Watson Lake Cabins May 17-24 2024

[Teach]

My adventure started on April 30 as I departed Marietta Georgia for Central Ohio and my father's residence.  We packed up the campers and proceeded to Lake Pymatuning for 12 days to hone our walleye fishing skills and techniques.

 

We returned to central Ohio on May 13 and stowed the campers, shopped, packed and with honed walleye skills set a course for Watson Lake Cabins with my 87-year-old father and a friend of the family, Tom, on Thursday, May 16th.  A few different stops than normal with the Angola Service Center closed.  About a 25-minute wait to enter Canada and you must now use a card to pay for the bridge.   (We crossed at the Peace Bridge.)  Spent the night in Letang.  Got a speeding ticket in Tee Lake on Friday morning as we headed towards the Maniwaki and the dirt road in to camp.  Kicked up dust for 5 hours and we were in Camp around 1:30. The black flies were there to welcome us as we attempted to unpack the truck and pack and launch the boat.  They (the black flies) pretty much left us alone from Friday evening until Wednesday evening.



 Our basic routine started with coffee perking at 5 am.  Breakfast and morning constitutional and hit the water around 8.  Fish till noon.  Snack in camp, nap, read, fishing gear prep, boat prep, and have the main meal around 4:30.  Head out for the evening fish and return around 8.  Wash, rinse, and repeat Saturday – Wednesday.  Tom caught a 26-inch walleye on Saturday.



  Saw a moose swim across the river on Sunday.  I caught a 27-inch walleye on Monday.
 


 On Wednesday evening the black flies found us again and when the bite slowed, we called Uncle really quick!!!  Thursday brought wind. Some might say gusty.  Others might say gale force.  I will use the term squall.  We fished the morning in the river and could have film and episode of Deadliest Catch returning to the dock.  Friday, the mosquitoes picked up their game and matched the black flies in numbers and intensity.    We set sails for home on Saturday morning.  No traffic on the QEW and drive through service crossing the boarder back into the States. 

We caught lots of fish, had lots of laughs, and made lots of memories.  The thing the strikes me the most is how truly friendly the world is. For me, it is not what the news makes it out to be. In a months' time I traveled well over 3000 miles, two countries, two providences', and six states, and everyone I encountered seemed to smile or at the very least was extremely polite.  The girl at 61 and 71 who made fresh coffee for me at 4:30 in the morning.  The smile on the face of the booth worker who left the shack to help me pay with the card crossing the bridge.  The great guys in camp.   The guy in ProNature who told me his hot spot was in the river after the birch tree, before the rock, and across from the old beaver dam that is no longer there.  The kid working the gas pumps at the OnRoute when I handed him $43.45 for gas and $8.45 was coins.  He knew right away that I was dumping coins before exiting the country and didn't give me a hard time about it.  And I could bore you with lots of antidotal stories but I will stop there.  I find the world to be a very friendly place and I hope all of you experience the same as you travel this summer. 
A special thanks to my wife who not only let me go fishing for the month of May, she encouraged me to do it!!!

[JigginFool]

Great report!  Thanks for sharing!

[Oarin]

Thanks! Glad you had such a good time. My son and I head to TBL Outpost in July. Can't wait!

[RHYBAK]

Thanks for sharing.
Nice to see reports starting

[Jig and drift]

Good stuff !   Great to see a report.

[BigChief]

That first trip report lets you know you are getting close! Awesome you got to fish at Pymo, we go there quite often.
We head up to Two Moon Lodge June 29th.

[Muchadoaboutnothin]

One of my favorite spots when I was a kid was to sit on the old logging bridge where the river from Grassy dumped into Watson. What I wouldn't give to go back to those days with my grandpa, uncle, and dad...

[bjb178]

My son and I spent many evenings on that old bridge, catching walleyes, in the evening. Good times at Andy's.

[ziggy6]

great report!

[Hodgey1]

The thing the strikes me the most is how truly friendly the world is. For me, it is not what the news makes it out to be. In a months' time I traveled well over 3000 miles, two countries, two providences', and six states, and everyone I encountered seemed to smile or at the very least was extremely polite. 

What a great report as always @Teach . I can not agree with you more, no matter what the news and social media may spin/portray the world as, I generally find things as you point out "friendly" Glad you and your dad got together, its special for sure at any age, let alone 87!

[limacharley]

Thank you for that insightful trip report. Why I don't watch the news anymore.

87 and still fishing. That's wonderful.

They got you at the Tee Lake speed trap I see.

[T-Bone]

Thanks for the report Teach...sounds like quite an adventure!

[BH]

Thanks for sharing!  Sounds like an incredible month of family and fishing!