"Nirvana"

[Guidofisherman]

I am finally getting around to posting the story and photos of my last trip to Lake Nipigon for Brookies. It has been a long and cold winter so I got 'cabin fever' waiting for the spring thaw.

Nirvana is "the highest happiness possible". It is an enduring, transcendental feeling attained through a connection with nature and the ultimate in achievement. This annual trip started out much the same as others, but would prove to be just that...'one of the best ever.' Why? Everything just seemed to harmoniously fall into place. There was the usual anticipation of good fishing, nice weather and comradeship. While planning is the key to a successful trip, like most typical guy planning, the toughest job was trying to coordinate a weekend date convenient for all. There were work schedules, kid’s hockey and other family functions that had to be considered. Finally, the first weekend in September was decided upon after frequent checks with our spouses.   There was Allan (the golfer), Dave (the hockey dad and my brother), Brian (the pilot and ardent Walleye fisherman) and me (the Brook trout nut).

I admit to being a bit of an anal nerd when it comes to planning the details of these trips. I hate forgetting something, or not being prepared for all eventualities. The week before, I pulled my trailer up to the campsite. A big reason for the success of this trip was the trailer accommodations. After several years of checking the “want ads”, Kijiji and other sources, I had little luck finding what I needed with the budget I had. I didn’t want to go another summer in a tent enduring the cold, damp mornings, sleeping on rocks and eating in squalor. That’s fine when you are young and full of “piss & vinegar” but time has taken its toll on the old body. The purchase of this trailer is a story in itself.

With the trailer fully stocked and already parked at the camp site, we could concentrate on fishing. The plan was to rendezvous at the trailer Friday night after work. Allan and I would drive up during the day with the boat. Brian would fly down from his camp near Armstrong and meet us at the dock. Dave, my brother, would come the next morning after hockey practice. It was the best we could do. Like the story title implies, things just worked out with this trip. We completed the 2 hour drive just as Brian landed. Time to pull out the lawn chairs and have a cold beer as the driving and flying was done for the day. As I launched the boat, Allan fired up the BBQ for a fast supper and Brian put away the rest of the supplies

Things were falling into place nicely so we decided to try some fishing while the lake was calm and there was still evening light. Although it had been sitting for weeks, the motor fired up and we cruised across the bay to our secret spot. The lake level was higher than usual but the shoreline still revealed the wave worn rounded rocks that Nipigon Brookies haunt. We started with a classic searching pattern using the small trolling motor to cruise the shoreline. One guy would stand on the deck in the front of the boat and quarter cast towards the shallows in search of actively feeding fish. I would cast to the sides of the boat as I kept a steady course and depth. The other guy would cast out the back or drag a lure for the deeper fish. It was also our common practice to rotate positions whenever someone caught a fish to make things equal. There is nothing worse than one guy getting ‘skunked’ while others catch all the fish. Ya…right!

It didn’t take long for those famous, but often elusive words every fisherman loves…”Fish On!”  I was using a new baitfish streamer pattern I had created based on an Enrico Puglisi's classic salt water design. Only fishing for few minutes and we had caught and released our first. Excitement was running high as we continued our pass over the shoal and along another stretch of cobblestone shoreline. As Allan cast his jig-fly toward the calmness of the shoreline and started his retrieve, his rod gave a sudden shake then went silent. He shouted, “I had a hit.” He kept reeling and the fish returned, smashing his fly only feet from the boat. It immediately bolted for deeper water. After several ‘zings’ of the drag, we were able to get this beauty in the rubber net.

These Nipigon brookies are powerful fish that have adapted to living in fast moving current. Their broad tail and muscular body twist to escape, even for a quick photo. My Nikon D40 is set to continuous shooting just to catch such action shots

We continued along the inside curve of the shoreline with Brian now casting forward from the front deck. It was his first time at this location, so I was giving a few pointers on where to cast to the next reef that was submerged just ahead. Brian is a quiet, introspective kind of guy who just smiles a lot when he gets a hook up.

Without raising his voice one decibel, or extolling his fishing prowess as we are prone to do, he just keeps laughing and grinning from ear to ear every time the fish took a run. Now that everybody got their fish, it was time to head back to the trailer and reminisce about our recent fishing successes.

