Cochrane to Nipigon

[scuro]

Fishing wasn't over for me after Kesagami ( http://www.ofncommunity.com/forums/index.p...c=9365&st=0 ). My brother in law Chris met up with me in Cochrane for the second leg of my journey. After over 30 years Chris was finally going to meet his birth mother. What a chance to meet his relatives, see that part of the country, and also possibly get some fishing in .

 

Chris hadn't been up north for a few years so he was itching to get some roadside fishing in after we left Cochrane. There are numerous places to fish on the side of road. While many of these places looked promising we had a difficult time raising fish, only small pike would hit our lures. The weather could have been a factor.

 

Chris on our first stop. The blackflies were bothersome.

 

The view from the road was typically flat bush or fields. No postcard views from this corner of our province. The landscape from Cochrane to Nipigon is a relatively unremarkable until you get into the Nipigon area where the landforms are often stunning.

 

It's not uncommon on highway 11 to see abandoned buildings by the side of the road.

 

The whole of northern Ontario has been hit hard by the sharp decline of the logging industry. Here is one part of our national economy that is really hurting due to the dollar's dramatic rise. In town along the way, I overheard some locals speak optimistically because houses were selling again. With the price of metals as high as they are, old mines are being reopened again and there is new exploration. Some of these northern towns will be luckier then others.

 

The most depressing sight on that drive was this abandoned church.

 

This church is set spectacularly on a peninsula of the lake that abuts the town of Longlac. It should be the main jewel in the crown of the town of Longlac, instead windows are broken and the roof is starting to fall in. Surely the church could have been used for weddings or even as a focal point for some sort of tourist attraction.

 

Our journey ended in the town of Redrock which is just a short jaunt west from the town of Nipigon on the north shore of lake Superior.

 

The paper mill in this town recently closed and there is talk of closing the community center because it can no longer be supported. Council states it needs to raise taxes. It's all a crying shame because the town is situated in a very scenic location and has a great little harbour. A house recently at bank auction was bought for less then the average price of a used car.

 

The closed paper mill.

 

A view of lake Superior shore from the harbour.

 

We stayed at Reflection lake resort on the lower arm of lake Nipigon. Out on the main lake water temperatures were in the low 50's. Those who came to the resort came with boats for Lakers. We picked the resort because there was no guarantee that this reunion would go well. At worst if things had gone bad, we would have simply spent a week fishing. The resort is well run in a very scenic location right off of highway 11. The cabins were about as clean as any I have ever seen and suited our needs perfectly. The fishing was unremarkable, typical of Southern Ontario, weather could have been a factor because a lot of rain fell during our stay.

 

Here is the RFL webpage - http://www.mccollumsresort.com/resort.htm

 

The view from our cabin door.

 

And a little more to the left...

 

The dock and lake.

 

This establishment runs weeklong cruises for parties of 6 or less onto lake Nipigon where one can fish for world class Lakers. They have downriggers right off top deck at the back end of the ship. Included in that tour is 14 ft Lunds that they tow along so that guests can fish for other species. This is something I am seriously considering for next year. RFL cruise webpage - http://www.mccollumsresort.com/

 

Our first meeting was at their church where his birthmother is a minister.

 

We came a few minutes late and they had already started the service. That didn't stop an aunt from peeking out the back door when we arrived. Our first memory is of her and her big warm-hearted smile. After church we had coffee and snacks with everyone.

 

I got a quick pic of the four brothers together, what great guys.

 

From left to right are Chris, Donald, Raymond, and Richard. After lunch we met his grandma. All went very well. We closed out the day with an invitation from Raymond Jr. to go fishing at his camper on the north shore of lake superior.

 

We arrived late in the day and the view was stunning.

 

We walked down to the 12 ft aluminum boat and flipped it on its side to get rid of excess rainwater. Next Raymond brought the 2hp motor from the camper and attached it to the boat. Gas was put in the top of the small motor like you would fill up your lawnmower. We started a slow chug to the point and flung out little cleos that we trolled.

 

Within minutes the first fish was on.

 

...and within 10 minutes we had our second fish.

 

Raymond admiringly looked at my well stocked tackle tray for trout trolling. I longingly looked at the beauty of this environment and the simplicity of the fishing. The grass is always greener on the other side.

 

Our catch for the evening. Chris's relatives all have status cards.

