Annual Father/Daughter Fishing Trip to Lake Temagami 2009: Day 6

Day 6: Thursday, July 16, 2009: Road Trip to Red Squirrel Road

Fish Count:
3 – bass

New Temperature High:
At one point it got up to 22 Celsius / 70 Fahrenheit, although it was that warm most of the day. But it was sunny and warm – a good day for a road trip.

One of our traditions during our stay in Temagami is to seek out a back road we haven’t been on and go explore it. Problem is, we’ve been on most of those roads now that we’ve been coming for quite a few years. This year we decided to go back Red Squirrel Road, which we’ve been on numerous times, including two years ago when Stacy and I went on our canoe trip in Temagami. Dad drove us back to Red Squirrel Lake, our put in, and along the way we spotted a moose!



Jim recommended a series of three small lakes that are a part of the Anima Nippising River and eventually lead into Red Squirrel Lake. He has fished for rainbow trout in the third lake. We gave it a shot. He said to put a nightcrawler on the hook, let it sink to the bottom, and just wait for the fish to take it. Here’s the problem: it’s very easy to get hung up this way. And hung up we got. So we decided to just throw bobbers on and dangle the worms in the water. Really not the best method for catching fish (a suspended worm is a little unnatural), but it’s been known to work. Well, we didn’t catch any rainbow trout, but I caught two small bass. So, there’s bass in here too? Dad said next year we’ll have to come back with the minnows and fish that way because it really is a good fishing spot.

We also discovered another fishing spot along Red Squirrel Road – Thieving Bear Lake. There are some rocks there with a pretty decent drop off that we will try next year with the minnows. The rocks also were home to lots of frogs, which I spent some time trying to catch (pretty much unsuccessfully). I really should have gone into biology and wildlife studies.

Yummy fresh caught walleye and bass for dinner and then we went back to back fishing at Caribou and Temagami. While at Caribou we caught 3 (keeper) bass and lost a bunch. We sat for about an hour before we had any action, and then it only lasted about ten minutes before our bobbers were motionless again. There seems to be a pattern, but it doesn’t make fishing for them any easier. You never really know when/if they are going to bite.

We were greeted at the docks of Temagami Shores by a few tweenage kids, who were throwing the large rocks (you know, the ones that keep the lake from washing away the ground?) into the water. I decided it was WAY too early in the summer to be encountering kids again. I said to Dad that I don’t like to see kids during my summer vacation. We went out on the boat for an hour and didn’t catch anything. What happened to our great fishing spot in the bay?

Fish Count: (so far)
10 – bass
3 – walleye
3 – in the slot

Mosquito Count:
Still a lot, but Dad finally gave me the bright idea to turn the fan on while I sleep, so that the breeze keeps them away from my face. It worked! Best night’s sleep I’ve had all week!

Annual Father/Daughter Fishing Trip to Lake Temagami 2009: Day 5

Day 5: Wednesday, July 15, 2009

Fish Count: 0

It rained. The end.

Oh, you want to know what we did? How many mosquitoes we killed in the cottage? How the fishing went?

Caribou was a bust. We fished for an hour or so before we decided to try to find the rocks that Dad & Company used to fish off of. I know of this place only by the story of my uncle falling into the lake, but not before tossing the camera to my aunt. This is a story I have replayed many times over in my head and always wished I had seen in real life.

We didn’t find the rocks. But we did bushwack through the Canadian forest a bit and became host to many mosquitoes. I tend to dwell on the bugs – I can’t help it.

At a recommendation from Jim, the guy who owns the local bait and tackle store, we drove not far from Caribou to Ping Lake. It’s on the way to the fire tower, for those of you who are familiar with Temagami. Jim said there were pike in there, and there is a nice peninsula where you can fish from and there is even a picnic table! We found the peninsula and picnic table, but we didn’t find the pike.

We ate dinner at the Orient Garden, the local Chinese restaurant. We used to go here with my grandparents, who know the owners, Terry and Helen Woo. The food is good, and the owner is a local artist. We told Helen that Clara and Bob Thompson said hello, and that they missed coming by to eat. Helen remembered who my grandparents were and said that she missed having them come by, and wished them well. It was a sad moment, because it was a remember (there have been many throughout the week) that my grandparents aren’t here with us like they have always been in the past. I still enjoy Temagami, of course, but it’s not quite the same without them here.

