ELK LAKE, Ont. — When dawn broke at 4:30 am, the sun burned through the low lying fog on Lost Lake. Hank and I decided with a change in the weather, we would head back to Bloom Lake. It’s a haul to get there, but the fishing earlier this week was incredible and made the trip worth it. Amazingly, though the weather had improved dramatically, the fishing had slowed. We pounded hard on the spots where we caught big fish on Monday, thinking the improved conditions would only make it better. We had no luck on topwater at all and the fish we had picked easily with wacky rigged worms earlier in the week weren’t there.
The wind was as fierce as ever. We pulled anchor and slipped off the bank to allow for a drift down what looked like a promising rocky shoreline. We were at least 10 yards beyond casting distance when Hank hooked a smallmouth on his worm. We kept working them and soon figured out the fish had gone deeper as the sun heated up the surface of the water. They had also slowed feeding activity considerably. We caught a few, but they were tough. The bluebird sky from the morning gave way to a few passing clouds, but it was a postcard perfect weather day here.
A few months ago I did a story here on the site about the Death Shimmer spinner bait. The owner had given me a few to try out. I decided this was as good a time as any. I tied the thing on and it shimmered in the water as advertised. On the third cast I caught a 24 inch pike. Although it was promising, bites were still hard to come by. Frustrated, I noticed in the tackle I had the proper gear for a Carolina rig. I haven’t thrown one in years, but when the fishing is tough, you do whatever it takes. I tied on the Carolina rig, hooked up a five inch Senko Texas style on the hook and cast as far as I could toward a rocky point. I quickly noticed we were over a giant weed bed and worked the bait slowly through. Soon my efforts were rewarded with another nice walleye, the fourth I’ve caught this week.
Although Lost Lake Wilderness Lodge is mainly a fishing camp, the owner does offer archery bear hunts during the fall. He told us if we wanted to see a bear, we could go to the dump. The dump is the government landfill where everybody dumps their garbage off a backroad. A large pit is dug out and people simply dump all their trash there. There are separate piles for furniture, appliances, electronics, and other assorted big items. However, the regular household trash is tossed in the pit. Hank wanted to go since he has never seen a bear other than one that ran across the road in front of him in Preston County. We went, and sure enough there were two black bears feasting on the refuse of the pit.
The landfill not withstanding, the scenery in northern Ontario is breathtaking, but there are few things better than a Canadian sunrise in the bush. I snapped the above photo this morning as we slowly crept up the creek from Wigwam Lake to Bloom Lake.
Tomorrow is our final day in camp. I have a feeling we’ll stay close tomorrow and fish Lost Lake right off the dock of our cabin. I’ll let you know how it goes in tomorrow’s final update.