BWCA Memorial Day Lake Trout Trip

We started with ice on the trail (but not on the lakes) the Saturday prior to Memorial Day and finished with ice on the Saturday after Memorial Day- and at different portages on the same lake.  This photo was taken on the way in, on May 25,  somewhere between Round Lake and Bat Lake.  The cedar trees led to a lack of direct sun exposure to preserve this late May BW glacier.  Ironically, the ice that we saw on our way out seven days later was much thicker, and covered a larger area.  The folks at Tuscarora Lodge on Round Lake said that the ice had gone out only about a week prior to our entry date- the latest in recent memory.

My brother Tom making a cast on Little Saganaga with a moose shed in the foreground.  Our camp was on the edge of the burn area.  The rubberized landing net was a major improvement this year in terms of reducing down time and getting fish back in the water quickly.  Lake trout have a way of rolling in the net, tangling hooks in the process, but not with the rubberized net that we had this year.

This is not a spectacular photo, but it shows the way that we caught most of our lake trout- from shore with shallow running blue and sliver Rapalas or spoons.  After our trip when we talked to folks at the resort and on the trail, we found that a lot of people struggled in catching enough fish for a meal.  We had the opposite problem for once, trying to figure out the best way to catch fish that would allow them to be released and survive.  A couple of days, we ate more than we wanted, but didn't let it go to waste.  The best solution was to crimp hooks when using bait and to only use spoons otherwise (one set of hooks).  If we weren't worried about the mortality rate of fish that we released, there's no telling how many we could have caught.  Every lake that we fished, the lakers were withing 5 feet of the surface, even at mid-day.  I even caught one using a Tiny Torpedo- just to say that I did.  After spending the winter accumulating Rapala Deep Tail Dancers and the like, I never even used one.  Spoons and the shallowest running Rapala in the box did the trick- as long as they had silver, and hopefully blue in the color scheme.

BWCA Hard Bait Selection

What a great surprise the other day when I found out that I could get something that I actually wanted with my credit union reward points!  For X points, a $100 gift card to Bass Pro Shop.  After requesting the gift card with my reward points, it took at least a week for it to get here- perfect.  In the mean time, I racked my memory for what was always on my Rapala want list.  That list has changed significantly over the past three years, and not because I've discovered better hard baits, dumber fish, or anything to along those lines.

A combination of several factors led to my Rapala purchasing strategy:

1. I recently found that I love fishing and eating lake trout

2. Massive sale on certain Rapalas, especially Husky Jerk and Deep Husky Jerk on Bass Pro Shop website

3. Need to expand beyond basic walleye colors and expand depth/color variety

4. Again, lake trout... blue/silver has been good to me and was a priority (about 1/3 of my total purchase)

5. Purchasing multi-purpose BWCA lures.  The colors, sizes, and running depths of the raps that I bought are great for what I do- focus on lakes the first few weeks of the season, and walleyes after that.  The color selection and running depth was mostly based on fishing lakers for the first month of the season.

6. BWJ article that mentioned a white Heddon Hellbender as a money lure for lakers in the BWCA- great excuse to try a new lure!

Deer Hunting 2012- Still Waiting

I finally saw a deer from one of my stands yesterday, which was day 11 for me.  Trail cam photos like this keep me going.  I know the bigger deer are out there, just not moving during the day.  The deer that I saw yesterday was a doe, and I waited for about an hour and a half after she came through hoping that the buck would follow, which it didn't.  I went in for lunch and on my walk back I came within 25 feet of a little fork.  As I was walking "my" trail, which is actually a game trail, I had just thought about how well I had been doing at sneaking in and that anything in the field near my stand probably wouldn't have heard me.  The next second, a loud "snap" from a stick that I didn't see, and I figured I put anything nearby on alert.  Just then, I looked up and saw a tiny forkhorn walking toward me, on the same trail, not 50 feet away.  I froze and waited to see how close it would get.  Since he had his head down and I saw him first, all that he know when he stopped 25 feet away and looked up at me was that there was something in his way, so he stepped off the trail.  He went around me on the downwind side, passing at about 20 feet to my left.  I waited for him to catch my scent, and when he did, he scurried back about 30 yards and stared back at me.  I stayed frozen and he slowly walked away.  Hopefully that deer will live to be the size of the one in this picture.  The first shot from my camera was fuzzy because he was moving, so I couldn't really see the rack.  Based on the wide body and thick neck in this photo, I'm thinking that this is a pretty good deer, hopefully I'll run into him this weekend or during muzzleloader season.

