Lac Watson July 21-28

[NortonJoe]

Well, another trip has come and gone; it always seems like it takes forever to arrive and then it's over in the blink of an eye!  This marked my 30 year anniversary for trips to Lac Watson...I think the tradition of it is as important as the fishing, to be perfectly honest.  We had a number of our "old veterans" and one new fisherman (my future son-in-law, as of October this year).  I told him he is lucky; my daughter grew up with me going to Canada every year and just kind of expects it!  We numbered a group of ten which is the most we've had go for a long time and ended up splitting into two cabins.  It all worked out since we were still able to have dinner, play cards and hang out as a group anyway.

The group started off from sunny, warm Akron, Ohio at 7:15.  We made pretty good time with only a stop in Angola for a bite and a restroom break.  After stopping at Duty Free, we were in Canada by 11:55 a.m.  It was a pleasant surprise that we only had a ten minute wait at the border on a Friday close to noon.  Thankfully, traffic was pretty good.  We had a slowdown on 400 as we approached Barrie, but at least it kept moving.  Once we split off onto 11 it was pretty clear sailing and we made it into Huntsville around 4:45.  As is our habit, we stopped and had an early dinner and a few beers at Boston Pizza on the Muskoka River; just an opportunity to relax, take in some nice scenery and get ready for the rest of the trip.  We finally hit North Bay around 7:45, checked into our hotel for the night and headed to Wacky Wings for a few more beers, wings, etc...it's always the "etc." that gives you the headache the next morning.

Saturday morning dawned clear and bright and, after a quick breakfast at the hotel, we headed to do some final grocery shopping.  That clear, fresh Canada air had a slightly smoky smell mixed with the pine this year.  We took off for our last stop at Stop 102 in Temiscaming for beer and licenses and were off to the Maniwaki Road.  The trip back was  pretty uneventful.  Maniwaki was in excellent shape and the Red Pine Chute Road is much improved and looking to be better once they are finished.  The roads back to Watson Lake from there are pretty unchanged and still in bad to lousy shape but passable.  All in all we were in camp in about three and a half hours.

Next step, unload (quickly), organize (kinda) and get ready to fish ().  Our boat had my buddy Joe, my future son-in-law, Paul and me.  Now, I believe one of the best times of the trip is that first evening on the boat; lines in the water, beers in hand, the smell of the water, pine and clean air (with a hint of motor every now and then).  You can hear the water lapping against the side of the boat, the occasional, mournful wail of a loon and then...."fish on!"

A few words about the fishing itself...it was excellent all week. We lost track of the walleye count, caught a lot of pike and two perch.  We brought home limits (no comments @T-Bone  ) and had fish for dinner three times.  Yes, it was difficult for one guy in our group to throw back the 26", 6 pound walleye; yes, it was difficult to throw back the 20" and 21" walleye we were regularly catching but I honestly think the good fishing is a result of the slot limit.  We trolled hot n' tots the entire time because, well, if it's working why not?  As many of you know, I and a few of our group love specifically targeting pike, just because they are fun.  Oddly, we caught most of our pike while trolling for walleye; very few were caught while casting spoons for them.  The two perch were actually caught on spoons .  We didn't really "fish hard." We'd go out in the morning and be back by lunch. Relax with some beverages and cigars until an early dinner and then fish again through late evening.  We never came in without fish on the stringer.

The bugs...I can't really comment on this because they never really bother me, I mean, they just rarely bite me.  I don't know why, but I'm not complaining. I can home with maybe three bites and never used DEET once (I was also in the fish house every day at least twice a day).  Other guys got bites but it didn't seem like anyone was overly bothered.  The weather was sunny/variable clouds for all but two days.  One day we had intermittent rain and the other day we had a couple hard rainfalls.  The temps during the day tended to be fairly hot, mid to high eighties (30-32 C), but the breeze off the lake was nice.  Nighttime was nice and cool for sleeping.

Throw in the excellent food, games of cards, beer and liquor, story telling, jokes and just general camaraderie and you have a recipe for a great time!  Now it's time to begin looking forward to next year ("God willing and the creek don't rise").

[Jay Thomas]

Thanks for your trip report NortonJoe - a very enjoyable read. I too fully support the new walleye harvest slot limits which will no doubt prolong the walleye resource. Last Sep, I released a 30 inch beauty. Four of us depart Wed for a week of fishing in the region. Hopefully we'll enjoy a great trip like your group did.

Jay

[Greg]

Great report NortonJoe!   Thanks - and yes, it goes by so quick, it is hard to believe.

I want to go back this fall but I know it is just not going to happen... unfortunately.

Greg

[Jig and drift]

Great report. Nothing beats solid fishing over the week. They were working on the new Red Pine north of the bridge when we went through first of July. Only 3 guys working but they move a lot of dirt. I think it will be great when done. The Bearn road east of there is rough. The deeper one goes the rougher. I see the sign to Watson as we head to Dumoine so you know the hills and the rocks well. No road work going on back there but you pay the price to get to that piece of paridise.

[Oarin]

Glad you had a successful and safe trip. Nice report, thanks.

[T-Bone]

Thanks for the report...sounds a lot like our week...just a great time to be up in the area.

[Hodgey1]

Throw in the excellent food, games of cards, beer and liquor, story telling, jokes and just general camaraderie and you have a recipe for a great time!

Amen Joe! Great report.