Back Lake Adventure With My Better Half (lots of pic's)

[solopaddler]

The last time Joanne and I were able to sneak away for a weekend without the kids was May 2006, so with our families combined help we left last Thursday morning for a looong overdue break.

To make it even more special it was our anniversary on Sat night.

Nothing says I love you like swarms of blackflies and mosquitos and lugging piles of lumber up a steep hill right?

Joanne has an aversion to deet and flatly refuses to use the stuff. She showed me the citronella based repellent that she bought. She also had a refreshing mint based repellent to try.

And try she did, problem is it seems citronella and mint is nothing more than a condiment for the bugs up there .

 

The destination was our camp in N/W QC, and the plan was a lot of relaxing, and fishing at least one brand new back lake that's been on my list of lakes to try.

 

As per usual I had a massive load of wood and a new kitchen table to haul over to camp:

 

 

Once we arrived and unloaded we didn't do much of anything besides relax.

Jo was a bit tuckered out and didn't take too kindly to my picture taking (note the left hand ):

 

 

This little beggar was hanging around the deck looking for handouts:

 

 

We had planned on fishing the back lake on Friday, but with high winds, scattered showers and cloudy skies we decided to postpone the trip 'till Saturday and stay on the main lake.

So Friday morning after a leisurely breakfast, we piled the gear into the boat and headed up the lake.

 

 

 

There's a large bay on my lake that's a traditional mid june hot spot. It's about 1km long by 1/2km wide with an average depth of 8' and lots of newly emergent weeds.

The young of the year perch are usually in there thick and so are the walleyes.

 

There's a sandy point that juts out into the bay and that's where we started:

 

 

Things started off slowly with a couple of little dinks including a somewhat rare Sauger:

 

 

 

As we drifted further into the bay I noticed a long submerged sand spit jutting out into the lake. Not sure if you can see it in this pic, but here it is:

 

 

Trolling and drifting along the windward side of this spit we started to hit fish consistently, and they were quality fish as well.

Top fish of the day was this gorgeous 25" brute that SLAMMED a small Storm stick bait:

 

 

 

 

Kept one limit, threw a bunch back and headed over to my favourite filleting rock on a nearby island to do some slicing and dicing:

 

 

 

Had a fabulous fish fry Friday night and have to say, Cronzy's new fish coating mix is pretty darn good.

If you havn't tried it yet give it a shot.

 

Saturday morning we got up early and loaded the squareback into the boat for the ride over to the landing:

 

 

With military precision (not ) we loaded up the truck and embarked on our back lake adventure.

 

The road in was nice and sandy, a nice change from the usual car eating potholes:

 

 

There's some pretty incredible scenery up there including this very cool rock mountain that we drove right past:

 

 

Further down the road we saw this curious little critter. Everytime I whistled at it he came a bit closer:

 

 

 

 

Finally the put in point. We parked beside this old bridge:

 

 

The view downstream:

 

 

And the other direction up the lake:

 

 

Quickly loaded the boat and we were off:

 

 

 

 

Here we are approaching the portage:

 

 

And here's the small creek we portaged around:

 

 

Perfect breeding ground for wee beasties . As you can see Jo was bundled up with a full rainsuit on even though it was warm. After applying liberal amounts of her favourite bug condiment she decided to battle the pests with multiple layers.

 

On the trail into the lake:

 

 

Obviously there's a few locals who fish the lake. Here's what we found at the end of the trail:

 

 

On a brand new lake I'll generally troll the more high percentage spots to find fish and that's what we did working our way up the lake.

 

Finally at a small island cluster I picked off this beauty on a perch Shad Rap:

 

 

Thought we were really on to something and began to sieve the spot with jigs.

Surprisingly we only caught one more small fish:

 

 

We did see this cow moose and calf though off in the distance. Very cool!:

 

 

Random shot of the lake:

 

 

If you're a walleye fisherman this lake would blow your mind. The amount of structure and and overall depth was incredible.

We continued to work our way up the lake finally reaching a small shallow marshy bay where a tiny creek spilled in.

Average depth of maybe 6', mucky bottom and pretty heavy wind piling right in to the bay. Perfect!

 

What can I say, except it was totally epic. The walleyes were in there thick and biting like crazy.

Caught the first couple on crankbaits then switched over to jigs and just pounded them.

 

Here's a couple pic's of the spot:

 

 

 

Didn't take a whole lot of pictures while on this spot, but here's a couple including a bonus smallmouth:

 

 

 

At one point I hooked what I thought was a log. I'm just reefing on the thing to get it to the boat, when suddenly the "log" decided it didn't like being led and took off like missile, LOL!

 

Obviously a large pike, it's by far one of the largest I've hooked in a number of years. We had one good look at it before it bit through my 6lb test (aint that always the way?), and it was well over 40" for sure.

 

C'est la vie..

 

The walleye fishing was unreal though with many double headers.

It didn't really slow down any, but it was getting late so we picked up and headed over to this hunt camp on the shores of the lake with our second limit of fish to use their fish cleaning table :

 

 

 

 

Made it back to camp and cooked a beautiful dinner for my lovely wife to celebrate our anniversary:

 

 

 

Cracked open a bottle of wine, turned off the lights and just chilled out. Took this shot of the view from my chair inside the cabin:

 

 

Couldn't have asked for a more perfect weekend....

 

Cheers, Mike

Edited June 16, 2008 by solopaddler

[jwl]

great report and pics from the adventure..very nice way to sepnd some time for your anniversary, everyone has to get away withuot thier kids now and again

[Headhunter]

Great report! thanks for taking the time... fantastic read... oozing with jealousy and un-able to type any more!

HH

[Victor]

Sounds like you had a great time. Gotta be nice to get away from the kids for a vacation with beautiful scenery and big fish to boot. Thanks for sharing!