Deer Hunting 2012- Week One

Our opening day party consisted of me, my cousin Tom, his daughter Katrina, my dad, and my brother Tom.  

I've spent the better part of the past 6 days in the woods and I still haven't seen a deer from my stand.  A scrape that showed up by my primary stand several days ago has not been checked.  There hasn't been a single track on normally busy runway and I could count the shots I've heard since Monday on one hand.  I'm home today, Saturday looks cold, wet, and windy, Sunday doesn't look much better.  Looks like it will be another year of waiting for the rut to kick in and combine with better conditions late in the season.

Minnesota Deer Opener 2012

This is the first time that I've posted anything without a picture- unfortunately, the only one taken was of our hunting party without any deer, and that's only on my brother's camera for now.  Our party of five had only one opportunity in 2 full days of hunting.  Being a little more selective, a fork was given a pass on Sunday, the only deer seen while sitting on stands.  A few others were jumped while walking to/from stands or during drives.  It's been a slow start for most this year throughout St. Louis and Itasca Counties.  The weather was cloudy and mostly calm with a temperature of around 32-35 for daytime highs and not too cold at night.  A neighboring party did take a decent 8-pointer on Saturday, but it's been slow.  I'm not discouraged yet, still 13 days to go, and I'll be in the woods for most of them.

Pine Marten & Huge Rub

The pine marten (I think I'm sure this time) was out again during early October.  He was curious about what I was, but not very afraid, knowing that he was safe in this birch tree.

I like this picture because you can see how big his feet are.  Maybe he is the reason that there aren't any squirrels around this year?  It sure would be nice not to have the "squirrel alarm" going off every 5 minutes this year.

This was a live tree... I put my trail camera here for three weeks just after this rub was made, but the deer never came back.  I wish the camera could have taken a picture of the monster that did this damage, but I guess I can wait til next weekend to meet him- I think I'll know him when I see him.

Bow Season 2012

Katrina, my cousin Tom's daughter, took her first deer this week.  She was hunting alone and I was "on call".  I helped her track the deer- she took a 25 yard shot and it was right on the money.  The blood trail was easy to follow for the first 75 yards, but it took at least half an hour to finish the last 25 yards.  I've never hunted with a bow before and we both learned a lot from Katrina's friend Jim, who skinned out and broke down the deer, which is something that I've never done.  In our family, we've always taken the deer to a butcher for processing.  Jim made it look easy and gave great instructions, but I know that there's a learning curve.  My brother Tom also helped out today.

Minnesota Grouse Opener 2012

This was the result of our opening day grouse hunt near my brother's property on the North Shore.  My brother Tom and his vizsla Ruby were doing the hunting, I was carrying brush loppers, neither were used.  Our several mile walk was more of a deer scouting mission than a hunting mission, but I thought that we would have more than a tired dog to show for it.  I figure that we walked around 3 or 4 miles through some pretty good looking grouse habitat and we only flushed one bird.  The woods were still thick and Tom never even got a shot because of the foliage.  We never settled on a spot to hang the portable stand, so I never used the loppers.  It was still a productive day since I left a nice squiggly line on my GPS, marked a few way points for likely stand locations, and got some much needed exercise.

Walk in the Deer Woods- Where are the Grouse?

I went for a short walk to check the trail camera today and saw this little critter.  I think it must be a mink, but it kind of looks like an immature fisher.  When it saw me, it scurried up about 40 feet up a tree, which is where he was when this photo was taken. With the clear sky, this was the best picture that I could get.

Here's another photo of the mink.  I think that even an immature fisher would have had a bushier tail than this.

Somebody must have found this old grub ax laying around and decided to hang it from branch by the trail.  There's always something to see in the woods.  One thing that I didn't see was a ruffed grouse.

Blue Moon at Deer Camp

I admit that this is not a great photo, but I had to post it.  This is the blue moon, as seen over Lake Superior, near Beaver Bay on August 31, 2012, shortly after sunset.  My cousin and I went up to check the trail camera and got in the woods around 7:15.  From about 7:30 til 7:45 we were in a stare-down with an 8-point buck, a doe, and a fawn, all within between 25-40 yards of where we were standing near the trail cam.  Neither one of us wanted to get busted by a deer right near a stand, but that's what happened.  It sure was fun, and I doubt that they'll remember anything by November.  It was as dark in the woods as it could be with a full moon when I took this photo, which you would never guess by this photo.  Without a high end camera, and taking a photo directly into the only natural light that there was, I was happy with how this turned out.

