Final Days in Canada

Thursday was a rainy day, so we slept in, made scrambled eggs for breakfast, and didn't head out to fish until about 11:30 when it started to clear up. It was dry when we hit the water, but we ran into a bit of a squall as we crossed the main basin of the lake north of the lodge. It didn't rain a lot while we fished, but the wind never let up.

We didn't have a fantastic day of fishing, but we caught all we needed to meet our limit, and our walleyes were decent sized. Barry caught a 35 inch Northern to capture the prize for the week.

We went in fairly early again to clean the fish and eat, then hit the water again in the evening to fish for Northerns. The weather was better, but Dad and I didn't catch much. I think Barry and Larry had a little better luck.

Friday morning we headed out around 9:30 for some catch and release, and didn't catch much worth reporting. Dad hooked a big northern and it fought pretty well. He hadn't had a lot of success in the past couple of days, so it was exciting that he was about to get a good fish. I got the net under it and lifted it from the lake - but it was longer than the rubber net we had and with one good flop it bounced out of the net and came loose from the jig. It was on the surface for a second, when I thought maybe it was still on the line, but before we knew it, it was gone. It was a big disappointment. The fish was at least 28 inches long, and likely over 30. But we will never know for sure.

We went back in to camp around 11:30, prepared lunch, and finished packing up. We hit the road at 1:38 pm, with me beginning the 5-hour drive to Kakabeka Falls. About an hour into the drive, we saw a bear in the brush by the side of the road. I stopped and backed up, and we were thrilled to find she had two cubs with her - a black phase cub and a brown phase one. They were very curious and came onto the road to see us, with the black cub coming right to Dad's door, standing up on its hind legs, and even putting it's paw on the door. The momma stayed fairly still watching us as the cubs moved around to see what we were all about. It was amazing to see them, but I drove off before we got into any trouble.

After four hours of driving through the scenic woods, we stopped for fuel and Dad took over for the final hour. At Kakabeka Falls we stopped at a motel and had dinner in the restaurant. The food was fine, and filling (I had poutine). The young server, who also checked us into our room, was friendly but didn't know much. She hadn't seen the rooms, hadn't tasted the food, and obviously couldn't tell us about the beer selection. After dinner we retired to our room - a classic 1970's themed space with brown paneling, glitter on the ceiling, yellow-gold fixtures in the bathroom, linoleum flooring, and the most hideous yellow and brown formica counter. We went to bed right way and did our best to sleep on the world's worst pillows. All of the snoring and coughing kept me awake for quite a while, but I got a little rest. Dad didn't.

We were on the road by 5:30 Central time, with Dad driving about an hour to the border. I drove from there to the Minneapolis airport, stopping briefly for fuel and at a beautiful rest area in Duluth. While the first part of my drive was through steady rain, it ended up being a beautiful drive along Lake Superior and an uneventful drive down I-35 to St. Paul. There, however, we ran into an interstate closure and had to take surface streets the last few miles to the airport.

We arrived at the airport at Noon, for a 4:40 flight. The reason we were so early is so Dad and Larry could get back to Iowa and return the rental car more-or-less on-time. We made good use of our time at the airport: each of us enjoyed a 45-minute massage, then we had a nice meal at Rock Bottom. Now we're boarding our flight to O'Hare. We should be home by 11, the end of another wonderful international trip together.

Wonderful Wednesday

Wednesday started off cool and mostly cloudy, and we left the cabin with what seemed like a sense of urgency at 8:30. We headed north to Jack's Point and caught a few walleyes, including one I caught which was over 20 inches - tying Larry for the day's record. He thought we should try a different spot while the walleye were biting, so we moved and didn't have as much luck the rest of the day. Larry caught a 28 1/2 inch Northern and thought it would be the prize for the day, until Barry caught a 29 1/2 Northern a short while later.

