Into the Deep...Snow

My Wonderful Bride and Super Kid went to visit Grandma in Pittsburgh this week, so I took a little solo trip this past weekend (the photo above is actually from 2 weeks ago). Left Duluth Thursday morning and headed up the North Shore to the Gunflint Trail. I found my destination lake's parking lot devoid of vehicles except one. Under cloudy skies, but in mild temperatures (20 above), I set up the winter tent and wood stove right in the parking lot. I then headed onto the lake with my gear filled sled behind me. I decided to strap the snowshoes on right away, which was a good idea, because the snow was very deep on top of the ice. No slush, thank goodness, but tons of snow. The snow made the short drag across the lake to a favorite point a real slog. I put a tip up out in 22 feet of water and set my little flip shack in 32 feet. It wasn't long before I hooked, landed, and released a decent laker (22" or so) and soon after that I caught and released his twin. A bit later I watched (on my depth finder) another fish aggressively shoot off the bottom and a nano-second later felt it smash my tube jig. It put up a decent fight, so I was surprised to look down the hole at a fairly big walleye (25") instead of a trout. As I unhooked it, I saw the walleye's air sack had burst out into its mouth. Walleyes cannot regulate their air bladders as well as trout, but I wasn't fishing all that deep, so it was a surprise. The air bladder in a fish helps it adjust to the pressure differences in shallow and deep water. A walleye needs about 30 minutes to adjust it's bladder when coming up from 30 feet of water...a lake trout can do it instantly. Long story short, I was forced to keep the walleye for the pan. That was the last bite of the day and I soon was slogging back to the tent under dark skies. I had seen only one other party fishing all day. I got the fire going in short order and warmed up some Thai rice for supper. I listened to a few pod casts before climbing in the sleeping bag.

On Friday morning I didn't set the world record for getting on the lake, despite the bright sunshine. I pulled the gear out to a favorite island with a steep rock wall. I set up my bigger tent this time-much more comfortable than the little flip shack. The bigger tent does take a lot longer to set up and thus you are pretty much stuck on your chosen spot for the whole day. Having room to stand up and stretch out is sure nice, though. The trout start biting right away. Over the course of the morning I caught 6 lake trout and I had several others bite that didn't stay hooked. I lost as many as I landed for sure. I cannot figure out why...I've tightened the drag for the hook set and sharpened hooks...still fish are popping off-usually right at the hole, right as I am about to land them. The fish that morning were often quite shallow-I was in 39 feet of water, but most of the fish were hooked just 15 feet down. Not coincidentally, my depth finder also revealed a couple of bait schools swimming by-all at about 15 feet. After I ate my Mr. Heater cooked burrito at noon, fishing slowed. I did get one more small trout about 3pm and lost another one right after that. Both of those fish were tight to the bottom. I packed up a bit earlier than the day before and it was still light out when I got back to camp. Again, I saw only one other group of anglers on the lake all day. Since it was light, I decided to take a little drive in the truck to check out other potential camping spots in the area and did find a few. After chicken and couscous, I listened to some old-time music on the local radio station. It was snowing pretty heavily when I hit the cot.

