douG Posted June 13, 2009 Report Posted June 13, 2009 (edited) Brian and I left Etobicoke just before 7 am on Saturday, 30 May, headed for Wawa. We would meet up with my Dad and his buddy Warren there. The drive through the Sault was delightful with very light traffic and clear skies. Two hours driving and two hours snoozing turned out to be a great routine. We arrived at The Lakeview Hotel in Wawa around 5 pm, and checked in to quite a luxurious room, all for about $45 each. The bar downstairs had attractions like $4.95 for 20 oz Keith’s. In attendance were the MNR Tech for the area, and the MNR Biologist for the same area. I now have a list of drive to’s, private cottages without the flight cost, stocking lists and the whole doo whaa, etc. I expect that the round I bought for the locals will pay off in spades on our next trip. We unloaded at the base, about 25 minutes from the hotel; around 9 am on Sunday, waiting for our scheduled depart at 10:30. Paperwork was quickly cleared, and we weighed our gear. We were exactly 100 lbs over, earning the $60 overweight charge neatly. 5 guys and 400 lbs certainly load that Beaver – the overweight came later that day. It wasn’t until about 1 pm on Sunday that we started out on the lake, fishing weapons in hand. The 20 year old Johnson 9 started on the second pull with no choke and the first brookie was caught 2 minutes later. It got better from there. Everything we threw at these most beautiful fish worked, from black marabou wet flies (on spinning gear!), small minnowbaits, jigs and grubs, small tubes, beadhead nymphs, spinners up to #5, and spoons in a variety of sizes. I even dragged a big ¾ oz Kamlooper in blue nickel that also worked. Brian’s favourite was a #5 Aglia in what we called Scrambled Egg pattern, and I grew to love that EGB spoon, never caught anything before on an EGB. We trolled shoreline almost exclusively. After a hookup, we’d repeat the troll line and hookup again, shortening it until we found the center of the school, where we’d anchor and cast, and deal with the double headers that resulted. Warren is a meat hunter, and hates to injure the fish in any way if he is not going to harvest them, so he had quite the problem. Eventually he changed to single hooks for all his tackle, and pinched the barbs. We ate very well, with Tbones on the first night, venison chops on the third night, and delicious northern brook trout on the other two nights. More than a couple also made the supreme sacrifice for lunch. On Tuesday evening, I watched as an infestation of brook trout painted circles on the lake as the sun slowly set. The cabin was deluxe, with two bedrooms, each with four beds, gas fridge, stove and lights, and a small generator for additional lights. They look so peaceful when they’re sleeping. We preferred the hiss of my Coleman propane lantern to the hum of that Honda when the cribbage board, backgammon and McCallen’s 15 Oak came out to play. A small airtight woodstove could drive you out of the cabin in about 10 minutes from the heat, so we were warm, dry and comfy overnight as the temps dipped to the low single digits. Matti even provided a boardwalk from the cottage deck to the dock, so the cottage stayed quite clean as a result. h Brian actually went for a swim, punishing his nooblies unduly, in my opinion. I think he looks like Shrek in this shot. I failed to bring my shaving kit, and so was lacking the foam earplugs that I thought I had packed. Since we had to leave Wawa before the drugstore opened, I made do with some plastic baits during the evening snorefests. Unfortunately, there were no snapshots of watermelon twistertails installed for the slumber. The facilities, dubbed the Parliament Building, were furnished with lots of baby wipes and at least three kinds of tp, fine, medium and coarse. It all depended on the surface finish you wanted. The view out the open door was fabulous. I was told that the view from the dock towards the Parliament at the same time was less appealing. We flew with these same folks last year to a different lake, and the fishing sucked. About twenty specks were caught over that trip, and I caught one. That was all. This trip, we tallied over 200 brook trout in 3 ½ days for four people, it was incredible, and the prettiest fish I’ve ever seen. Even though they swarmed for an hour or so one afternoon, there was only one black fly bite for all of us the entire trip. HawkAir out of Hawk Junction is a great operation, especially with that big turbo Otter that we flew out with. I recommend Matti and Courtney Mantari, HawkAir, and the fine service they provide. Thanks for following along, hope you enjoyed the pictures. Edited June 14, 2009 by douG
Roy Posted June 13, 2009 Report Posted June 13, 2009 Geez Doug, I didn't know you'd been away! Glad you had a good time. Fly-in trips are just for rich folks so I can't do them but you captured some really nice specks there and had a good time doing it. Glad everything went so well. Thanks for posting that.....I imagine it was a lot of work....for you .
