PRELUDE
We hit the U.P. with "Big Daddy" commenting on every smoked fish and pasty shop that he saw. Finally it occurred to me he was inclined to stop. "Tim, you need to be a bit more direct and speak up if you want me to stop". These words uttered by me set the stage for what has become an inside joke for the foreseeable future as we shall see. Soon after we were going through the town of Iron Mountain, it was late afternoon and we were looking for a place to eat when suddenly we ran out of town. All three passengers in perfect unison shouted, "turn around"! Unfortunately the term "turn around" is not part of my driving vocabulary and onward we sped. Much murmuring took place and sarcastic statements such as "Oh, Just let me know if you want me to stop" were tossed around. My punishment was quickly meted out however in the form of being passed over when the last of the cookies were eaten. "Oh no you don't" asserted Big Daddy as the homemade goodies were passed into the back seat amongst much snickering.
We found ourselves the following day at Piragis (the local outfitter) snooping around. After a bit more rambling we went inside the Ely Steakhouse and had a fine meal. Afterward we shot some pool and played some darts. Good fun. Onward we sped to Williams and Hall Outfitters on Moose lake in the late afternoon. Tim Cornelius (A.K.A. "Big Daddy") my longtime childhood chum set about to seam seal the tent I had provided him with some months earlier. Several times I had implicitly advised him to seal the tent and check for leaks. His negligence was to provide him with a most memorable night as we shall soon see.
Day 1
We were up a daybreak and hustled our gear down to the awaiting water taxi. Soon thereafter we had a fine breakfast while our boats and gear were loaded for our taxi to Prairie Portage, gateway to Quetico Provincial Park. I heartily approve of our stay at Williams and Hall. The bunkhouse, breakfast and taxi were professionally provided at a very reasonable rate. Service with a smile goes a long way in my book.
Amidst the gathering afternoon gloom we arrived at our intended and pre-determined campsite. I honestly admit to being rather delighted with the site. It was on an elevated island in a remote bay. Although lacking a good landing it had decent tent pads, great views and a nice breeze. With the weather glowering we set up camp. The rain tarps (we had 2) were to soon prove their value. While each of us took care of our own dinner needs I made up a pretty decent peach cobbler complete with real peaches with the outback oven for our dessert. Pretty good.
The rain commenced soon after the mosquitos had taken flight and it rained hard and blew off and on all night. My new 2 man "hubba hubba" tent kept me nice and dry. But unbeknownst to me Big Daddy and Candy Man were having a rough go of it. Their tent was leaking like the proverbial sieve. Tim's down bag was soon safely ensconced in its dry bag. A long, hot, humid, sleepless night was endured by Tim while clothed in full rain gear. Somehow Alex managed to snooze through the whole sorry episode.
In the morning Tim and his son couldn't resist the siren call of fishing in the still on and off rain. Dan and I busied ourselves erecting the spare rain fly over the leaky tent to protect our comrades from further misfortune. While we engineered a dry refuge Tim and Alex racked up a nice tally of pike right from shore. One 7lb and one 5lb northern were to make a long anticipated lunch appearance. I gave some thought about getting out there (and now regret I didn't) but instead retired to the comfort of my sleeping bag. It quit blowing and raining about noon and after stringing some things to dry I took the "Water Wolf" out for a spin. After several smallish bass and pike I caught what was to be my largest smally of the trip, a solid 4lb on the boga grip. Nice fish. Dan ventured out in the late afternoon and promptly returned with a 5lb walleye. We had quite the fish fry that night.
Day 3
I was up well before sunrise and fished hard until about 9 A.M. Several small bass and pike came aboard but nothing of consequence. Looking back I should of probably kicked myself in the rear to get out during yesterdays big blow and fished while the front was coming through. But the motivation just wasn't there and I hate forcing things.