Morning broke to the smell of fresh perked coffee and homemade Egg McMuffins. There wasn’t much work to cleaning up paper plates and stuffing the bedding into a corner since we’re not at home. After a quick constitutional following that second cup of coffee, we wandered down to the dock for a morning fish. We might as well start off where we ended last night by fishing the shoal off the point of land. Since Brian would be flying back later in the afternoon, he took the front again and immediately hooked into a bigger fish. This one had been previously tagged quite some time ago as the tag was completely covered with green slime. I recorded the number and wondered what this fish’s life history was?   

 

Another glorious morning on the water had ended with each of us getting fish and it was time to head back to the trailer for lunch and meet up with David. The sun was shining and a light breeze kept us cool as we sat in our camp chairs contemplating lunch over a ‘cool one’. Dave drove up, right on time for lunch and methodically powered down several mammoth burgers and numerous hotdogs. (and he is the guy with a ‘six-pack’?…disgusting!)

The beauty of Lake Nipigon fishing is its variety. We have never had much success fishing for Brook Trout in the afternoon so decided to do some lazy, downrigger fishing for Lakers. The wind started to kick up some waves as we lowered the large cisco imitations. Just sit back, relax and wait for the rods to pop. After a few of these behemoths of the deep and lots of stories, it was time to head back to the dock.

  The afternoon faded and Brian wanted to take off in his small plane before the waves got too big and we were anxious to get back to Brook Trout Heaven. As we headed out in the boat, Brian powered up and took off into the wind. He circled once, tipping his wing to wave good bye. I could still see him still grinning.

You couldn’t plan it any better. Dave had missed the first day of fishing and anyone who has ever fished for brookies knows that while they were turned on yesterday, they can easily disappear in an instant today, but the gods were with us. Dave got the first one, then Allan then me and that pattern continued for the evening and last day.

As this spectacular trip drew to an end, even though the season didn’t close for another 10 days, we knew this was our final trip of the season. How could it get any better? We were at one with nature, the ultimate achievement in Brook Trout Heaven…Nirvana!

By: Al (Guidofisherman)

 

[irishfield]

Damn Al... too early to do this to a guy! I know that spot! lol

[waterwolf]

fished brookies my entire juvenile life,,never have i seen fish of that caliber.

unbelieveable ,,those pictures steal the need for imagination when discussing the limits of beauty in aquatic life!

breathless ! what everyone should at least here about, let alone enjoy first -hand.

 

on whatever level,, wonderful journal.

[Leecher]

Great year in review Guidofisherman

 

Beautiful specks you guys caught on that trip congratulations to everyone

Thanks for taking the time to put this report together and sharing it with us

Great job and well done!

Leechman

[Moosebunk]

Absolute pleasure reading and viewing this one Al.

 

Your trailer is one superb idea. Glad to see you and the bros spent some quality time and put a real beat on those halo'd gems of the Nipigon.

[douG]

Gobsmacked. Wow. Marron'.

[the spirit of fishing]

I am envious in every shade of green imaginable!;

and at the same time extremely appreciative of you sharing this great post with those of us who can only dream of getting into specks like that.

[trapshooter]

great pics, thanks for posting. I like the underwater release shot the best.

[Raf]

some great memories captured in a unique way there guido. thanks for sharing that.

[ccmtcanada]

Amazing....

Always love your pictures...simply breathtaking!

[Spiel]

Nirvan indeed. Nary a day passes where at least for a moment my thoughts have wondered to Nipigon.

Thanks for taking the time on this one Al, stellar.

[Bly]

Gorgeous as always. Great way to start my Sunday morning, thank you!

[snag]

Another report that should be kept forever.

 

Quality job!

 

[danc]

Thanks for this wonderful report Al. Your photo editing is among the best I've seen anywhere, and your subject material isn't bad either. I just got off the phone with Colin and I'll be sending him a link to this thread. I hope we'll see you on the lake in a few short months.

[Guidofisherman]

I'm glad everyone liked the little "pick-me-up" as we wait for the spring thaw.

Dan: here's one more for you done with photoshop from the same trip.

Alan

[Jet]

Awesome report. I grew up in Nipigon, haven't been back since 1992, and seeing your pics of the lake brought back a lot of great memories.

[solopaddler]

Outstanding! Love what you did with the pic's.

[TroutnMuskieHunter]

Superb report and pics Al ........I can hardly wait for softwater...

 

Thanks!