A Week in Quebec

I went fishing last week with my buddy--and Terry's cousin--Joe. We had booked a week of fishing for Northern Pike and Walleye with Caesar's North Camps. We've been fishing with them on an annual basis since our youngest boys were 10 years old--some 24 years ago. The camp we chose this time was one we hadn't been to before, Lac Nancy, named after Oliver's wife. The lake was reputed to have some very fine walleye and pike with the latter going up to the 50" mark.

Well, to make a long story short, we didn't find that 50" pike but we did find some of the largest walleye we've run into. While we have found one or two individual walleye that were bigger than the 6.5 pound, 28" one that I caught, the size of the "average" walleye we caught on this trip as far greater than that we've found elsewhere. I'd say half of the fish we caught we would have had to throw back because they were over the 18.5" slot limit. Only about 10% would have gone back because they were too short, less than 14". Everything else--and we caught 165 walleye--was in the slot an could have been take to fill our limit. We chose--and Oliver ruled--that we could only retain what we could eat and that, for us, was one pike and two walleye.

We arrived early on Friday after driving 610 miles from the Aerie to the village of Clova and flying another 30 minutes north to Nancy's Lake. After unpacking our gear and rigging our lines we were on the water and out exploring this new--to us--body of water. We covered the entire shore line of the roughly 2x1 kilometer lake and found there were few weed beds that looked like our normal pike haunts so we opted to concentrate on walleye. After lunch we found a spot that, while unremarkable in that it was 100 meters from the shoreline and out in the open water, produced a couple of nice walleye and even a pike. Joe marked that spot with a bouy so we could find it again. Good thing he did, too. We fished that spot almost exclusively over the week and caught all but one walleye and one pike within 5o meters of that bouy! In fact, on Saturday, we caught 70 walleye and three pike in that area.

Cabin at Nancy's Lake

View from the cabin of Nancy's Lake

Our meals for two nights: one pike and two walleye.

The one Northern Pike we killed. About 30 inches in length.

We spent the majority of our time fishing 3/8 oz. jigs with various and sundry colors of 4" plastic split tails. The fish seemed to like the black and the orange/yellow colors but we caught some on just about every color in our tackle boxes. Jigging meant we fished without any wire leader so important to catching the toothy pike but we still managed to get seven nice sized pike (30+ inches) to the boat. We did lose a couple larger pike early in the battle when they got the jigs too far into their mouths and they easily snapped our 6 and 8 pound test lines.

We kept the one pike because Joe wanted to see if he could filet it so as to eliminate the Y-bones. He got most of them.

The weather was pretty cooperative in that we had 60-70 degrees every day and 50-60 degrees at night. Two separate storms kept us off the lake after dinner Sunday and Tuesday evenings. One produced a lot of thunder but no lightening, the other produced lots of lightening and plenty of accompanying thunder. Both storms produce 2-3 hours of torrential rain. The Tuesday storm also kept us off the water after lunch as the pre-storm winds produced rollers of 1.5-2 feet and even lots of whitecaps on the lake. The only other rain we got was on the final Friday as we awaited the plane to fly us out. That storm blocked out the horizon with the rain being so heavy. We couldn't even see the island some 750 meters away. This rain also delayed our flight by almost three hours as the Cessna could not fly.

Rich with a 6-1/2 pound walleye that measured 28" in length.

Joe with a nice walleye that easily would have been over the slot limit of 18-1/2 inches.

Another big walleye.

And yet another huge walleye.

Joe with the largest Northern Pike we managed to boat. I'm guessing it went around 35 inches.

We did, eventually, get back to Clova and the truck at 2 PM for our 13 hour drive home. We managed to get back to the Aerie around 2:45 AM despite the heavy rain we ran into south of Ottawa and all the way down through Elmira. I hate driving in the rain at night.

Division of labor:

• I did most of the driving northward but we split the long ride home about 50-50. We also split fuel costs.
• I piloted the boat the entire week.
• Joe, who purchased and packed the groceries, did all the cooking. (He had it easy this week as he only had to clean three fish.)
• I did all the washing up after meals.

Went Fishing

I spent last week up in Quebec on a smallish lake next to Goin Reservoir fishing with my buddy Joe M. for walleye and northern pike. The pike didn't get the message but we did catch over 200 walleye including one that tipped the scales at 6.5 pounds.

This was our 22nd or 23rd trip to the area with Oliver Broussard of Caesar's North Camps. We left the Aerie Friday afternoon at 3 and crossed the 1000 Islands bridge at the northern end of I-81. Moved east to Ottowa and then north through Mount Laurier before jumping on a dirt road (127 miles of dust) to head to Parent and finally Clova. The toatal distance was 620 miles by car. We then flew north for 20 minutes--at 100 mph--and were at our lake and our cabin by 9 AM.

