A Fishing Trip of Legendary Proportions

I was looking forward to this trip since Don Schilling booked it last December.

Don has been out with us before and he is a hardcore fisherman. It was a trip filled with adventure from the time I picked him up at the Ely Municipal Airport, to the tow boat, canoe and onward.

When I arrived to pick him up, he was waiting next to his plane with his gear and a brand new 15 degree bent paddle.  I knew he was excited when he couldn’t wait to show me his paddle and the tape that he had placed at various lengths along it so he could quickly measure the fish and let them go immediately.  I laughed, and since then I have realized that he had learned a lot from the past trip. He had better clothing, washed the dishes and gathered all the firewood. By the time this 7 day trip was over he had traveled by plane, van, tow boat and paddled over 50 miles. Then, on top of all that we caught 235 Smallies, Northerns and 1 Walleye. Yes, 235!

Day 1

This day started with a 1.5 Hour drive to Crane Lake where we would catch the tow boat. (For those that don’t know boats are allowed on the Canadian side of Lac La Croix.) We took a tow boat with the canoes on top on a 65 mile ride through Crane Lake and Sand Point Lake to the Dawson Portage. We put the 26 foot tow boat on a trailer with a monster truck, towing it across the muddy 4 mile portage which alone took us 1 hour. Then we entered Vermillion Lake, Loon River, Loon Lake and then finally Lac La Croix where we checked in to the Canadian customs. Next it was on to the Canadian ranger station where some on the boat had to pick up permits. We then were one of two groups that were being dropped off on the farthest portage that the tow boat can reach… the bottle portage. The whole point of using the Tow boat is we can reach the fishing grounds on Crooked Lake with crossing just two 10 minute portages and a 10 mile paddle. Well, when we reached Crooked Lake the winds picked up and the rain fell and we still had a 10 mile paddle with the wind working against us. It was a battle but we achieved our goal and reached the Friday & Thursday Bay area by 3:30 PM and we were lucky to get a great campsite on a large point right in between the two bays. We hurried and set up camp, gathered firewood and changed into some dry clothing. We then ate dinner and after a small fire we hit the tents very tired and excited about what the next 6 days would bring.

Day 2

When we woke that day it was overcast, 70 degrees, and the water was flat. When fishing with Don it’s all about top water fishing for Smallies. I knew Don was a great fisherman and he would push me to be a better fisherman, but I didn’t know just how incredible the next few days were going to be. We knew as soon as we started that it was going to be a great day. The plan was to fish all the structure in the entire Thursday Bay area. We made our way down the west side of the bay fishing the whole way. When we reached the beach at the south end for lunch we already caught 30 fish, some of which were between 19 and 20.5 inches an when checking the beach we found Moose tracks. After lunch we continued up the east side and before this day was over we caught 70 fish. I did great on a Firetiger Pop’r and Don, who loves to change lures, caught them on everything but his best lure of the day was a Firetiger Walk the Dog. The fish were so aggressive that we probably lost twice as many as we caught. When we arrived at camp I immediately started to clean a Northern and a Walleye for dinner. As I was cleaning them, a seagull landed by me to grab some of the fish scraps.  Then, all of a sudden the seagull took off and I could hear the wings of a large bird. When I looked up it was an eagle hovering above my head and when I moved away it swooped in and stole our fish remains. This eagle was way too fearless and this was not going to be good!  After having fish and fried potatoes for dinner we had another small fire. Don went to sleep before sundown and I stayed up till 11:00 listening to the loons and the Barred Owls singing and hooting all night long. I am inspired by the sounds of the wilderness when night falls.

Day 3

Another overcast day with light rain. We decided to work the area between the two bays, and we had to work hard for our fish today but we were still able to catch 50 fish. When we were pitching our lures something caught my eye. An animal was jumping along the shoreline from boulder to boulder and to our surprise, it was the largest snowshoe hare I have ever seen. It was a very weird sight to see a hare jumping without any worry about falling into the water. Then when we were fishing near an island I looked up and that same eagle was going in for a fish right near our canoe.  I asked Don what was going on then that’s when we realized that this eagle was trouble…before we knew it the eagle went down and snatched Don’s lure…all I could say was this is not good!!! The eagle was about 30 feet in the air when Don quickly yanked the lure right out of the Eagle’s talons.  Don and I looked at each other and I thanked the Almighty that we got out of that one. As we made our way back to camp, once again Don was shocked by not only the quantity but also the quality of the smallmouth fishing and said that this has got to be the best smallmouth fishing in the world. I smile because it is then that I knew that I did my job. Personally I really…really enjoy giving people a trip of a lifetime and even though the wilderness can be unforgiving there are times when she gives you everything.

