Fox Bay via Fox creek/Georgian Bay

Day 1
A little bit of a late start due to some confusion on my part in obtaining permits. Apparently I can get them from any outfitter in the area. Up at 6:30 but the only diner in the area doesn't open until 8. To start a trip without the usual belly full of coffee, eggs, potatoes, bacon and toast is mostly unthinkable. I wait and then get the "truckers special".

I get to Hartley Bay Marina about 9 and by the time I get started the wind is freakin honkin right in my face and would continue unabated all day. A cold front is coming and that's probably a good thing as the high today is supposed to be in the mid 90's. I have been to 2 "outfitters" in the area inquiring about landmarks to Fox creek. Nobody has a clue. The guy at Hartley Bay has advised me that the Pickerel River is all but impassable due to low water. That was plan "B". I am expecting the same in Fox Creek as my internet research is 10 years old. I have some apprehensions about even finding Fox Creek as it does not empty or originate into the French River which is the waterway I am starting from. Add to that the only map I have is such a big scale I have my doubts about finding my way. Plan "C" is not very appealing. I would have to stay on the main branches of the French and loop around on the outside (Georgian Bay proper) to gain access to the more remote region of Fox Bay. Many negatives would come into play. It would add at least another day and I would have to deal with the big water and powerboats as well. And if or when I got to the outside I would very likely be turned back due to rough water. The final motivator to find Fox Creek is that several campsites on the main waterways have been shut down because of bear problems.

WOW! What a truly great day! Just superb! Finding the entrance to Fox Creek is a tad tricky. I kept looking for a marker of any sort but no dice. More by intuition than anything else I eased into a finger and parked. Hmmm? No sign of a portage trail. Adjacent to my position was a granite ridge and I decided to take a look see. Bingo, some water at the end. That in itself is not that unusual in this country but it prompted further exploration. The first real encouraging sign was some surveyors tape on top of the ridge. AHA! I gave the ridge a run and found it flagged to the end where it dumped into nothing more than a pothole. I got the stuff across the pothole but still no sign of a portage. Again a ridge presented itself and another traverse put me on what I became increasingly convinced was Fox Creek.
When I got down to the waters edge I was pleasantly surprised. Instead of a shallow, weed choked, mosquito infested backwater I would have to give it more the label of a series of long lakes connected by narrow passageways. At the landing there were a few boats cached, locals no doubt, that gave some suggestion as to the fishing possibilities.

  The wind was a two edged sword. It very much wanted to stop me dead in my tracks but it also had a "cooling effect" which helped me deal with the very hot temps. The run up the creek took about 5 hours. I was blessed to have a bear swim across right in front of me. He crossed about 1/8 mile of water with ease and upon getting to the bank he shook himself off very much like a dog would do. He looked at me for several seconds and then bounded off up the granite hillside again looking very much like a giant dog. I also got to see a big family of otters. I got fairly close in all the wind before they went under and oddly enough never resurfaced.

2 portages behind me and only 1 left. It was here I took a spill. I was starting to feel thumped so I ate a snickers bar and a few Kashi bars to get me across. It had clouded up as the day went on and the misting rain had made the smooth granite ridges slick. Fortunately my fall came while I wasn't carrying anything but all the same I came down hard on my rump as my feet gave way. I had the double indignity of getting smacked across the face by a pine branch as well. HMMM. Wake up call for my beloved Muckluks. They do poorly on smooth angled wet surfaces especially when the tread is all but wore off.
No harm done though and I felt good as I entered Fox Bay. I was quite pleased about the day after finding the back door entrance to remote Fox Bay. Now I could deal with the big waters on Georgian Bay on my terms instead of vice-versa.

Only one job left.....I have to find a campsite. I have passed 2 already. One was next to a swamp and another had some leaning trees I was suspicious of. It was starting to get late and I was more or less smoked. I slowly eased toward an island (which I have taken the liberty to rename "Albert Island") where the group on the internet had stayed. When I got there I couldn't help but feel a twinge of emotion. What a beautiful site! Great landing, flat spot for the tent, excellent wind breaks on 3 sides, a private lagoon, and get this.......A PICNIC TABLE! All this and not a soul in sight. Thank you Lord!

Day 2
Woke up once in the night as the wind clocked around and caused the waves to blow into my little lagoon. At first I thought I had a bear puttering about in the shallows but soon realized what had happened. Getting a bit of a late start fishing but that's OK. My neck and arms are a touch sore after yesterdays slugfest with Mr. Wind. The cold front is here and is quite a contrast to yesterday. I had set up camp in nothing but a pair of Teva sandals and today I have more than 1 layer of clothing on. It's time to tidy up the camp, eat some oats and then explore this wild and wonderful area.

