With Fred’s wife in the hospital, it was just John and Jim Cunningham with me. It was a small but energetic group of 3 guys! After missing the September trip last year, we were excited to do some Walleye fishing and Grouse hunting as the leaves were changing in Canada.
It was a fantastic trip! Incredible weather for late September. Outstanding hunting with 54 grouse and good fishing.
Saturday September 20, 2025
I finished packing the truck and fixing the trailer light around rain storms in Wisconsin.
Sunday September 21, 2025
Up early and on the road at 7:45. Modest traffic and little road construction allowed me to make good time. I caught up with John and Jim driving up from Iowa in Duluth. Stopped for gas and lunch in Two Harbors shortly after 12:00. Cool and damp along the North Shore of Lake Superior. Most of the traffic was heading South. No problem at the border, other than we needed to fill out a new form to register our shotguns.
Checked into the very nice Delta Marriott Hotel on the lakefront in Thunder Bay. Walked through crowds of homeless people on our way to Lakehead Brewery. Tasty beer and pizza!
Back to the hotel to enjoy Staghorn Oktoberfest from Wisconsin’s New Glarus Brewery.
Monday September 22, 2025
The Cunningham brothers are early risers. We were on the road at 7:00 ET (6:00 CT). Quick stop for coffee and then bought bait at the Silver Minnow. Light rain and some fog, but little traffic as we drove North. Jim rode with me and we saw a bear on the side of the road.
Shortly after turning onto the gravel logging road, we saw 4 grouse.
They waited patiently as we pulled out our shotguns, found our ammo, and loaded our guns. I shot two and Jim shot one in the air, but it landed in the bush.
Jim got one more grouse on the main logging road before riding with John on the last 30 miles of logging road. They got 6 more as we drove to camp. No problem with the washout.
We arrived at camp before noon. The skies cleared and it was a beautiful, warm and dry day to setup our tents and canopies.
We put the boat in the water. to be safe with only one boat, we packed my old 15 hp Mercury in the bottom of the boat as a spare.
My first fish was a good eater.
Jim had the hot lure.
We were able to fish for a few hours before returning to camp for dinner. John brought some big thick steaks and we pan fried the fish we kept. A Surf ‘n Turf meal with garlic bread and baked beans that was fantastic!
Jim and John made a nice fire and with no moon, the stars were so bright and beautiful!
Tuesday September 23, 2025
Up early. Beautiful clear sky with almost no wind. Jim made coffee and we got our hunting gear ready. At 8:00 we headed out.
Jim and John took the truck to hunt the logging road and an old spur road. I hiked the first old spur road to the East until it turned North.
With no wind, clear blue skies and the leaves changing, it was a beautiful morning! There is something very special when you are hunting in this area. It is so quiet! The Grouse blend in very well in their environment. You are alert for any movement or sound. You can even hear a leaf fall off the tree!
John shot 6. Jim got 5. I shot 4 grouse. 15 grouse in less than 3 hours!
John and Jim found a nice stand of dry timber and cut it up for firewood.
Back at 11:00 for breakfast. Jim browned the biscuits John bought. I browned the sausage and mixed the southern gravy. Biscuits and gravy with eggs is my favorite breakfast!
We washed dishes and we were on the water shortly after noon. Three big men, two outboard motors, gas and gear made for slow going. Warm, sunny day with no wind made for tough fishing, but we picked up 5 nice eating sized fish for dinner. Out pet bald eagle followed us as we tried several fishing spots.
Jim again had the hot fishing lure.
John landed some nice fish with his small Rapala.
We cleaned fish on the island, with the eagle watching us.
It was a beautiful, but slow ride back to camp through the prettiest part of the lake.
Blackened Walleye fish tacos were a big hit! Jim brought some fresh jalapeño peppers from his garden to spice things up.
John and Jim made a great fire. The stars were spectacular again!
Wednesday September 24, 2025
Clear, cool and damp morning. Heavy dew on the tents. John saw two grouse while walking to the bathroom, he went back to his truck and pulled out his shotgun and shot both of them.
Jim saw a grouse near my trailer and shot it.
Three grouse before we even left camp! Wow! John and Jim got in the truck and went to the Italian camp. Jim got two birds with one shot! They both had tremendous hunting! 10 grouse each!
I jumped on the 6-wheeler and I got a grouse at the top of the hill. I drove up to the old moose hunter camp and got 5 more. The 3 of us shot 26 birds in less than 3 hours!
Another beautiful day to walk in the woods!
John and Jim cleaned the birds and then we made French Toast with bacon for breakfast.
Tough fishing without a breath of wind. We picked up a couple fish as we tried several different spots. John was excited to land this monster Perch!
Our last spot, we tried the 12’ bar surrounded by deep water in our home bay and right away, John caught a fat 18.5” walleye! Followed by a 15.5″ fish.
It was a beautiful day! The reflection of the puffy clouds on the water was stunning.
The sunset was spectacular!
Back to camp late. We prepared grouse in a mushroom, garlic, onion and cream sauce. It was delicious!
The Big Dipper moved from West to North and just hung in the air at the end of our camp.
Thursday September 25, 2025
Another clear beautiful fall morning, but with a little breeze rustling the leaves in the birch trees. A heavy morning dew covered our tents. After coffee, John hunted the first old logging trail, Jim dropped me off at the next one and he hunted the third. We only needed 2 birds, so we just hunted for 2 hours. I shot one grouse in a tree in an old sand pit and missed another. I took time to appreciate the beauty all around me on our last day in the woods.
Jim picked me up with 3 grouse, again shooting two birds with one shot! Jim cleaned the 4 grouse and we were back at camp at 10.
John finished hunting early to start cooking breakfast. Warmed up the biscuits with eggs, cheese, bacon and sausage.
After a slow fishing day Wednesday without any wind, it was great to have some walleye chop on the water.
Fishing improved dramatically!
The wind blew some clouds in and even a couple sprinkles of rain. We cleaned fish on the island.
I was concerned about pulling out the big heavy Lund boat with just 3 guys, but John and Jim muscled it up on the trailer quickly.
We packed up just about everything before dinner. We fried onion rings, cheese curds, walleye and grouse.
The panko crusted grouse were the best chicken fingers I’ve ever eaten!
We ran out of panko breading, so we tried crushed Cheetos and Doritos with the Walleye, and it tasted great with a nice crunchy texture!
We cleaned up the kitchen and packed it away in the trucks. We enjoyed the traditional fire visible from space when I dumped the oil on the fire.
Friday September 26, 2025
Up early to pack up the sleeping stuff and take down the tents (covered in the morning dew). On the road at 8:00. Saw a bear with two cubs on the side of the road.
In Thunder Bay for lunch at Tim Horton’s at 11:30. John and Jim drove home to Iowa while I stayed the night at the Valhalla Hotel.
Fantastic trip! Incredible weather for the last week of September. Outstanding hunting and good fishing. We ate like kings! Enjoyed the company of two great friends.
Steve Pelton 