John and I packed our lunches and set out under a cloudless sky for our trek over to South Lake this day. The walk over in the cool of the morning was really quite pleasant.
John took the helm of the little 4-horsepower Mercury and we first fished the area covered by Joe and David on Tuesday without their success. After refueling the engine and eating our lunch, we headed further back away from the launch site, past a cabin and into some twists and bends of the lake where we were out of the strongest winds. (The wind had picked up again at around 10:30 AM as the sun headed the hills.) The strong sunshine of the last two days has made sunburn a real threat! This is NOT what I have come to expect from these trips, but is quite a pleasant change.
We got to see where the major portion of the water flows into the this South Lake in a ten yard wide stream that tumbles over some boulders into the lake. (The outlet is by the boat launch and is just like the waterfall at the trailhead coming over from Lac Larouche. The water appears to drop off a table edge out of sight leaving only the sound of the rushing water as witness to its passage.)
Inlet of South Lake
During the day, John caught five pike and three walleye, while I got one of each. We released all of these fish, even the walleye, rather than try to pack them back over the trail. Just as well, it was far warmer going back at 3:30 than it was hiking in at 8 AM!
John's 17 1/2 inch Walleye
One of John's Pike from South Lake
Joe and David fished Lac Larouche trying to fill our walleye plate for another fish dinner but succeeded only in catching five pike, all of which they released.
Total fish for the day: 11 pike and 4 walleye
Joe cooked up some venison tenderloin, Bisquick biscuits and fried onions for dinner. Man, I could get used to eating like this!
The weather has been incredibly good but the wind has been troubling. The clear nights and days mean a big swing in temperatures. Early morning lows of near 40 degrees give way to very warm 75-80 degree afternoons. We have all had to take some precautions from sunburn, as I’ve said, NOT our usual Canadian fare! Our rain gear has had to be worn to protect from the wind and splash of the boat and wave spray. You can also see the change in some of the vegetation in the lake. Submerged weeds and plants are growing like crazy. The change in the lily pads in some areas could almost be watched from barely out of the mud to floating on the surface, to emerging flower buds in three days. Some insects have started to appear, but the black flies haven’t really become a problem yet.
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