Isle Royale Forums

July 13-21 2010
(2 people)
14 ft Aluminum Canoe
Goal: 40 inch Northern Pike

Day 1: By canoe-Mott Island to Moskey Basin, portaged to Lake Ritchie campsite #1. Caught several Coho Salmon, Edison Fishery area (one got off). Great weather! Had a cow moose greet us at 9:30 p.m. next to the 1st pit toilet. She grunted and I slowly made my way back to my tent and zipped it up.
Day 2: Lake Ritchie-fished for a few hours around Hasting's Island, lots of nice sized pike, however, the weather was stormy.
Day 3: Portaged to Intermediate Lake Campsite-winds were strong so I shore fished most of the day. 6 pike!
Day 4: Portaged to Siskiwit Lake, winds were even stronger, decided to fish Intermediate Lake most of the day. Caught lots of 20+ inch pike. (Intermediate Lake was calm, but Siskiwit was a lion) waited until the winds died down so we could canoe to Wood Lake Campsite. Started toward Wood Lake when the wind died down, wind picked up while in route, big rollers and small white caps came out of nowhere...had to take shelter in a cove on Siskiwit Lake for a few hours.
Day 5: Wood Lake-weather was beautiful, however, the lake was choppy. Caught several 30 inch pike from the Wood Lake shoreline where Siskiwit and Wood Lake meet. Surprise of the Day! I was throwing a small mepps trout spinner, trying to catch a perch, but a nice sized pike stole my bait. In my opinion, Wood Lake is one of the best places to camp. Other campers observed a young bull moose swimming from Wood Lake to the Siskiwit Lake area.
Day 6: Portaged & canoed to Lake Whittlesey campsite-The winds were starting to take their toll! Fished for walleye around the small islands before the campsite (no luck). One of the most isolated campsites during the trip (no fellow campers). Saw my first camp fox during the evening while I was reading Diary of an Isle Royale Fisherman.
Day 7: Portaged & canoed to Chippewa Harbor, weather was warm, but waves were choppy. There were hundreds of small toads hopping around on our portage to Chippewa Harbor (kinda cool). Tough portage! We made it to the Chippewa Harbor campsite, but the fog was thick. We rested on the dock for a few hours. Fog burned off some and the waves were looking safe enough. I had battled more wind during this trip than my previous trips so we decided to take advantage of the weather and head to Caribou Island. Challenging headwind, medium to large rollers, no white caps, lots of dangerous rocks along the coast, fog got thicker, stopped and took breaks around Epidote Mine & Lea Cove (lots of interesting greenstone and round rocks). We picked up a decent tailwind (SW) on the way toward Conglomerate Bay. The clouds started to disappear and the sun was poking out so visibility increased. Exhilarated that the trip was nearly complete without any major mishaps, especially when I noticed the Rock Harbor Lighthouse and heard the bell buoy! Felt good and the water started to calm so we decided to bypass Caribou Island and try for Rock Harbor Lodge for dinner. Ordered a Greenstone Burger & a Coke! Stayed in shelter #8.
Day 8: Rock Harbor-traded a few fishing stories etc..., ate at the restaurant, purchased a souvenir for the wife, did a load of laundry and rested.
Day 9: Heard wolves howling in the early morning! Rock Harbor to Houghton

Additional Notes:
*wind and weather played a bigger role versus previous IR trips
*observed a lot more wildlife versus the other trips combined
*I still packed too much stuff (too much extra food, fuel and clothes)
*rain coat was a winner
*I was fortunate enough to do tons of hiking, using backpacks with weight in them, in AZ before IR (my physical condition was good, but could have been better)
*each IR trip gets better because you're building knowledge + the Isle Royale forum is awesome and I love Jim DuFresne's book.
*34 inch pike was my best catch, but I was thrilled with the salmon
*had a great teammate (Thanks, Wags!)

Thanks robin621! It's funny how weather can make or break a trip (both wind and rain), but it sounds like you were prepared. I've never caught a coho, but I'm guessing that's a fun one to reel in...

My buddy and I didn't know if the salmon we were catching were pinks or coho, but after staring at that fish poster on the Ranger III we determined the salmon we caught were coho. Good thing I was using 20 pd test fire line.

Sounds like you a had a great trip. If it works for you, try Siskiwit in May, your chances for a big pike are better then. My GF hooked a pike that went about 44" on the West end of the lake. Lake trout are shallow, good eating then.
Good for you paddling back to RH on the lake, challenging paddling in the rollers?

I took your advice, John. I just played it safe, however, that was a tricky paddle from CH to RH. I'm starting my training for IR in two weeks! I'm hoping to get a few new backpacking toys for X-mas. I'm thinking about doing the trip where we look for moose bones with the wildlife biologists. At the same time, I'm thinking of trying a different route. I would love to catch a signature fish, especially at IR. Life is just a collection of memories!