Day 1 - Brimming with confidence and enthusiasm, we push off from Thunder Bay with a brand new telescopic fishing rod and a tackle box full of every hook, line, and sinker we need to catch all the fish between Lake Superior and the Whiteshell. Although we are amateur anglers, we feel like ten weeks is plenty of time to develop our skills in order to enjoy some lightly fried fish fillets.
Day 7 - Still have not thrown out a line. Lake Superior is kinda big and cold and we are tired from Grand Portage. No worries, we still have nine weeks left.
Day 11 - Today is the day I setup the rod. A calm night on Rose Lake in the Boundary Waters is a perfect night for fishing right? I spend 45 minutes tying, re-tying, undoing knots, and dealing with tangled messes to get the dang hook on the line. Finally I get out on the water while Hads cooks up some dinner. First cast is a snag, while all others reward me with no bites.
Day 15 - Arrive at the perfect campsite to catch some walleye at Northern Light Falls. Fishing at these kind of spots is like shooting fish in a barrel. I throw out a line into the current and grab yet another snag. I whip the rod back and forth trying to get it free. I try one more tug. Hadley finds me walking back to the site with the brand new rod in two pieces. No fish for us here...
Day 16 - We buy a new rod at Northern Light Lake Resort for $5! Boo-yah!
Day 22 - Sitting by the water after dinner in Quetico and meet two fellow paddlers Rob and Giselene. After chatting for a while we hesitantly share stories about fishing. We spring at the opportunity to partake in fishing lessons with them that night. Rob catches two fish ( Yay! Go Rob!). We catch zero, but still have our first fish fry!
Day 23 - Reenergized and motivated by the sweet sweet taste of lightly fried fish fillets from the night before, we set out for a day of master angling...but I guess the fish were all having a nap...
Day 26 - Buy another rod in Atikokan to double our chances.
Day 27 - Floating in the canoe, preparing for an interview with Janet Stewart from CBC, and a pike JUMPS IN TO THE BOAT. Literally! Not sure if this counts as catching a fish, but sure seems like a good omen!
Day 28 - Feigning enthusiasm and excitement on this momentous day... Hadley's first time fishing and she catches three fish. Must be the new fishing rod...
Day 32 - Hadley catches another fish. It tastes salty and crispy and delicious, but also of envy, spite and misery.
Day 41 - Another great campsite for fishing. At least it should be. After about an hour we are just about to call it quits when Hads shouts out that she caught something. It seems quite difficult to reel in, and in fact, as it comes closer we realize it is not a fish at all. In a heroic gesture I grab the rod to help reel in this prehistoric creature. A claw appears out of the water. We caught a snapping turtle. I believe in catch and release though, so we let it go.
Day 45 - THE GREATEST DAY IN THE HISTORY OF MANKIND. After setting up camp on our site in Eagle Lake's West Arm, we decide to throw a line in. I'm getting pretty jaded towards this whole fishing thing and I think my hair is starting to thin due to the stress of having to tell folks back home that I failed to catch a fish on a 70 day canoe trip. So there we are fishing away with Hads getting bites left, right, and center, when the strangest thing happened to my fishing rod. It bent. It was as if something had attached itself to my fishing line and was refusing to let go. I instinctively reeled in the line and as it drew nearer to the gunnels of our canoe, I see a weird creature with no legs hooked on to my five diamonds spoon. I pull it into the canoe, and there in the flesh was the most beautiful pike you have ever laid eyes on. BUT it was like 6 inches long so I threw it back...
BUT THE VERY NEXT CAST I CAUGHT ANOTHER FISH! HOLY COW! This one was a decent size so we string it up, fillet it, and we eat the tastiest northern pike that has ever swam in the shallows of Eagle Lake.
Life is good and as of this point I'm "hooked" on fishing. Hahahahaha.
Day 60 - Lost our tackle kit. Guess that's that.