Perhaps the best weather and finest fishing trip we have ever had! A small, but “experienced” group of friends and family continued the Memorial Day wilderness fishing trip tradition. Brothers Steve & Tim Pelton and Mark & Ron Cunningham were joined by long lime friends Fred Bouwman and Mark Wanous. Great to have Tim back in camp after a long absence.
Son-in-law Jed helped me get my boat on the trailer and I was all set to go!
Thursday May 25, 2023
Up early and excited to get on the road. After a brief mix-up, I picked up Fred at Eagle River Hospital and loaded his gear into the truck. Very little traffic in the UP of Michigan allowed us to arrive in Two Harbors, MN slightly ahead of the Owatonna guys. Sunny and hot until we got closer to Lake Superior. Temperatures dropped to 55 in Two Harbors and at the Border. Gassed up the trucks and walked next door to Culvers for lunch. The place was packed with a birthday party for a 106 year old.
Mark Wanous and Tim got searched at the Canadien border, but they caught up with us at the Beer Store in Thunder Bay. Checked into the Valhalla Inn and ordered pizza to be delivered to the hotel. Nice night of stories.
Friday May 26, 2023
A Google search for a Tim Horton’s returned 30 results and I choose the one near Hwy 61 but with no seating :(. Ate breakfast sandwiches standing at the trash can before heading North. Mark C. had ordered 2 lbs of leaches at the Silver Minnow Bait Shop. Little traffic on Hwy 527 on a beautiful day. Saw a bull moose, but he disappeared into the woods before we could take a picture. Hwy 811 was dry and dusty – loggers were actively loading timber onto trucks.
Mark C.’s truck started making noise. Ron climbed under the truck and pulled out loose ball bearings – not a good sign! We made it through the washouts without incident. Tim’s tree service was busy clearing down trees from the road.
We setup camp and found holes in the rain fly of Mark Wanous’ tent, but a little duct tape was used to make repairs.
Got the boats down to the landing before relaxing with brats and beer around a nice fire. Mark bought Hominy instead of canned potatoes, but with the right spices, it tasted great. Presented Fred with his second place plaque for his big Walleye caught last year.
Saturday May 27, 2023
We woke up to a beautiful sunny day with clear blue skies. Fred was up early to make coffee. Ron broke out the Dutch oven to make biscuits and browned pork sausage to make a delicious gravy.
We are way ahead of schedule! Normally there are not even leaves on the trees when we arrive shortly after the ice goes out. Water temperature went from 62 to 70 in 4 days. This year we saw butterflies and the warm weather triggered flowers to blossom on a tree near camp.
The water in the river was high, which made it difficult to get into Mark’s big Lund boat, but we figured out another approach. We loaded the boats and we were off!
As we reached the main lake we saw a boat with two guys fishing around the islands. We had not seen another boat on our lake in many years. The Cunningham brothers stopped to talk to them. They were from Minocqua and Pine River WI. They were camped at the far north end of the lake at the High Bank.
Mark Wanous and Tim were the first boat to reach the mouth of Lost Lake Creek and caught a monster 40” Northern on the first pass! The big Northern put up a tough fight. Technically it was a double with Tim’s small Jack.
After trying unsuccessfully to catch a big Northern, Fred and I trolled back to the main lake and Fred landed a dandy 17.5” Walleye.
With a steady wind blowing out of the South, we tried fishing the muskeg on the North side of slip bobber point. This 100 yard stretch produced countless nice sized Walleyes. We didn’t catch a Walleye under 16” until later in the day. We never made a pass without landing at least one fish. Fantastic fishing! Even caught a blue walleye – that really looked cool in the bright sunshine.
Mark Wanous and Tim also had great fishing. 12 doubles! Tim caught a dandy Walleye while enjoying a Yuengling.
The Cunningham brothers tried many different places to find fish. In addition to countless Walleyes, Ron and Mark teamed up to land this nice Northern. Ron caught it a brother Mark takes the credit in the photo.
Cleaned fish on the island before heading back to camp as the sun started to set over the lake.
Tim and I cut up some good dry firewood and dragged it back to camp. Ron and Fred used Mark’s secret recipe to make a tasty batter for onion rings, cheese curds and fish. Enjoyed a nice campfire at the end of a great day!
Sunday May 28, 2023
We woke up to a beautiful sunny day with clear blue skies. Fred was up early to make coffee. Ron made some fantastic French toast with bacon. Mark C. surprised the guys with Christian’s Maple Syrup stored in Bourbon barrels – very tasty.
I fished with my brother Tim on our lake for the first time since 2012. It was great to have him back!
With the same steady wind out of the South, we headed back to the North shore near slip bobber point and the great fishing continued! Tim caught the first of many Walleyes over 20″
In addition to countless Walleyes, Tim landed a nice 34″ Northern.
In an unusual sequence, I was catching another fish, set the hook and my reel opened up sending out a lot of line before breaking in the middle of the spool. I lost the fish and a lot of line. On our next pass, Tim snagged my lost line and pulled up a 17″ Walleye with the line twisted around him. Crazy!
Tim and I tried again to find big Northerns at the mouth of Lost Lake Creek, but the only thing we found was a beautiful bald eagle.
Tim brought some tasty beer from MSB in the 25 oz cans.
We cleaned fish on the island before heading back to camp at the end of tremendous day of fishing.
The sea gulls waited patiently for us to finish our cleaning.
Mark Wanous was on fire with his perch colored Rapala, before it was destroyed by a Northern. Fred landed a 28″ Northern and a 20″ Walleye.
Ron and Mark had great fishing in several spots.
