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3. A Stream to Tempt Paul to Michigan or How I Survived Sandy Along the Shores of Lake Superior, Page 2

Come on Spence...
Even this Keystoner has slept on Isle Royale. I was there twice, traveling to there in my friend's boat from Minnesota. Ah, careless years in my youth...
I have even stood upon Moose Island (aka Moose Boulder).
For those that don't know, (and if my recollection from those days of ignoring my brain to feed my soul hasn't totally escaped me), Siskiwit Lake is the largest lake on the island which contains Moose Pond, which contains Moose Boulder. Moose Boulder becomes the largest island in the largest lake on the largest island in the largest lake on the largest island in the largest lake in the world. Or something like that...

Now that's "Pure Michigan" trivia and other BS...

We fished the brookie streams and did well with attractor dries. And yes, we ate some of them.

Our real target on those particular jaunts were the Siscowet strain Lake Trout. Unfortunately, I could not raise one from the depths with my heavy, full sinking 7wt line. We got plenty on gear, though, and I am almost ashamed to admit that I got one on a fly that was hanging behind a downrigger. I just wanted to feel how well they fought on fly gear...

"I just wanted to feel how well they fought on fly gear..."

Tony, if you want to catch those lakers on real fly gear (i.e., not towed behind a downrigger), go back to the Island early or late in the season and they are supposed to be up shallow, easier to target with a proper fly rig. Of course, the boat ride over during these times might be less than pleasant..we hit 5-6 foot swells and my stomach turned pretty badly so I can't imagine what rougher seas would be like...

The largest island in Siskiwit Lake is Ryan Island, which is the largest island in the largest lake in the largest island in the largest freshwater lake in the world. Is there a pond with a rock in it within Ryan Island? I didn't see one when I was there, I stopped off on that island for a break on my way to look for brookies on the north shore (one of which I found, and ate).

Guess we'll have to get Spence over there one of these days...

Jonathon

You're right Jon, some of my most cherished memories in angling involve casting and trolling streamers at "ice out" in Maine when "togue" would occasionally take my flies. A 10 lb.'er on a 7 wt. and a #4 streamer in shallow water is a major rush!:) Though "pound for pound" they may not match a "square tail" for power or a "salmon" for speed, they were usually the biggest and therefore a great game fish!

Tony...I have read your largest island, in largest lake, etc "thingy" over and over again and cannot stop laughing out loud...Lisa thinks I've flipped. It is nice to know that the super surgeon/super dad actually was a "hippie" for a moment. :)

What do they call that year when a Japanese student or the Amish kid goes off the reservation to "find" himself? That is great and all except Spence decided to spend way too many years "out-there"...:)

I have travelled more than most and less than some, but, none-the-less, I have missed a few spots. :)

Spence

@ Spence... yes I fished many rivers out in that area. There's so many good spots across the whole U.P. all year round. Too bad you didn't have the gear with you.

@ Jonathon... Yes, Brook Trout reside in many rivers across the U.P. I have 5 or 6 good quality rivers where I can catch them 14-15 inches in size on a regular basis. You are welcome to head up and find fish with me whenever you like.

Moose Pond is on Ryan Island and Moose Boulder sticks out of it. There was a lot of smoke in the air, but I remember everybody in our group going there to get their picture taken standing on the largest island in the largest lake...
And Kurt
I rememberer the disappointment of landing a Lake Trout on East Grand Lake when I thought I hooked my first Landlocked Atlantic.
When I landed my first Salmon a few hours later, I thought that Atlantic Salmon must have evolved from birds, because all they wanted to do was get back in the air...

So true, Tony. Particularly the smaller ones the guides called "racers." They'd often skip across the water like a flying fish!:) Never failed to make me laugh and whoop like a little kid when they did that. Either that, or they'd take off on a screaming run like a bonefish... Even so, I must admit they ran out of gas pretty quick. I've caught lots of them that would go nuts and rip off a lot of backing and then give up and allow themselves to be drawn all the way back in like a sack of potatoes. And then they'd see the net! :)

Though not as glamorous, the lowly togue in shallow water on fly tackle is a pretty good gamefish... Especially if it's big!:)

Though I have not yet fished for atlantics (I hear they're planted around here in a local stream though so I might get the chance soon) I do enjoy rainbows because of their aerial tactics - often it's easy to tell what a fish is by it's behavior. Though, I had one brown jumping straight out of the water just like a typical rainbow a few years back, was absolutely certain it WAS a rainbow until I saw it lying in the net..."Geez, Mr. Brown, what are you ON??" Jumped three feet clear of the water four times in the first 5 seconds of the fight...never had another brown ever act like that, they usually head straight for the nearest wood...