While we were out, the sky cleared up and most of the day we had a lot of puffy clouds all at the same altitude - what Dad would call a Canadian sky if he saw it at home. It was dry and beautiful all day. The sun grew warm later in the afternoon and I took off some layers. Throughout the day we saw five or more eagles, several loons, a flock of pelicans, a few gulls, and a duck landing on the lake.

We went back in around 3:00 and cleaned our catch, then stuffed ourselves with a late lunch/early dinner. Barry and I drove about 7 km up the road to New Osnaburgh to search in vain for the little store we heard about there. It was interesting to see the tiny community, even though we missed finding the store by half a block.

We went out again at 6:00, specifically to cast for Northern. We headed to a bay that another Larry told us about before he left to go home to Wyoming. Larry happened to catch his big walleye there, but the rest of us caught Northern. While I was reeling in one cast, I had the lure within site - about 6 ft from the boat - when I watched a fish come to the surface and take it. It was a fighter; a lot of fun to catch. We got him in the boat and measured him in the little lined trough we had in the boat. It was over 30 inches and longer than the trough, so we put him up to the ruler on the side of the boat: 31 1/2 inches! The largest so far and the prize for the day. I was trying to figure out why it seemed so much longer when we used the other ruler, and only then (on day 4!) did I realize the trough didn't start at "0." As it turns out, all of fish were half an inch longer than we thought they were!

Dad did not have such a great evening. First he cast one of his favorite lures onto the shore and we couldn't find it. Then the boat motor wasn't idling and he spent a considerable amount of time trying to get that to work right so we could troll. Then he cut his finger on my big fish and nearly bled out in the back of the boat while he tended to it. He probably had problems with his line and reel, as that's been a consistent theme this week. At one point, his pole came apart and half of it ended up in the lake. I think he finally caught a fish - nothing memorable.

We went in at 7:30 as the sun was setting. We had to clean Larry's walleye, so while we did we had the opportunity to chat with Tim from Montana and Mike from Wisconsin, two of the four brothers staying in the other cabin. They had better fishing than they had on their first two days and had plenty to eat.

When we got back to the cabin, we found a delicious homemade blueberry pie waiting for us, along with vanilla ice cream, complements of Colette. It was delicious! Tiny little hand-picked blueberries from the property here, but very tasty.

We played more Pitch before going to bed fairly early. I lost.

I'm posting a photo of my fish. I hope it's not upside down... on my phone it looks like it might be.

Eagle at Sunset

Today was a pretty great day for fishing, even if the fishing was mediocre. Of course, a mediocre day on this lake beats good fishing in a lot of places.

We left the cabin at 9:00 this morning. It was overcast and cool, but dry, and the water was smooth as glass. We headed north to fish and had some success early on. We fished in several different spots, of course, and only experienced a light mist a couple of times before some blue sky started to show through the clouds around Noon. At one point we stopped at a rock to pee, and I noticed a fishing pole submerged under water as we were approaching shore. Dad pulled it out and we were surprised to discover that it still works!

Our plan today was to come in early, clean our catch, and have a large late lunch before going out to fish again in the evening. That's what we did. We brought in nine fish - eight to eat and one to take home. (Barry caught the big one to take home.) We only needed seven to eat (or six), but for some reason Larry kept the eighth one late in the day. Indeed, we had more fish then we could fit on two trays in the oven. Today we broiled our fish with lemon pepper seasoning, and it was just as tasty as the fried fish.

Around 4:30, after eating and having a nice chat with the property owner Colette, we went back out to cast for Northerns. By this point it was partly cloudy, calm, and gorgeous. I caught seven fish this evening (at least one at every place we fished), but dad didn't catch a thing. He even used his new rod and reel (fresh out of the lake), but with no success. Barry and Larry caught about a dozen between them; none were large enough prizes to take home.

The scenery was absolutely beautiful this evening, with sun shining on the trees, rocks, and water. There were plenty of dramatic clouds which turned shades of grey, pink, and orange as the sun dropped lower behind them. As we headed back to camp, Larry's wake cut through the still water and added even more interest to the reflections of the clouds and trees. On our final approach to the campsite, we saw an eagle fly across the lake in front of us. I would have said a "beautiful eagle," but that goes without saying.

