Fishing Update

[Calyxes]

You should have cut the hook below the barbs. I remember about three years back when my friends and myself were salmon fishing in Lake Huron the same kind of thing happened. My buddy was driving the boat and every pole had a fish on. He jump of the seat to grab a pole and he landed right on a treble hook. The hook went into the bottom of his toe and came out right under his toe nail. Nobody knew what to do, so we poured some scotch on his toe and cut the hook with some wire cutters. I know it hurt Glad it was not me. I will always were shoes now while on a boat.

[TTTBone]

Just wondering ... how do you cook those trout?

You fillet 'em up just like a walleye, coat them with a little mix of flour and spices, and fry 'em up for an excellent shore lunch.

Calyxes, I tried to cut the hook with my multi-tool, but it was too tight of an area to get at. My only other options were to grap it with the pliers and yank (no thanks) or cut it out, I chose option #2.

I probably could have eaten the miserable thing, but with six hours yet to the campsite (two hours over land), and no live well or way to keep it refrigerated, the thing would have been long dead by the time we got to our camp, and set up. I like 'em fresh.

Anyhow, to continue, the rest of the trip was most excellent.
Only one day of light rain; which I spent a good part of in my tent napping, reading, and sipping from my flask of Dickle Brothers whiskey. Other than that it was 70-75, sunny, with a mild breeze that kept you nice and cool on the lakes.
The walleye fishing was really slow due to the previous weeks rains and the cool water temperature. We were probably about a week early for the prime walleye fishing. However, the cool water temperature had the lake trout cruising the shorelines in about 10-15 feet of water. We caught, and ate, plenty more of those guys. Perhaps even a relative of the one who had inflicted the damage on me. Hooked into quite a few nice smallmouth bass too, heavy fighting hogs.
Beautiful country up there, with plenty of wild life. Loons and ducks on every lake, beavers cavorting in front of a couple of our campsites, bald eagles drifting through the skies.
On our last day we camped on a small island about 40 feet across from the tip of a peninsula which was to be our pick-up point. Around six in the morning I exited my tent to relieve myself and after I'd done my business, I heard something slowly crashing through the underbrush on the peninsula across from our site. I squatted down and waited, thinking "Oh sheet, that better not be a bear."
Next thing I know, an enormous moose comes waltzing out of the woods and starts crossing the shallow, narrow straight directly towards our campsite on the island. Whoa! I slowly stood up and tried to stealthily make my way to my tent to retrieve my camera. The Moose froze. Busted. He stared at me for about 2 seconds, did a head bob, and took a sharp left turn into the deeper water with an gigantic sploosh. Amazing how such an enourmous beast can swim so well. He swam about 60 yards to a shoreline which was probably his original goal anyway. He just wanted to use our little island as a short cut. I did manage to get a couple shots of him swimming with nothing but his head above water.
Very cool.
Time to pack up and head home.

[awwchrist]

Cavorting beavers are the best.

[hayesb26]

Next thing I know, an enormous moose comes waltzing out of the woods and starts crossing the shallow, narrow straight directly towards our campsite on the island. Whoa! I slowly stood up and tried to stealthily make my way to my tent to retrieve my camera. The Moose froze. Busted. He stared at me for about 2 seconds, did a head bob, and took a sharp left turn into the deeper water with an gigantic sploosh. Amazing how such an enourmous beast can swim so well. He swam about 60 yards to a shoreline which was probably his original goal anyway. He just wanted to use our little island as a short cut. I did manage to get a couple shots of him swimming with nothing but his head above water.
Very cool.
Time to pack up and head home.

Very, very awesome!

I love camping and have seen quite a few wild animals at my sites, but never have I been able to say I've seen a moose swimming

[Lushcrush]

Next thing I know, an enormous moose comes waltzing out of the woods and starts crossing the shallow, narrow straight directly towards our campsite on the island. Whoa! I slowly stood up and tried to stealthily make my way to my tent to retrieve my camera. The Moose froze. Busted. He stared at me for about 2 seconds, did a head bob, and took a sharp left turn into the deeper water with an gigantic sploosh. Amazing how such an enourmous beast can swim so well. He swam about 60 yards to a shoreline which was probably his original goal anyway. He just wanted to use our little island as a short cut. I did manage to get a couple shots of him swimming with nothing but his head above water.
Very cool.

Whoa ... congrats TTT - I believe you've just turned this thread into a lovefest of Canadians sending in moose stories
Lets hear those moose sitings from the frozen *ss north. From what I've heard, they're pretty close to the king of beasts
Stick those pics on a website and lets have a look at biggun ...

[TTTBone]

Whoa ... congrats TTT - I believe you've just turned this thread into a lovefest of Canadians sending in moose stories
Lets hear those moose sitings from the frozen *ss north. From what I've heard, they're pretty close to the king of beasts
Stick those pics on a website and lets have a look at biggun ...

Well, unfortunately I only had a crappy disposable camera with me. I didn't want to risk taking my expensive digital with me and break it by banging it around in my pack, or messing it up if we got major rain. I think I'll get the pics put on to disc when I develop them so I don't have to go through the whole process of scanning and editing them into digital format. I'll post when I get them back.

Note: I called the moose a "him", and I assumed it was because of it's awesome size, and thought it hadn't yet regrown it's horns from it's fall shed. But from my bit of research today, it probably was a cow moose, as bull moose usually begin to regrow their antlers around March. A massive and thoroughly impressive beast none the less.

And... yes Aww, cavorting beavers are simply the best!

[LT Blue Colt]

Great story TTT, glad you're having such a good time. Hey, I was wondering, I know you said the walleye aren't biting real good at the moment, but have you ever hooked into one of those silver or blue walleye?

[Kensat30]

Cavorting beavers are the best.

heh heh heh heh .... you said beaver.. huh huh huh huh