Speaking of being on things..."There was a lot of smoke in the air..." Is that the kind of smoke I'm thinking about Tony?? As in, now legal in Colorado and Washington State?

Concerning the fighting abilities of lake trout, I have not caught them (yet) on fly tackle but got a nice 9-pounder trolling with my boss last spring. It fought like an anchor, just heaviness with no runs. I think the thrill of catching lakers is not in the fight but the yummy meal you know you are going to have later...

Next time I go back to Isle Royale I'll have to look for Moose Pond on Ryan Island so I can repeat Tony's experience. Perhaps with some smoke in the air??

;oD

Jonathon

P.S. Tony, I take it since you came over from the Minnesota side instead of Michigan you landed at Windigo and worked the west end of the island, where most of the trout streams are. How much of the place did you cover? My last trip was short, only 4 days, and we made it only as far as Moskey Basin at the far west end of Rock Harbor. My previous trip in 2000 involved my kayak and we made it as far west as Malone Bay and Siskiwit Lake. I would love to check out the west end of the island and those trout streams, though the current park literature says the brookies are getting rare and are strictly catch-and-release these days.

Jonathon

Well Jonathon, some secrets get out, and some go with you to the grave. This secret (and who I was with) will be buried with me. Oh, ahem, and uh, I was still in school back then, so ,um, it probably wouldn't be held against me, um, too much...



Oh, yeah, now you're talking. They were so plentiful, and so fresh, and so tasty, that after a while, we tried to prepare them in a way that wasn't delicious. We failed. Ever eat boiled lake trout? It, too, is tremendous.




There is most likely still a cloud of that stuff over Moose Boulder, there was so damn much of it. Unless Sandy blew it all the way up to Kenora...





Yes, we came into Windigo and we had rented a slip in the marina there, and stayed on the boats. We fished the streams on the west side and started at the mouth, then headed upstream. The Brookies were plentiful and willing to take an attractor dry on just about every other cast. Our real goal was to blow off some steam and catch lakers. The Brookies were a bonus side trip.


Sorry to hear about the down turn of the fishery. I was there in the summer of 1989.
I went again (with the same crew) in 1991 as a pit stop on our way to Rainey Lake.
Imagine a house boat with five twentysomething couples, duty free liquor, Canadian beer and...
Want to talk about a cloud

Most enjoyable post there, Tony! Worth a few good belly laughs on a cold, damp Michigan night, after the end of trout season...but I'm sure you steelhead maniacs just love that kind of weather. BTW, how did Sandy hit your neck of the country? Hard, easy, or in between?

Don't know if you've tried this one yet but I made lake trout with pesto out of that one I got in March, on the 4th of July! It actually survived being frozen that long and still grilled up just succulent as could be. Especially with pesto!

When I was on Isle Royale, I had a hard time geting to sleep, both trips, no matter how hard I had humped it the day before. When I kayaked in 2000 I portaged into several inland lakes and the portages were a bitch, especially dragging a kayak and a pile of supplies! And doing the backpacking thing this time was no picnic either, the place is one big rock with a little bit of soils and loads of smaller rocks, roots, boulder outcrops, etc. to trip you and make you go up-and-down-and-up-and-down-and-up-and-down-and...and yet, I was still wired after all that, didn't want to go to sleep on almost any night I was there. During my kayaking trip I listened to loons and ravens calling into the wee hours of the morning, and on this trip needed to make snacks, cups of tea, etc. (a little smoke in the air...in the words of the CIA, I can neither confirm nor deny those allegations) to wind down before I could get into the sleeping bag - because the place is SO DAMN STIMULATING to the senses! I was struck again by the colors of the plants, landscapes, sky, water, etc. the incredibly fresh rejuvinating air of Lake Superior, the botanical diversity (saw many orchids in bloom in 2000 that were already faded this year - early spring got 'em going earlier...), the rediculously photogenic wildlife (I swear they're on the NPS payroll, they freakin' sit there and POSE for you!!!), the beauty of the geology...my mind was just saturated and simply didn't want to turn off at night! In other words, the place has it's own unique energy...I wondered later if the combination of sunlight, fresh air, heavy exercise, being near water, and very a stimulating natural environment created a serotonin rush, sort of like a "runner's high".

I think anyone who has been there would agree with me, it is a very special place, almost magical in a rugged, dangerous sort of way. It's hard to go only once, you just have to go for it again sometime...

Jonathon