Ardent followers of this blog (all four of you) will remember the unfortunate experience I had with a fellow angler last opening weekend. I even went so far as to declare that I would never go fishing on opening weekend again. Fortunately for me, a good friend, Chief MLB, asked if I would join him at his family's hunting cabin this year. It is located on a navigable river that, while not being known as great fishing river, does have some fish in it. I agreed to go and Captain K and the Lt. decided to join us. We left Friday afternoon and cruised north, marveling at all the big boats and motors heading the same direction. We stopped for lunch, did some grocery shopping, and made our way to the cabin's one lane, rocky, and muddy access road. It was drizzling and cold as we got out of the truck and checked out the site. The cabin is perfect-made from logs, one room, four bunks, a table, and a wood stove. No cell service, no electricity, no problem. A step back in time. We got the motors put on the boats and had some grilled venison for supper.
On Saturday, opening day, we rose, had some breakfast and headed out fishing on a chilly morning. We explored the river, ran some swift current areas and checked out a creek, all with no fishing luck. We spotted a rotting, bloated moose carcass floating downstream, and also rescued a wooden chair that had floated away from camp during the spring flood and jammed against a tree downstream. Finally, we caught a couple smallmouth bass near a larger rapids. As the sun started to come out, we went back to camp and I watched Chief and Lt. set up their muzzleloaders and do some target shooting. Kind of a neat way to hunt, they even let me shoot them a couple times, and I didn't make a fool of myself-I hit the target pretty square on both times. Pure luck, but I'll let them think I am a good shot, just in case. While we were shooting, Capt. did some shore fishing and caught a nice walleye. It was the only one home. Some friends of Chief's boated up and shared a happy hour with us. We grilled some large pieces of meat for supper and sat outside around the campfire.
I was the first to rise on a sunny morning on Sunday. I threw a line off the dock and immediately caught a nice walleye. Capt. soon joined me and he caught another one. Chief caught a walleye when we went out in the boats a bit later, but that was it for the day. It was beautiful afternoon and we packed up and cleaned the cabin, putting everything back in its place, as other family members were coming up later in the week. It was an uneventful ride home.
It was a very nice opener, and I really enjoyed seeing the old cabin and hearing about all its history, a great family tradition.
I don't have any plans to get out until the big Camp Sh*tstorm trip June 3-11, but maybe I'll get out around Duluth for a couple hours in the next couple weekends.
