Canada, not yak

[JeffB]

So I flew out to Oklahoma for my annual Canada trip to go fishing for smallies. From there my dad and I drove up Friday night though the heart of the US into Canada to stay at Young's Wilderness Camp in Nester Falls, Ontario. We usually get to the border around 9-10ish in the morning every yr and to camp by noon. It all depends on the line at the border, 45 minute wait this year. The camp is on a small island on Lake of the Woods. This was my nineth year up there and my dad's eighteenth. I missed about ten years due to all the deployments in Iraq/Afghanistan while serving in the Corps. First step of the trip upon arrival is phoning the camp who sends over a boat to pick up our stuff to take back to our cabin. We then follow suit in our boat and get our spot picked out at the docks. From there we go up and sign in and pick up our licenses and what have you. We usually try and get a half a day fishing in before dinner.

Day 1 Saturday
We crossed the border around 10:30am and get to the camp around 12pm. We call up the camp and have them come pick up our bags and give us a ride to the island. This year we decided not to unload the boat and there leave it on the trailer. We get over and get checked in, throw our bags in our cabin and grab our licenses and have the dockhand take us back across the way to the boat ramp. We headed to Lake of the Narrows for some bed fishing for the first outing of the trip. We wanted to get some in because it may be our only chance this trip. We get the boat unloaded at the ramp around 2pm, and then head to the back side of the lake where all the beds are. The skies were partly cloudy, so it made it hard to bed fish efficiently. There was not as many fish on the beds as usual, but still a lot. Sight fishing to me is pretty cool. Not as much though with three guys on the boat and few beds to throw at. We managed though and caught a pretty even amount of fish per person. We moved on over to this island once the clouds set in. At this point we were unable to see the beds in the water. We fan casted all around the island for a few bites here and there. We got to the back side of it and found a shelf. I trolled way off of it to see exactly how big it was and to fully map it out. We then started fan casting it and tearing them up. I am pretty sure that it was full of beds. They were just hitting us as we drug over the beds was my guess by the way they were biting. Line was just getting heavy with them swimming off with our baits ever so slowly. We fished till 5pm and then headed back. We did not want to miss dinner at 6pm. We loaded up the boat and then unloaded onto Lake of the Woods. We got to the dock and tied up to our usual spot and made it in line just in time 6:15pm. They had prime rib for us the first night. You can not beat that! I had thirds, I about made myself sick! We laughed while we sat at the table because three of us were going to be roughing it for the next few days at the fly-in lake (Kish). No home cooked meals out there, nor running toilets! We had five in our group all together. My dad, myself, Tim, Larry, and his son Colton.

We got back onto the water around 7:30pm after our food settled in and fished for smallmouth and a little pike. The pike just weren't biting, I caught one, my dad one, and Tim a few. We called it quits at 10pm and headed to the cabin. We ended up catching a 60 fish average for half a days fishing per person. It was probably one of our better starts in a long long time.

Day 2 Sunday
So our first full day this started very slow. We decided to do a fly in lake this year to try for nice sallies and big muskies. We lost the first half of the day to travel and setting up at the camp. The cabin we stay at on the fly-in is ran off of propane and batteries to for both electric and cooking. It had a fernest in the middle of it for heating. It was laid out pretty nicely. We had a water pump that ran up from the lake so that we had running water, made life a little bit better. However we had an out house out back in the thick of the woods, lol!!! First thing we did upon flying into the lake (Kish) was haul up our gear into the cabin and pull the boats up higher on the ramps to drain out the water before pushing them in. My decided that he was just going to fish off the dock for a minute and made a comment to myself and the other guy with us, Tim. "I bet I catch the first fish!" First cast he hooks one and it comes off. I told Tim hell no, Im going to catch the first. Next thing you know we our wasting time throwing off this dock for 30-45 minutes trying to be the first to catch a fish, hahaha! We finally pulled ourselves away and started doing some real fishing. We fished hard all the way till 7pm. The owner of the camp told us we could keep two smallies a piece for
shore lunch/ dinner, but that was it. I'm not one into eating bass, but it was the only fish legally at our disposal and thousands of them given the fact the lake is only fished a total of maybe 15 times a year by two to six people each time.