This one is for my Dad- he sits in a chair in the open spot that's immediately to the left of the freshly shredded tree.  There's usually a lot of scraping activity below this spot, but hopefully this rub is extra motivation.  This photo was actually taken about 10 minutes before the "blue moon" photo was taken- this was also taken with a flash.  Because I knew the woods, and with a full moon and clear skies, it was easy to know where I was and where I needed to go.  What wasn't easy was trying to see where my feet were going without a flashlight or a trail.  For any "real" walk in the wood, I would normally bring a compass, headlamp, and matches/lighter.  This was a good reminder that any trip into the woods- even when you think that you know all of the variables, deserves some respect in regard to survival, planning, and communication.

Trail Camera Time

This shot was taken by my brother, Tom Pecharich, during a recent scouting mission in our deer woods.  There was a fork horn watching on in the background as this eager spike stomped his feet and made a display out of an ordinary encounter.  I finally got my trail camera out this week- hopefully the batteries won't die before I get there again!

From the Deer Stand

My brother, Tom Pecharich, took this photo of a white throated sparrow eating a Juneberry.  The photo was taken on August 11, which further proves my theory... Mayflies in June, June bugs in July, and June berries in August.  Tom also saw a few deer during his time in the stand.  Trail camera will be deployed asap!

BWCA Clothing Selection

The photo above shows some wise choices regarding wardrobe in canoe country... light colored tops and zip-off pants.  NEVER leave camp without long pants- flies or skeeters can get to you any time and anywhere, especially your ankles, if you're paddling in the bow of the canoe where there isn't a breeze near the ankles.  

Fabrics that breathe, dry quickly, and weight next to nothing are readily available for both pants and shirts.  A good pair of pants/shirt will run around $50 each at full-price, but look for deals close to half off if you can time it right.  Light colored clothes help to keep you cool because they don't absorb as much radiant heat from the sun and they also make it easier to see any ticks that may be looking for a free meal.  High-tech fabrics will breathe easy, dry quickly, and some even include built-in tick repellent that is good for up to 30 washes.

A Tale of Two Rivers- 2012/2011

The sun split the sky in a dramatic fashion during a recent Kawashiwi River trip.  Even when the fishing is slow, the scenery is worth the effort.

The Kawishiwi River water level was up by about 18" this July.  My canoe didn't notice the change. but the fish seemed to be on edge, and things seemed a bit "off" compared to prior years.  This year, we were here over a stable weather pattern, during a time that we've had success in the past.   This year, it was hot, humid, and miserable with bugs, which barely put a damper on our efforts.  My good friend Ole and I had two BW rookies along- his cousin Eric and friend Leif.  These guys are welcome back any time!  They were both strong on attitude and ability- what else could you ask for?

Ole's cousin Eric with a sweet small mouth.  The smallies were few and far between on this trip, which is odd for the place and time time that we existed, especially considering how hard we tried to find them.

Pagami Creek Fire Area BWCA 2012

During my first BWCA trip of 2012, I paddled the eastern edge of the Pagami Creek fire area.  The fire area was breathtaking, and this photo doesn't come close to doing justice.  This photo was taken on either Square Lake or Kawashachong Lake, just as you begin to observe the full impact of the fire on its eastern border.  The smell of smoke was still strong, even though the fire had subsided approximately 8 months prior.  Regardless of the politics that surround this particular fire, and how easily some have asserted that it could have been suppressed during the early stages, I decided to enjoy the changes for what they're worth...  With that said, I'm not an expert on fire, weather, forest ecology, or anything for else that played into the decisions that were made.  All that I know for sure is that I'm glad that nobody was injured during the fire and that it will be interesting to see how the forest changes going forward.

Another image of the Pagami Creek fire area near Square/Polly/Kawashachong Lakes.

BWCA Lake Trout Trip

After a couple of fruitless efforts to the same area, I finally tasted the success of BWCA lake trout fishing this year.  Trolling for these beautiful (and delicious) fish was a simple task.  During the last week of May, we trolled 20' or 30' running lures over water not much deeper than 30 feet.  On this particular lake, there appeared to be a dominant year class of fish, which were all in the 18"-20" range.  No complaints regarding the fish- great size for eating, and they put up a good fight.  I can't wait to hook into one of the larger fish that I know are lurking in this lake...maybe next year.