We just had gotten ready to go out on the boat when it started to rain. We went back to the cottage to wait it out there, and decided to watch Les Stroud do his survival thang. I love Youtube. We went out on the lake for about an hour or so, only to be skunked there as well. Just wasn’t a good night for fishing.

Fish Count: (still)
7 – bass
3 – walleye
3 – in the slot

Loon Count: 1 out on the lake tonight. I tried to lure it with a loon call, but I sounded more like an injured bird.

Low of the Day:
Did someone order a swarm of mosquitoes? Okay, I expect them up here. It’s Canada for crikeys sake, and we are situated around a lot of standing water. But I don’t expect them in the cottage, and buzzing around me while I sleep.

Highlight of the Day:
While we were at Caribou, a seagull began to circle us. I was getting worried he thought our bobbers were fish, because he would sort of swoop down towards the water close to where we were fishing. He landed not too far away and another seagull showed up. They hung around for a few minutes before the seagull was back circling, only this time we could see what he was after. One of our spent minnows was floating on the water, close to the rocks. Each time the seagull would circle, he would swoop down and try to grab the minnow. Around the third try he finally nabbed it. It was definitely one of those moments in nature that you don’t see very often, and Dad and I got a kick out of having witnessed it. As a reward, I threw another dead minnow out into the water, and very quickly the seagull snatched it up as well.

Annual Father/Daughter Fishing Trip to Lake Temagami 2009: Day 4

Day 4: Tuesday, July 14, 2009

Fish Count:
3 - bass

New Weather High:
20 Celsius / 68 Fahrenheit. No rain. Not a cloud in the sky.

Today was the first warm, sunny day, and the first day Dad didn’t have to wake me up. We had a glorious breakfast of peameal bacon and eggs. (For those of you who have experienced a Larry Thompson breakfast, you understand why it’s worth mentioning.) Since I’m on the subject of peameal, we’ve since bought a great deal of it, since it was on sale at the Temagami Co-op. Hopefully that’ll get us through until next year.

We decided since it was sunny that we would take the boat out on the lake for a ride. I wanted to go mouth of the Tetapaga River, which is about 8 miles from the end of the northeast arm (town). Dad said he’s gone up it when we was younger, but hasn’t been back since. People use to boat up the N. Tetapaga River and portage into Tetapaga Lake and portage again to fish in Vermillion Lake. Basically no one does this anymore because Vermillion Lake is no longer there and there aren’t fish in Tetapaga Lake.

The boat ride up the river was really beautiful. We were going pretty slow, so it reminded me a lot of my canoe trips with Stacy when we were paddling through rivers. We took one wrong turn, which took us into a bay that would be excellent for wildlife (none while we were there, of course). Only a few times did lily pads get stuck in the propeller. In that case, you have to put the boat in reverse to get them to spin off. After a few miles, we couldn’t go any further, and you could see where the inlet flows into the river from the Tetapaga Lake. Dad said there used to be a dock for people to tie up their boats, but now it’s just a little rock spit with a grown over trail that starts into the woods. I got out to take a look around and indeed the trail was grown over. You could see where it headed into the forest, but who knows after that. We headed back out at a faster clip then when we came in, mostly because we knew where the shallow and deep parts of the river were. Dad and I both wished we would have seen some wildlife, but I told him when Stacy and I paddled through the rivers on our canoe trip we never saw anything. (Moose is what you want to see, considering they like to hang out in the shallow, marshy waters.) At the mouth of the river there was a seemingly nice campsite on a tiny island. We couldn’t get to it because it was too shallow. We got the motor stuck as it was, and Dad and I had to push the boat off the rocks and paddle away a bit before we could start the motor. I had a pang when I picked up the paddle and wished that I could be out in a canoe again.

The trip back took about 30 minutes. Just riding along Temagami Lake is beautiful. You eventually get used to the hum of the motor, and it’s a nice chance to look around at the islands and any possible wildlife. I took the opportunity to scout out a few campsites that are located along the north shore, though I don’t know if I’ll be paddling the northest arm anytime soon. Even at it’s best, Lake Temagami is fairly choppy. Just about the only times I’ve seen it still is early in the morning and late in the evening – not exactly prime canoeing times.