So my dad dropped me off at the dock and I filleted up the fish and peeled some potatoes. I told them to be back in an hour for supper. Around 8ish we ate and kicked it. It started raining so we called it a night. We ended the day with a half day of fishing with a 50 fish avg per person.

Day 3 Monday
The day started early for me thanks to my dad's snoring. I was up for about 3 hours starting at 3am trying to get back to sleep, finally got him up and told it was time to fish. My dad, Tim and I all sat at the kitchen table and living room couches shooting the shit while we watched it down pour outside. The rain drops were like the size of half dollars no lie. They started out light and then turned into a full fledge down pour. Shortly into it, it started hailing as well. We there for an hour and a half and waited it out. Finally 7:30am we were in the boats and fishing. I started out throwing a big swimsuit I bought hoping the muskie would like it. It didn't take long for a big fat smallie to chew instead. My dad was blown away that the smallmouth would hit a big swimbait. He is not use to the Cali way of bass fishing. I told him that it wasn't even that big of a swimbait. It was only 6" long. I threw it some more, but gave up on it after only one more bite in an hours time. I got tired of watching my dad catch smallies on tube jigs, (I was really wanting that muskie, the reason for throwing it as long as I did). First cast with the tube I get my second smallie. We just kept on chugging along pounding the crap out of the banks for decent reward.

About 10am rolled around and so did the rain. I had a light top rain jacket my wife bought for me. I threw it on along with my Gage bibs. The rain started to pour and it only took about 30 minutes until my jacket gave away and the water soaked through. The wind picked up as well, started blowing about 20mph gusting 40-50mph. Made things miserable. Unfortunately the way the lake was laid out, there was no escaping the wind really. It was blowing so hard it just whipped around the edges and blew us around. It wasn't much fun keeping the aluminum boat under control trying to fish two people. Tim had his own boat lucky dog. We found a little flat back in a pocket with some cabbage grass in it. We figured we would give it a try for muskie. It paid off and shortly into it I boated my first muskie of the trip, 35" long. A few minutes later I hook another and then another. At this point I keep yelling for the net and my dad is getting frustrated because he's not even getting bit! Poor dad! About an hour goes by and my dad is netting my fifth muskie, had about five others come off close to and/or at the boat. It measured out at 39" I get a good little pick and send it on its way. At this point my dad is cursing my swimbait and stating that it is no longer any fun watching me catch muskie. He was ready to get back to smallmouth fishing! I had one more monster slam me hard, almost pulling my rod out of my hand. I was trying my hardest to reel in on it, but my hands were numb. The fish pulled off about 20 seconds into it. It was a monster. It came up and tail walked for us before throwing the bait. I told my dad that I couldn't get a good hook set on it because I was cold as shit since my rain top didn't hold up and I was soaked. That wind was fierce. So we headed back to the cabin, probably close to 2pm. Tim saw us running over and followed us in.

We made some lunch and took a nice little hour break to recompose and get set up for the second half of the day. I will tell you what, it HDS 7 that I brought with me to use on Kish. The electronics made all the difference in the world for the fly-in, Kish. We got back onto the water around 3:15pm and fished for smallies until 8pm. At that point we went back in to eat dinner. Tim broke away around 7pm to start cooking. We had burgers and brats with potatoes.
it started raining again so we called it a night.

Day 4 Tuesday
I woke up at 5am because we were wanting to travel the lake. Unfortunately I couldn't even see the trees in front of the patio deck due to fog. I went back to sleep and got up at 6am and still the same. I asked my dad what he wanted to do once it cleared, but he said let him sleep a bit. He wasn't sounding to good. Cool evening air got the best of his throat. About 7am the fog finally started to lift enough to see a couple hundred feet. I took advantage of the situation and the sleeping (snoring) beauties to rest. I really wanted to be able and fish the lake solo so that I could really figure out a good pattern and approach it a different way that I could not by having a second man. First hour I went with out a bite, then wham. I caught a 4lb smallie on the swimbait. Shortly after I caught another that weighed 4 3/4lb. Again seconds later I catch a decent muskie. I mosie my way back on to a flat and notice its loaded with bait fish. Light bulb goes off in my head and I tie on a jointed shad rap. I hug the shoreline hard and parallel the bank hard. It didn't take long and I start catching fish. I switched up the color slightly on the bait and it was instant change. I started catching fish literally every cast for almost an hour. All the fish were anywhere from 6" long to 16" long. No big ones really. Unfortunately it came to an end once a big massive pine wood decided it wanted to hit my bait as well. I was privilege to stare at my bait the remainder of the trip hanging 15' above the water.

