So Hubby and I go to his Aunt's cabin at Lake of the Woods near Keewatin and Kenora. Their island is Sunbath Island, in Lily Pad Bay. They own their own little island, 3 acres in total. On the first day we got there, I tried to cast off their dock, however, with the promise to cousin Tanis, that I would refrain from fishing for her "pet bass". apparently this bass of hers, lives under the dock, and is her "friend"... I must add that Tanis is 30, and not 4 as you might think by this.
well, it's too bloody windy, and casting fly rod is no fun with the wind going this way and that, so I decided to troll from the canoe. Only Hubby, is all to happy to sit on the dock drinking beers with his dad and uncle, that I end up paddling on my own. so with fly rod, trolling, being held between my knees, I looked retarded, paddling this canoe. however, I manage, and made 2 full circles around the island, to no avail. I quit when I start thinking that the drinks on the dock sounds like a real good idea. Day 2, Tanis...feeling bad about the no fishing for her bass thing, takes me out on the motorboat to troll around the island.....nothing. Where are all the Walleye, Pike, and Bass she's been talking about? well after a while we call it quits and head in for dinner. Day 3, Now, Uncle Ray is feeling obligated to get me into some fish. so he takes me out on the other boat, since Tanis has now gone home to work. After an hour or so of fishing in the evening, I get one very small bass, still big enough for a one person dinner. so on night of day 4, I got to eat fish for dinner. Now it's day 5, we are going into Kenora to do some grocery shopping. holy mac! they have a Safeway, with a parking Dock for boats!!! Yep, float on up, tie up, go shop and then load the boats and be on yer way! after gassing up the boat at the gas dock, we go to park our boat at the public docks. well, a 5 minute boat ride turned into a nightmare ride of our lives!!!! it first starts raining, then starts pouring, then the hail came along with the winds and waves. Aunt Shirley is desperately trying to park the boat between the landing and another boat. the boat is being pushed by the waves into the next boat!!! Hubby puts his hands on the other boat to keep us from damaging and banging into the other boat, meanwhile our boat totally turns the wrong way into the dock area, and we are now sideways! so I jumped off the boat on the the dock (trying not to trip over my own pants!) and ran to the otherside to pull the back end of the boat so it could be tied to the boat. All in the middle of a hail storm.
well I must say we laughed our heads off at eachother since we were all totally dripping wet. I ended up going to the zellers to buy a pair of jeans, so that I didn't have to walk around soaking wet. by the time we got home to the cabin, i wasnt in the mood for fishing.
day 6, final day... so we are leaving at 3, so at around 11am, I ask Hubby to paddle the canoe while I troll. He happily agrees, since I saved their lives yesterday by jumping off the boat
on the first pass over the back side of the island, trolling my flyline with a red and white minnow pattern, I get a huge hit!!!!! OMG it is running!!!! OMG it is sooooo heavy......HOLY CRAP I yell....only to be scolded by Hubby that I probably can be heard 3 islands away, and that I probably woke up the paxton's on the island nextdoor. Well, this fish is running and coming then diving... I am having to hold my rod like it is a freakin salmon! finally it comes up where we can see it ...and it is the ugliest freakin fish I think I have ever seen! it's a Northern Pike. 4 pound tippet....YIKES, how the heck am I gonna get this fish landed so I can at least get a picture of it, before I release it? Hubby asks "so where's the net" I answer "I didnt bring one...." ....why not? "because I thought we were just catchin and releasing bass today!!!! I didn't actually think there was any fish this big here!!!!" well, we got it tired enough that I though we could tail it. however when Hubby tried, the fish nearly bit his hand off! when I tried, the line finally broke, probably against its teeth. and MY what big teeth it had! It sure was fun while it lasted. we paddled back to the dock, got a net and a stringer, only to catch and release another small bass. Fun while it lasted. So I get home and tell my bro TtotheE about this, and he says "didnt you know you should use a metal leader?" (don't really quote me, I don't think he said" metal leader", just can't remember what he called it) NOW he tells me, perhaps then, I wouldnt have lost 3 darn flies! we've gotten an open invite to go back anytime, so next time I will know! btw, that Pike was probably around 18-24 inches and weighed about 5-6pounds (I think, coulda been more). What fun, what fun!
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Topic: Lake of the Woods, Ontario Late July (Read 3462 times)