I woke early on Saturday and moved pretty quickly in order to take advantage of the morning bite. The snow must have stopped soon after I fell asleep, because it only accumulated an inch or two. I decided to try a new spot on the lake this day...one that seemed to be obvious when looking at the lake-a point with a steep shoreline adjacent to the deepest hole in the lake. It must be obvious to others as well, as other years I had seen anglers on this spot each time I fished this lake. There wasn't any previous activity visible this year, though and I claimed the spot. Again the fish were hungry nearly immediately. I probably had 20 bites or so during the morning and caught only 8 or 9 lake trout. Don't get me wrong, still a very good day, but it could have been epic. Several of the fish were small (15"-18"), but others were decent (22"-24"), and I did get one big one (31"). The big one was exciting, make several strong runs during the fight. When I got it up to the hole, I couldn't get the nose started up, because the fish was hood oddly in the side of the mouth. I tried and tried, but couldn't get it moved up. I even decided to just try and shake the hook out since no one was there to take my picture anyway and I wouldn't keep that big of a fish. The hook would not come out. So I stripped off all my layers above my waist and was about stick my arm down past the 20" of ice to grab the fish when the trout suddenly came up the hole on its own. Just then the propane ran out on my heater. It got very cold very fast as I unhooked and released the big laker. I had to laugh to myself-how would it have looked if the game warden or somebody zipped up to my shelter and found me inside holding a big trout with just by bib overalls on? Fishing again was slow in the afternoon, although I did get another small trout that was right on the bottom again. As I packed up it was snowing pretty good again, making for another slog back to the tent. Once again I had seen only one other party fishing, but did see several people out skiing and snowshoeing. I heated up a very tasty pre-made burrito for supper. I enjoyed the local radio programs this night-including a good interview with an author of book I plan to read-http://www.thetigerbook.com/. A non-fiction story about a tiger that had a personal vengeance for the farmer that tried to kill him. I guess it is a best seller, but I hadn't heard about it.

Sunday morning dawned very clear and cold with a nasty breeze. I decided to pack the gear and head home. After things were packed I drove back down the trail and hit the local cafe for some breakfast. It was an uneventful drive home. I got some of the snow scooped and got the gear into the basement to dry out. It was a fun trip.

Nature Moment: On Saturday morning, as I stepped into my snowshoes to head out on to the lake, I looked up in surprise to see a red fox just 10 yards in front of me. It showed very little fear and seemed to be used to getting fed. Not one to feed wildlife, I kept going with the snowshoe straps, and the fox just kept watching me. When I stood up, he ran off a few steps, but used only three legs. When he stopped, I could see his right front leg was injured-dark with blood. I felt bad for the little guy-gangrene or a wolf pack would probably be catching up with him soon. When I went onto the lake, I could see his tracks had followed my tracks from the day before, so he had probably fed off the innards of the two lake trout I had gilled and gutted.

Lake Trout...Finally

After what seemed to be an endless fall and early winter, I took my first Lake Trout ice fishing trip of the year this past weekend. After much planning and snow machine wrangling, I met up with the Smoked Fish Guy, Chief MLB, the Lieutenant, and the Farmer and we headed north early Friday morning. It was slow going at first with icy roads, but we made it to the border, where the Smoked Fish Guy and I were selected for a more thorough search by the Canadian authorities (once again). We passed the inspection, and drove another hour through rural Canada to our destination lake. After checking in at the lodge we were staying at, we got the snow machines going and cruised through deep snow to our first fishing spot, "Trout Point." I had had good luck at that spot last year, but this year it was slow. The Smoked Fish Guy had some bites, including a bite off by a bigger musky or pike and Chief MLB caught a small trout. We cruised back to the cabin at dusk with more snow falling, hitting a big pile of slush on the way in, but no one got stuck. We enjoyed visiting and catching up that evening while eat smoked ribs provided by the Smoked Fish Guy. Delicious. We talked fishing for a while with Smokey Joe, one of the lodge managers. He offered to go fishing with us the next day, which we gladly accepted.

On Saturday it dawned cold and clear, with a bit of a breeze. We made a longer run out to "Old Baldy," a spot I had not tried before. Chief MLB caught four trout right away, seemingly before the rest of us had even gotten our jigs to the bottom. Smokey Joe also caught a couple trout in short order. The Lieutenant and Farmer had a bit of luck as well, but the Smoked Fish Guy and I managed to keep losing the fish we hooked, sometimes right at the hole. Around noon, fishing stagnated and the other fellows took off east in search of a new spot that Smokey Joe pointed out. The Smoked Fish Guy and I stuck it out on Old Baldy and it paid off, as the SFG got a very nice trout and I caught a nice eater. I did lose a bigger fish at the hole again (sigh). We cruised back to the cabin at dusk, again hitting some slush. The amount of slush seemed to be increasing. We had grilled trout for supper, perfectly prepared by the Chief.