I put back on the old bait and was still catching them, about one every 20 cast now. Nothing like before. I was also keeping talley of all the fish I was catching as well to see how many fish I really caught a day. I met back up with my dad and Tim back across the way in the pocket I was catching the muskie. I fished the bank a little just inside before I got to them and found a few beds. I pulled a few really nice 2 3/lb4-3 1/2lb smallies off of them. Once I got over to the guys I chatted for a second. Tim told me to throw out because he wanted to see how it was done with the muskie. I shit you not, very first cast I get rocked. Once again I almost drop my rod. I get doubled over hard and have dragged peeled away from my Calcutta 400D. This was the first and only second fish of the trip to be able to double up my rod like that. I hear my dad in the back ground while I am fighting the fish, "you got to be f$%K'n' kidding me." Tim is just laughing at my dad and rooting me on. I get it halfway to the boat while the mosie on over with the net ready and it pops off. Instant heart break! I said oh well I will get another chance hopefully at a big one. I threw my bait back out and reel it in and its running funky. I mess with the knot and throw it back out again and same thing. Im think please don't be broke, I need you for the rest of the trip. I get to looking at it and my split ring has been straightened out and my hook ripped off. Now I'm wondering just how big that fish really was. I had 80lb split rings on the swimbait with big 4x trebles i swap out with. All of my hooks and stuff were at the cabin so I headed in. My dad and Tim followed suit. I was kind of thinking damn, now I'm going to have to share a boat again. Selfish I know!!! LOL!

After lunch we head back out. My dad and I ran further down the lake in search of fresh water/ calmer water. We came up on a spot I found on a map and it was instant hook up. First cast I boated a nice muskie. My dad is pissed at this point because he has only caught one on a tube bass fishing about 14" long. All the muskie I were catching were about a 34" average. We get a little further down the stretch and come to this rocky point next to what looked like a muskie safe haven. No love. I start slow rolling my 1oz blade over the point and get followed up. I didn't notice until I pull the bait out of the water. I tossed back in and a second muskie joined in and then a third! I start to figure eight my bait get slammed. The smaller of the three gets me, 34 incher. I get it in the boat and the other two are still down below. My dad tries getting bit with no luck. I toss in my blade again and get rocked. The bigger one gets me this time but comes off as I was trying to net it solo, thanks dad! It was definitely pushing 42". We continued to pound the bank while we discussed how crazy it was having three muskie follow me up. We ended up getting into a small school of smallmouth with the occasional one here and there. We headed back in again around 7pm and my dad grilled up some chops. So it was chops and potatoes for dinner, got to love those tators! I helped him cook and clean up so that way we could get on the water for an evening bite. The clouds cleared and wind laid. We got into some fun topwater action for the first time of the trip. We fished till 10:15-10:30 and headed back to the cabin before it got dark. One nice thing about Canada in the summer is the amount of light you get, 5am sunrise and 9pm sunset with an hour and a half of light hanging around afterwards. I ended the day with 141 fish, we had a 110 fish average a piece for the day.

Day 5 Wednesday
This was our last day on Kish. We had planned on getting up and running top the far end of the lake to fish a spot we had found that was long and shallow and full of muskie. We saw them as we drove over the area down below. Unfortunately the fog was back. We used this time to clean the cabin real good instead. As soon as the fog lifted we made the run. I gave my dad my swimbait rod with the magic bait and threw the one I gave him that he said did not work. He hooked up within a few cast to a nice 36" muskie. He wound uno catching a few more small ones. I put his bait to work and caught a couple nice smallmouth and a decent 34" muskie. He was happy he finally caught some muskie! We fished till 11am and then headed back to the cabin and pulled the boats up out of the water. We brought all of our gear back down to the docks and plane showed up right on the money at 12pm. It was a short ten minute flight back over Lake of the Woods to Young's Wilderness
Camp. We made it back just in time to get lunch.

