It was quite a relief to leave the heat and humidity of Chicago behind and travel 600 miles north to just outside the Boundary Waters Area at the Minnesota/Canadian border. We arrived at the summer cabin in the late afternoon. The temperature was a relaxing 68 degrees – what a welcome change. I put the boat in the water, tied up at the dock, tied on the lures I thought would be right for the next morning’s fishing: smallmouth jigs, crankbaits for largemouths, bucktails for muskies and northerns, and ultralights with floats for bluegills. Then it was time for a quick dinner and some rest after the 11-hour drive.
The morning was cooler than expected (48 degrees), but it was perfect for fishing. After a quick breakfast and a cup of coffee, I was off from the dock. The reports were that the bass were holding anywhere there was vertical structure (such as a dock, submerged tree or a granite bluff); the northerns were cruising at the weed edge filling up on this year’s perch; the bluegill were hanging in what was left of this year’s weeds, and no one knew anything about where the walleye were hiding. Then out onto the lake.
Cruising over to a shoreline with a series of docks to see if the bass were there, I took my spinning rod rigged with a “wacky worm” on a hook and pitched it under the first dock in line. The bass hit the bait almost as soon as it entered the water – a nice 2-pound largemouth started the morning off just fine. I tried the dock again, this time further back toward the shore end and hooked another nice bass. By the time I had finished fishing the six docks along that shore I had caught 11 bass, between 2 and 5 pounds. By the time I came in for lunch I had caught and released 25 bass and kept two nice northerns for dinner. The afternoon plans were to do a little bluegill fishing. so after lunch we went to a favorite spot for bluegill, put some worms on a hook and waited for the action to begin. It didn’t take long before the bluegill began biting. After a couple of hours, about 24 nice bluegills were caught and kept for dinner during the week.
A really nice first day on the lake — more reports will follow as the week progresses. Until next time, keep a tight line.
Visit Dick at hookedonfishing@comcast.net.