August is a great time to go into Canada since the bugs are not as bad as at other times of the year and the weather is generally good and warm. From Minneapolis we have to drive about 500 miles to Sioux Lookout. We left Minneapolis about 8:30 and got to the hotel at about 6:30. A good diner at our outfitters restaurant (Knobby's) overlooking Pelican Lake and we were getting excited for the next morning's flight.
On Monday morning we boarded a Cessna Caravan float plane to go the last 65 miles to the lake we would be fishing. Being the rookie in the group this year, I got to sit in the co-pilot seat for the trip up to the lake--fortunately, I didn't have to do anything and the flight was very uneventful. The scenery was spectacular with all the lakes and pine forests dotting the landscape. There was a lot of logging happening on the southern 1/3 of the trip, but very undisturbed areas on northern 2/3 of the flight.
The landing was very smooth and we pulled up to the dock and unloaded our gear. We had to wait about 1/2 hour for the rest of our gear to arrive on a smaller plane. We settled into the cabin and got our gear ready for some fishing. We had some ideas where to fish based on inputs from the outfitters and pilots. Weslayan Lake is part of the Cat River system, so there was an inlet and outlet with fast moving water. The lake is fairly shallow with lots of rocks and structure throughout.I fished with John the first morning and we worked and area along a rocky shore with no luck.
We then headed to the outlet at Slate Falls and found some more members of our group (we were in the only cabin on the lake so we didn't expect to see anyone else) who were having much better luck. We put our lines in and immediately started catching fish. We caught mostly Walleye's in the 13-18" range and few northerns in the mid-20 inch range.
As John and I were about to leave we saw commotion at another boat and what looked like a nice fish, so we went over to check it out. What had happened was that Joel had caught a small walleye and as he was reeling it in, a large northern chomped on the walleye sideways and would not let go. Joel continued to reel them in and Bud got both fish into the net and into the boat. The northern measured nearly 30"
A beautiful sunset greeted us that evening. Because we are relatively far north, the twilight time in the summer is very long. It was a good hour and a half before we could see some of the fainter stars. The moon was full and very bright, washing out a lot of the stars, but made a grand appearance through the trees in the eastern sky. Ray and Dave spent the evening on the dock away from the mosquitoes watching the moon, stars and satellites pass by and even some faint northern lights.
Tuesday was spent fishing at the northern inlet with Joel. The water was running fast and furious out of the woods. We would head towards the outlet and let the current pull us out and around a bend into the main lake area. We had some luck, but not great success. After lunch we headed back to Slate Falls and had a few good runs even though some rain came in and we got a little wet. Since we were already out, we decided to stick it out. The evening on the dock was cold, windy and cloudy, so it was cut short and we opted for some cribbage in the cabin.
Wednesday I hooked up with Dave and we again headed back to Slate Falls for the best fishing I have ever encountered. We were catching fish at the rate of about 1 per minute between us. We were mainly catching walleyes on minnows and a Lindy Rig or spinner. This went on for a good 1-1/2 hours. I barely had time to take pictures! The others boats were in the same area and also catching some good fish. Joel had hooked a nice northern but lost him before it got into he boat. About an hour later, I was going through the same general area and got a nice 26" northern landed in the boat. As Dave was helping me get him measured, he noticed a gold flash in the northern's mouth. He called over to Joel to ask what he had been using on the fish he lost and it was the same hook and bead combination in the fish we had. That fish must have been hungry to strike and and get caught twice in one day.
Thursday, Tim and I paired up in the morning and headed back to Slate Falls. Although the fishing wasn't as good as Wednesday, we still were catching a lot of fish. It picked up the most about 2 hours later than the day before. One of the other boats was going back to lunch when we started to get some constant action, so we stayed around and caught fish for another hour. We had more success with minnows that leaches, and the fluorescent spinners had the best results. John and Dave had the best stringer of the morning with some nice walleye and northerns.
John and I went out into he afternoon again, but before we could even get off the dock, we saw a northern lurking in weeds and under the dock. One cast of a Rapala, and I had a fish on the line, I pulled him up on the dock, but then line broke and I couldn't keep him from going back in the water. Once in he held his ground and sat with the lure in his mouth. John grabbed the net and positioned it in front of him and was able to net him and pull him up. He measured about 22" and we salvaged the hook. We then went out to the rapids in front of the cabin to try our luck. We caught some nice northern, both on live bait and artificial lures.
In addition, we caught some clams that grabbed the hooks as they would fall tot he bottom of the lake. John joined Dave and I for another beautiful moonrise, stars and satellites zooming by, but no northern lights out on the dock.
On Friday morning, the plane came in to get us about 6:45 and we headed back to Sioux Lookout for breakfast and then the drive back to the US and Minneapolis. Thanks to John, Bud, Joel, Dave and Tim for inviting me along on their trip.
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