First Fish of 2012

Took the boat out for the first time to go fishing after work last Friday
and this is the first time I have seen a sailboat, not a Sunfish, on Lake Lililohan.

The motor fired up on the first turn of the key and everything was working fine with a few exceptions.  Speedometer doesn't seem to work anymore and the only thing that works on the radio is the Aux In and amplifier.  Nothing on the radio comes in and the CD player is kaput.

Of course the biggest kick in the teeth is the missing Lowrance LX-27c Chartplotter, GPS and Depth Finder.  Thinking that I took it out of the boat during winterization I looked everywhere in the garage, basement, and house and couldn't find it.  That device is pretty big so it would be pretty hard not to miss but it's no where to be seen.  Of course, it's replaceable but what's not replaceable is the 5 years of data from the Cabonga Reservoir that I never backed up!

None-the-less, still caught some fish.

I caught two Red Eye bass on crank baits.

I looked up Red-Eye's in McClane's and found that this fish is in the Sunfish family, like all other bass are and up close it looks like a cross between a crappie and a sunfish.  Still, they had some fight in them and were fun to catch.

 

Surface Limits analysis of the Cabonga Reservoir from 2010 & 2011

Surface Limits
The Ottawa River Regulation Planning Board
Upper: 360.88 
Lower: 356.16 
Difference: 15.5 feet

2011

July 26th:  360.21m, 0.67m, 2.20ft
July 19th:  360.22m, 0.66m, 2.17ft
July 12th:  360.28m, 0.59m, 1.94ft
July 5th:  360.35m, 0.53m, 1.74ft
June 28th:  360.38m, 0.50m, 1.64ft
June 21st:  360.41m, 0.47m, 1.51ft
June 14th:  360.44m, 0.44m, 1.44ft
  June 7th:  360.39m, 0.49m, 1.61ft
 May 31st:  360.35m, 0.53m, 1.74ft

April 28th:  359.65m, 1.23m, 4.03ft


2010

Oct 12th:  358.32m, 2.56m 8.40ft

Sep 14th: 358.16m, 2.72m 8.92ft

Sep 7th:   358.13m, 2.75m 9.02ft

Aug 24th: 358.11m, 2.77m       9.09ft

Aug 17th: 358.11m, 2.77m       9.09ft

Aug 11th: 358.11m, 2.77m       9.09ft

Aug 3rd:   358.11m, 2.77m 9.09ft

Jul 27th:   358.22m, 2.66m 8.72ft

Jul 20th:   358.40m, 2.48m 8.13ft

Jul 13th:   358.70m, 2.18m        7.15 ft

Jul 6th:    359.00m, 1.88m         6.17 ft

Observations
Great Week for Walleye Fishing
>= 7.00ft  Sterns Pass Closed
>= 9.00ft WaWa Pass Closed

Deer Horn Lodge 1981

Michael Finnie (L)

Our first time at the Cabonga Reservoir and Deer Horn Lodge, however, not for me. I spent a week the prior year canoe camping and fishing on Sterns Island on the big water of the Cabonga with the YMCA. In the picture above, we consolted Gaitan Roubeteill about where to fish. He said, "Out there!" and looked at us with disdain.  We came back with this that first day:

My first pike of the trip

Hanging the wash

Ice

Casting for pike between 3 mile and 5 mile bays

Michael Finnie and I trying to get the big one into the boat - it wouldn't
fit in the net and we had to tie it up with boat's painter

Dad's first pike - first fish of the trip

Deer Horn Lodge 1985

On this trip, it was my Father (Richard Lurie), my best friend from High School (Robert Cantrell), and myself.  In 1985, I just completed my first year of college at the University of Arizona.  This was when Steve's father was running the camp.

My Father (L) and I

I think this big pike was caught at the top of 7 mile bay

The Shore Lunch Tradition begins

Robert Cantrell (L) and my Father (R) having
Shore Lunch on the old road at Wa Wa Pass

We used to call these Suicides

Because we be trolling along and you couldn't tell they were on your line

Next to the laundry platform was an old ice house

5:30 AM Departure

Fishing for Lake Trout at Baie Dixie

Looking south towards in the in flow of the Cabonga River

First Lake of the day, but not the last

Cool clouds, a precursor of what was yet to come? 

First storm, we rode it out trolling

Second Storm, we sought shelter - this one was brutal

The Devil's elbow

Hmmmm, this looks like a good place to ....

Fishing from the stern

Driving back to DHL with tunes!

Whitefish Lake

Been awhile since we last visited White Fish Lake

All we caught were small ones

Until my father got a nice one.

Wa Wa Pass & Rock Lake

2011 Wa Wa Pass 

2010 Wa Wa Pass with the Cabonga down 7+ feet

Trolling through Wa Wa Pass

Gulls at Rock Lake

Bark Fish, nice one!

Smooth as glass