We sat around around and visited with my Uncle Larry for a while, who stayed at the camp with his son. We told them about all of the muskie and how glad we were to get back into a real boat and out of those aluminum boats. There were several occasions that the wind would gust so hard that it would blow the boat backwards even with the trolling motor on high. It was nuts. My dad and I made it back on the water around 4pm and fished till 5:50pm and headed back in for dinner. Man were we glad to be back at the main camp and have a big dinner hot and ready for us. They served up turkey, mash/gravy and corn. It was awesome. We went back out and tried for some pike. Did not have much luck. Everyone at the main camp told us it was a tough bite on the pike for whatever reason. I managed a nice 38" muskie instead. We caught a few nice smallies and walleye in the mix as well. We called it a night about 10pm and headed in. We sat around and swapped fish stories for about an hour and hit the sack. Ended the day with a 70 fish average per person.

Day 6 Thursday
Happy Birthday 31st to me!!! I told my dad I wanted to make the run down the lake to Turtle Lake. I wanted to fish the big island on it. It is actually a big cut off of Lake of the Woods. My dad lost a monster of a muskie there a few years back. Knowing that they were very territorial, I wanted to try my magic swimbait in there to see if I could get ever so lucky on my b-day. We started pounding the shoreline for smallies with great success. We were not catching big numbers, but the size of the fish was awesome. I think the smallest smallmouth that day was 16" long, not bad. A 16" smallmouth on Lake of the Woods is about 2 1/2lb. We went over a nice muskie just chilling in the grass and I thought to myself this is looking promising. We made our way around the island over to the big rocky flat nd around the point wacking big smallies. Not much further now to the small little pocket I have been thinking about since 2013! We get up to the point leading into it and my dad tells me to take over the controls. I jump on the trolling motor and tell my dad I am going to fish slow and a little tighter to the bank. He said go for it. Very first cast I hook into a 38"-40" muskie that comes off at the boat side. I get a little further in and get sacked again, nice big smallmouth. and then another 4lb smallmouth. My dad still can't get over the fact that the big smallies were tearing up the swimbait. I get to the exact spot were my dad had the monster muskie come off that ate his smallmouth in 2013 and I make the perfect cast. I be damned, I get picked up. Buy line just got really heavy. I get the fish up to the surface and it is giant. this thing is pushing 50-55# easy. I yell at my dad to get the net. The fish was not like the others that thrashed around and tailed walked. It was lazy and being slow. We were trying to net it and it opened up wide and threw my bait. I was so heart broken. My dad and I both just sat on the boat for a minute to gather what had just happened. I couldn't believe it. I said I wanted to go to this spot to catch this fish. Sure enough we go to the same exact spot off the exact same location on the deep walls beside the beaver damn making the exact same cast and hook into this giant. I almost wonder if it was the same one my dad missed. The spot is so perfect for a big queen to take over and rule all to herself. It was loaded with her favorite snack, big smallies. I threw in there a few more times thinking I might get lucky know that wouldn't. We fished the island on out for lots of love on smallies talking about the big muskies. We made a run and started hitting islands on the way back to the camp. I felt a crap coming on so did my dad. We held our cheeks tight at the Kish because we didn't want to use the 40 year old out house that has never in its lifetime been emptied!

We get to a spot were my dad got a 42" back in the day and fish it hard for pike. We managed to boat a couple and a few nice bronze backs to go with it. We get over to the next island and start throwing cranks. They were the live target crawfish ones I picked up at Dick's. There was a blue one my dad said he wasn't sure he thought would work, but he loved the other colors. So he picked one out and I threw on the blue anyways. I told my dad I had a feeling about it the second I saw it. Instantly I start catching a mix of fish on it. Walleye, smallmouth, and perch. My dad told me my gut was right because were eating it up. We hooked into another nice muskie on the little crank and get it into the boat some how. It was pretty big, but no were near the size of the one that we lost earlier in the day. We did not have a tape on my dad's boat like the one on Kish. So I threw it on the scale really fast and got a pick with it and sent her on her way. It came in right at 30lb and it was a good 10-12" shorter the one we lost. We hit a couple more spots that looked promising and landed a couple more decent size muskie, 34"-36" incher.