Joey Posted June 13, 2009 Report Posted June 13, 2009 Nice report Douglas. Sounds like you did alot better than last year. Nice specs and some great pictures. Well done. Joey
solopaddler Posted June 13, 2009 Report Posted June 13, 2009 Fantastic my friend. I've already seen the pic's and heard the story but it's still nice to see you post something for public consumption. A truly great trip and well deserved. (I may be hitting you up for some of the info you gathered from the mnr guy. )
Greencoachdog Posted June 13, 2009 Report Posted June 13, 2009 Excellent report, pics, and fish Doug!!! I'm gonna have to give that a try sometime!
johnnyb Posted June 13, 2009 Report Posted June 13, 2009 WOW...I can't begin to describe how jealous I am...but thanks for sharing...that was a beauty trip!!!!
JohnF Posted June 13, 2009 Report Posted June 13, 2009 Nice report, beautiful fish, thanx for not sharing photos of the Parliament. The world doesn't need to see you red-faced in full morning-after grunt mode, even if yer mom thought you were a cute baby when you did it. No grown man is that cute. No woman for that matter. Nice enviable trip. I get smb's in the stinky Thames - you get this. The world's not a fair place. JF
bigugli Posted June 13, 2009 Report Posted June 13, 2009 Saatana perkkala! I am so green with envy right now. What a great location and trip. Thank you for the report. WTG
motv8tr Posted June 13, 2009 Report Posted June 13, 2009 simply Awesome Doug!!! Thanks for sharing with us... maureen
Daplumma Posted June 14, 2009 Report Posted June 14, 2009 Exellent report bud...I never took you one of them trout guys but looks like its all good. Joe
msp Posted June 14, 2009 Report Posted June 14, 2009 I love the colours on those brookies.Thanks for taking the time to post your trip. Looks like some quality time with family and friends. You will cherish the time you spent with your old man. Very nice.
Musky or Specks Posted June 14, 2009 Report Posted June 14, 2009 Love those brook trout thanks for the report. Wawa is a beautiful area and has lots of great speck lakes
Rattletrap2 Posted June 14, 2009 Report Posted June 14, 2009 douG, What an awesome trip! Thanks for sharing with us. Looks like you really do live a good life...you possibly even deserve it....but I'm not 100% convinced! Beautiful fish and scenery there!
Dara Posted June 14, 2009 Report Posted June 14, 2009 Glad you enjoyed the trip DouG, and thanks for the report. But...what lake did you end up going too?
Cookslav Posted June 14, 2009 Report Posted June 14, 2009 Thats some good stuff there! Its the kind of trip that others will be measured against. You gotta luv it when the stars line up and the fish come out to play like that eh? Congrats, and thanks for sharing.
danc Posted June 14, 2009 Report Posted June 14, 2009 Geez... What a great report Doug. Looks like it was the perfect vacation. Thanks for sharing..
Sinker Posted June 14, 2009 Report Posted June 14, 2009 Right on douG!!! Looks like you's timed it just right!!!! Just when the bugs are out, but not really biting is prime time for specks IMO. Judging by your pics of the circles on the water, you guys had it just perfect!! All specks are beautiful, but those ones are especially nice huh? Beauty red bellies on them. Did I mention I'm jealous?? Sinker
limeyangler Posted June 14, 2009 Report Posted June 14, 2009 Thats incredible.....soooooo many trout. Ive been 3 times for brookies and still to catch one....here's you with 100's....lol...not fair! great report and pics. Cheers.
b2kptbo Posted June 14, 2009 Report Posted June 14, 2009 Couldn't ask for a better trip, great report, thanks...
TroutnMuskieHunter Posted June 14, 2009 Report Posted June 14, 2009 What a great report Doug ...I truely enjoyed reading and sharing the trip you guys went on!!....beauty colored specks and awesome scenery I'm gonna have to give that a try sometime! Glen, I've been thinking of doing a week long fly-in trip next year. The lake has natural Rainbows, Specks and Lakers...I went up to the lake a few years ago and the trout are abundant and big and the remote setting is awesome!!....I'm always looking for a gang to get out with so if yur interested, keep this in mind and send me a pm bubba!!
Spiel Posted June 14, 2009 Report Posted June 14, 2009 That must be the place I'm going when I die (fly rod in hand) cause it sure sounds and looks like heaven.
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