| Our 7th
annual trip came and went so fast, I can't believe it's gone. We had summer like
weather, we all got sunburns. We did go a week or two earlier than normal this
year because of schedule conflicts. We tried our best to get there early to make
sure we could secure "our" island. Well, we didn't make it in time,
when we arrived another group was just beginning to unload their boat and there
was one small boat already there. The morning commute from Lower to Middle Lake
was so foggy that we actually got lost trying to find the river. Well, I
wouldn't say we were lost but we certainly couldn't find the river. This may
have contributed to us not getting the island. |
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| When we
realized we weren't going to get our island, we reluctantly went across the lake
to "Hurricane Island" (actually it's named Halfway Island, but if you
read my report on our 2003 trip you'll know why we named it Hurricane Island).
The Island is conducive to anchoring the boat however and we were able to do so
rather easily compared to the other island. We set up camp and waited for my
Father-in-Law to show up with his brother. He has been trying to join us for a
few years now but schedules never quite enabled it. They showed
up at about 1:30 PM. We had already cooked and ate lunch, couldn't wait since we skipped
breakfast. |
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| So, it was
finally time to go fishing. We started at our "hot spot". A drop off
near a creek mouth. I landed a small Pike pretty quickly there but that was it.
We moved to another favorite spot and again I got a Pike, about the same as the first. The action seemed a bit slow. The day was warm and clear
so I attributed the slow fishing to the weather conditions, but I wasn't
complaining believe me. The lake and surrounding waterways were as pristine as
ever. |
 
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| That night
we enjoyed some venison stew and a great nights sleep in the outdoors. The Loons
kept us entertained with their songs and I dreamed of a bear coming into camp.
Must've been a swimming bear! We awoke early (well, not really) and I
cooked us some eggs, sausage, and corned beef hash. Man that was good! We packed
the boat with lunch, snacks and refreshments and headed out to pursue the mighty
Northern Pike and whatever else would bite. All the while listening to the likes
of Johnny Cash, Charlie Daniels, Jimmy Buffet and others. Oh yeah, Johnny Cash! We hit a few favorite spots and the
boys managed to get on the board with a few Panfish and Bass. |
Roger kept his title intact
as the Perch King |
Jon caught this Pumpkinseed
on and OLD standby. It's never failed him yet |
| The
weather continued to be awesome and we spent the entire day on the boat. That
probably had something to do with the sunburn! I even burned the tops of my feet
as I spent most of the day barefoot. Again, not complaining! The pike fishing
was a bit slow for sure, but I did manage to land one more nice one at the hot spot
that afternoon. |
This guy hit real hard, came
in like a log and then went crazy at the boat when he realized he was hooked. |
| We spent
some time in the creek where we fish some every year and managed a few
Smallmouths. A Bald Eagle spent some time watching us there from a high pine
branch. At one point he flew over and had his landing gear down but pulled up at
the last minute. I love watching them grab fish off the water. I think we saw an
eagle every day on this trip. It's great to see them at home in the Adirondacks
again. |
Love the way them Smallies
jump |
| Back at
camp we had another great dinner, this time home made Wild Turkey soup - yummy!
We had another great night for sleeping, just cool enough to make you stay in
your sleeping bag. The next day greeted us with sunshine and warm weather again,
but it was time to pack up. |
| Another
year is in the books. We had awesome weather but the fishing was a bit slow. We
are going to try to get back to our schedule of coming up later in the month. I
think the cooler water makes the fishing a little better. We did get to enjoy
watching a canoe/kayak race on the lake the day we were leaving. It must've been
some sort of marathon because there were literally hundreds of boats. Single man,
2 man, 6 man canoes and many kayaks. They ended up in the village of Saranac
Lake so that must've been some long race. As usual, the mountain scenes around
us were breathtaking. |
Hey, isn't that
.............?...... never mind |
| See ya
next year |