We headed back in to lighten our load around 3pm and then sat around for a few minutes to relax. By 3:45pm we were back at it fishing new/ old waters smashing smallmouth. 5:50pm came fast and headed back over for dinner. Dinner is at 6pm every night. They had roasted a monster pork loin and served it with mash and broccoli with BBQ sauce. It was awesome. Homemade cheese cake with homemade strawberry reserves for desert! Eating like kings, yes sir! We moped around for about 30 minutes and got back out on the water. We ran back to Turtle Lake because I wanted to throw my big swimbait one last time before the trip came to an end. I caught a few big smallies on it and then gave up after an hour. I got tired of watching my dad back them on topwater and tube. We fished till about 9:30 and made our way back to the cabin before it got dark. We bounced around and fished a few small islands on the way back in. We got back to the dock at 10:30pm. We packed up our bags so that we did not have to do in the morning given this was our last day to stay at the cabin. We sat around for a bit while my dad and I acted out our epic experience with the monster muskie!

Day 7
We got up early and packed our bags. The dockhands came and grabbed them from the cabin and hauled them over to the ramp. Tim and my dad followed them over and loaded them in the truck. We had breakfast and finished checking out. I gave one of the dockhands that has been there for ever my lucky swimbait and told him to put to good use. I told him that it caught over 30 muskies for the trip, which is insane, at about an overall 34" average. He had a big shit eaten grin on his face as he grabbed it. I told him sorry for all of the battle scars, but by the time you get done with it, it will most likely have no more paint on it! $30 well spent right there for sure. So we loaded up the boat back at the ramp and I told my dad I would like to get in a good half day fishing in if all possible. So we headed over to check out the launch at Bass Lake. It was very very sketchy as always, but managed to get past the damn boulder that leaves my dad cursing every year. One look at the ramp and you know it takes a hardcore fisherman to launch his $60k fiberglass bass boat from it, haha! We started fishing beds, but there were very few fish on them. We were a few days too early I think. There were tons of beds not cleaned out yet from the years past and few clean ones with fish on them. WE pounded away at the fish that were just sitting ducks and then ran out of real-estate and headed to the back side of the lake. We didn't find any beds back there, so I threw on my jointed shad rap and started to clean house. My dad and Tim were getting pissed. I was catching three to their combined one. I was straight slaying them. After a couple of hours they didn't think it was fun anymore. At one point Tim told me to bend down and that he wanted to take a pic of me pulling up a big fish I caught. My dad and him thought it would be funny to cool me down and throw me in the lake. They told me I was on fire and need a good cool down. Luckily for me they had a change of heart very last second and grabbed me after the initial push as i was half way into the lake. I still got wet, but almost lost my rod. I didn't think it was too funny at first, but after about ten minutes I was laughing right along side them.

About 3pm rolled around and my dad said it was time to call it quits. I made sure I made every cast count. I caught some nice quality size pike, 30" inchers, and tons of smallmouth on Bass Lake. It was a good way to end the trip. The last 30min, my dad and Tim just watched me. I dropped my dad off at the dock and fished the pocket while he went to grab the truck. I ended the trip with a very nice 4 pounder off a bed. It was a good way to put an exclamation point on the trip. We loaded and got across the border back state side around 6pm. This is about the time when reality kicks in and we realize the trip is over and we get to make the 13hour drive back home all worn the heck out. Luckily we had three of us to rotate through.

One of the coolest things on the trip happened on the ride home. A big ass black bear come flying through this field and ran right in from of us and across the freeway not stoping once while in stride. It had to be booking about 20mph. luckily it was day time because had it been at night we would've hit no doubt. We were joking because a 1/4 mile up if that a lady was walking down the road to check her mail. We laughed at how fast she might have ran if she had saw it.

Well that about wraps it up. I hope you folks enjoyed!

Here is a link to BD, it has way more pix loaded up on it.

http://www.bdoutdoors.com/forums/thr.../#post-4109855

[JeffB]

A few more

[M4TT]

Damn! Nice pike!

[Starsky]

Nice report and awesome trip. Thanks for sharing and your service to our country.

[summers in kuwait]

Jeff you killing me.
What an awesome trip and recap!
Im envious.
Thanks for sharing!

[ashmoz]

wonderful!

[jruiz]

That would be a trip of a lifetime for me, and you did it nine times

[blitzburgh]

DUUUUUDE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Those Smallies are rad!

[momo fish]

Great write up and thanks for taking the time.. Looks like a heck of a trip you take every year..

[david886720]

That looks like a great trip you do every year. Really cool you share time with your pops like that. Makes me want to start a tradition with my own dad.