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.

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.  

The Mystery Trip

I was just along for the ride on this trip, which turned out to be the best crappie bite that I've been on in many years- probably since the glory days of Upper Red Lake.  Thanks buddy!  I was with a couple of friends on a seldom fished lake- that's about as much as I want to say about that.  The larger fish were a solid 14 inches.  Only a few fish smaller than 12 inches were kept.  The Vexilar went from dead to red on this lake, with only a short window of good fishing.

A good day on the ice- we ended up short of a limit, but the quality was outstanding.  This particular lake had a short window during which fish were active.  The window was from approximately 45 minutes before sunset until 30 minutes after sunset, with prime time being just on either side of the actual sunset.  These are the days where you need to have at least 4 rods geared up, ready to go.  If you have a tangle or break something, throw it to the side and grab a new one.  On this particular day, I started with two rods tied with relatively light presentations (1/32 or 1/16 oz. jigs and plastic tail) and two rods with a heavier presentation (i.e. swedish pimple or jigging spoon with treble).  Once the fish turn on, the name of the game is drop something down the hole as fast as possible- that's where the swedish pimple or spoon comes in.  At their most aggressive, these fish were hitting bare jigging spoons and I bet they would have hit just about anything that you could put a hook on.  Just prior to "hammer time" and just after, the extra time that it took to get the lighter presentations down the hole was worth while.