We weren't even sure that this trip would happen as the lodge had been evacuated due to forest fires for 2 weeks before we got there. They had just got back in for a week before we flew in. The flight in was pretty uneventful but fire was evident and there was still a lot of smoke and fires close by.
Once on the ground the devastation is a lot more real But we still caught a ton of fish and the lunches are always amazing.
On our way back in the first day the closest fire had really kicked up as it was hot and pretty windy.
Day 2 was really smokey again with the combination of local smoke as well as from B.C. But the fishing was still pretty good, I got into a nice smallie and my old man and girlfriend also got there first ever small mouth, although the size was a little disappointing on hers.
Day 3 saw some great fish come to the boat.
My old man then hooked himself trying to get a little snake pike off, followed by my GF catching herself a fishing guide literally as soon as I pulled the hook out of his hand. Thankyou sunglasses!
Day 4 Shyla was the only one in the group that had still not caught herself a trophy fish. She really wanted to get a nice bass. That morning though she finally decided to get serious and put her fishing shirt on, but by the afternoon we were starting to run out of time and conditions were less then ideal. I pulled the boat up to a likely looking bass spot but not a place I had ever pulled on off of let alone fished for them. She made a few casts when I saw something come up near a rock, the old man tried to snake his way in with the a cast but nothing. She put the second cast in and the water exploded with a nice smally hitting her crank bait the second it hit the water. After a lot of excitement, some tense moments, a bit of instructional shouting from me, 3 jumps, hugging the side of the boat, and a few dives under the boat we put this beauty in the net. I was so happy to see her finally get what she was after not to mention the bottle of rum for the biggest small mouth of the trip! This is what guiding is all about
It doesn't take long for regrowth to happen, this was taken 2 weeks after fire came through
The last night of fishing was spent jigging eyes and the bite was on, we caught a ton of fish over 3 hours but nothing huge. On the way in one of the many fires had made its way into a stand of spruce and was kicking up pretty good again.
Hope to be back next June for my annual workation!!
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“One of the sad signs of our times is that we have demonized those who produce, subsidized those who refuse to produce, and canonized those who complain.”
Awesome pics from this and your other post. Totally jealous. What part of Ont. were you in? I really miss the fishing out there. Spent some years in northern Ont. in Sioux Lookout. Soooooooooo many lakes.
Awesome pics from this and your other post. Totally jealous. What part of Ont. were you in? I really miss the fishing out there. Spent some years in northern Ont. in Sioux Lookout. Soooooooooo many lakes.
Northeastern in Woodland Caribou provincial park on the Bloodvein River.
We sat there for about 10 minutes watching, I could have sat there all night!The sound is incredible. Probably the closest I will ever get to a forest fire.
Fishing and forest fires! Lots of photo's
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