Canada big fish and my solo ride to catch them

[KGT1200]

This is a ride report from my home in Minnesota to Eagle Lake in Ontario Canada. This first pic is from home sweet home.
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My 84 yr old Father in law told me he felt it was his swan song going to Temple Bay Lodge http://www.templebay.com. He’s been there 8 times before, but suggested he would like to share one last adventure with me and his son (My brother in law) one more time. How could I refuse?
But first, I had to modify my plan by riding my 2005R12GS instead of taking the coach bus, as in the other three times I have headed north to Eagle lake, about 60 miles west of Dryden, Ontario. I love the fishing and lodge, but the bus was out of the question. My father in law John and my Brother in Law Tim took to coach bus (yawn) and I took my bike. The plan was to head up 35W to International Falls, then cross the border and head due North; the return trip would be different by following the east side of Lake of the woods (www.lakeofthewoodsmn.com), giving me a full day to explore that area, which I had never seen before. The whole trip out was 464 miles from my house, and return of 530 miles. I took off Friday evening after work, and made it to Duluth the first night just as the sun was going down.
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With passport in my tank bag, I proceeded to cross the border...

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Fort Frances is a wood pulp town, with the smell of cooking wood coming at you as you cross the international border. The road construction in places kept life interesting, with pilot cars leading the way
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[KGT1200]

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Going from Fort Frances to Dryden, the road was uneventful. I did meet a fellow BMW rider at a road side stop, who told me that he lived in Canada, and would NOT speed in Canada because of the penalty, and commonly would go to Minnesota if he wanted to cut loose because the fine was less. I didn’t ask the details, but kept my speed below eighty when riding to Dryden.
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Dryden also has a major wood pulp factory, <a href="http://s201.photobucket.com/albums/aa30/redclfco/temple%20Bay%202010/?action=view&current=TempleBay023.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i201.photobucket.com/albums/aa30/redclfco/temple%20Bay%202010/TempleBay023.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"></a>
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Once out of Dryden, the scenery improved, and the true industry that preceded the pulp showed itself.

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Eagle river at the outlet means the journey is coming to the end, and I’m almost to camp <a href="http://s201.photobucket.com/albums/aa30/redclfco/temple%20Bay%202010/?action=view&current=TempleBay031.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i201.photobucket.com/albums/aa30/redclfco/temple%20Bay%202010/TempleBay031.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"></a>

[KGT1200]

much fun to come, I looked out across the trees to Eagle Lake. If previous trips resulted in the good fishing I experienced, we were going to have a lot of fun!
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The fun begins. Each day, we had a boat with a guide, who took us to great spots in this enormous lake, and left it up to us to catch our limit; which of course, we did, each day. We learned from our previous guide Bobby Jr., that many guides felt that the bass were sacred, mated for life, and they would not keep a small mouth because of it. We threw each Smally Bass or Muskie back, as they were part of the magic of the lake.
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My father in law, John. Every since my Dad passed away, John has been my Dad. I sincerely hope this is not his “swan song” as he is a great guy, of whom I enjoy and have learned from every since I have known him. He is a retiree from 3M Corporation, helped me build and remodel homes over the years, and is a great father to my Wife and me. I have had the pleasure of knowing him for 25 years.
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And brother in law, Tim <a href="http://s201.photobucket.com/albums/aa30/redclfco/temple%20Bay%202010/?action=view&current=TempleBay006.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i201.photobucket.com/albums/aa30/redclfco/temple%20Bay%202010/TempleBay006.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"></a>

We call my Tim “Mr. Lucky”; every time he sells a house, he gets more than it’s worth. Every time he gets a job, he is promoted and honored, even though he appears to be coasting along. In reality, he is an unassuming guy, who is a pleasure to be with. Oh yea, Mr. Lucky also caught the biggest fish on the trip, a 28 inch Walleye!
(Sorry about the rotation, I will try to fix over the next few days…)
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Eagle Lake has a “no keep slot” on Walleye and Northern Pike from 17 to 26 inches. We must have caught a released 25 walleye each of this size, along with a healthy share of Northerns like this one…

But we managed to catch shore lunch each day. We usually kept the small ones for the lunches, this one taken on my broken rod, broken by a great Northern just a few minutes before this shot.
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An average size of a Northen we caught.

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The keepers were lunch, cooked by our guide (Paul). He was a chef who prided himself on homemade seasoning, grown in his own garden,
and seemed happy to prepare lunch for his guests every day. We would stop at some remote island, and respectfully wait as our guide prepared the lunch.
It seemed that courtesy at Temple Bay is the standard of everyone who works there.

