As I mentioned in my last post, day two of our vacation began with pouring rain. We spent the morning at our campsite in Sturgeon Bay Provincial Park and did our best to stay dry, a very difficult task considering that Jack had gotten soaked between the tent and the truck and, like any good dog, felt the need to share the dampness with Darrell and I.
Darrell's pike from day one. I was eager to get back on the water and catch one for myself.
When the rain slowed to a drizzle we packed up camp and headed for the boat – with all fourteen fishing rods and an uncounted number of tackle boxes. I think the other campers wondered about the sheer amount of equipment we took with us, but most of them were fellow anglers and understood our reasons.
The launch at Sturgeon Bay. While our boat took on a fair bit of water during the morning rains, Darrell was quick to run the bilge pump and empty it out. Other boats weren't so lucky. One boat in particular had quite a tilt to it for the next day as it waited for its owner to remove over 6 inches of water.
Out on the water once more I was all ready to find another musky. Watching Darrell reel his musky in the day before made me even more anxious to hook into one of those monsters and I started the day tossing big lures on my heavy rod. Of course, they’re not called ‘the fish of a thousand casts’ for nothing and I didn’t so much as get a follow.
Fellow anglers know what happens then – you spend time targeting a fish only to have absolutely no luck finding one. You start to feel a little blue and wonder why the heck you can’t catch anything. I started to let it get me down – as down as a person can get when out on Georgian Bay on a beautiful day with spectacular surroundings and great company. I needed a change and got out the bass gear.
We pulled into a sheltered bay with slop patches around the edges and started casting scum frogs. Since our regular go-to color wasn’t getting a bite Darrell switched it up and tossed out a black frog with some yellow in the tail…fish on!
A bucket-mouth pulled from the slop.
The first largemouth I had managed to land on the Rapala DT Fat 1 - I love that lure! I used it to fish the edges of the slop.
It wasn’t a strong bite but landing a few largemouth made for a great afternoon. There was plenty of activity in that slop but we couldn’t key on exactly what was causing the ruckus. We counted at least four different species of fish in there.
Sturgeon Bay takes you into the Pointe-Au-Baril inlet, which leads you out into the open water of Georgian Bay. It’s absolutely breathtaking out there. And rocky…very, very rocky. There are islands everywhere – some big enough to host a few cottages, some big enough for a bird to take a rest and little else. Be careful where you drive your boat because there are rock shoals everywhere – one minute you are over 40 feet of water, the next it’s only 3 feet of water.
And the sights! Aside from the wonderful fishing, incredible cottages and awesome boats to drool over, there is no shortage of places to visit and observe.
This boiler belonged to a ship seeking refuge from a storm. It ran onto one of the many rock shoals in the area. There is excellent smallie fishing in the area though, thanks to that very rock shoal (and the additional structure). We caught quite a few smallies on the drop-shot here.
This barrel is on the site of the original barrel that welcomed sailors and signified 'a safe passage through turbulent waters.'
The lighthouse, with the barrel just visible on the point in the background.
At the Hole in the Wall. Big expanse of water on either side, one little opening through the rocks.
Going through the Hole in the Wall.
Of course, the main attraction was the fishing and we certainly had our share of fun in that respect. The smallmouth bass were wonderful little performers, leaping in the air and then diving deep, only to leap out of the water once more. Drop-shotting was the most productive technique, especially with Gulp minnows on the hook. Crankbaits around rocky points also proved quite effective.
One of Darrell's catches. Notice Jack in the background, keeping an eye on the fish. He loves to be in on the action when we're bringing in a fish.
Not the biggest one I've caught, but every single fish is a thrill!
Not everything went as smoothly as we had hoped. On our way back to the dock for a quick break, we both noticed a burning smell. It wasn’t a pleasant, campfire burning smell, it was more of an electrical and plastic burning smell. It was a few moments before Darrell realized the smell was coming from the bilge pump. I had left the boat for a moment and returned to find Darrell’s feet up in the air as he wrestled to get the connectors loose and free the bilge pump before the whole boat went up in flames. It was fortunate he got it out so quickly. When he dunked it in the lake it was pretty obvious the inside of the pump was on fire! *sigh* First stop the next morning was to a marina for a new bilge pump.
Leaving Sturgeon Bay after a morning of fishing on day three was surprisingly sad. I was really going to miss the bathrooms – real plumbing and soap for me to wash my hands! Such luxury I am not used to when camping!
But more so, I was going to miss the water and the fish living within it. All I could do was promise myself we would return at some point. Then I climbed into the truck and we hit the road once more, heading further north for the next lake.
