Without knowing if the US/Canada border would be open, I made plans to fish with grandson Alex (14) in Northern Wisconsin in August 2021. Hoping to prepare him for his first trip to Canada in 2022.
With over 236,000 acres and more than 900 lakes within its boundaries, the Northern Highland – American Legion State Forest provides wonderfully scenic opportunities for a variety of outdoor recreation from wild and remote campsites, to developed family and group campgrounds, beaches, boat launches and trails. The forest is spread across three counties near the towns of Woodruff, Minocqua and Boulder Junction.
We had good action – Alex caught his first bass before I had another rod setup with a slip bobber!
I was able to join in the fun a short time later.
Based on a recommendation from my cousin Jeff Westra, he fished this “secret lake” with two of his grand nephews, James and Bristol. Jeff is clearly a “Great” Uncle! The lake has good populations of small mouth bass, walleye, musky and panfish. Jeff told me about the nice Big Lake Campground too.
We headed back to the landing and loaded up the boat on the trailer. Drove to Big Lake Campground and setup camp.
I grilled some cheese burgers while Alex got a nice fire going.
After a beautiful warm day, the temperatures dropped overnight with clear skies, perfect to watch the stars. We talked about how amazing the fishing is in Canada and how clear the skies are. Often able to see the northern lights.
Alex whittled a stick to roast his marshmallow to a nice light golden brown without burning, perfect for s’mores!
I woke up early to get the coffee started. Kara gave me a great birthday gift – a Jetboil Flash Coffee Press. It heats up 2 cups of coffee in 100 seconds!
After a hardy breakfast of biscuits, sausage and gravy, we packed up our camp and headed out for more fishing. Clear skies with a light breeze made for comfortable fishing. We found a small island with rocks and weeds that was great for fishing.
We caught 12 fish, but all were quite small – I have used bigger bait!
We caught a nice variety of fish, smallmouth bass, crappie, sunfish and perch. After a few hours, Alex was getting tired, so we loaded up the boat on the trailer and headed home. Alex slept the whole way!
Fun trip! Alex is ready for Canada in 2022!
Steve Pelton 