Lake trout four ways... need I say more?  The crowd favorite was a last minute surprise...Dijon mustard/lemon pepper blend.  They were all good!

BWCA Moose Encounter- Part Two

This is mama moose just before she entered the water to swim after her calf (previous post).  I believe that this is the same moose that almost ran over my uncle on a portage trail earlier in the day.  

Here's the story: I was paddling in the stern of the canoe. My Uncle Joe would get out first at every portage landing, help unload the canoe, take a pack, and go.  After that, I'd take my small pack and the canoe, following shortly after him.  On this particular portage, after dropping off the first of two loads, my uncle was about 25 yards ahead of me after the turn-around.  I had just dropped the canoe and pack, and was heading back for my second load, with Joe just ahead of me.  That's when I was Joe come running back toward me.  Just after he said "moose", I saw an adult moose chasing him down the trail.  We were both scared, the only difference was that he was being chased, and I only had about a second to stand and watch a moose chasing him, coming toward me, with no time to react.  After about a second or two (for me)- and considerably longer for Joe, the moose decided to dart off into the woods.  

Considering the apparent aggressive nature of the moose, with its chasing my uncle down the trail and the noises that followed, we assumed that it may have been separated from a calf.  I had time to look close at its head, and I didn't see any evidence of antler growth.  Not more than five hours later, we had the encounter depicted in my previous post, which occurred approximately one mile away (as the moose roams), from our first encounter.  Coincidence?  

BWCA Moose Encounter- Part One

Let me start by giving credit to my brother, Tom Pecharich, for taking these incredible photos of a cow moose rescuing her calf from the water (click on photos to see larger images). This photo shows the cow biting the ear of the calf, apparently trying to steer the calf back to shore.  Unfortunately, in the panic of the situation, the pair veered in two different directions before deciding to head for a point that was at least twice as far as the nearest landing.

The action started out just about 50 feet from where we were camped, on Malberg Lake.  I was fiddling with my fishing line, looking at a knot that I was tying, when I heard a loud splash near where I had beached the canoe.  When I looked up, at first I thought that I was looking at an adult deer.  I knew that everybody else had heard the splash, and I was the only one with a clear line of sight to the noise, so I immediately said "deer", just to calm any fears that it was something to worry about.  After a second or two, I realized that I was looking at a newborn moose, which are much lighter in color than an adult.

In this photo, it is evident that the cow is giving a piggy-back ride to the calf, which was struggling to stay afloat by this point.  Note that the back of the calf is almost perpendicular to the back of the cow, yet the wake created by each is moving in the same direction, which shows that they were each moving in the same direction.  On several occasions, the cow could be seen looking back at the calf, making sure that her efforts were paying off.

This is a photo of mama moose entering the water, just as she realized that her calf was in trouble.  What an impressive animal!  Thanks again to my brother, Tom Pecharich, for taking these photos- nice work!

BWCA 2012- An Ugly Start

Well, it's time to fish or cut bait, as far as my BWCA trip preparation goes.  I've still got some time, and this photo shows my progress today- the mission was basically to find items on my packing list.  Things have been busy lately, to say the least, so I haven't been my normal- and over-prepared self.  I went for a grab and go fishing opener and that went fine, but, with a longer BWCA trip, the grab and go option isn't on the table, especially when you're the menu planner and food buyer, although I wouldn't want it any other way.  I have a few new menu ideas this year and I can't wait to see how it works.  I like to eat well when I'm in the BWCA, and I usually bring a fair amount of food home with me.  About 20 years ago, after a trip where we resorted to eating boiled rock bass, I've learned that I'd rather bring a little extra than run short.

Roscoe, our basset hound, couldn't resist the excitement of getting ready for a Boundary Waters trip.  He made a rare trip into the garage tonight to see what was going on.  

Minnesota Fishing Opener 2012- A Foggy Start

Hey, is that an island off to the right?  It was a foggy start to the Minnesota open water season this year, and in more ways than one.  This photo was taken on our way from the shack out "the spot".  One quick walleye had us optimistic, but after a quick start, it was close to an hour until walleye # 2.  We were on the water by 5:30 and fished most of the day, with only one walleye per angler to show for our efforts.  We made it through plans A, B, C, D, E, F, and G by lunch time and ran through a few more letters after lunch, while also going back to give a few others a second chance.  Other than very slow fishing, the weather was great, and the company was better.

This is "The Shack".  My good friend Jason has hosted me more times than I can count.  No electricity except for a generator, no running water, but just about as comfortable as living can be.