Cookslavs Specktacular 2012 Algonquin report

[Cookslav]

Sorry this trip report is so late...I've just been busy....that work thing gets in the way

And a word of warning for the "haters" yes...there is an empty can of beer in one or two of the vidoes.

If it makes you feel better, lets just say I found them discarded on the portage and was packing them out.

Now we can all still be friends

 

This years trip was almost the trip that was not to be….

With two of the usual crew on Baby watch (wives due in May), 2 of the crew acquiring new employment and subsequently not have any Vacation time available and one of the crew purchasing a new home over the opener….

We were low on attendees for this years trip it seemed and the biggest potential trip killer….I was on notice of a Transfer for a 3 month stint in Manitoba.

Luckily fate was on my side and things worked out, so I was able to be here for the opener.

 

This year we decided to try an old haunt that is a little easier to access then some of the lakes I’ve previously fished these past few years.

My main motivation for this cowardly act….My partner had to bale out last minute so this would be a solo trip from me.

I was actually a bit excited about this for 2 reasons.

Firstly Its been years since I solo paddled the park and secondly…

The idea of not having to share my casting zone was dam appealing

So this years trip would mean Lakers and Splake were in Play and although Spec’s are present on this lake it’s a rarity.

This meant keeping my Spring trip report in true Tradition as Cookslav’s Annual “Specktacular” report would

Be a tall order, but not impossible.

Fish would certainly be caught….but would we catch any Specks????

 

Day 1

After all the packing, planning and plotting was done… our motley crew of only 3 set sail at 4:30am from Kitchener and made our way into the parks clean tea stained water for about 9:30am

Despite seeing blue skies earlier and having a glorius forecast of warm sunny weather for the next 3 days….the park was misty, overcast and cool for our assent into the wilderness.

 

 

We crossed our first lake with relative ease as the winds were almost nil and at our backs.

The portage proved surprisingly easy being solo?…

Anyone who has tried the 100 push up work out routine for strength building will tell you it works and I’m no different!

I have been doing this regimented work out since March in anticipation of the trip simply hoping at the very least to be a bit less sore afterwards, but in truth…after doing it for a few months I can safely say this work out rocks!

For a guy like me with a short attention span this 2 minute power work out fit’s the bill.

With out actually selling it to you…if your looking for a strength building work out that can be done in 2 minutes a day that will save your back, hips, shoulders and arms from the usual hurt of a long trip….Google it!

http://hundredpushups.com/

Anyway…back to the trip LOL!

 

My freind pondering natures wonder...AKA comic releif at the top of a hill in midst of our Portage

 

Some Curious Loons...

 

We made our way though the next couple lakes and to our site in about 4 hours which is a record time for us. We quickly made camp with our priority put into tarping a seating area and getting tents/hammocks hung as the sky appeared to be darkening by the minute as opposed to clearing...so much for our glorious forecast.

Fire wood was scavenged cut & quartered and put under tarps…enough to last the weekend done the first day!!!

It seems the area must have had some significant storms as good dry fallen limbs and whole trees were plentiful?

This was a much welcome change from the usual wet spring harvest I'm used to.

 

This picture is actually a Site...I imagine it would have been crazy to be on this camp when lighting took this tree.

Look at the Charring on the roots!!!!

There were about 3 trees down on this site, but this one scene is enough of a reminder to respct Mother nature when she's angry for me.

Cripes...

 

 

We then had enough time then to pump some water, eat, and sure enough the skies let go as we sat for dinner…..

There was no chance for a quick evening troll thanks to the rain but an early evening was fine by me after a good days hard work.

 

Day 2

We woke to that same misty weather…

Cool and damp but not to bad, the calm wind made for perfect casting conditions.

 

 

So after some oatmeal stale camp coffee with a Baileys refresher…we were off to work the lake.

We elected to stay close as the skies again threatened rain, and the odd clap of distant thunder kept us on our toes.

Also we were expecting 2 late arrivals that afternoon so I wanted to stay close to ensure their safe arrival.

My Uncle and Father had decided to join the trip a day late….nice of them to come AFTER the wood was cut. camp made and water pumped LOL!