[Joey]

Mike, that is one heck of a report. Congrats to you and Joanne on your anniversary.

 

Looks like you had an awesome time and those are some nice pickerel you caught.

 

Bet they tasted just scrumptious.

 

Joey

[steve_paul]

Great report, beautiful spot you have up there.

 

Thanks.

[johnnyb]

stellar! Great scenery, fishing, pics. WOW! Thanks for sharing

[highdrifter]

Dang.. If only my better half we're as good with a camera as yours..

 

Excellent report and pics!

 

cheers

HD

[Guest Johnny Bass]

Excellent report and congratulations on your Anniversary! Bunk beds??Looks like she was a little more annoyed than I thought.

 

Sounds like a fishing adventure and a half!!! Are you carrying the canoe all by yourself or is your wife somewhere there in the back??

 

A great weekend, with great scenery and wildlife, great fishing, great meals and the story of the big one that got away and shared with your wife! Gotta love it. Thanks for sharing!

[bpsbassman]

Great report Mike.

Happy Anniversary!

[JohnF]

Excellent! And happy anniversary.

 

JF

[solopaddler]

Excellent report and congratulations on your Anniversary! Bunk beds??Looks like she was a little more annoyed than I thought.

 

Sounds like a fishing adventure and a half!!! Are you carrying the canoe all by yourself or is your wife somewhere there in the back??

 

A great weekend, with great scenery and wildlife, great fishing, great meals and the story of the big one that got away and shared with your wife! Gotta love it. Thanks for sharing!

 

You are a perceptive lad aren't you? LOL!

Bunk beds do tend to get a wee bit "cramped" .

(Plans are in store for a large bedroom addition which will house the double bed).

 

And yep, of course I'm carrying the boat myself. Balance my friend, balance, that's what it's all about.

Back in my soloing days I routinely carried an 80lb pack along with my 17' canoe so I guess there is something to be said for latent fitness .

 

Thanks everyone else

[Roy]

I beautiful spot indeed, Mike. Congrats to you and Joanne on your anniversary.

[tbayboy]

Great report Mike, I can just imagine how much fun that back lake bay was. Congratulations on the Anniversary as well.

[TennesseeGuy]

Congratulations. What a great way to celebrate a wedding anniversary. I had the same thing in mind, sort of, but it doesn't work for #50.

 

Thanks for the report. Yes, the walleye fishing looks great.

[Musky or Specks]

Sounds like a great time. Good report and congrats on the anniversary.

[ccmtcanada]

Congrats on your anniversary and what looked like an amazing weekend to share with eachother (and all of OFC as well...LOL).

 

I used to be the buyer for chemicals at Canadian Tire....bought insect replellents. I went to SC Johnson's lab in the US where they do the product testing off OFF and Deep Woods OFF. Deet is the only thing that is proven to work. I saw them test Avon's Skin so soft, citronella oil, geranium oil, ultrasonic decives etc....and the only thing that worked was deet. Even those "area" control systems dont keep them away....they actually produce carbon dioxide...and that's what the mosquitoes head for. Anyhow, I just chuckled when you said she put on her mosquito condiments.....hehe.

 

Looks like some great fishing there....wish I could read waters and a lake like you can!! Live and learn...I'll keep going out there and hopefully get better at it.

 

Great report and pics as usual....it's nice to see you got away for the weekend as well....you love your kids, but sometimes getting away from them for a weekend is bliss!

[jace]

Sounds like a fishing adventure and a half!!! Are you carrying the canoe all by yourself or is your wife somewhere there in the back??

 

 

Hhah. I laughed at that and another photo on the water where I'm guessing you got your name because you must be the only one paddling since she's sitting up in the bow and the other paddle is still strapped in under a cross-member.

[snag]

You are one lucky man to have such a great wife!

[solopaddler]

Congratulations. What a great way to celebrate a wedding anniversary. I had the same thing in mind, sort of, but it doesn't work for #50.

 

Thanks for the report. Yes, the walleye fishing looks great.

 

I can only hope Jo and I make it to 50 and are still doing the things we love to do.

You sir are an inspiration.

[solopaddler]

I used to be the buyer for chemicals at Canadian Tire....bought insect replellents. I went to SC Johnson's lab in the US where they do the product testing off OFF and Deep Woods OFF. Deet is the only thing that is proven to work. I saw them test Avon's Skin so soft, citronella oil, geranium oil, ultrasonic decives etc....and the only thing that worked was deet. Even those "area" control systems dont keep them away....they actually produce carbon dioxide...and that's what the mosquitoes head for. Anyhow, I just chuckled when you said she put on her mosquito condiments.....hehe.

 

Truer words were never spoken, that's what I tried to tell her!!

Who cares if it melts plastic and causes cancer in lab rats..at least you're not getting eaten alive!

 

Thanks for the kind words bud. You and Carole will have to make it up for a weekend at some point.

[solopaddler]

Hhah. I laughed at that and another photo on the water where I'm guessing you got your name because you must be the only one paddling since she's sitting up in the bow and the other paddle is still strapped in under a cross-member.

 

Take a closer look at the pic's. I'm getting old and fat, there was a 2hp Honda strapped to the back .

[RangerGuy]

Great report! Man you and the wifie really put a hurt on those walleye LOL!

 

What a piece of paradise you found

[jediangler]

Great report and pics, and congrats on the anniversary. I remember when my Sportspal looked that new. How long have you had that one?

[Sinker]

Incredible location to have a cabin. You must have spent some time researching that area, or you have spent some time up there previous to your purchase. I'm envious.......that is a great area!

 

Congrats on the anniversary, and thanks for a great report!!

 

Sinker