Family Fun In N/W Quebec ~ Plus A Backlake Bonanza With HTHM

[solopaddler]

This truly is a tale of two trips for me.

 

As we normally do in August, myself and my little clan headed north for a week at our camp in Quebec.

 

With two young kids things can get a bit antsy at a water access camp that's off the grid though. Jo warned me she "might" want to leave early if the weather didn't co-operate.

 

Albert,(HTHM on the board) was scheduled to drive up and join us for the last two nights, hoping to squeeze a bit of fishing in.

 

Albert lives very close to me in Hamilton and I've had the opportunity to get to know him recently. He's a good man.

 

Well as things turned out the weather was pretty bad. Bad enough that Joanne left on Wed with the kids just before Albert arrived..

 

Worked out well for everyone really, and this is what happened.

 

 

Trip One: Family Fun

 

As mentioned the weather for the most part was bad. Relentless strong S/W winds, at least one major cold front and several thunderstorms and rain showers.

 

This put a major halt to our fishing success but it didn't dampen our enthusiasm.

 

I had a couple of day trips planned and both turned out great with the weather co-operating each time.

 

Not far from my camp in Ontario is an Aurora Trout lake that opened on August 1st for the first time in a loong time.

 

I just had to try.

 

We lashed my newly refurbished Sportspal to the roof racks (it's mint now btw ) and off we went.

 

 

The landing was easy to find and the lake although small was a sparkling jewel.

 

 

 

We tried in vain for a couple hours with no luck. First trolling a variety of crankbaits on an obvious break. When that didn't work I drifted across the lake with a live bait rig and air injected nightcrawler. Nothing.

I marked a ton of fish though, so they're definitely there.

 

 

I believe it may have produced right at dusk or dawn, but with two wee ones on board that wasn't an option.

 

That particular afternoon was hot and sunny and the kids were getting restless after a couple hours.

 

"Let's go find a beach daddy, I want to swim!"

 

So we did.

 

I repacked the truck and off we went thinking I'd look for a beach on one or two of the large lakes we had passed enroute.

 

While still on the secondary road I spied a small wooden sign that said "Beach" with an arrow pointing down a seemingly little used side road. Too perfect.

 

We turned at the sign having no idea where it would lead us.

 

Not far in we came upon the most amazing beach I've ever seen in the north.

Crystal clear, warm water and white sand that stretched as far as the eye could see.

 

It was like a scene from a movie.

 

There was a small group of locals to our left and a couple of other stragglers but the beach was largely barren of people.

 

 

We drove up to the sand and quickly hopped out staking claim to our little piece of real estate.

 

It didn't take long for Joanne and the kids hit the water.

 

 

 

 

 

Water logged, sun kissed and battered from head to toe in sand we packed it in around 5pm and headed back to camp for a bbq and a few drinks on the deck.

 

It was one of the best days we've ever spent with the kids, couldn't have been more perfect.

 

 

 

 

Fishing on my lake was, as mentioned, tough. Case in point there's a large clay flat that usually produces for me in August.

Because of the never ending white caps I didn't fish it once when the family was up.

 

We did try other spots though every single day. Unfortunately it was an excercise in futility.

 

In one protected corner of the lake 3 times we had to take shelter inside a small shack as thunder storms rolled through.

 

 

It was pretty grody, but kept us dry. The kids loved it, for them it was like playing in a fort.

 

Of course it goes without saying even with the coolish water we went tubing as much as possible. My little girl getting a bit braver this year letting me open up the throttle a bit more than usual.

 

 

'Course when it was my turn they just about killed me.

 

 

 

Once again the kids spent hours jumping off the dock, both of them not fazed by the 66 degree water.

 

 

 

With the rough weather I was still adamant to put the little ones onto some fish though, so another day trip was planned.

 

It was a spot I'd brought them to with success last year.

 

At the end of my lake there's a large river outlet that flows north.

You can only go so far then you're faced with rapids.

 

You can park the boat and walk a trail around the worst of them to a series of breathtaking pools.

Last August we caught a ton of fish there, mostly sauger so our hopes were high as we hit the trailhead.

 

 

The trail on both sides was absolutely choked with wild raspberries.

An irresistable sight we couldn't pass by.

 

 

 

The fruits of our labour:

 

 

More than enough for a huge batch of raspberry pancakes topped with whipped cream the next morning....

 

The spot was as we remembered, a true oasis.

 

 

 

 

Unfortunately with the extreme low water this year there were little to no fish.

 

In higher water years those pools are teeming with fish that migrate up from a huge lake several km's downstream.

 

We fished it hard and much to my daughters delight she managed to scratch out our only fish, a small pike.

 

 

Even with the lack of fish it was still a blast and we capped off our day with a bonfire on our newly exposed beach.

 

Normally we have campfires on the point but with this years low water a huge area of flat pebble beach is exposed down by the pump dock.

 

Right on the water, it was a nice spot.

 

 

 

That was pretty much it for the family highlights. On Wednesday we said our goodbyes and Jo left with the kids for home.