We teamed up to make blackened Walleye fish tacos. I cut up the Walleye fillets, soaked them in lime juice before coating them with SOB (Smokin’ Oyster Brewery) blackening dust. Tim handled the barbecue grill, while I prepared the fixings and special sauce. Ron made some delicious dirty rice. What a feast!
Mark Wanous cut up more firewood and we enjoyed a nice campfire at the end of another great day!
Monday May 29, 2023 – Memorial Day
We woke up to a beautiful sunny day with clear blue skies. Fred was up early to make coffee. A grouse walked through camp and we heard a lot of drumming in the woods all week. Ron took a long morning walk and saw several grouse. Good signs for hunting in September. Ron somehow turned a box of pancake mix into a very tasty breakfast with sausage.
I fished with Mark Cunningham. He found the fish instantly, his first cast caught a Walleye just seconds after hitting the water. Mark caught 5 Walleyes before I got my first.
We tried several spots and found fish at all of them. Filled our stringer with nice fat Walleyes. I cleaned the fish on the island.
We went on a boat ride to the first lake going North. Caught 2 skinny Jacks and turned around and headed back to camp. The wind picked up out of the South, it was a long bumpy ride back to camp.
Ron and Tim hiked back to Lost Lake and found the two canoes right away. They put Mark’s old camo canoe in the water and caught several Northerns as they paddled along the shorelines. Exciting to see the Northern swim up to the lure in the crystal clear water. A fun way to spend a beautiful day!
It was warm day for a long hike through heavy timber. A cold beer at the end of the trek was greatly enjoyed.
Fred fished with Mark Wanous. Wanous had an unusual double, he was reeling in his Rapala with a fish on and a second one grabbed the other hook.
Fred and Mark had tremendous fishing!
Another fish fry without all the appetizers was very tasty. Mark Wanous and Tim cut more firewood for a nice campfire, that really took off after hot oil was dumped on the fire. A fire visible from space!
Tuesday May 30, 2023
We woke up to a beautiful sunny day with clear blue skies. Fred was up early to make coffee. Ron again made his fantastic French toast with bacon.
Last day to fish! Searching for 18” Walleyes to take home. Fred fished with Mark Cunningham and caught lots of Walleyes and this 38” Northern.
Ron fished with Mark Wanous and I fished with Tim. Our two boats went up the creek to the Clear Jack Lake. Ron and Mark fished the North end while Tim and I trolled the shoreline to visit the Tim Fischer memorial.
We picked up a few fish, but not the action we had on the main lake, so we were about to leave when we talked to Ron and Mark. They were having tremendous luck drifting with the strong wind out of the South. They filled their stringer with four 18″ Walleyes within the first 10 minutes!
Tim and I gave it a try and immediately caught lots of big Walleyes.
We quickly filled our stringer with 18” Walleyes when Tim caught a big 38” Northern.
After catching several Walleyes over 20”, Ron landed a huge 29” Walleye. The biggest Walleye to come out of our lake in over 35 years!
We easily floated out of the Clear Jack Lake and cleaned fish on the island.
Just as we started heading back to camp, the skies opened up and rained on us for the first time all week. The rain quit by the time we got back to camp. We pulled the boats out of the water and back up the hill with the 6-wheeler.
Ron climbed under his brother’s truck again. He was not able to pull out the loose rod, but he was able to use some wire to tie down the loose rod to the leaf springs. Hoping that it would make it home.
Mark and Tim cut firewood for our last campfire.
We organized and packed a few things before enjoying pork steaks and garlic bread. Another nice campfire was interrupted by a brief thunderstorm pushing us under the canopy before heading to bed.
Wednesday May 31, 2023
We woke up to a beautiful sunny day with clear blue skies. Fred was up early to make coffee. Everyone dove into action to pack up our camp. Fred made some tasty egg ham and cheese sandwiches before we tore down the kitchen.
It was hot sweaty work, but we got everything packed up, boats loaded and we were on our way out.
Mark Wanous and Tim took the lead followed by Fred and I with the Cunningham truck behind. We used Fred’s walkie-talkies to communicate. Tim called back to report that a big pickup camper was coming in on the one lane logging road. We were able to find a wide sandy area where the last two trucks could pull over with our trailers. Mark Wanous was able to back up his boat into a clearing. We talked with the guy, all alone in his camper. He sets up camp near the Italian camp and fishes a modest sized round lake off the main lake.
The rest of the drive out was uneventful. We made it across the border without out any trouble. Gassed up at Ryden’s before stopping for dinner at the Gunflint Tavern in Grand Marais. Nice craft beer selection and tasty sandwiches. We made it to our hotel in Tofte rather late.
Thursday June 1, 2023
Fred and I were on the road early. Stopped for an early lunch in Superior WI and we were back on the road towards Eagle River. Fred’s wife Kris met us at the hospital and we unloaded his gear in a heavy downpour.
After stopping at Sammy’s Pizza, the Owatonna guys stopped at a rest area north of Minneapolis. They were surprised to find loose lug nuts on Mark Wanous’ boat trailer. Very fortunate to find it before it came off!
Tim and Ron found something to do while Mark & Mark ran into town to find parts.
In summary, it was an incredible trip! Unusually warm weather for late May in Northwestern Ontario. Consistent winds out of the South every day is unheard of! These winds made for fantastic fishing! I have never caught so many fish in so little time. A 40” Northern and two 38” Pikes topped the charts in the Northern category. Ron’s 29” Walleye on the last day is the second largest ever recorded on our lake. Wow! The overall average size of the Walleyes was incredible.
It was great to prove to ourselves that we can still make this trip at our age (ranging from 59-68). All the medical issues, surgeries and joint replacements (4 hips, 3 knees, one foot and two shoulders) may have slowed us down but did not stop us from enjoying a fabulous trip with great friends!
Steve Pelton 