We unpacked, rigged up our gear and were fishing in half an hour.

Needless to say, we had a fun week with only one afternoon of horrible weather. (Thunderstorms and hail swept in twice with just a brief two hours in between--and we even managed to get out and fish during that spell. We managed to get off the water and under shelter of the cabin both times.)

Our home for the week.

Joe in his position on the bow.

First night at the cabin we had a full moon.

Calm evening.
 

One of the many walleye that measured 20-25 inches.

Rainbow marks the location of one of the walleye spots we fished the first half of the week.

This walleye weighed in at 6.5 pounds.

The land north of the Laurentions is relatively flat and the sky is endless.

Clouds are numerous.

Montana has nothing on this "Big Sky" country.

A couple of days after the stroms, we spotted this huge plume of smoke rising from somewhere to the east of us--right where we had seen some lightening strikes. We watched two big, yellow tanker planes flying around ensuring that the fire didn't spread too far and wide. The smoke stopped before sun finally set around 9 PM.

We learned later that this fire wasn't likely to spread much. It was on an island on the Goin Reservoir.

Smoke!

Still, knowing how quickly a fire can spread when there's a bit of wind behind it, we spent Friday afternoon wondering if we might get evacuated a little early. (We were due to--and did--fly out Saturday morning at 8 AM.)

Back from our fishing expedition to Gouin Reservoir in northern Quebec.

Joe and I had a good (not great) week at one of Caesar's North Camps fishing for walleye and northern pike. This was a new cabin/area on the reservoir for us and we had some difficulty finding the pockets that held large numbers of walleye but succeeded in locating at least one area that held enough to keep us interested.

Being one of the southernmost cabins, there were also more boats from other camps/outposts than we were used to. What was strange/different was being asked (in French) by some of these other fishing parties where they might find the walleye. A clear indication that we were not alone in our quest. I blame the relatively poor fishing on:
1) the lunar phase (A waxing moon culminated in a full moon on our final day.),
2) the wind (Strong winds out of the south and west passed over a vast expanse of open water creating whitecaps and 2-3' swells--so strong one day (we called it "Windsday") that we were not able to get out 20' boat with its 20hp motor out of our protected cove. We were forced to fish in more protected areas or risk water sloshing over the transom.)
3) the rain (Lots and lots of rain--we had only one day without any rain and several periods where it was a veritable monsoon with walls of rain cutting visibility to 10-15 yards--if that. Luckily, we did not get caught out in those!

It was also clear that some of these folks--if not the vast majority--did not fly in to the area but used a boat launch somewhere reasonably close. One does not show up in a 25' fiberglass boat with a 175 horsepower engine if one has flown into a "wilderness" cabin!

The cabin in which we stayed was snug and warm. It had bunks for four people, a hot shower and indoor toilet, propane stove (with an oven) and propane refrigerator. (A veritable antique of a fridge but it served its purpose even if the freezer was very, very slow to actually freeze anything.) We only had one leak from all the rain and that was, thankfully, in the kitchen area and not the bedroom.

The few from the dock looking west. The Cabin Cove was a long skinny cove protected from the strongest wind/wave action by a pair of sand bars on the south end. It stretched about a half mile from those sand bars to the back end to the north and provided some pike fishing.

The 20' fiberglass boat with its V-hull and 20hp engine was a workhorse as we ranged far and wide in search of the (mostly) elusive walleye. We went about 4 kilometers to the west, 5 kilometers to the east and 3 kilometers to the south shore of our area of Gouin Reservoir. Caught some fish in all areas but, as I said earlier, never found the huge concentration we were hoping for. Perhaps they were around some of the exposed islands a kilometer or so out in the Big Water where we just never felt comfortable anchoring.

We would fish a couple of hours in the morning before heading back to the cabin for lunch and a break--and, hopefully, to clean the morning's catch. After lunch we would head out again, usually in a different direction, for another four or five hours of fishing then back to the cabin for dinner. If we didn't stay out too long in the afternoon, we would go out for another two hours or so in the evening. We usually caught something on each of our forays.

A stringer of walleyes and one pike. That's me in this photo.

Joe with the same fish.

Any walleye we took had to be between 14 and 20 inches to be a keeper. We caught a few shorts and several that were too long. The largest was 22" and weighed 5 lbs. The walleye were our primary target and supplied us with two of our dinners. They also filled some freezer bags so we could bring home our limits of eight walleye each. We caught a total of 60 during our stay.