 

Albert was on his way and at that point I was a little worried about the fishing conditions.

 

 

 

 

Trip Two: Back Lake Bonanza

 

 

Albert is an incredibly enthusiastic angler. He'd never before caught a walleye though and was keen to learn and rectify that situation while visiting.

 

On my end I was slightly worried as the fishing to that point had been tough.

Still the weather seemed to be turning in our favour so I was cautiously optimistic.

 

That night at camp we bbq'd a couple thick steaks, shared some good conversation and a few pops.

 

Can you tell he's enjoying himself?

 

 

 

First order of business the next morning was lashing the canoe to his Jetta.

 

A couple of 2X4's bungeed to the roof served the purpose well and we were soon on our way.

 

 

 

The lake I was bringing him to is one of my favourites, with good populations of walleye, pike and smallmouth bass.

It has however proven to be a tough lake at times, not always producing fish.

 

 

With all the rain the road in was just a bit wet. It was no problem for the VW though, handling the terrain with ease.

 

 

 

Although the wind was light to non existant, it was raining lightly so suits were donned as we loaded the boat and skimmed across our access lake to the portage.

 

 

With the water so low it was a little hard reaching the trailhead but we made it.

For Albert this was another milestone, his first portage.

 

I carried the boat over, he pretty much carried everything else. If nothing else it proved to him that he could do it and I think he was happy about that.

 

As expected the landing at the end of the trail was as low as I've ever seen it.

 

At least it made loading the boat easy..

 

 

In no time at all we pushed off and were fishing.

 

I had it in mind to start the proceedings with a few bass as they're usually much more willing biters.

 

Rods rigged with reaction baits like rattlin spots and small crankbaits we worked the shoreline casting at rock and timber.

 

Fortunately I was correct in my assessment. We caught a number of fish and broke our cherry well.

Nothing huge, but lots of them.

I'm fairly sure we could've caught bass all day long if we had wanted to.

 

 

 

 

 

The bass were fun but not what we were there for and we soon pushed on up the lake in search of walleye's.

 

It's really a pretty easy lake to read. There's a prominent main lake point that stretches far out into the lake and continues under water.

 

It truly is an incredible piece of structure with the bottom littered with boulders of all size and shape.

 

The rocks end at about 20' in depth about 150 yds off the point. At that point the bottom quickly drops to 30' and is basically flat and featureless.

 

When I'm prospecting for walleye I'll usually bottom bounce with a worm harness. Normally when fish are found I'll refine my tactics and jig for them as vertically as possible.

 

On this day however the harnesses were king and worked better than any other presentation.

 

Not overly surprising as these fish do have a propensity for flashing blades.

 

We pretty much worked that one spot over the rest of the day catching walleye's hand over fist.

Most were just a decent eating size, a couple were pretty darned chunky.

Mixed in were the odd pike and bass. At one point Albert had on and lost a pretty large pike. We both figured it to be in the 10lb range and he was pretty shook up when it bit through his harness and gained it's freedom.

 

Albert was ecstatic with the fishing, and even more so with his ability to learn and and master a new technique.

I have to admit I was feeling pretty pleased with myself being able to put him on fish.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We kept a bunch of them for eating.

We had a big fish fry planned for that evening and we both wanted to bring some home as well. (I had promised my clan fish earlier in the week and they were holding me to it).

 

Just as we headed over to a nearby hunt camp to clean our catch the skies opened and the rain fell hard.

We really didn't care though.

 

 

 

Mission accomplished another great day!

 

On the way back to the landing the skies cleared and this amazing double rainbow graced us with its presence.

 

 

A fitting end to our trek.

 

 

 

Back at camp we gorged on walleye 'till we couldn't force down another morsel.

Don't think I've ever eaten that much in one sitting before.

 

 

We had one more day to fish and had plans to work the big lake in the comfort of my boat.

 

We had a quota to fill as well since we both wanted to bring back our Quebec limits of walleye.

 

Something I rarely do up there, but it's okay once in a while.

 

With the pressure on we headed 8km's up the lake to the large clay flat that I'd wanted to fish previously in the week.

 

With the weather stable and the barometer on the rise not surprisingly we did quite well.

 

What did surprise me was the number of smallmouth we caught though.

In the 7 years I've been on that lake the population has always been small, not really worth targetting.

I'm fairly sure they're gaining a foothold now and I'm pretty happy about that!

 

 

 

 

In any case as mentioned the clay flat produced well.

Once again working bottom bouncers and worm harnesses this time in 20-30' of water we caught fish consistently.

They weren't big, but they were big enough and allowed us to fill our quotas.

 

Once again mission accomplished!

 

Albert had me snap this pic of him with a sauger. Not a big fish...but for him another first.

 

 

 

Enroute back to camp we stopped at a small island to clean our catch.

 

 

 

 

Albert was interested in my filleting technique and filmed this short video mainly for his own purposes.

 

 

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Back at camp that evening I fired up the generator and settled back to watch the ball game on the tube while Albert graciously bbq'd.

 

The result:

 

 

Doesn't get much better than that in my books.