Day 3
I am confused and even taken aback. Has my love affair ended so abruptly? I fished hard for 10 hours yesterday and could not catch anything. Well, I take that back, I caught one 5" smallmouth and 1 little pike on a 30 taildancer over 40ft of water. I fished shallow and deep. I fished the main bay basin and the backwater bays. I have never seen a place look so good and yield so little. I had envisioned coming back year after year. Adventurous trip in, stunning scenery, isolated area and all within 1 days drive. It would be like being married to a beautiful women who was frigid. Nice to look at but.............

It looks like I was wrong about the front coming through yesterday. It rained hard last night and this morning the wind is honkin big time. I may have to drink a few more cups of courage (coffee) before I get the nerve to take the boat out. I am brave in the rough near shore but a certified chicken in the rough offshore. I only have 1/4 mile of open water to cross to escape my island home and it doesn't look that bad but the waves breaking into the far rocky shore and the sound of the wind is enough to curb my ambitions. I have 2 plans I intend to put into play. One is to venture closer to the main body of Georgian Bay which is some 2 miles distant. The fish went somewhere and en-mass. The other strategy, that I had hoped to employ today, was to return to Fox Creek and fish the series of lakes there. While I was at it I could look for any suitable campsites. That way if I failed to connect on the outside a good alternative would be present. Time will tell if I can achieve anything of value today. At least I am quite comfy. My site has several large granite formations, humps if you will, that block the wind quite effectively. Add to that the rainfly which is erected over the picnic table which helps keep everything dry. And what shall I say of the picnic table? It is splendid! A terrific "asset"indeed (pun intended)!

It is now 1p.m. The sun is out but it's still blowin hard. Just a small reduction will get me on the water. No matter how the fishing pans out on this trip I have decided to dedicate myself to learning this area. This is big fish country and it may take some time to unlock its secrets. There are several fish camps in Georgian Bay. People often spend several hundred dollars to fish here. By finding Fox Creek I have found a back door that puts me right in the middle of what is probably world class fishing. I probably need to give it a go in the spring. In the mean time I will do some more exploring as soon as the weather breaks a bit.

Tonights dinner sounds interesting...........A soft tortilla shell with ketchup. Now THAT'S something to look forward to. There is supposed to be fish with that recipe. Tomorrows dinner sounds equally meager.........A bag of white rice. I think there is supposed to be fish with that to. Of all people I should know better! Trying to get a bite post cold front can be tough. They should of bit yesterday........and probably did, somewhere.

A fun day on Albert Island. It is small and filled with trees but open and I spent a lot of time casting from shore. After all, one never knows. On one casting shift I walked up on an otter. It would go down and come back up a half minute later crunching on something. Every time it went down I would get closer. Finally, with one last burst I got to within 3 ft. of where he came up. He went back down as fast as he came up and then popped up a short distance away and chattered at me. All I could do was laugh. Immediately thereafter I cast a big spinner and was rewarded with a 4lb pike. Dinner is looking up. It was a very good thing I didn't leave today. I only thought it was windy earlier. If it blows tomorrow I will ease over to the larger island on the other side of my lagoon. It is long and narrow and should provide a place for me to stretch my legs and make a few casts.

Day 4
It blew hard all last night and is still gusty this morning. Rather odd though, I had expected blue bird cloudless skies and cool temps.......instead it is very overcast with sheets of drizzling rain and quite cool. The wind has left me a touch nervous. If I would of left yesterday it would of been a very dicey proposition to get back to camp in the evening. On the plus side any change in wind direction will help since the long narrow bays are all oriented in a NE direction. In my brief time here I am sensing that it is a bit peculiar. The other night I left my damp rain pants out to air out a bit. In the morning when I picked them up they were literally alive with an insect that resembled a cockroach. Many dozens had decided the "in" place to live was the legs of my rain pants. On the bright side if I were to ever get stuck here I wouldn't go hungry. Then last night I had forgotten to turn my boat over. When I got to it I flipped my headlight on and was instantly covered up in large bats. 4 or 5 were quickly about me and quite a bit larger than any I'm used to. Interesting. This morning the first thing I noticed is that the water level is up at least a foot. I suppose that is to be expected with this being the third day of strong winds coming in off Lake Huron. I wonder if the fish will follow the high water into the bays like the saltwater fish do?

This drizzly choppy weather should be good Pike fishing and if I were in a tin boat I would relish the prospect. Now, however, I am biding my time, drinking coffee and waiting for the margin of safety to turn in my favor. I guess I am getting cautious in my old age. 3 young red squirrels are playing tag in camp this morning. Sort of amusing. They seem content enough scampering about. Their only job in life is collecting pine nuts and making more squirrels and of course to avoid being eaten.

