I just got back home from another good expedition into the Boundary Waters Canoe Area. We portaged into Wood Lake last Wednesday morning and were out yesterday afternoon. It is a shallower lake full of fish that is accessed by a 180 rod hike, or just under 3/5 mile. Some sections were like a highway, and others were extended pools of greasy muck- I'm glad I packed my rubber boots this time.



Fortunately the campsite our group was hoping to stay at for our visit to the lake was unoccupied and we settled in before rain started falling on Wednesday night and didn't stop until Thursday afternoon. Weather was good until it started raining again on Saturday night and we got to pack everything out soaking wet.



Wildlife was abundant and I saw the eagles and loons I like to and thankfully did not see the bears and ticks I was avoiding. Mosquitoes were plentiful as usual, but manageable.





Sometimes you never know what you'll find near old abandoned campsites. The lake used to be full of logging activity and one bay is full of gigantic old timbers from way back when.











We ate well. Really well.





Oh yeah, we had no problems keeping that frying pan full of fillets. Pike were hitting nearly nonstop on everything I threw at them, smallmouth bass were pre-spawn but active, and we had a few walleyes bite too. My canoe partner for the trip is was a serious bass angler and was after them with a fly rod and wooly bugger, which was too much fun to watch.









There were no shortage of little pike keeping us busy, but a few bigger ones bit too. I caught my biggest on a topwater buzzbait and they put on a show.







I had this nice fish hit a perch swimbait and take me by surprise, but I'm not complaining!



I'll be back in the Boundary Waters again hopefully sometime this September and can't wait!

Fished there in '95. Good stuff.

You bring back great memories of fishing that region....LOVE smallmouths!!