Portage Adventure

I made my first trip to Caribou lake on a gorgeous day with the Professor and Gord this June. It was a true adventure with some great small mouth bass and pike fishing on Caribou lake. The only lures these fish see are the ones cast by Gord’s guests and a few fly-in trips.

Because lake levels are a bit low we took the first portage to Clearwater rather then navigate the 100+ turns and beaver dams on the river. We took the camp boat across Eagle to the bay where the portage begins. It was a bit mucky, but its less than a 20 minute portage compared to a 1-2 hour trip up Clearwater creek.

After reaching the other side of the portage, we took one of Gord’s two boats to get to the other side of Clearwater. Earlier in the week we devoted a full day to fish out of this boat for lake trout and pike, but on this day it was simply transportation to McGregor lake.

We took the short portage to McGregor Lake. The creek has low water levels and a beaver dam so we took a slightly longer portage that took us through some beautiful green moss. A short boat trip in one of Gord’s boats took us over to the creek coming from Otter Lake. This portage has some wild iris.

At the end of this short portage we arrived at a very small row boat with a weight limit of about half of what we were soon loading.

Here, Gord did his best imitation of a motor to get us across Otter Lake.

At the end of Otter Lake we had one last portage about the same length as the first but completely dry and relatively flat. This section of trail had several lady slipper orchids.

At the end of this portage we were greeted with our last boat and a motor that gratfully started!

We were not disapointed as the bass and pike fishing was excellent. We were hard pressed to find a lure that didn’t catch fish. Even the over-promoted banjo minnow was a killer!

Of course we then had to make the return trip! In actuality, these photos were taken in the reverse order. The good news? We had two coolers of nicely chilled beverages waiting us on the return trip. Gord was introduced to Capital Brewery’s (Middleton, Wisconsin) newest beer – Supper Club. Personally, I haven’t found a beer brewed by Capital that I didn’t enjoy.

 

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Testimonials

If you’re looking for an outstanding vacation spot for the serious fisherman or a family get away you should consider Vermillion Bay Lodge on Eagle Lake, Ontario Canada. We have stayed at many lake resorts over the years, but none offer the simple pleasures of this one. The lake is large enough and holds enough fish for the most adventuresome fisherman and yet easy for local family fishing for young children. Bring your own boat or use one of the aluminum boats (20 hp) at the lodge. Boat dockage is well protected from the wind and allows easy access to the water.

What sets this lodge apart from most others is it is always clean, well kept with lots to do including paddle boats canoes, bon fires in the evenings and a just plain friendly atmosphere.

Bruce & Sally