Bah...I was looking forward to their company regardless

I LOVED the solo aspect of this trip...every time I was out there I was reminded of how much I like being alone

The constant quiet really helped me feel a part of the nature scene I was in….no gabbing, no competing for fishing spots, and of course nobody to rock the boat LOL….I’ve never felt so stable in a canoe

A trick I learned from an old timer years ago was to lay some heavy stones in the front of your canoe to counter balance your weight as it helps keep the canoe a bit deeper in the water, and thus more stable.

Plus it Reeeeely helps keep the nose down in wind and makes solo steering a lot nicer.

The sun peeked its head out just long enough for me to snap a pic of the area...and my rock set up

 

 

I casted a lot of shore line and a lotta shoals/drops….not a sniff.

I trolled for a while until I heard my radio go off…My Dad had arrived so I figured a beer break and some lunch is just what I needed.

We chatted about their trip in, which was about as uneventful as ours.

It wasn’t long before we decided to get back at the fishing…but it would be short lived.

I can safely say it was S-L-O-W going….I had not gotten a hit, follow, or even a glimpse of a rise all day.

I began my troll home when I started to hear thunder then BAM!!!

Finally I had a fish on which I got close enough to see was a small laker….but I gave her a long distance release DOH!

 

Back at camp we shared similar stories between the 3 canoes which was a bit discouraging to say the least as it POURED rain.

Thunder and Lightning was fairly constant until Dark...Fishing was done for the day.

All the catches had been OOS incidental Bass and 2 lost fish that wee believed to be lakers.

We decided tomorrow we would march on to another lake I know to hold a healthy population of Splake for some good eats!

 

Day 3

Again it was misty, overcast but this morning…..was COLD

Overnight the temps had plummeted, and the damp cold was tough to shake.

I had woken up several times through out the night shivering, as I tend to sleep with my arms out of the bag….no idea why I do it, but I do it when I’m sleeping, and usually awake near hypothermia LOL!!!

This morning was just not comfortable at all…one of the worst I can recall in the park.

It was probably hovering on 1-2 degrees, but I just couldn’t shake the damp, misty cold.

Why this morning was so damp was beyond me, but the whole crew felt it.

In all seriousness I built a decent fire and sat around it for an hour or two eating Breakfast and had about 4 warm coffees before I got the nerve to get moving and ready for our day trip.

It’s a bit of a haul in and out of this lake so we got an early start and left our camp by about 8:30am

2 short hours and we were fishing a real Gem…

Emerald green waters that taper off into jet black holes. The Lake is dotted with fallen timber all along the edges and big rock/boulder fields litter the north, and the south is a mix of sand/gravel.

 

 

 

It didn’t take long to formulate my game plan….I immediately went to work in the wood, allowing the north wind to push me south into a sandy bay….lots of rising in the that bay, so my plan was simply to pound the fallen lumber, and when I come into casting distance of the bay I would switch it up and cast the rises.

It paid off in my first swing. I had a monstrous hit, head shake and then my line peeled out….I knew I had a big fish right of the bat. I’d work her in, and she’s pull out circling the front of the canoe and dive.

I gingerly worked her closer, and readied my net….all the time trying to remember I’m in a canoe, and trying to remind myself NOT to lean LOL!!!

Finally I brought her up, and she was a beauty!

I made one good scoop and in she came….all 23” of her.

 

 

video of the Catch

 

I went back to work repeating the same pattern for about 2 hours when Finally I had another strong hit….and a miss??? It was a solid hit, but the hooks just didn’t stick, when I reeled in I saw the issue.

My hook had broken off What a let down….

 

That’s when the excitement started…

I had just put my fish on the stringer when one of the other boat stuck gold.

Another solid 19” fish had been put in the boat. As they put their fish on the Stringer….disaster struck

They tipped!!!

I heard a big splash and looked over to see their canoe upside down, and my buddies flailing in the cold water. I immediately started in their direction calling to them, but I couldn’t get a response.

They were in total panic mode, with one guy swimming to shore, the other treading water and gasping for air….with NO life Jacket!!!

It was floating right next to him, but he couldn’t see it….

I barked at him to grab his jacket, and put it on as the other guy was already on shore and safe for the time being, but Nick was in danger of going under as he was gasping and sinking fast.

I was going towards him as fast as I could, but still 20 yards out, luckily he heard us screaming at him and he put his vest on, and swam towards shore.