Sunday morning was frigid, but sunny. It took the snow machines a little while to get fired up and the Lieutenant had some issues with a stuck choke, but eventually we all got rolling towards a new spot to try. Unfortunately, the slush had really come up on the lake over night. We had to keep our speed up to avoid getting stuck in the messy snow/ice layer on the lake. Finally, Chief MLB, the SFG and I set up on a point off "Love Island." The SFG caught two lake trout right away, including a 5-6 pounder. It took me a bit longer to get started, but soon I had pulled four trout up, including a 7-8 pounder. Chief didn't have any luck, nor did Farmer or Lieutenant where they had set up. The sun went under that afternoon and a chilling wind picked up, which, when combined with a subdued afternoon lake trout bite, inspired us to go back to the cabin a bit earlier. The return ride revealed even more slush had formed on the ice surface, but again, no one got stuck. We had a variety of sausages and potato dumplings made by the Farmer and Lieutenant that night. The fellows surprised me with some generous gifts as Sunday was my birthday. It was really thoughtful of them to remember. There was another big surprise as well-a birthday cake brought down by Smokey Joe. It capped off a great day.

Monday morning revealed a fresh batch of snow that was still coming down. The SFG and I fished right outside the lodge's front door. He caught a nice trout and lost one. I managed to catch two very small perch. The other guys went to a nearby island and Chief MLB caught the fish of the trip-a 10.5 pound laker. I couldn't think of a more deserving fellow. After packing up the gear and eating a bit of stew, we headed down the road back to home. The roads weren't real hot due to the snow, so it was a slow trip, but we made it unscathed.

It was a great way to start the season and a very fun time with good friends. By the last day of the trip slush was beginning to take over the entire lake. I hope that clears up before my next trip.

Catching Up

I have been lax in getting the blog updated lately. I have got some decent days of fishing this winter and it has been fun. Overall, fishing has been slow, but some good catches have occurred. I got on the ice around the 2nd weekend of December, fishing in the Duluth area. My first 3 efforts were on a couple of proven first ice crappie/walleye spots, but each day I caught only 1 keeper crappie and no keeper walleyes. The Sportbar, our permanent shack, was put out the week before Christmas. On Christmas weekend my Wonderful Bride, Super Kid, and I went up to Ely and stayed a cabin right on a crappie/walleye lake. In between family events, I did get some fishing in. Christmas eve fishing was slow during the day, but I did get 3 keeper walleyes and a jumbo perch at dusk. On Christmas, my mom and dad joined us for a night. I caught a really nice, 39 inch, northern pike right before they arrived. My bride was unable to take a photo because Super Kid was napping. We didn't get too much after that. On that Sunday we went back to Duluth and my Dad and I fished in the Sportsbar, which was pretty slow, but a few perch were caught. On that Monday I fished with Officer Friendly, who was home on military leave. Fishing was slow, but I did get a big crappie. After spending New Year's with the family, I made it to the Sportsbar again yesterday. I was joined by my neighbor, who is undergoing cancer treatment (his prognosis is very good), and some pals of his. It was a very fun time, lots of laughs and lots of fishing action from northern pike. The biggest pike was 36 inches long and it was released to grow even larger.

Today is a calm, sunny, beautiful day, and I am hanging out with Super Kid, playing Princess Super Hero. It is the latest craze and involves a pink cape, a crown, and a shiny green cummerbund. I don't mind the cape, but the crown is itchy and the cummerbund is not flattering to my figure. Just as fun as fishing. On Friday I am heading to Canada with the Smoked Fish Guy, Farmer, Chief Many Little Bottles, and the Lieutenant to fish lake trout for four days. I can barely wait.

I'll post when I return.

Happy Birthday to Talent Show Winner!