Today we had a day trip planned to an unnamed lake. It took about an hour to get our act together but soon our 3 boats were out trolling for lake trout while paddling toward our intended destination a few miles hence. I watched as Big Daddy and Candy Man took the Bell Northwoods canoe closer and closer to the bank. "Hmmmm, they're going to get their lures hung up" I muttered to myself under my breath as I eyed them with growing certainty as they angled closer and closer to the rocky shoreline. Instead Tim yelled out that Alex had hooked into a very nice fish. After several anxious moments the fish was brought boatside where Tim decided the best way to land the big walleye was to grab the line and lift. Basswood was as calm as I'd ever seen it and I bet they're perfectly harmonized "AHHHHHH" could be heard quite some distance as the big fish flopped off. This event started another inside joke that was to be repeated throughout the trip......."It was in the E-mail" became a common saying. The reader must understand that a prodigious amount of e-mails went Big Daddy's way informing him of the need to waterproof the tent, bring a small net, etc. etc. but I digress.
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| Yo Tim! |
Up into a cove and following a small creek we came upon our destination. A pretty little lake that looked to be filled with bass. It was calm and sunny and I had to drop down to 4lb line to get bit. A four inch worm did the trick and several bass and 2 fun pike were brought boatside. I kept one of the bigger pike and with a bass Dan had caught we had a big lunch including a double batch of lemon poppy seed muffins again whipped up via outback oven.
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| Dan always had a knack with the bass |
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| Alex's discovery |
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| Big Daddy and Candy Man |
Day 4
Today we are going to move our camp some distance and spend our remaining time on North Bay (part of Basswood Lake). We had another beautiful day as we trolled our way down Basswood lake. Dan left early to try and secure the 5 star peninsula site at the entrance to lost bay. Tim, Alex and myself managed 3 walleye between us but Alex was to get even with his Dad from the previous "misplaced fish" event of yesterday by trying to lift Tim's 5+ lb. walleye into the boat via lifting on the lure. Again there was some flopping, a splash and some moaning involved. Of course the obligatory "Did you read the email" was uttered by yours truly.
More paddling and trolling ended up putting another good walleye on Alex's line where Tim used the orange fish grippers to secure the prize. We pulled over to take a break and weigh the fish. Another walleye at exactly 5lbs. This was to prove an unusual theme for us in North Bay as we ended up catching more walleye at that weight than any other size. After a few high fives and some pics we proceeded to the peninsula site where Dan had indeed snagged it. Nice grab "Dirty Dan"!
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| a happy camper |
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| perfect day |
Day 5
We were up early and had planned on day tripping to Noon Lake via South, West and Shade lakes. Tim and Alex piled into the Northwoods and got a bit of a head start. North Bay was flat calm and the sky overcast. I flipped out a deep running crankbait and started paddling...........BAM, fish on! I looked around and suspected walleye. It was going to be a whopper if it was I muttered over to Dans boat who was not far off. With less than 10ft to go the fish came off and I was miffed. I had wanted to at least see it. I made another pass and popped an eye that went 4.5lb. Soon thereafter another was caught. I became even more convinced that the big fish I had lost was a walleye that could of pushed me over the long sought goal of 8lb's in canoe country. Having managed several that size in the great lakes I was eager to get one while under paddle. It looks like I'll have to wait some more.
Meanwhile Tim and Alex were making there own luck having caught a mid sized laker and another nice walleye. I made a few more passes without further result and then caught up with my pals on the opposite side of North Bay. It was mid morning and still calm so I suggested we make a few passes out in the bay. That was a good decision. I put a lake trout of 7.5 lb in the boat and Tim and Alex popped a double on walleye right near an island. Good action.........nice fish
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| beautiful day, beautiful fish |
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| A double! |
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| Tim's dreaming of a 9lb. walleye |
My companions had roused themselves and after a short pow-wow we decided to flip back to North Bay and take advantage of the calm conditions. I left first and stroked hard eager to take advantage of the lack of wind. My focus became the reef where the "double" had been taken a few hours ago. I spent several optimistic hours there without result. It is, however, a substantial area and will certainly get my attention anytime I'm on North Bay. After switching to topwater in the late afternoon and playing with several 16" smallys I decided to troll for Lake trout. I was quickly rewarded. In an hours time I caught 2 twin Lakers that had some shoulders. Both fish weighed in at exactly 8lbs on the boga grip and were an absolute blast on the 9' steelhead rod (my favorite trolling rod). I dearly wanted pictures but that meant a death sentence for the fish so instead I spent some time with them until they were able to swim off on their own. They were quite beautiful and of good size. Which brings up another oddity........everyone was to catch a laker that went exactly 8lbs.
