A stream between David and Mubwayaka Lakes.
Darren on Ralph Bice Lake. With the ice gone from western Algonquin Park only a few days previous, our little band of intrepid anglers set off once again in search of big lake trout and spectacular speckled trout fishing. Okay, I was in search of big lake trout, but all four of us were after the speckies. I have several rod and reel outfits, from muskie gear to an ultralight stream rig, but I could only find my 9' Ugly Stik rig. I had hoped to also bring my ultralight, but it was in a different city when I left for Algonquin Park.
My ten year old nephew, Cliff, is no longer the tiny tyke who first came with us just after his third birthday. On that trip, Nathan (his dad), put him on a little footstool facing each other in the stern while I tried not to worry up in the bow of the hand-crafted cedar strip canoe. We paddled close to shore (always a good idea in the spring!) down Rock Lake, and tackled-no pun intended, eh!-the 3km portage into Lake Louisa. That was a great trip.
Now, 7 years later, this youngster outfished Uncle Dan for the second year in a row, which is fine with me.
Now, 7 years later, this youngster outfished Uncle Dan for the second year in a row, which is fine with me.
Anyways, this year four of us went into Ralph Bice Lake out of Kearney: my brother Nathan, Cliff, yours truly, and our friend Darren. Last year, my youngest brother, Ben soloed the smaller cedar strip all the way into Biggar Lake with us, but this year he couldn't make it. We missed his company. Darren put a gang troll on while we were practically still at the launch into Bice, and sure enough, it was gonzo shortly thereafter. A gang troll is a wire leader two or three feet long with several spinner blades on it. The actual lure is attached to the end of this, and the idea is to attract fish with all the bright shiny objects. The water was still too shallow for a heavy gang troll, though, and the bottom of the lake soon claimed it's first tax from us!
 Cliff and Nathan looking for a campsite on Ralph Bice Lake.  Once we got going, though, it was pretty smooth sailing to our target site, halfway down the north shore of Bice. We were on the water by 7 AM and at our campsite a little over two hours later. In the afternoon, we headed out to a nearby lake, and came home with a couple of nice speckled trout that Cliff caught for supper. Which makes me start daydreaming about next spring's trip... |
On day two we struck out on an ambitious circuit: Bice to Little Trout to Queer Lake and back. That turned out to be a rather interesting day. It started off well with slow fishing on little trout, and my canoe spotted an otter, but only for a second or two before he dove. The day was nice and sunny, and the water blue, but the fishing was slow. We trolled down the lake into Queer Lake, but the wind picked up by then to the point where we seriously thought about taking a much longer but theoretically less dangerous (no big water to cross) route back to base camp. This would have involved a 1400 metre portage, a paddle on a relatively unknown (to us) river (David Creek), which at times would have been a small stream and possibly involve some wading in ice-cold water, a couple more portages and puddle-jumps, and home a few hours after sundown. We opted for Plan B: carefully navigate Little Trout, wait out the wind at the portage back into Bice, try to get through the narrows at the northeast end of Ralph Bice, and hug the north shore back to camp...Plan C: bivouac on a campsite, or portage, with two headlamps, a little fuel, no food except our remaining snacks and maybe a fish or two. In other words, a long, cold, maybe wet, but safe, night in the bush! (Algonquin lakes are generally much calmer at dawn and dusk.)
Trying to out-wait the wind in front of Little Trout Lake. As we paddled a sheltered bay of Queer Lake to the 1400 meter Tim River portage we spotted a pocket of ice high on a steep hillside of hemlock conifers. Hemlock stands are noticeably cooler than the neighbouring forest, and the ground below a stand is pretty barren. Still, it was pretty amazing to see ice on May 11th!
At the portage we found a map of the Park, but it must have been the southwest portion of Algonquin, because it had Mubwayaka Lake on it, but not David Creek or the Tim River.
The more we thought about it, the more sense it made to stay with the devil we knew, rather than risk the unknown. It had been a few years since any of us were on the Tim, and none of us knew for sure about David Creek, the connecting route back into Ralph Bice. So we set off to Little Trout, and stayed between the islands and the south shore on Little Trout without any trouble, although with caution, and rested for an hour or so at the Little Trout end of the portage into Bice. During this time a pair of anglers landed to untangle their lines, and they showed us the biggest speckled trout I've ever seen, other than hanging from a wall: about 22 inches and 4 pounds of colour: red dots, fins outlined in white, olive green flanks, white belly. This is the kind of fish every angler dreams about!