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Our guide grew up on the lake, and happily munched his roast beef and peanut butter sandwiches.
He said he could no longer eat the fish, as he ate so many walleye in his life and grew up with eating fish every day of his childhood,
that he he no longer could stand to eat fish! Bur he knew how to put on a shore lunch.
We happily munched them down with gusto. The shore lunch aspect made the trip! The food was great!
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Nothing was wasted at shore lunch. The bald eagles patiently waited as we ate, (see the very tops of the trees) Sorry, but my camera lacks the detail and majesty of these great birds, as they waited in tandem, 40 ft. above our heads.
A picture of Eagle Island, where we spent our last lunch. The many eagles of the area did this each day we were there.


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We took a break on a small island Eagle kill bones everywhere including this scull, which I don’t for sure know what the poor little fella was; I only could guess that the eagle took him off his little perch, before devouring him on this remote island!


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All in all, the trip was a three nights, four day trip, with breakfast, shore lunch and dinner each day. The lodge was great, and of course all 50 or so guests there wished it was them getting on a GS when they reluctantly boarded the bus for home. I, on the other hand, took off around Lake of the Woods, with my fish in a soft cooler and dry ice, heading out for a great day of riding! I got home about 8:00 PM with a huge smile on my face!

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Thank you all for reading my ride report!

Thank you Canada for a great trip! Your lands and your people are awesome:ca:usa

Red…

[womanridge]

Thanks for sharing. I always enjoy ride reports.
I think I mentioned I took the Lake Superior circle ride a few years ago and am thinking of doing it again. And this time, I can take all the time I want.:clap

[SIBUD]

Shore Lunch!!!! :clap:clap:clap:clap:clap:clap:clap:clap

There is no better fish than those cooked on the shore of the lake in which they were just caught.

Nice report Red.

[Omega Man]

Very nice. When you use a guide and get a good one -sounds like you did- makes all the difference. :thumb

[sudani]

Sounds like the perfect 4-day getaway. Riding, fishing, eating and enjoying times with good people. Nice report, Red. Thanks for taking us along.

[2bikemike]

Nice job Dale! How ya been?:wave

[Oldhway]

Hey Dale:wave. Thanks for a great report. Makes me want to hit the road and head north.

[From MARS]

Enjoyed the report, Dale. But what I really liked was seeing the face that's in front of the mind responsible for creating a bunch of interesting post.

Tom

[patiodadio]

Great ride report, makes me feel sorry for all the folks who don't ride motorcycles.

[wezul]

Shore Lunch!!!! :clap:clap:clap:clap:clap:clap:clap:clap

There is no better fish than those cooked on the shore of the lake in which they were just caught.

Nice report Red.

What can I say, Bud said it all.

Nize!

[Rapid_Roy]

Dale, you suck!

:ha

Great Ride report though, and nice fish, but still...........

See you in 10 days?

[Daedalus214]

Great report Dale. I just got back from Canada Sunday; I recognized that line of cars waiting to cross into the US. Is there anything better than shore lunch that first day, eh? I was thinking that I would ride my bike next year and wondered if anyone had done that before. You beat me to it.

[KGT1200]

Great report Dale. I just got back from Canada Sunday; I recognized that line of cars waiting to cross into the US. Is there anything better than shore lunch that first day, eh? I was thinking that I would ride my bike next year and wondered if anyone had done that before. You beat me to it.

Daedalus What lake did you go to; where did you go? We need pictures anyway even if you had 16 wheels versus two. It gives everyone an idea where to go for future great rides!

Yep fresh caught shore lunch is the way to go. I have 8 packages of fillets in my freezer 4 walleye and four northern for the family, but no way will they even come close to the taste of those shore lunches.yum!

-Thanks for your comments!

[rummy63]

Thank-you for the pictures of Dryden and Eagle Lake. I now live in B.C. but I spent my childhood in Dryden. My parents had a cabin on Eagle Lake. My childhood friend owns and manages a fishing lodge, Cedar Point Lodge, on Eagle Lake. Pickeral, also called Walleye, are the best tasting freshwater fish. Thank-you.

[Daedalus214]

Been traveling on business and haven't had time to post. We drive to Fort Frances from Chicago and fly up from there. Mostly we go after Northern Pike and Walleyes; sometimes we troll for Lake Trout, but that can be a boring fishing experience. I have a picture proving that I am the Walleye King, which I show here:http://www.bmwmoa.org/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=24958&stc=1&d=1283356745