Let me tell you…that was the scariest moment of any trip I’ve ever been on.

Watching your friend drowning from a distance…not fun.

Long story made short they were fine, as luck would have it I had full rain gear in my pack that one guy could were, and so did my dad, plus I had a jacket, and sweater I was able to lend them so they had dry clothes to get into. We Righted their Canoe and grabbed their gear that was floating for them….some how they still had their fish on the stinger LOL!!!

 

It was another nice fish for sure.

 

But they lost one rod, one camera, a net and a tackle box….lucky for them we had extra rods back at camp.

We got a fire going for them to warm up by and then that was pretty much enough excitement for them so they headed back to camp.

They had plenty of argueing to do about who leaned and who did what to cause their flip

In the end it was decided they ran up on a branch sticking up "Just" under the surface...the red paint on the branch gave it away.

 

After all the hustle and Bustle in that end of the lake…I decided to change side for some quiet time.

It didn’t take long at all….10 minutes in WHAM I had another bruiser on the line!

This time is was from just outside a faller Pine tree, and she was dangerously close….

So I played her hard, and worked her away into the deep and dropped the net beneath her.

Another nice solid 19” fish.

 

video of the lure used and fish on stringer

 

We fished the lake for another 2 hours and called it a day.

Back on the Portage I swapped info with my Dad and Uncle who primarily had fished the Boulder field with mixed results…they each landed 2 fish but nothing over 14”.

So all in all the lake gave up 7 fish for us, 3 of which made a great fireside dinner.

 

 

This...

Quickly became this...

A little Provencal Butter I made for the trip with fresh lemon....dang it was good.

 

This night was going to have a show….we were expecting a glimpse at this supposed “Super Moon”

We were all pretty excited to be in such a remote area to see this, and the skies had finally cleared out so all cameras were ready!!! It was cool…but more then anything it just seemed really bright?

Not super big or anything?….just bright?

 

It came out early...here are a couple of bad shots.(sorry, but they didn't turn out as nice as I would have liked)

 

 

Anyway…drinks and fishing stories flowed around the camp fire, and we laughed a lot at the “tipping” incident.

The funniest part was how upset my friend was at losing his “lucky lure”

He didn’t care about the rod he lost, but the lure was his favourite and we all kind of chuckled at this Luck his lure supposedly brought….that is until he went to put his life jacket away under the tarp in case it rained and guess what was stuck to the back of his life Jacket!!!!

His Lucky Lure had survived the tip incident…it mush have some how got stuck on his jacket in the commotion?

So as it turned out….that lure WAS really Lucky!

 

 

Day 4

Sunny!!!!

Finally the weather was sunny….but windy…you just can't win sometimes I guess?

We elected to hit the Spake lake again this day because of the stiff winds.

Our base Camp was on a fairly open lake, which was making it difficult to fish any one spot out side of trolling. So we elected to troll to the portages and make our way to our lucky lake.

We did actually catch a few Incidental OOS Bass along the troll…one of which was a tank...prolly 6lb smally.

We were hoping it was a big laker, but no such luck.

 

After running the several portages and lakes we were once again on our targeted lake.

It was a tough day to be fishing solo, but I managed…the winds were variable and a bit annoying as I’d just set up for a drift, and then the direction would change grrrr….

We worked the lake top to bottom and then some…and managed to pick up 2 decenet fish in the 17" range

Luckily uncle managed a beauty 19" so it was enough to give us a dinner again.!

 

 

My uncle with our days catch...

which became this...Garlic Fish crisp and Lemon pepper

 

Back at camp we relaxed, and did some fishing just off shore from the camp as it seemed the fish were rising everywhere….but no one could get a fish to commit, until I decided to throw a wooly bugger….bingo!

 

We Finally got a spec not more then 30’ from camp...barely worth mentioning and quite small but welcome.

She went back to fight another day, besides...

She gave me what I wanted (Validation to call this my “Specktacular annual report”)

 

 

Day 5

Departure came swift under clear blue, and warm skies….

Why is it the weather ALWAYS seems to be best on the day you leave???

Its both bitter and sweet I suppose…on one hand it sucks to have the weather so accommodating as your leaving, but on the other hand…how nice is it to pack up in warm DRY conditions?

 

Meh?

