Boundary Waters, Day 7

The windows were completely covered with condensation in the morning. The sky had cleared overnight, and the temperature had dropped. With the sun out, it would warm up quickly.

Condensation on the windows in the early morning

Our plan was to pack up our fishing poles and leeches and head out to fish on other lakes. No fish were biting at the boat landing on Loon Lake. We had never caught nothing at Loon Lake before.

We packed up and drove around the south edge of Loon Lake. This was new territory for us. There were a few private homes and Loon Lake Lodge with associated rental cabins. We continued to the end of the road. Even though the map showed canoe landings there, we couldn’t find them. There were no places to fish.

We couldn’t remember going to the canoe landing at Iron Lake. Perhaps that was a good fishing spot. We followed the signs to the lake. The trail to the landing went down some rough steps to water that was shallow and full of weeds and dead trees. It was a snag waiting to happen. We drove on.

We traditionally have hamburgers at the Red Paddle Bistro on our last night of vacation. Jane suggested that we eat lunch out as long as we were going down that way to fish. Then we could have the afternoon and evening to relax at the cabin. I liked the idea. It solved the problem of what to do with the rest of the margarita mix. We could have happy hour on the deck and not worry about driving afterwards.

It was after 11:00 when we left Iron Lake. We would try fishing at the boat landing at Gunflint Lake before we went to lunch. A good-sized bass looked and my leech and swam away. What was wrong with these fish?

Jane and I shared a Traditional burger with provolone, which Jane thought went better with mushrooms. We both ordered side salads. We waited a very long time for the food. The burger was juicy, and the mushrooms were perfectly sautéed. The red pepper aioli did not seem as good as before, or perhaps there just wasn’t as much of it. The bun was shaped like ciabatta but made of white bread that was not up to the task. It quickly dissolved in the burger juice. It tasted good, but what a mess!

It was going on 2:00 when we got back to Hungry Jack. We parked by the office so we could pay our bill. Dave found the sheet and looked it over.

“Just the one dozen leeches?” He asked. We normally go through at least 3 dozen.

“We have 8 left,” I replied. It had been a slow fishing week.

He laughed and totaled it up, including the $39 each for the fishing licenses that we had purchased in early-vacation optimism. Jane paid the bill because I’d left my checkbook in the cabin. We would settle up with the gas and Chetek motel when we got home.

At long last, the fish were biting off the dock. 

Hooray! The fish are biting

A better view of my fish

Jane finally caught a tiny perch. “Here it is,” she said, “My $39 fish.”

Jane with her $39 fish

We got rid of the last 8 leeches. We caught 4 fish on the last leech, 3 perch and 1 bluegill. 

The only bluegill of the week

Jane caught one of the perch while I took a bathroom break. That brought the price of her fish down to $19.50 each.

When we were done fishing, we sat on the deck. Our deck sitting quota was way low for this trip. I took the chance that the bugs would not be bad with the breeze coming off the lake and left my hat in my room.

When I went outside, Jane said, “You are not wearing your hat, but your hair still thinks you are.”

“Thanks.”

We had grapefruit margaritas and Snack-ens for happy hour. I made fajitas out of the last of the chicken, peppers, onions, scallions, and jalapeno. That too was a mess. We should have eaten inside at the table, but it was too nice a day to pass up eating on the deck. Rainy days raise the value of sunny ones.

Happy hour on the deck

Our view during happy hour, including the towels drying on the railing

Chicken fajitas

We packed up after supper and loaded everything we could in the car. So sad. The week goes by so fast. Here is our last view of Hungry Jack Lake until next year. 

Farewell, Hungry Jack!