Day 4

This was a beautiful day. It was in the high 70’s the water was again flat and the fishing was legendary. We fished Friday Bay and by the time we hit the beach on the south side we caught 41 fish. We found wolf tracks all over the beach. While having lunch Don said he would be happy just sitting on that beautiful beach and reading a book. He later said that the beauty of the area reminded him of the scenic vistas on California’s highway 1. Then that’s when Don started talking about next year’s trip, and I smiled and thought to myself that he was hooked. After the day was over we caught 75 fish 45 of which were between 15 and 20 inches. It was my greatest day of top water in 43 years of fishing and to be honest I have Don to thank. We worked hard and he pushed me to the edge. We reached camp in the early evening and took a much needed nap. I woke to a strange scratching on the tent wall. I jumped to a silent attention while it was moving around the tent to the vestibule where I was waiting…it was almost there. Then I saw it crawling into the vestibule, and it was the Chrysemy’s picta belli, but we’ll call it the western painted turtle. I laughed, then watched as it walked by and started digging a nest right next to the tent. I didn’t want to disturb it but I couldn’t hide in the tent all day, so I exited and the turtle made a slow retreat to the lake. When I checked out the nest I could see I was sleeping in a turtle nesting area. There were at least a dozen nests. We were so drained from the all day fishing expedition that we just fished in front of the campsite and fell into a deep slumber by sundown.

Day 5

We made our way to Iron Lake for our final leg of the trip. It was a 3 hour paddle, so we put the tent and tarp up and while we had lunch the wind came in and we decided to wait it out. We saw 3 canoes making their way over to us, when one of them started making a beeline right for us. I went down to meet them and it was a father and two daughters. When they were within talking distance the father said “do you know where you are at?” I smiled and said “yes I do” and with a map in his hand he said “can you tell me where we are at?” They were lost, so I set them off in the right direction and wished them luck! That day was a wash as far as the fishing went, so we relaxed around camp and rested up for our final day of fishing.

Day 6

Once again it was overcast in the 70s and the water was perfect for top water. Before the day was over we caught 40 fish, mostly small Northerns and 4 Smallies between 19 and 20 inches. While we fished we were treated to a mating ritual that only loons are capable of, watching them dance together for over a mile with water splashing and wings flapping. Don was amazed at the beauty of the area he said it was as if he were on a different planet.

When the evening came we were back at camp the skies cleared and the sun shined down. While we waited for sun down and talked about the entire trip, Don jumped up got the maps out and we started to plan next year’s 8 day trip. I smiled, ready to go over the plans.  The boundary waters have incredible sunrises and sundowns, and that evening fit the bill. Don fell asleep shortly after sundown and I stayed up for an inspirational event that only Mother Nature is capable of providing. The small bay we were camped on had a large population of croaking leopard, spring peepers and Bull frogs. On top of that add the tree frogs that seemed to be everywhere above us, the partridge drumming and fire flies spreading throughout the forest like slow moving shooting stars. This is what it is all about…sure we had great fishing…sure we had a great experience, but these are things that we control and you get what you put into it. But when I sat around that campfire surrounded by all that wildlife singing a chorus that no electronic device…no Ipod...no one can duplicate.  I don’t mind saying I was a little in awe of that event and its hard not to believe that some greater power pulled out its paint brush and painted this incredible canvas we call the boundary waters.

Day 7

We had camp packed up and ate breakfast by 8:30. Today was a wonderful day it was sunny in the 70s and the water was flat again. We made our way to the portage where we met the tow boat driver. This time he told us that the Dawson portage was closed and we had to go up the river where we crossed two short portages by way of a small railroad car attached to a cable. We made it back to the truck by 11:30 and stopped for lunch at a bar on the way back to Ely. Once we arrived in Ely I dropped Don off at his plane then he had a short 3 hour ride back to Michigan.

 I would say that Don is the best fisherman I have ever seen and he is a trouper. I have been very lucky and have always gotten along with all our clients but after being on a few trips with Don I must say it’s hard for me to call him a client because I now call him my friend. In closing, I would like to say that if you have ever been on a trip with me you know I love to work hard.  Well, I have a selfish reason for this affliction. When I see a client experience the boundary waters and I show them all it has to offer, I get a great deal of satisfaction knowing that I had something to do with it.

Now that the season is in full swing, we will be featuring trip reports every month. Since we have very busy schedule the newsletter might be sent to our readers on an erratic schedule. It will be sent within the first week of every month.   New slideshows later as well.
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Ramsey Dowgiallo