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| Alex hung in there with the big dogs |
Day 6
Dan was finally stung with the fishing bug. I had told him about where I had caught the Lakers of the previous day. He had intended to troll a jig and then set up a drift and fish the jig. I let him know my opinion of trolling the jig and eventually prevailed upon him to rig his spare rod with one of my favorite crankbaits. He returned an hour later with, yup you guessed it, a laker of 8lbs. The crew went into fish cleaning action and quickly made a fire and grilled that fish while I napped. They just did manage to save me a few bites. My hats off to you mates, well done.
This day, our last full day, remains a bit foggy but I shall try and re-call it as best as possible. I was away fairly early and with one goal. That was to put a pike of 40" or better in the boat. I went directly to the reef off the island which not only had a lot of rock but also a fair amount of weeds. By the time I had gotten there however, the wind had kicked up something fierce and I continued on without so much as a cast. There is a big basin near the channel that leads to the Burke lake portage and I set up shop there. Out came the big baitcaster with 20lb line. I like big lures when fishing for pike and thus the sturdier equipment which is designed to throw it without wearing you out.
In the late afternoon the wind laid down nicely and Tim started whining that he had not caught a lake trout. "OK fine, let's go" I said. " Although Alex was wanting to go fishing he was a sport. We told him we would be back in an hour and away we went. I was hoping Tim would connect and not me as I had already brought 3 nice lakers in as well as several smaller ones. Around the island I went but no dice. I had to keep telling Tim to paddle slower and softer but being the brute that he is he had one speed. The thrust he achieved per paddle stroke was so strong that I finally had to tell him to stop paddling altogether. I asked Tim how long we had been gone. "Oh, about 45 minutes" he responded. I pointed our craft toward camp wanting to keep our word with Alex. Something deep down within told me to do a pass out into North Bay away from the island. Away we went as I usually don't ignore those kind of promptings. Sure enough 3/4 of the way through the loop Tim connected. With the rod bent double and the drag singing Tim kept commenting that he had a "big fish"! "Could be another 8lber" I commented. Tim was convinced the fish had to be lots bigger than 8lbs. but when we put it on the boga, yup, 8lbs exactly. We exchanged grins and released the fish. I was very pleased and happy that Tim had banged a Laker and a good one at that.
Day 8
We were up fairly early as today was departure day. Tim had to attend some schooling in northern Michigan the following afternoon. This cut the trip short a day or two. While we were packing up a startling event occurred. While Tim was putting on his Mukluks an enormous grey hairy spider clambered out and quickly made his way up his thigh. I was right next to him and seen the whole thing. I would not of believed a spider of that size would be in northern climes. Tim gave a yell as he swatted it off and apparently I yelled to. This is the second time I have come across an outsized spider in the Quetico.
We breezed across North Bay before the wind picked up. I ran a line through Burke and picked up 3 lakers including one that went 5.5 lbs. Very pretty fish in Burke. We made our way across Bayley bay in the face of an ever freshening wind. With the time constraints which were facing Tim it was desirable to get a water taxi back. I thought it was very unlikely the Canadian park service would call an American outfitter but Dans comment rang true........"If anyone could do it Tim could......he's the Man". Sure enough an hour later we were whisked away to Williams and Hall and much thanks were given the park service for making the call.
An hour later we were on our way. The vote was to stop at "Betty's Famous Pies" on route 60 but I, as driver, had veto power. We stopped at subway in Ely instead and then made the dash toward U.S. 2 and the upper peninsula. Good thing we got the water taxi and overlooked Betty's as we did just manage to drop Tim off at 4 P.M. the following afternoon in Traverse City. Thus ended our little adventure.
Thanks
I want to thank my lovely wife Lori. She has always given me free reign to go when and where I want. I am a blessed man to have her.
My hats off to my traveling companions. In spite of some tough sledding that first day and night they stood tall and paid their dues with only mild complaint. It was very pleasant for me to have some of my very best friends altogether.
I would also like to thank Darrel Brauer (alias Kingfisher) for his advice. 1/2 of our trip was based on his suggestions and I most thoroughly enjoyed a part of the park I might not have otherwise experienced.
As always it is with a grateful heart that I thank the Lord of heaven and earth whose creation is beyond what I can think or even imagine.
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