Pike were also on the list and we would go trolling or cast to weed beds in the many coves along the shores. For us to keep a pike it had to fit the 25-30 inch slot we established. (I don't think there's an actual legal size, but those were our standards.) We caught lots that were smaller (12-20 inch fish) and three which were over 30 inches. The largest was a 34" that probably weighed in the 7-7-1/2 lb range. We did have to harvest a 31" that weighed in at 6-1/2 lbs. It was severely injured in the landing/unhooking process and would not have survived if released.

Our licenses allowed us to take up to 10 northern pike each but we ended up bringing home just three of the 40 fish we caught.

We established a clear division of labor. Joe did all the cleaning of fish, food purchasing and cooking. Joe also did most of the fish catching. I did all the packaging of fish, cleaning (dishes, etc.), and driving--whether it be on the road or water. The 620 mile drive up took about 13 hours including a brief nap along the way. Heading home was just about 12 hours (no nap). And we got through Ottawa with no trouble at all. That's a first for us in some 18-20 trips we've made to Caesar's.

There was a nice fish cleaning station set up in the shade of a fir tree that included running water to clean the table and fish as you worked. Skins and carcasses would go back into the lake or out onto the sand bars. The gulls (herring gulls and ring-billed gulls) and a bald eagle would clean up those. We primarily used the lake as our disposal but our neighbors were feeding the gulls so when they left....

Putting the remains as far from our cabin as possible assured us that no bear would come nosing around. Even so, the one night we put the skins and carcasses on the sand bar to watch the gulls squabble and the eagle swoop in for his share, there was a bear on the beach a half mile or so from the sand bar.

Being an avid surf fisherman, Joe has lots of experience in fileting and skinning fish. His tools of the trade include two sharp knives and a steel to keep them that way. A can of Deep Woods Off can be a necessity if the mosquitoes and/or black flies are bad. The other thing that's a "must" is that can of beer. Sometimes that one can can become two if it's been a productive day on the water.

Saturday evening, we got things prepped for our departure on Sunday. Everything in the cabin got squared away, our paper/plastic garbage got burned as per instructions, the floor got swept, and all our gear--fishing and otherwise--got packed up. We had bee told to expect Ollie between 7 and 8 AM Sunday morning.

When we woke at 5:30 AM everything looked good. The cove was glass. It was overcast but not raining.

By 6:00 AM there was a slight breeze out of the south--the direction from which our flight would come.

By 6:30 AM it was raining steadily and by 7:00 AM it was raining hard.

Our flight did not arrive between 7 and 8 AM. We sat out on the porch and read while we waited--and waited. Joe ran out of reading material. I had found a tome by Tom Clancy and FredrickM. Franks called Into The Storm. It's about the actions of General Franks and the Army's VII Corps leading up to and during Desert Storm. It's very interesting and very long. I started it Windsday morning and was up to page 500 before the plane finally arrived to pick us up.

Joe made another pot of coffee and we sat some more as it continued to rain. We ate some left over kielbasa for lunch. And sat watching it rain.

Finally around 1 PM the rain stopped. Not long afterwards there was the sound of a plane flying from the south--the first we had heard all morning. During the week there were a dozen or more planes flying within earshot--except for Windsday.

At 1:30 PM Ollie's Cessna set down on the Cabin Cove and taxied over to the dock.

Ollie hopped out and apologized for being late as it had started raining at Clova at 6 AM and never stopped until around 1 PM. Two new fishermen got out and they unloaded their gear from the plane. They had packed the plane the night before in anticipation of an early departure!

While Ollie did a quick post/pre inspection and orientation for the new comers, Joe and I moved our gear to the dock so it could be loaded. When Ollie got everyone squared away, he and Joe loaded the gear as I went over the map with the new guys showing them where we had had some success during the week. We were in the air heading back to Clova by 2:00 PM.

At Clova, we quickly deplaned and got our gear into the truck. Ollie was loading the Cessna AND the Beaver with another crew that would be heading out. (He told us he had at least five crews that were supposed to be going in/coming out. He and his third string pilot--number two was in the bush refurbishing a cabin--would be in for a busy afternoon!)

The Cessna back at the Clova dock.

Ollie's Beaver at the Clova dock.

We had flown out to the cabin a week earlier in the Beaver, known as the Workhorse of the North. What a beautiful plane! It amazes me that they actually stopped production of the de Havilland Beaver back in 1967 after just 1600 had been manufactured. Now, almost 50 years later they are THE plane of the back country and deservedly so!

By 2:30 PM we had the Tundra gassed up and were on the road south with plenty of memories and a cooler filled with fish filets.

Home again!

I'm back!

