Kristen and I took off from Boulder around 2:30 on Friday the 10th and drove straight through the night. Around 3:30 am the only available radio station started playing Meatloaf right as we hit a huge thunderstorm. Cursing our luck at having two calamities strike simultaneously , we struggled onward, reaching Cloquet MN around 6:30 am.
We ate some breakfast and called Jason, knowing he was nearby. He was in Duluth, and a little later we met up. We headed out of town, crossing the border without any issues. Whew!
We ate lunch in Dryden, and did a bunch of shopping. We went to four different places before we got our fishing licenses, and searched around for "Bear Bangers", then settled for fireworks. We were already running low on time, and could only laugh when we finally found the fireworks, but three employees couldn't figure out how to open the cabinet, burning up more valuable time.
We grocery shopped as well. We realized we'd have to tie a lot of gear to the roof of the Focus, as we were going to be very crowded. Jason volunteered, and when I next saw him, a crotchety old man was giving him bad advice. "Your buddy's not doing a very good job", he told me as I surveyed the scene. He'd told Jason earlier that "Rope must be cheap in your country." He eventually wandered off, much to the relief of Jason, who didn't really seem to see the humor in the situation.
We were about 15 minutes late to Wilderness. Herb was waiting for us with a Beaver. We loaded up, and flew in to camp. The ride was real bumpy. We survived.
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We got the water pump, water heater, and refrigerators working. Jason did a lot of the work, Kristen and I were a bit zombified from the drive. We were too tired to even cook the simple meal we had planned, and settled for soup. We slept very well.
The next morning Kristen cooked a big breakfast, then we went fishing. Nothing was biting, headed back and ate some lunch. Saw a boat on the lake with a few people fishing. We fixed up some better rods and gear and headed out for more fishing.
Jason caught a clam shell, Kristen caught a small walleye and a decent sized northern. I had no luck, and lost several lures and leaders. My knots seemed to be tied incorrectly.
Campers on the opposite side of the lake set off some fireworks. Jason broke out the bourbon. That inspired some lively Lebowski and Night Ranger conversations.
Monday morning Kristen and I got up early for some fishing. After a few false starts we finally got out on the lake. I continued to have knot issues, losing my favorite bass-master. I was getting frustrated by lack of luck and lost lures. Kristen caught another northern, but luck continued to be bad.
After we got back, Kristen fished the shore of lower Manitumeig, caught a northern, and fell in partially while trying to land it.
Later, after lunch, we headed to Manitumeig, hoping our luck would improve. Jason caught two walleye within site of the portage, I caught a small one. We moved to another good walleye spot, and started catching more. Eventually Kristen caught the biggest walleye of the day. Her walleye dwarfed the others. We kept a selection for dinner.
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Jason and I practiced our cleaning techniques under the watchful eyes of a few gulls. We fried up the fish, trying two batter variations that ended up tasting very similar. We froze the two large walleye filets for later.
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An eagle helped the gulls clean off gull rock. Campers are still on lake, more bourbon and Lebowski. Kristen broke out the large "Impossible" puzzle.
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More to come!