We had an early dinner and headed out to Caribou. There were kept 3 bass (I caught 2 and Dad caught 1). I caught one of the bass on Dad’s rode while he was rigging mine because a fish had snapped the line. (Not necessarily because of his size, but more likely that the line rubbed against a rock.) We lost a bunch and caught a few little ones that we threw back. Overall, it was a decent day at Caribou. And we didn’t have to sit in the car to wait out any rain.

Trolling on Temagami:
Not much action here. Dad caught a nice “slotter” walleye, about 20 inches. We basically got skunked, otherwise.

Loon Count:
Saw 2 flying overhead, making a raucous. So that’s 9 so far.

Fish Count: (so far)
7 – bass
3 – walleye
3 – in the slot

Mosquito Count:
Thousands. And lots of bites.

Annual Father/Daughter Fishing Trip to Lake Temagami 2009: Day 3

Day 3: Monday, July 13, 2009

Fish Count: 0

Weather: COLD and rainy. The high today was 12 C. For my American friends, that’s 54 F. Needless to say I wish I had brought more long sleeve shirts.

Breakfast was probably the highlight of the day – peameal bacon. For those of you who don’t know what peameal bacon is, check out this site: REAL Canadian Bacon. It’s only the most tasty bacon there is, and it’s very difficult to find it on the U.S. You can order it (hence the site), but it’s extremely expensive.

We ordered a red raspberry pie from the Busy Bee yesterday, so we went by to pick that up. Also stopped by the spring to get more “dump” water. (Named that because the spring is on the old dump road. The water itself is perfect.) Finally, we stopped at the bank to get some Canadian money.

Headed over to the rocks at Caribou Lake only to be rained on. Twice we sat in the car to wait out the rain. Not a single bite, despite our very energetic minnows. Well, I spoke too soon. We did have ONE bite. I caught a small walleye. Yes, a walleye. In Caribou. Those of you who know about Temagami will understand how surprising this is. Dad said he has never, in the 50+ years he’s been fishing here, caught a walleye in Caribou. We’ve only ever caught bass, and the occasional catfish. Dad said they used to catch speckled trout here years ago, but never walleye. So we’re not sure what to make of it. Hopefully when we go back tomorrow we’ll start catching bass again.

Stopped by Temagami Outfitter, which is the outfitting company Stacy and I went through when we took our canoe trip two years ago. They’ve consolidated and moved to a smaller location – right across the street. I’d like to stop by again and pick up a few more bits of information for our next Canadian Wilderness Canoe Trip (wink, wink).

What I love about coming up here is simply how relaxing it is. I felt tired all morning, and when we got back to our cottage we both decided to take a nap. A nap in the middle of the day! It was glorious. In the evening, we went out on the Lake (Temagami) to the bay we’ve been fishing in the past two nights, only to get skunked. No fish. Barely any bites. We’re chalking it up to a change in the atmospheric pressure, which apparently can cause fish not to bite. It would make sense, anyway, seeing how we had a serious of fronts roll through yesterday.

Got back to the cottage around 9:30, and after a quick chat with Stacy, Dad and I had (warm) raspberry pie and ice cream. We spread out the Temagami Area Fishing Map and chatted a bit about places that Dad has fished and places Stacy and I canoed. It’s an amazingly beautiful area – by far my favorite place in the world. If I lived in Ontario, I would definitely be canoeing this Northern region every chance I got.

It was cold and raining all day, but as Dad put it while we were trolling by my favorite island, “Sure beats work.”

You said it, Dad.

Fish Count (so far): still…
4 – bass
3 – walleye

New Weather Low:
12 Celsius or 54 Fahrenheit and rain that drove us to sit in the car and wait it out.

Annual Father/Daughter Fishing Trip to Lake Temagami 2009: Day 2

Day 2: Sunday, July 12, 2009

Caribou Lake (after breakfast)
3 – bass (two were 12 inches and 1 was 14)
Dad lost one because of me. I couldn’t net it, and the line kept getting tangled in the net. Eventually the fish got off. Probably around 14 inches, maybe a bit bigger. I also caught a smaller bass that we threw back. We fished off the rocks for about three hours. It was windy most of the time, but that seems to be good for keeping the minnows moving (especially if/when they are dying).