 

Chris and I got into a routine where we would fish in the morning and then come back to the house and hang out for the afternoon with his birthmom. On the second day we hooked up with his other half-brother ( and his friend John ) and did some backroad walleye fishing. Once on the water we headed to a very unremarkable bay and drift/trolled for walleye. Richard used walleye spinning rigs with a bit of splitshot. We on the other hand fumbled around with tackle until we found something that worked. For a while you just couldn't keep a fish off of Richard's line. Even as we were moving to a different location he had fish on. We had triples a few times and probably would have had a quadruple had I not been tying my line. For an early summers afternoon of walleye fishing in the sun at 6 ft of water, I had never seen better walleye fishing. We got a late start so this wasn't even the lake he wanted to take us to. :shock: :shock:

 

My best for the day

 

John said, that a Laker spit the hook. Lakers in 6 ft of water in July???

 

10 minutes later I brought up this silver and blue fish. :shock:

 

We ate that fish. After researching, I now wonder if that blue walleye is be better known as "blue pike" last seen in late 50's. "Stizostedion vitreum glaucum" is now considered extinct!!!! Wikipedia chimes in on the topic - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blue_walleye

 

A closer look. Was I hamming it up with the last of it's kind?

 

After two hours of fishing we called it a day. We kept what looks to be an insane amount of walleye. Up in Nipigon it's just an afternoon's catch on an ordinary backroad lake.

 

Once the catching was done they had to be filleted and later divided amongst the two families and us. We spent a nice afternoon just sitting on the deck watching the filleting and shooting the breeze.

 

I guess Chris was out of practice in the filleting department.

 

After talking to Raymond and Richard we had planned to fish a species a day. They told us about huge carp and thought we were daft to be even interested in fishing for them. We also learned that the Sturgeon are so plentiful that they fish for them with shoelaces. What they do is sneak up behind the smaller ones in shallow water and them lasso their back tail with a shoelace and hold on for dear life. Barehanding can result in major cuts. Where they "stringing" us city folk along? I had my doubts but others talked of the same practice. After those first two nice sunny days the weather was mainly cold, rainy, and windy. All the rivers were swollen and fast flowing. We had to stop the species a day on species #3 bass. That didn't stop me from fishing the harbour looking for Lakers which lurk there.

 

Instead, how about 2 decent pike in 5 casts sound?

 

Here is a pic of Chris's birthmom Betty-Anne and her husband Raymond, two of the warmest and friendliest people you will ever meet. They both loved to laugh and share stories.

 

Chris really warmed up to the family as did I over the week. The week was great with no hitches.

 

Chris and Betty-Anne seemed to have a natural rapport together. It was wonderful to see.

He wants to go back and I hope to tag-a-long once again. Hopefully next year we can get his three sisters, parents, and grandkids to come along.

[bowshep]

Great post its nice to see the extended family. Have been meeting new family lately all summer, looks like you had a blast. Peace Ken

Edited July 26, 2007 by bowshep

[tbayboy]

Thats a great story Scuro, thanks for sharing it.

[1leggedangler]

What a great report and pics. Beautiful part of the country to say the least. Awesome smiles on everyone's faces and so very glad to hear the reunion went well. Thanks's for sharing.

 

Cheers,

1leg

[Jay T]

That is a great report and really nice pics, thanks for sharing. Looked like you two had a awesome time.

[lunkerbasshunter]

great report! great story!

 

Cheers!

[mattyk]

thank you for sharing with us. Some beautiful pictures.

[Dano]

Very nice report my friend, a warm conclusion to your friends search and some pretty decent fishing too. Thanks for posting it. That area is beautiful though, we just went through Longlac at dawn and the old church looked beautiful.

[ccmtcanada]

Wow...what a fantastic report...not just about fishing, but about life! You have a gift for writing...it is evident in here. Great pictures..esp of the view from your cabin. Nice to hear that the reunion went wel...all in all it sounded like a great trip!

[scuro]

doohhhh!!! duplicate...where is the delete button?

Edited July 27, 2007 by scuro

[scuro]

Very nice report my friend, a warm conclusion to your friends search and some pretty decent fishing too. Thanks for posting it. That area is beautiful though, we just went through Longlac at dawn and the old church looked beautiful.

 

You saw the church at sunrise as you drove by...I saw the church after we determined that we didn't want to stay in Longlac. At least some in the town have a sense of humour. Look closely...you might get a laugh out of the vandal's remark.

 

[steve_paul]

Great report and story, thanks for sharing it.

[Rich Clemens]

One very nice read and love the pics. Thanks for taking the time to put up the report.

[Roy]

How did I miss this report???? It's great! Glad you all had a good time! Looking forward to more! Thanks again.

[dustink]

What a great story!!

 

Thanks for sharing.....really great!

 

dk