Cabonga Water level as of 7/27/2010

Capacity: 360.88
Current: 358.22
Difference: 2.66 m
Level Level: 8.73 feet down!

Found this little warning on the Réserve faunique La Vérendrye Sepaq Website:

I am still looking for some more up to date pix from the reservoir.  If anyone has any, let me know.

Cabonga Water level as of 7/20/2010

Capacity: 360.88
Current: 358.40
Difference: 2.48 m
Level Level: 8.14 feet down!

It's still going down and almost another foot from the previous week! Yikes. I don't think you are getting through Wa Wa pass unless you have a canoe. You probably could get down to the big water via Stern's Pass but it will be a slow go. The first time I went to DHL, a woman who has accompanied her husband up there since the 50s or 60s said at the narrowest point on the route to Sterns Pass, when the water was low enough, it was like a water fall or rapid (see image below). I could see that with the way the rocks are situated in there. To get to that point, I think the level has to go down to 10 or 11 feet, which according to Steve Hamel, it got to that point in 2000.

Cabonga Water level as of 7/13/2010

Capacity:  360.88
Current:    358.70
Difference:    2.18 m
Level Level:  7.15 feet down!

One thing is for sure, low water is great for walleye fishing, however, to get to the big water to fish for lake trout, unless there is another way to get down there from DHL, 2 meters is probably the absolute minimum.

Last Walleye of the Trip

Here is my last walleye caught in Burns Bay.

Rocks and Props don't mix!

Here is the damage from Sunday.

More shots around Deer Horn Lodge

Deer Horn's boat parking is on the south side of penninsula. Water
must be down 7 feet now, although the website says it's only down 5.
Apparently they are slowing down the draining. Still, with the water
this low it could be a year or two before it's back up to full
capacity. Let's hope they have a lot of snow this winter.

Shore Lunch at Flick's Island (Burns Bay)

The lone walleye we caught today was eaten on Flick's island.

Another great day of Walleye fishing

Caught around 10 Walleye today between my father and I. Lost a few at
the boat, and kept 4 to finish out our limit! Catching them in 10
feet of water on worm rigs with bottom bouncers and ripping them
through the weeds. Caught another little pike in a place that we call
Snag City, one of the bays due north of Monkey Rock. Also caught a
small blue walleye. I have caught some blue walleyes here before but
they are always small.

Tomorrow we go for Trophy Pike!

Limit on Lakers

Caught some more lakers today. We are now at our limit of 4 fish.

Deer Horn Lodge Heli Pad

Some natural resources exploration company is surveying this section
of Quebec looking for different types of resources to exploit. I
think, once in the late 80s we saw a float plane at Deer Horn.

Fire in La Reserve Faunique La Verendrye

While trolling up Sterns Pass I noticed smoke coming from the ridge on
the other side of the Big Water. Looks like a little more than a camp
fire.

Navigating through the falls.

On my first trip to Deer Horn Lodge a woman that had been coming up to
DHL since the 1950s told me in the early days that this narrow section
between Baie Cox and Sterns Passage used to be a dramatic change in
water level, so much so that she called it a waterfall. Traveling
through there today, I could see how she would have throught that
because of all the huge rocks in there. We got through, although on
the way back our electric trolling motor stopped working, it won't
turn from side to side. Still get thrust though.