We woke up just before 4am and quickly jumped in the car to start driving north to the Boundary Water Canoe Area Wilderness. We stopped in Hinckley to pick up a few carmel rolls at Tobies and stopped in Duluth for gas, but otherwise it was peddle-to-the-metal driving, hoping to reach Brule Lake by 8am. That didn't quite happen, as we arrived around 9am and we were on the water by 9am. It was a little chilly (55 degrees) but beautiful at this point -- sunny and not a cloud in the sky.
The fishing on Brule was not as good as I had hoped. The water is exceptionally clear on this lake and with the bright sun... we could easily see rocks that we 10-feet deep. In short, we could see everything below us and presumably the fish could see everything above them. I hooked one very nice northern pike on Brule, but sadly it got off near the boat. This was a little frustrating, because I felt that Brule was our best chance for a fish-fry that evening.
Because this was actually a working trip, we left the lake at 11am to catch up with our colleagues who were working at nearby Homer Lake. They were just finishing up when we arrived, so we quickly headed to Devil's Track Lake, which is somewhat nearby but not actually part of the BWCAW. It was lunchtime, so the two girls paddled out to collect our samples (lake water, nothing special) while I fished. I caught a nice smallmouth on my second cast (largish spoon), and I quickly placed him on my stringer. I caught one more smallmouth (medium-sized crankbait) before the girls returned, but he was too small. I quickly filleted the smallmouth and we hopped back in the cars.
My tentative plan was to drive to some lakes well into the Arrowhead Region, but we abandoned that plan because the weather was worsening and we wanted to collect samples from the lakes north of Brule that were accessible from the Gunflint trail. So, we headed north to the access to Poplar Lake. I had visited this area six years ago, so I had a good idea of where we were going. The area was pretty but the fishing was poor (5 people caught 6 fish in two days of heavy fishing). In short, I was not optimistic of our chances for a fish-fry.
Poplar is a very pretty lake that is outside the BWCAW, so it has a few cabins and resorts on it. Like many lakes in the area, it has an abundance of locations that look like absolute prime spots for catching fish. Nonetheless, we skipped fishing here and paddle straight to the portage to Lizz Lake. The picture below is the few from the portage, looking back out onto Poplar Lake.
We quickly traversed the portage and also the short paddle across Lizz Lake. I think that Lizz Lake has been stocked with Brook Trout but I don't have a trout stamp... so I didn't bother fishing this long and narrow lake. After Lizz Lake, we portaged into Caribou Lake, which is the lake where we camped six years ago. At that time, we caught a couple of small northern pike. Also, Beymer's book (a guide for paddling the BWCAW) states that it contains only walleye and northerns -- no smallmouth. Anyhow, our plan was to quickly paddle to another portage so that we could collect samples on Meeds Lake. Unfortunately, my memory of the portage to Meeds Lake was faulty and we eventually gave up without getting to that lake (our map was a little confusing). Also, by this time, it was raining and much colder, so we didn't want to waste too much time here.
After deciding to portage to Horseshoe Lake from Caribou Lake, I attempted a few casts with a crankbait near the campsite where we were six years ago. On my second cast, a gust of wind blew our canoe the wrong direction, so I stopped cranking to pick up a paddle... and as I did, a nice smallmouth decided to eat my lure. Luckily, I hooked and landed this morsel (shown below, next to my feet).
After that, we paddled to catch up to our partners, but they were busy collecting data when we got there... so I made a few casts and then decided to troll our way to the next portage. Within about three paddle strokes, I hooked a smallish walleye, that was also placed on our stringer. After helping our friends manage the portage to Horseshoe, I made a few more casts before heading back to Lizz Lake. I hooked and lost a nice smallmouth (2-lbs?), which again was frustrating because this fish would have nicely completed our fish-fry.
After portaging to Lizz and then back onto Caribou, it was now very cold and very much raining. Nonetheless, I hoped to sneak in a few more casts. After paddling about half-way back to the public access, I made a few attempts near a small point. I literally announced my last cast of the trip (we were very cold), and luckily hooked and landed a very nice northern pike (25 inches or so). Suddenly, we had a little too much food for dinner, but that was fine. We were all very hungry and I had caught a very nice BWCAW trifecta (smallmouth, walleye, and northern pike).
The final highlight of the fishing trip (well, sort of) was the small moose waiting (blocking?) for us at the public access when we returned. Under normal conditions, we would have gladly waited 10-15 minutes, taking numerous pictures. But, we were all very cold (early-stage hypothermia, in fact), so we yelled at him to leave and he soon did.
The trip was good and the fishing was much better. I got a good number of nice fish, even though I fished relatively little under a rather bad set of circumstances. Right now, we're planning another work-trip for mid-August.
This week, my parents are coming to town and Kelly and I are planning two small fishing trips. The first will be on Friday to the St. Croix River, just south of Taylor's Falls. The second will be a week from Monday, when we're planning to take our boat to Lake Mille Lacs for the first time. Both trips should be very exciting for us!