Temagami Lake
1 – walleye (15 inches)
We started at Island 4, but with the combination of it being very windy, ominous clouds, and no bites, we decided to head back up to the bay (which is right across from the Temagami Shores and Leisure Island). We figured if the clouds brought a rainstorm, we could quickly get into shore. As soon as we started trolling, I got a bite. A nice size walleye that Dad spent a lot of time measuring, hoping it was under 18 inches. Alas, it was JUST over, so we threw him back. Forgot to get a picture, too. Soon after Dad caught a walleye just off the shoal of where the gazebo is. (I always knew that island was lucky. Now if I could just scrape up $500,000 to buy it…) The walleye was another “identical twin” to the two I caught last night – about 15 inches. The reason I mention the fact that we are catching 15 inchers is that this program where you have to throw back the spawners seems to be working, which makes throwing back a 23 inch fish a little easier to swallow. Dad is still surprised that we are catching as much as we are right in the bay so close to town.

During the day we went to visit Dorothy and Verdun, who seem to be in good spirits, despite their current conditions. Dorothy has been suffering from severe back pain since they got in a car accident a little over 2 years ago. She seemed much weaker than I’ve ever seen her, but she was still smiling. Apparently she sleeps a lot and can’t move around for too long. Verdun said she hasn’t baked since the accident. Verdun has some neck pain as a result of the accident, but his condition doesn’t seem to be quite as debilitating. They were both very positive, though. We talked a bit about the economy – things seem to be slow in Temagami, and a lot of houses are going up for sale around here. We’ll go visit them again – I told them I’d show them some wedding photos. Unfortunately, we won’t be having any of Dorothy’s homemade rhubarb pie.

Fish Count (so far)
4 - bass
3 - walleye

Loon Count
7 - A group of 5 as we were heading back in from Island 4 and 2 over by the bay.

Mosquito Count
Hundreds. But not too many bites.

Annual Father/Daughter Fishing Trip to Lake Temagami 2009: Day 1

Temagami 2009

Day 1: Saturday, July 11, 2009

We arrived at Temagami Shores around 2 in the afternoon, unpacked the car, and then headed out to the hardware store to pick up some forgotten items. Then a quick trip to the Co-op for groceries, Dad’s (the local bait and tackle store) for our fishing licenses and some minnows, and back to TS to get our boat squared away. Dad brought Grandma and Papa’s motor, but TS had already charged Dad for a boat with a motor, even though he told them that he brought his own motor.

We’ve got free WiFi in the cottage, so I’ve already spent a good part of time online, mostly talking to Stacy and video chatting with Megg. I love technology, and more to the point, I love my new Mac. I’m a little pissed that I forgot my camera cord, so I’ll just have to wait until I get back to post pictures.

While I was online with Stacy and Megg I made homemade potato chips with Les’s (my father-in-law) soon to be patented potoato-chippper. It slices potatoes paper-thin and makes perfect potato chips. One of the many highlights of the trip, I am sure.

After a light dinner of sandwiches (and potato chips), we headed out onto Temagami Lake. It had stormed earlier, a quick heavy downpour with some hail involved. When we got out on the lake it was still overcast and a bit drizzly. By the time we got our poles in the water it was clearing up and the sun was coming back out. Whenever we used to fish with my grandparents, we would go down the lake a bit to Island 4, a nice fishing spot that many of the locals and old timers know about. Instead we stayed close to TS, and trolled around some of the islands in close to town. Right away we had bites. Not sure if it was because of the rain, but that certainly is a theory. The first catch was mine: a 15-inch walleye that we kept. Walleye that are between 18 and 24.6 inches must be thrown back. The reason is that they are trying to keep the spawners in the lake so they can do their thing and create a larger fish population. Soon after Dad caught a nice size walleye – around 20 inches. He was big enough to “oh and ahh” over, and then we put him back. Who wants to clean a fish that big anyway? I caught another 15-inch (“they were identical twins,” Dad said later when he was cleaning them). Dad caught a “keeper” bass (13 Inches) and we caught a few more little fish. Overall it was a very successful first night of fishing. Looking forward to a good nights sleep. I think we are heading over to Caribou after breakfast tomorrow.

Fish Count Day 1:
2 – walleye (both 15 inch)
1 – bass (13 inches)

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