The wind eased off but then picked up from an entirely different direction. It's raining fairly steadily now and is quite cool. Brrr. I suppose I should pull it together and see if any fishes want to come out to play..........here goes.

Well it's only 2 hours later and I'm back. Popped one fun pike on the big muskie spinner within the first 5 minutes. I went toward Georgian Bay and checked out 2 other campsites. All quite marginal, especially the landings. The wind came up with a purpose and pinned me in the lee of an island. As soon as there was a lull I trolled my way back to camp. Here I am eating a cinnamon raisin bagel slathered with nutella. Pretty good! Sitting in camp drinking coffe is causing my caffeine supply to run low. To exhaust my supply would be a blow to morale. I'm trying to decide what to do. I want to get across the channel and explore Duncan Bay. It has a long narrow fiord like channel almost a mile long that looks to end in a marshy area. Maybe I could catch some bass or crappie there. I feel good about getting across in this blow but if the wind continues to clock around I would be looking at a risky crossing this evening. Even with supplies running low one more cup of courage will likely put me in the boat. I can't quite stomach the thought of sitting in camp another day.

The right choice...........overcast, drizzly and windy during my paddle into Duncan Bay. This rugged austere landscape certainly heightens your senses. This country would be very unforgiving to those who make wrong choices or are careless. I hooked one fish which I thought was "the one". Smacked hard, nice boil on the surface.........It put a nice bend into the Loomis Muskie rod and made a nice run which caused my boat to plow into a granite wall in spite of my best one handed paddle strokes. Turned out to be a rather ordinary 7lb pike. Glad to have caught it though. I towed it back to camp where it proved to be more than I could eat but just barely. Not sure what to do tomorrow. A little cold out......probably in the upper 50's during the day. Seen several formations of geese today. If I didn't know better I would say it is Oct instead of early Sept.

Day 5
The new down bag has done well for me. Kudos to "Snow Dog" and "Kingfisher" on Quiet Journey (a paddling forum) for nudging me over the edge on getting a down bag. I also took "Kingfishers" advice that he gave in the Boundary Waters Journal (a quarterly paddling mag) concerning silk underwear. In spite of being almost sheer they are quite comfy and warm. They weigh very little and are supremely compact which makes them ideal for canoe travel. Add my fleece beanie style hat and I was toasty all night.
I think today I will strike camp and head toward Fox Creek and see what it has to offer. This morning is sunny and quite cool. It's probably best to tackle the ridges of Fox Creek while they are dry. I almost hate to leave as this has been one of the best sites Iv'e ever been at. Oh well.....time to saddle up!

I arrived at Fox Creek about 11 a.m. Good thing I left when I did as the wind is once again howling like a banshee. This is 5 days straight of high wind. It's a very cool run up the creek with all the rock relief. When I got to the first lake a high granite mound caught my attention. It offered a good vantage point for views so I parked and clambered up. Up top was a fantastic panorama with water on 3 sides and many islands and islets. There was also a flat spot with a ring of rocks sitting ready for use. Obviously someone thought this a good spot to pitch a tent. I had camp up in about an hour and caught 2 chunky bass from shore. Fishing prospects seem to be improving.I spent the afternoon fishing and in spite of the poor conditions caught several chunky bass and pike. All were released.

There is a lot of bear sign here in the form of overturned rocks and small boulders. They are always looking for something to eat. It's evening out and it is downright cold out. I was shivering while I changed into my sleepwear. Since it gets dark at 8:30 it is a long night to be in a tent. I woke up twice. Once I thought one of my dry bags was getting messed with so I donned my headlamp and grabbed my bear spray and headed out. Everything was fine. The night sky caught my attention though. The only other time I had seen such a starry night was at Mt. Ranier. I stood awestruck for several seconds and then uttered, "Lord, you are beautiful".

Day 6

Daylight! Finally! I scampered out of my bag expecting it to be freezing. Instead it was almost warm. I looked around. Behind me was a glowering red sky and a double rainbow. It's finally flat calm out and now it's going to rain. AHHHH! I have a hunch this is going to be an all day deal. Maybe I'll just pack up and hit it. I fished my way along the route. The cold front had certainly effected the bite but enough 15" chunky smallmouths kept me interested. The contrast between my paddle in and out was extreme. After a shore lunch of bass I crossed the two granite ridges in the late afternoon. My friend, the wind, was back. Back on the French I had 1/2 mile crossing that I had to ferry across. As long as the waves didn't break into the boat I felt there was no real danger. It took about 2 hours to travel the French river back to my truck. Thus concluded my brief albeit adventurous trip into Fox Bay.