At the portage we found a map of the Park, but it must have been the southwest portion of Algonquin, because it had Mubwayaka Lake on it, but not David Creek or the Tim River.
The more we thought about it, the more sense it made to stay with the devil we knew, rather than risk the unknown. It had been a few years since any of us were on the Tim, and none of us knew for sure about David Creek, the connecting route back into Ralph Bice. So we set off to Little Trout, and stayed between the islands and the south shore on Little Trout without any trouble, although with caution, and rested for an hour or so at the Little Trout end of the portage into Bice. During this time a pair of anglers landed to untangle their lines, and they showed us the biggest speckled trout I've ever seen, other than hanging from a wall: about 22 inches and 4 pounds of colour: red dots, fins outlined in white, olive green flanks, white belly. This is the kind of fish every angler dreams about!
This map shows our route on day two. Our site is at the junction of the green, black, and yellow lines on the map. The black shows the route we thought about it, the green our actual route. We landed just right of the site right of the word 'Ralph' and bushwhacked from there. Map courtesy of Jeff McMurtrie at www.algonquinmap.com (the green and black lines indicate the actual and possible routes back to base)
We finally headed out onto Bice. Ralph Bice Lake runs on a northeast angle, with an a 45 degree angle bend due east into the NE end of the lake. The narrows into this bay from the main lake isn't really narrow so much as it is a shallow reef bar. Subsequently, the waves can get pretty wild in this bottleneck. But we had to cross it to get to the safety of the north shore. Darren, the sternsman in my canoe, is an expert, and I'm no rookie, and we still had a tense crossing. But my brother had his ten year old with him. That is an entirely different situation. Cliff did wonderfully. He worked terrifically, and his dad, Nathan, worked frantically and calmly, and they paddled safely across.
The north shore opens even wider into the main lake, north of where the islands along the south shore form a comma, and it was at this point where the waves got crazy. Darren and I could manage, but only just, and neither of us are small men-Darren climbs trees for a living. Nathan and Cliff, though, they hit a wall. They could barely make any headway at all in spite of their experience and strength, and quickly realized they had to land to retain any little energy. We landed safely on the north shore opposite the island, and were very happy to be within walking distance and on the same shore as our campsite, about halfway down the lake! To a man, that is an understatement!
How high were the waves? Noticeably higher than two years ago, in this video of Round Lake on our spring 2013 trip: (That adventure is found here:
http://www.thelilydipper.com/uncle-travelling-dan/algonquin-spring
http://www.thelilydipper.com/uncle-travelling-dan/algonquin-spring-part-2
The north shore opens even wider into the main lake, north of where the islands along the south shore form a comma, and it was at this point where the waves got crazy. Darren and I could manage, but only just, and neither of us are small men-Darren climbs trees for a living. Nathan and Cliff, though, they hit a wall. They could barely make any headway at all in spite of their experience and strength, and quickly realized they had to land to retain any little energy. We landed safely on the north shore opposite the island, and were very happy to be within walking distance and on the same shore as our campsite, about halfway down the lake! To a man, that is an understatement!
How high were the waves? Noticeably higher than two years ago, in this video of Round Lake on our spring 2013 trip: (That adventure is found here:
http://www.thelilydipper.com/uncle-travelling-dan/algonquin-spring
http://www.thelilydipper.com/uncle-travelling-dan/algonquin-spring-part-2
90 minutes later I was enjoying the best mug of coffee ever! Amazing how much better stuff tastes in the wild, particularly after such an adventure. Once we landed we bushwhacked along the north shore of Ralph Bice Lake for about 1200 metres back to our campsite. Later, Nathan and Darren hiked back along the shore to the canoes and paddled them home on a much calmer lake. In retrospect, I think that we should have waited even longer on the portage between Little Trout and Ralph Bice, since the wind often does calm down at dusk.
Nate and Cliff fishing in his home-made cedar strip canoe.
Me, my nephew, Cliff, and my brother, Nathan, resting from a great morning of trout fishing deep in the Park.
Spring in Algonquin Park: trout lilies along the portages!
A cow moose on the Magnetawan River outside of the Park, on the way home. Another terrific trip. This year we only went out for two nights, but three great days. Our party caught half a dozen speckled trout up to 17 inches long, but no lake trout. Can't wait for this May's trip!
Get outside this winter, but stay warm, eh!
Get outside this winter, but stay warm, eh!
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