay as well. It was a very fun fishing day. Back at camp at dusk we discovered others also had done well with shallow water walleyes in the main body of the lake. It was Thai Curry Rice with walleye that evening-absolutely delicious-the Smoked Fish Guy is an unbelievable chef!

August 8: The next day after breakfast, Wear-Some-Shorts and I decided to do some exploring up-lake. We first hit the island spot again to jig up some walleyes, then we headed across to the entrance of another bay to a spot I had success at previously, but it held only one walleye. We then crossed to another bay’s entrance-a spot I hadn’t fished before. We had a lot of action at this location, getting a few walleyes, several bass, and many, many northern pike (nothing huge). We enjoyed a swim in the clear water of this bay and the Freshman and the Smoked Fish Guy pointed out a blueberry patch to us. We went back to the rocky islands near camp to secure fish for supper. Each canoe was charged with bringing home two fish. We quickly got our two fish at the reef and headed to camp. There we discovered that some canoes brought home a bit more than two fish, due to deeply hooked and bleeding catches. So the fish fry that night became an epic effort, with only buns and tartar sauce as a side dish. To top it off, a rain and wind storm came in just as the fish was being fried. We watched attentively as the gusts of wind fanned the fire on the island near us, quickly producing sizable flames. It didn’t rain enough to put it out, but the fire wasn’t big enough to jump to the mainland, either. Irregardless, the fish fry went on, and I am proud of the group in the fact that I can say no fish went to waste.

August 9: This day was a good one for me, as I was asked to fish with the Freshman. I really enjoy passing on my fishing knowledge, limited as it may be, to less experienced anglers. The Freshman didn’t have the best luck the day before, so he was excited when, after a breakfast of Quetico Supreme sandwiches, he quickly caught a nice walleye at the rocky island. Unfortunately, he had to watch me catch six fish to his one. So, before we moved onto another spot, I tweaked his spinner rig a little bit and taught him how to make sure his bait was near the bottom. He caught a walleye at a new spot on the main part of the lake, and when we discovered a big reef off an island nearby, he really turned his luck around, catching several more walleyes, including a 26” beauty-his biggest ever. We anchored up and jigged up several more walleyes, smallmouth bass, and northern pike on “Freshman’s Reef.” We also took a swim on a good jumping rock before heading back to camp. That evening it was one of our new favorite suppers-bowtie pasta in a sauce made from butter, aged gouda cheese, and parmesan cheese-fantastic. Stories of fishing success and fun from the others’ day on the lake abounded around the campfire that night. The bugs continued to be prolific in the evening.

August 10: We packed up camp and headed back up river this day (Happy Birthday, My Wonderful Bride!!). Each of us left a fishing rod rigged so we could test the pools below the rapids and waterfalls. After another windy crossing of the big lake, we caught some bass, walleye, and northerns below the first falls. Tick Check had the best luck (or is worst luck?) when he caught a big bass that somehow snapped off the tip of his fishing pole, and then he immediately caught another big bass that hit his dangling jig while he held the first bass for a photo. After the first portage we caught several nice walleyes in the hole below the next falls. This type of success continued as we headed upstream on a very warm, sunny day. When we finally reached our destination lake and campsite, we were all ready for a swim. We had a lot of laughs as we rigged up our life vests “Lt. Dan Diaper Style” and bobbed in the warm water. Swimming Turtle earned his nickname with his rendition of synchronized swimming. We squeezed in some evening fishing before a supper of “heavy” mashed potatoes (potatoes with dehydrated hamburger and vegetables) and fish. The highlight of the evening for me was watching Fran Tarkington Fan hook a decent smallmouth bass only to have it jump and throw the lure high in the air. When the tube jig hit the water again, it was immediately eaten by a much larger bass. This time, Fran Fan’s big fish didn’t get away.

August 11: The day started with an early morning downpour of rain, which caused some delay in breaking camp. Once the weather dissipated, the chore went quickly and we were on our way. We fished our way down the lake, but didn’t catch much until getting several bass and walleyes where the river comes into the lake. After the final portage of the trip back up the hill to the big bay, we all rigged up lake trout rigs hobnobbed together from our walleye tackle. The next couple hours were pretty surprising to say the least. The bay was unusually calm and all four canoes had good conditions to get the rigs to deep water as we crossed. Amazingly (for the dog days of August) we caught a total of 14 lake trout in the single crossing of the bay. Gatorade alone caught six on his “five of diamonds” spoon. We had trouble finding an open campsite at the big point near the tow boat landing, but eventually we settled on a very nice site with a pebble beach. After a swim, and a supper of baked lake trout and pesto noodles, we all went to the beach and took in the Persied Meteor Shower. We saw many shooting stars, plus there was a lightening show from a storm to the south and the northern lights were to the north. A fitting last night for a fun trip.

August 12: We got up early and quickly packed up camp and headed back to the big point. After a bit of a delay by the tow boat operators that were coordinating multiple groups, we all found our way back to the outfitters and our vehicles. After a stop for burgers and fries at a local restaurant, we all made our way back to Duluth and got the gear sorted out before saying our goodbyes and heading home. It was truly a great trip with good friends and good fishing. Thank you, Camp Sh*tstorm Crew.

Nature Moment: The walleyes on the lake we basecamped on are very unique in that they have several different distinct color patterns. Some are distinctly blue. Some are green. Some are the standard gold, and some are dark, almost black. I haven’t seen or heard of the green walleyes at any other lake, but another lake in the Quetico does have the blue version. Interestingly, the other lake with blue walleyes has very clear water and the lake we were on is very stained-so water clarity doesn’t seem to be a factor in the color of the fish.