The day broke sunny and very breezy, but the temps were reasonable. With Gary's weather radio, we dialed in to learn that today would be beautiful, but starting tomorrow night and into the following day there would be rain. This concerned the bandits enough to discuss our upcoming itinerary. Starting tomorrow we planned to pack up camp and move on to Darky Lake, spend a couple days there, then we'd have to begin our Quetico exit via the nasty Gratton Death March portage. The portage led from Gratton Lake on to McAree, and was known to be steep, muddy, rocky, boggy - in other words, a real bear. And with rain in the forecast, it could get dangerous. Some bandits were willing to move on to continue our full loop tour of Quetico, others were hesitant. In the end, we all agreed that it was best to alter our plans, not move on from Argo, but instead day trip from this spot for the next 3 days, then work our way back the way we had come. There was one big problem with this: our agreement with Zup's had them picking us up at an exit point several miles from where we were dropped off. It was imperative then that we get a hold of Zup's to let them know of our change in plans. Fortunately we had rented an emergency satellite phone, which gave us a chance. But these things can be spotty, and not very reliable. We tried to get a signal and call Zup's for a while that morning, but we had no luck. So, we agreed to head out fishing and try again upon our return later that afternoon.
After reviewing maps, four of us decided to take two canoes and head across Argo and into the entrance of the Siobhan (aka "Soybean") River to slay some bass, but Gary decided to take his solo canoe and head the opposite way. He would explore more of Argo, its giant Basswood Island, and see if he could catch any walleye. Gary told us he'd be back at camp late, so he told us not to worry and not to send out a search party if it got dark. He had map, compass, GPS, and light, so he'd be fine. We all shrugged, like "oh, ya, uh, sure, OK", like we really cared what he did.
So, after a good couple hours of rigging our multiple poles, we hit the water and headed north and west. Fishing along the banks of Argo was not very productive, but once we reached the narrows of the river the action started picking up. Joe and Chuck worked one bank while Jeff and I worked the opposite. The action was still pretty slow, but the "structure" of rocks and fallen timber was promising. After passing some time in the narrows, the river opened up to a small lake, where we fished more, and found a large rock overlook to stop for lunch. We each had caught a couple nice size bass, but "Bass Ass" (Chuck) already had a nice haul going. For his part, Joe had caught the first fish (worth $50 from the Joe Oberle Fishing Pool that nobody ever contributes to), as well as a monster 19" bass that was over the limit and he had to let go. We shared a lunch of meats, cheese and crackers, as well as the sweet treats for dessert which was very new to our bandit menu thanks to Lori. The rock ledge was sunny, the temps were reasonable, and a slight breeze kept it from getting too warm.
After a nice break, we hopped back in the cramped canoes and continued to fish this large area, each working our way back into the narrows that would lead us back on to Argo. The fishing was good, and we each had to throw back some really large bass. That was really fun, catching the big 'uns, and helping our canoe mates haul in theirs!
While fishing a particularly heavy structured area with his son's favorite rod, Jeff got a snag in his line. I maneuvered the canoe at different angles so he could try and work the snag free. At one point Jeff lowered the entire rod in the water and was about to give it a mighty yank when the rod slipped free of his hand and floated to the bottom! OMG, what did you do??? Now, the water was clear as air, and the sun was at a pretty good angle, so we could see the rod on the bottom in 10 feet of water. Unfortunately there was no where to land the canoe for Jeff to swim for it, and I was VERY nervous about his suggestion to jump out of the canoe - I was certain he would tip us from either exiting or entering! I handed Jeff my rod and he spent about 10 minutes trying to snag the rod with my lure, while I expertly and deftly maneuvered the canoe in and out, left and right. He finally brought the rod to the surface, happy in knowing that he wouldn't have to buy his son (an avid fisherman!) a new rod. Tyler would certainly have demanded top of the line from his old man.
The wind continued to build in the afternoon, but we were quite protected in the river narrows - that is, until we hit the entrance to Argo! A strong wind was blowing directly in our faces from our camp about a mile away. There was no hope of following any shoreline that would protect us from the wind - we had no choice but to head out on the big lake and take the wind directly off the bow. For the next, I don't know, 30 minutes? we paddled our asses off, until we finally reached the quiet water on the backside of our island campsite. After a brief rest we skirted the island into the wind again to land in the protected bay next to our camp, where we unloaded our gear and fish, and pulled the canoes safely into camp. It had been a good day fishing, and we were back in camp with plenty of daylight to clean fish and still have time to swim/bathe and relax.
It was a surprise when not long after, Gary pulled up from his adventures around Argo. He had not spotted a soul, nor did he catch any fish - but then he was probably not trying all that hard. Once again we attempted to contact Zup's, and we succeeded! Yep, they'd pick us up at the same spot they dropped us off. Sweeeeet! We now had plenty of time to explore the area, and still have 2-3 days to work our way back. Being that we all loved our campsite, we decided to spend the next 3 nights here, and avail ourselves of the great day trips that surrounded Argo Lake. Well, if we were going to spend some time here, we best collect some firewood and have some bonfires! Not 100 yards due south was a small island with loads of timber, so we took a couple canoes and headed over with a couple saws and started collecting boat loads (literally!) of firewood.
With those duties out of the way, it was time to get down to a serious fish supper. Chuck and Joe managed most of the cleaning, Jeff did the fillet rinsing, and Joe manned the stove and oil, cooking our fish to greasy perfection. (Hmmmm...what did Kevin do, that load.) While prepping the menu for the trip, we agreed that we would dispense with "shore lunch" (flour/bread seasoning for fish fillets). We would make due with just oil, which would be much easier to clean up. The bass was excellent, but we struggled to find our stash of garlic mashed potatoes. We had brought enough garlic mashed to have some every night of the trip. We had one large barrel of rations for the trip, and no matter how many times we rummaged through that barrel and other gear, we could not find our beloved potatoes! It would remain a mystery (until we returned to our cars).
No matter - we drowned our sorrows with a variety of alcoholic libations, and topped it off with Backwoods cigars and a nice bonfire. With Zup's informed, we all were quite comfortable knowing we'd spend 4 nights total in this idyllic location. We retired that night looking forward to more days of light canoe travel, heavy fishing, and bandit companionship. Now, off to bed you drunken sots - we have a big day tomorrow!