 

I've snapped these pic's a thousand times but Albert was compelled to do the same while lounging on the deck.

 

That view gets under your skin. It's where I want my ashes scattered when the time comes.

 

 

 

 

 

Another great trip in the books.

Special thanks to HTHM, you're a good man and I'm glad I've gotten to know you.

 

Hope you enjoyed,

 

Cheers, Mike

Edited August 25, 2010 by solopaddler

[timmeh]

Fantastic report, looks like a small piece of paradise you've got there.

[DRIFTER_016]

Looks like a fun trip Mike.

Is that the island your dad hit last month?

What was the repair bill like.

 

 

Oh, and that beach you found looks sweet!!!!!

[solopaddler]

 

Is that the island your dad hit last month?

What was the repair bill like.

 

 

 

 

Yep that's the one.

 

Edited August 25, 2010 by solopaddler

[Cudz]

Nice report.

I love how your children are now wearing life jackets all over the place, even when they don't need them. lol

[alphaalpha]

Great report as always, makes us feel like we are there with you.

 

Also love the action shot of you tubing!

[Cudz]

And a big congrats to Albert and his firsts (and PBs for that matter)

[solopaddler]

Nice report.

I love how your children are now wearing life jackets all over the place, even when they don't need them. lol

 

Man some of you guys have a looong memory.

 

 

 

(Things havn't really changed all that much, I'm just more selective in my photo taking)

[Dutchy]

Excellent report. Thanks. I enjoyed reading that

[Gregoire]

That was a nice read and a great report.

Edited August 25, 2010 by fishgreg

[GBW]

Great repot solo, tks!

[HTHM]

Thanks for the report, Mike. Funny how you neglected to mention, that I had the BIG fish of the weekend.......

However I LOST the two biggest fish of the weekend as well.

Those two facts are due to Mike's incredible guiding skills and willingness to share methods

Thank you for a weekend I will not soon forget! You were an incredibly gracious host, and I felt very welcome at your camp. Thank you for that!

PS: The vid is a classic example of:"Could you show me that again", filleting technique (grin)

Edited August 25, 2010 by HTHM

[solopaddler]

 

Funny how you neglected to mention, that I had the BIG fish of the weekend.......

However I LOST the two biggest fish of the weekend as well.

 

I also neglected to mention that I had to teach you how to cast before we could begin fishing.

 

Seriously though, the man has an uncanny ability to catch fish.....when everything is laid out on a silver platter for him.

 

 

(Sorry couldn't resist )

 

 

 

Those two facts are due to Mike's incredible guiding skills and willingness to share methods

 

 

I agree.

 

 

Thank you for a weekend I will not soon forget! You were an incredibly gracious host, and I felt very welcome at your camp. Thank you for that!

 

 

You're very welcome it was great to have you up there!

 

 

PS: The vid is a classic example of:"Could you show me that again", filleting technique

(grin)

 

 

 

Hopefully I'll get the opportunity to show you again in person.

Edited August 25, 2010 by solopaddler

[spincast]

awesome spot and great report. Thanks for sharing. Nice stringer of fish there too!

[Rich Clemens]

Great report Mike. You seem to be able to find all of those great looking "out-of-the-way" places. It's great too that your family also enjoys the adventures. Keep on fishing and keep on posting the reports - I really enjoy reading them.

[Musky or Specks]

Don't be to discouraged by the lack of success for Aurora's. Ive hit them hard three different times over a ten year period and still haven't seen one.Nice to know that even an angler as dedicated as you couldn't manage one. Nice report though, I always look forward to reading them.

[lew]

Thanks Mike, reading stories like that is always a great way to start a day.

[danbouck]

I've been waiting for this report, Awesome

[MCTFisher9120]

Awesome report and journey. So much to see and catch, glad you had a blast!

 

Thanks for sharing,

MTBF

[corvette1]

awesome report looks like you guys had a great time

[TJQ]

Congrats!!! AWESOME report!!

[Joey]

Sweet report, looks like a good time!!

[solopaddler]

Don't be to discouraged by the lack of success for Aurora's. Ive hit them hard three different times over a ten year period and still haven't seen one.Nice to know that even an angler as dedicated as you couldn't manage one. Nice report though, I always look forward to reading them.

 

I get the impression they can be a tough nut to crack. But then so are brook trout in the middle of the summer.

 

The lake is open 'till Oct 15 so I'll give it another go in Oct when they're spawning (or attempting to spawn). They can't be that much different than spec's.

 

 

Thanks to you and everyone else for the kind words, glad you enjoyed the tale.

 

 

Cheers

[TennesseeGuy]

Mike, you had a great experience. Thanks for bringing it to us.

[adempsey]

Sounds like you had a great trip. I'll be heading out for my family trip next week, but unfortunately my wife isn't as understanding as yours so I cannot go too far from the concrete jungle but at least it's on a lake.

 

I was also up near Timmins on Lake Ivanhoe for a week of fishing last week when that nasty weather and cold front came in. Needless to say, my fishing trip was more like a solitaire tournament.