A Wet Day

I am so happy to be dry right now! We just started the heater, so I'm looking forward to being warmer, too.

Our fish last night was delicious, and we all ate our fill. After dinner, we played a card game named "Pitch," which evidently involves bids, a trump suit, and some system of counting face cards at the end of each hand. I'm not very good at comprehending this sort of game, but I ended up scoring better than Barry, apparently. Barry and I sipped Blanton's while we played. We went to bed around 10 pm.

We slept this morning until waking up without the assistance of an alarm or hungry doggies. There was no need to get up early - it was raining, as forecast. We had a simple breakfast and then suddenly around 10:30 everyone started getting ready to go out and fish, even though it wasn't supposed to stop raining until 2:00. We were on the lake just before 11, this time heading south through the steady downpour.

I caught the first fish of the day very shortly after we put our lines in. We had decided that today we would only keep fish longer than 15 inches, so we threw mine back. Dad then caught 4-5 in a row, including a Northern. Barry and Larry were also catching some, and keeping them, so they had six in their cooler before we had any that we kept. Soon the fish stopped biting there, so we moved farther down the lake.

Although we tried six or seven more spots throughout the day, we never had so much success again. I did catch a 19 inch walleye - the only one we kept in our boat - and Dad caught one that was 20 inches. He realized we could have kept it (as per our licenses) just after he dropped it back into the water. In the end, we were out for four hours and I caught a total of four fish.

At one point our boats got separated. There may have been some miscommunication between Dad and his brother. They agreed "if we're going to go up there, we won't be any closer than we are now." So off we went. Dad thought they were talking about a bridge; Larry thought they were talking about a certain fishing hole, so off we went in separate directions. Fishing by the highway bridge was a bust, although the rain had nearly stopped by then so it was a fairly pleasant place to be. We didn't stay long and went back to find the others, reuniting just before stopping on a tiny island to eat our packed lunches.

By this point I was soaked clear through, excluding my feet, because my rain gear proved ineffective against the elements. But after lunch we fished a little more, without much luck at all. It finally stopped raining around 2:15, but as we were heading across an open part of the lake in the direction of camp the sky suddenly grew darker, the temperature dropped at least 5 degrees, and we ran into a soaking heavy mist that stung when it hit my face. With this development, we decided to call it a day.

We made it back to camp around 3:00, although Barry and Larry probably stayed out another half an hour. Dad and I went to the cabin and changed into dry clothes while we waited for them to return. I was literally soaked through four layers, but my feet were still dry. Honestly, I cannot endure cold, wet toes; I never would have made it through the day if we hadn't wrapped my boots in plastic bags. It worked!

The rest of the evening was much like last night, except before dinner we learned a new card came called Pass the Ace. After eating too much fish, we played another two games of Pitch, the first of which I won. Maybe I'm not as dense as I thought I was.

Clothes are now hanging near the heater as everyone heads to bed. Before 10. Weatherbug says tomorrow should be drier - and cooler.

Oh! Canada!

We've had a pretty good first full day in Canada. Supper preparations are under way - we brought in and cleaned eight walleye and the deep frier is warmed up, the beer batter is made, the potatoes are underway, and the peas are in a pot waiting for Bob the caretaker to hook up a full propane tank so we can light the stove.

We had a nice stay at the English River Inn, although apparently I snored. The free breakfast was basic but fine, with good wafles. We left at 7:30 and headed north toward Osnaburgh, stopping once for fuel on the way. During the drive, everyone except me saw an Eagle (I was on the wrong side of the car and Dad didn't slow down.) A bit later we saw a bear cross the road, which was pretty cool. I wish we had been a bit closer. There was not much traffic along the road, so the drive seemed to go fairly quickly and we arrived at Oz Lake Lodge around 11:30.

