Log from canoe trip with my brother Dan.
Mon, 7/25
Full boat, a lot of scouts. Met Bobcat1 from the forum who was doing a solo hike. Following seas built during the day, but remained a pleasant ride. Was disappointed that the cormorant greeting party was absent from the rocks as we approached Beaver Island in Washington Harbor. Boat was almost empty after we left McCargoe.
Capt Matt & mate Kevin showed skill docking at Belle Isle into a stiff breeze. Later was told both lighthouses were at 28 kts that afternoon. Left canoe in trees near dock and packed into campground. Took shelter 5. #1 had family of 3 w/ a boat on the beach, and #6 was also occupied. A group of 8 canoeists were stuck there by the weather—came from Duncan Bay on their way to McCargoe Cove. Apparently registered as 2 parties and were violating the group rules.
Cold by the dock with big rollers from the SW on the harbor, but pleasant in the campground and shelters. Big Bob of Belle Isle (the moose) was hanging around the campground for the afternoon, oblivious to us all—wandered past the pavilion and snacked by the beach at one point. Dan fished off the point for a bit. Pleasant enough night, but getting old for sleeping on the floor.
Tues, 7/26
Slept in and missed the sunrise, although it was clear. Turns out it was the only good opportunity for a good one. Pancakes and bacon. Brought canoe around from the dock since it was blowing a stink when we got in yesterday. Group of 8 had left early and quietly in the morning calm. They had lashed two pairs of canoes together with trees to make the open water passage to McCargoe. Later heard they had made it to McCargoe, but wondered about the rest of their trip, including the Richie to Moskey portage.
Fished Johnson Is. and up to Horner Is. late morning. Breezy from the SW, near whitecaps. Dan caught a 24” laker trolling a red/gold Little Cleo across the middle of Belle Harbor on the way back to camp. Filleted and pan fried for lunch. Big Bob was still hanging around today. Played Kings on Corner in the pavilion—Dan doesn’t do cribbage any more than Karl does.
Weds, 7/27
Been lax at journaling, writing this on Sat.
Fished similar area as yesterday. Met the Andersons who were just arriving for 10 days at Johnson Is. Wind W-SW again with whitecaps. No fish. Played cribbage. Turns out Dan’s OK with it if you’re patient—like Karl was last time we camped together. A little rain last night, foggy morning. Dan had slipped and bruised his arm pretty well the other day, and finally talked him into letting me wrap it for him, which seemed to help. He got both upper and lower arm but somehow managed to miss the elbow, which landed in a hole or crevice in the rocks.
Thurs, 7/28
Have pretty much decided to do Pickerel Cove instead of Duncan Bay by this point--forecast is rain tonight and clear tomorrow so decide to stay put another day. But moved over to #1 which opened up. Enjoy the view! #5 is pretty closed in. Paddled into Amygdaloid Channel up towards the Keyhole, but gave up maybe ½ mile into the 2 mile paddle—not unsafe, but required attention and a bit of work for 2 old men. Steady SW still at 10-20. No fish today—trolled shoals but difficult with the wind. Fished dock and rocks and cove from shore.
Fri, 7/29
Packed up and left by 8:30 for Pickerel. Rained overnight. Still no good sunrise, missing chance on 1st morning, cloudy or foggy mornings since. About 2 hrs to Pickerel, cloudy and wind on our nose (still SW). Fished upper end after setting up camp. Dan had one northern hit, but didn’t get on—we did catch a lot of structure, however. Dan’s the master at freeing lures, must have lots of practice.
I said to Dan that I wasn’t worried about a fox carrying off things here as much as at the larger campsites—sure enough a fox shows up and stares us down before scurrying off. Gorgeous evening and sunset over Herring Bay—had been cloudy most of the day, but cleared nicely. Stared at stars out of tent about 2am.
Sat, 7/30
Beautiful, clear and calm with fish jumping off the campsite. Dan couldn’t nab one from shore, however. Left Pickerel for Belle Isle around 8. Trolled and/or fished structure all the way back to B.I. Wind picked up as we went, but stayed on our back. John had a nice northern on in the middle of Pickerel, but the fish won. Fun fight for a couple minutes, pulling lots of drag.