Anyhoo…we sailed through the calm lakes and quickly passed the portages being much lighter going out via less food and beverage. And we drove home through a VERY congested Toronto….It seemed everyone who has a cottage must have decided to get away for the weekend.

We were in stop and go traffic from Barrie to Milton….we should have just stayed LOL!!!

 

Cheers,

[woodenboater]

Terrific report and pictures ! Those are some beautiful trout you guys got into the canoes ! Glad to read your friends just had a close call and your bud's lure was safe

 

Haven't been to the Park for spring trips in a few years and after reading the reports here, really miss them.

[Grimace]

That was great. Thanks

[mercman]

Awesome report Great fishing.

Love the lake pics.I could feel my mind being drawn into them.

[spincast]

fantastic report - thanks for taking the time. That tippiecanoe story will be one you guys tell for years - glad it turned out the way it did, cause it sounded tense for a while there

[FisherJuli]

Great shots- especially the misty morning ones. Algonquin never loses its grace and beauty. And nice fish, too! (too bad for the soakers!)

[msp]

Great report and some really nice fish.

I like the picture of your Uncle. He looks like a solid dude with the cigar hangin out of his mouth, proud of his full stringer.

[Gregoire]

Love the Algonquin reports. Thanks for sharing.

[Joey]

Wow, heck of a report. Sorry the weather didn't cooperate for you a bit more, and thank God your friends made it out alive after their tip over. Very lucky indeed

 

Very nice fish there, I could almost taste it in the pics you showed

[hooked!]

Awesome report! Thanks for sharing.

[asdve23rveavwa]

Excellent report, thanks for sharing your adventure. Great pictures, some nice fish, adventure and misadventure

[4x4bassin]

Great report , I too love the Algonquin reports . Nothing better then being in the backwoods for the first couple weeks of trout season

[Musky or Specks]

A very nice report.Some decent fish and everyone home safe.

[adempsey]

Awesome! What an adventure that must have been. Glad the guys that tipped were OK. I decided to wear my PFD all the time now because you just never know.

[corvette1]

great report and trip

[lew]

Always enjoy your Specktacular reports and as usual this one was excellent, thanks for taking us along.

 

Beautiful country and great pictures.

[johnnyb]

Great report and some really nice fish.

I like the picture of your Uncle. He looks like a solid dude with the cigar hangin out of his mouth, proud of his full stringer.

 

 

That one jumped out at me as well!

 

Fantastic report, Cookslav, and well worth the wait. Gorgeous fish, and really glad to hear the canoe tipping incident ended well for all parties.

[Nemo]

Cool report. Glad you made it in and caught some fish. I always love the cooking shots!

 

Nemo

[Moosebunk]

A yearly gem I always keep an eye out for. Near drownings, lucky lures, family, friends and some great fish and feasting all under Natures greatest canopy. Perfect... or, as it turned out to be in the end, "specktacular."

 

Thanks for reporting.

[Jds63]

great AP report ... glad that all were safe after the canoe tipping

[hoby5]

fantastic report! and love the splake fishing i usualy only target them in the winter but they are great eating fish for sure well done!

[Cookslav]

Thanks for the kind words folks,

I enjoy reporting it every year...I'm a traditionalist at heart I guess

I'm hoping to get out again in the summer if I can swing it...might get lucky enough to do 2 Algonquin reports

 

Cheers,

[torco]

Another year and another great report. Thanks for the great read as usual.

[highdrifter]

That was a real treat man. Kudos on the 100 pushup routine too. Great for managing the huck in and plus you get jacked!!

 

cheers

HD

[Cookslav]

LOL...yup

I swear that 100 puch up work out is AWESOME....seriously, its a few minutes a day.

I actually passed the 100 mark by the time the trip came so I deviated and am doing my own plan now.

 

Now I do 40 strait, then 40 crunches and repeat 3 times...thats 120 pushups and crunches a day in about 10 minutes then I shower and go to work....never felt better and according to wife....never looked better.

Lost 20lbs and about 2" off the waist and seriously feel great.

 

Started with 10push ups, and 10 sit ups....about 4 months later doing 40 feels just as easy/challenging because its gradual.

But I tell you the best part was feeliong about as good as I did at 18 again carrying my gear in and solo canoeing.

 

Seriously give it a one month trial...you'll Love it.