Joe and I just returned from our fishing trip with Caesar's North Camps on Gouin Reservoir in northern Quebec. We had a great time despite the rain (five of the seven days) and somewhat slow fishing. We've caught more and larger fish on other trips but had a good time and made lots of memories just the same.

Before we left to head north, Joe had gotten a call from Am, the office assistant. She warned that the lake water was down and that the level had been falling quickly (almost a foot a week!) for the last month. Just the word that we were coming, however brought two days of rain and our arrival guaranteed the end to all this "dry spell" talk. Joe and I are going to start a company called Drought Eradicators. We'll work for the cost of a fishing trip/hunting trip in any area you name. You want rain in the desert? Either let us shoot what ever wild game might be resent or stock the oasis pool with fish. A week after we arrive, there will be a bloom on the desert like none you've ever seen.

The highlights included Joe catching a 4-1/2 to 5 pound walleye that measured between 22 and 24 inches and (nearly) landing a 32" pike that broke off just as it touched the net. Those two fish plus our first ever sighting of a lynx made the trip worthwhile. We only caught 40 walleye and 25 pike in about 5 days of hard fishing. (Okay, semi-hard fishing. We basically fished from 8 AM until 5 or 6 PM each day the rain allowed.) 

We got rained off the lake one day when over two inches of rain forced us to retreat to the cabin and fire up the wood stove to dry everything--including ourselves--out. As in previous trips, however, we managed to work around most of the rain that fell.

The lake was loaded with loons that showed no fear of us or our boat and allowed us to to get so close we were concerned they might try for our jigs.

I did all the driving up and back (12-13 hours one way just to get to our float plane in Clova), all the driving of the boat, and the dish washing. Joe purchased our food, fileted the fish we kept to eat and bring home, and did the cooking.

A couple of things northern Quebec has plenty of is water and sky. Often they combine. 

You could watch the clouds for hours and hours.

Don't like the set you've got at the moment? Just wait fifteen minutes. There will be some new ones along shortly.

This one looks like the Roadrunner. 

View from the porch as the sun sets behind us. 

One morning we drifted with the wind casting to some weedbeds along the shoreline trying for some pike. As we got near the end of our drift (too shallow water), this tawny cat popped up from the grass where it may have been waiting for some careless ducks to come within range...or it could have been napping in the sun. (Using a point and shoot I'm not that familiar with, these are the best I got. NOW, of course, I know how I could have gotten better by adjusting some settings. Know your tools before you have to use them.)

Uh? What the heck is that? 

 

Curiosity could have gotten this cat killed. But not today.

He's seen enough and heads slowly for the woods. 

Joe with the large walleye. It was released soon after the photo was take.

Some of its smaller relatives were not so lucky. 

They, and a couple of pike got fileted for dinner or the freezer. (Note the essential tools of the trade: sharp, flexible knife; firm cutting surface; late for filets; and, most importantly, an adult beverage in the blue can.)

In addition to the lynx we say a young beaver addling around a bank lodge, a black bear along the shoreline, Bald Eagles, terns, gulls, Cedar Waxwings (eating fish?!?), very friendly Red Squirrels we could have hand fed if we had peanuts, a couple of snowshoe hares--one of which looked like a small kangaroo, a little brown bat (awfully far north!), and, of course, deer mice. (We tried to eradicate the latter with little success.)

Things we learned on this trip:

1) Call the credit card company when you leave the US. Our first stop for gas saw our cards rejected. We ended up paying cash (which we hadn't converted to Canadian). A short call to VISA got that problem corrected but too late.

2) Bisquick can be made into reasonably good pancakes using canola oil if you leave the eggs back home in your refrigerator. Taylor ham and egg sandwiches are a bit thinner without the eggs, however.

3) Patience pays off. We did a great deal of trolling to located walleye, but when we did, we were able to catch quite a few in the same spot using jigs or trolling back and forth over the same area.

4) Give 'em something they haven't seen before. When the standard yellow or black jigs stopped producing, I switched to a chartreuse and immediately connected. Then, when that slowed, a watermelon and connected again.

5) When you wish to see how a lure looks in the water, i.e. what sort of action it may have, before tossing it overboard it is wise to first connect it to your line.

6) Caught in a rainstorm while fishing 2 or more miles from the cabin, you might as well keep on fishing. you'll only get wetter--and in different laces--if you open the throttle on that little 9.9 horse power motor to try and get back to the cabin. (I think Myth Busters did something about walking or running to your car in the rain and proved you get wetter running.)

7) If it is raining cats and dogs, NEVER say: "Well, it can't get any worse!"  It can--and it probably will. (This is an old lesson that needs relearning. At least this time it didn't start hailing.)