We loaded in to the cabin, prepped our gear, had a quick lunch, and were on the water by 1:00 pm. We headed north and went to a little bay past the school, and within 20 minutes of leaving shore all four of us were catching walleyes between 14 and 18 inches long. We tried several spots around the lake - some were prolific and others were a bust. Barry was in a boat with Larry and I was with Dad. Barry kept track of how many they caught but we didnt. In all, we figured we caught about 46, releasing all but 9. Dad wins for the biggest catch with a 21 inch walleye, which he said is probably the largest one he's ever caught. We caught fewer Northerns and didn't keep any. I probably had the largest, with one measuring 21.5 inches.

We came back to shore around 5:30. It had been overcast and mild with a slight wind, and there was thunder by the time we headed back. The rain didn't start until we were cleaning the fish. It rained hard for a few minutes, but now it's mostly a drizzle.

Supper is about ready, so I'm going to wrap this up and eat delicious fresh fish.

Long First Day

We're in Canada! The sun is low in the sky, as we're driving northwest through the countryside toward English River, where we are stopping for the night. It has been a beautiful day for a drive - sunny and warm, with some beautiful, wispy Cirrus clouds. They have a yellowish hue as the sun begins to set.

Barry and I left home at 3:52 a.m. and made it to the Indy FastPark in 50 minutes.  We went through the TSA pre-check line fairly quickly, on the wrong side of the airport. At the gate, we had a slight boarding delay but departed about on-time. With about an hour layover at O'Hare, we made it to Minneapolis before 9:00 a.m. Dad and Larry missed the ramp to the baggage claim area at the airport and were disappointed to discover the airport has no turnaround. After leaving the airport property and driving several miles, they eventually found a spot to turn around and come back to us. We left the airport around 9:20.

Dad initially seemed to have trouble following the signs for I-35E, but soon enough we were headed north toward Duluth. During the drive it seemed Larry and Dad both enjoyed telling stories about family history and previous fishing trips. Larry says this is his 61st fishing trip to Canada. That's amazing! This year he's making three trips, like he has a several years in the past. I was surprised my dad hasn't been to Lake Osnaburgh for 5 or 6 years. I think this is my 7th Canadian fishing trip. I was reminded that my last trip was in 1997. It's been a while!

I drove for about 115 miles from a rest area through Duluth to lunch. There was 10 miles of construction which, unfortunately took. About an hour to get through. At one point the one-lane traffic stopped suddenly and cars were veering left and right to avoid collisions. I stopped hard with a few feet to spare between us and a couple of cars in front of us. I was wondering if everyone behind us would get stopped and, lucky for us, the truck behind us flew past us on the right into the ditch, avoiding us and the car on the shoulder. They driver said they were ok, so went went on, thankful we were able to do so.

We stopped at a Culver's north of Duluth for lunch, then had a lovely drive up the scenic North Shore of Lake Superior. We stopped along the way at Gooseberry Falls. The park was packed with people and their pets enjoying the great weather and the holiday weekend. We walked around to take a quick look at each set of falls and to take a few pictures (each of which included quite a few people in addition to the aceneryscenery). After that, we stopped at the Palisades Head to take in the view and watch some climbers, followed by the Split Rock Lighthouse scenic overlook, and finally a high scenic overlook from which we could see Isle Royale. At each place, Dad seemed to misjudge the entrance and ended up going in the exit.

We stopped just before the border for fuel and an odd little duty-free shop. We bought some alcohol and then drove up the road to wait next to the Customs office for some guy to deliver it. We got through the border fairly quickly, and they let us through even though Barry did most of the talking on my behalf.

Well, now it's dark and we're driving past an occasional closed restaurant wishing we had eaten some supper. We should be in English River before 9:30 p.m., within the next hour.

In Transit

Barry and I left home at 3:52 Eastern Time and we've made it to Minneapolis before 9 am Central. Waiting for Dad and Larry to pick us up, at the lovely MSP airport. Long drive ahead.