Choppy and a few whitecaps outside of Pickerel. Cruised past rocks off west end of Horner Is. and Dan picks off a 21” laker, again with red/gold Little Cleo. Get to Belle Isle and #1 is still open, yeah!
M (father) and J (teenage son) canoed in a bit later and take #6. M recognizes me and tells me he based his trip off my advice. He had done one previous I.R. trip with his Dad when he was a teenager and wanted to have the experience with his son.
Had fish and rice for lunch. Napped, fished from shore/dock, and lazed around. Sunny but breezy all day, so didn’t feel like putting canoe back in.
A group of 3 kayakers also came in, 2 with sit-on fishing kayaks. Turned out they were part of a larger party of 7, but had been split up by a ranger at Duncan. Also learned they had paddled around Blake Point and 2 had capsized. Luckily they were able to self-rescue on the rocks and make it to Duncan Narrows where someone gave up a shelter for them. Hope they made it back, since they were going back the same way.
Sun, 7/31
Fished shoal off of rocks off of end of B.I. late morning and John caught a 25” laker, biggest yet. Plain silver Little Cleo. Dan puts the gunnel down to the water leaning over with the net—reminder to be patient and let the fish tire out, esp in a canoe. Had the rod bent in a full “U” under the canoe several times. Another fun fight with light tackle. Fish came off hook in the net, so lucky to get it in.
Put fillets in ziplock and held down with rocks in the water to save for supper. Another lazy afternoon with light rain in the evening. Shared the fish and rice dinners with M and J in the pavilion. Frying pan was barely big enough—next time will remember the aluminum foil so we can bake on fire. J made a nice fire and we played 31 after supper (once Dan remembered the rules).
Mon, 8/1
Packed up and then paddled over to Crystal Cove. The channel was a bit interesting going across, but manageable. Wind had shifted to N/NW overnight for a change. Dan would have liked more time to explore than the ½ hr we stayed. But rollers were already starting back up the channel from the SW in that short amount of time. Back at BI, paddled our gear over to dock to wait for the Voyageur II, which arrived about 1:50.
Did not expect to have a shelter at R.H., arriving around 3:00, but somehow got the last one (#6), since we didn’t have to register like the new arrivals. Gave Dan the tour of my old stomping grounds. Took 10 min/$12 showers. Had pizza and a burger at the grill (and beer, of course)—so so, not as good as in the past. It’s operating as one restaurant this summer, with only a minimal grill menu, and the dining room just used for seating.
Tues, 8/2
Capt Ben is back at the wheel for this trip. Lake is not calm, but relatively benign. Everything is on time. Somehow we pulled the wrong ziplock and left lunch in the pack, so only have extra trail mix and last of the bread on the boat. Eat at My Sister’s Place in Grand Marais—great food! Rain along the shore on the way to Superior for the night.
Fauna: Moose (Big Bob of Belle Isle), fox at Belle & Pickerel, beaver at Pickerel, garter snakes. Hare, squirrels, loons, mergansers everywhere.
Bugs: Skeeters and flies present, but not terrible. Used Picaridin most days, which worked well.
Temps: Warmer than expected, considering mid-lake water temp was 38-39. Highs mostly upper 60s, lows 50s. Coolest morning noticed was 53 on my thermometer, although I didn’t pay close attention. Took off pant legs once, in t-shirt a couple times.
Wind: Remarkably consistent from the SW-W. Near whitecaps or some whitecaps most of the time. Belle Harbor was consistently bouncy, so not much leisurely paddling.
Rain: 3 nights and 1 evening, mostly light. A system came through every couple days, but the worst seemed to miss us each time.
TR: 7/25-8/2 2022 [Belle Isle - Pickerel - Belle Isle - RH]
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TR: 7/25-8/2 2022 [Belle Isle - Pickerel - Belle Isle - RH]
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