It took a while to get out of Hayward yesterday but Granny and I were heading for Manitoba in the Ruby van by around 2:30 pm. It’s a nice drive that starts with heading up to Duluth, MN then we zigzag our way north towards the Canadian border. We pass through a bunch of neat little Minnesota towns. This was the second time we had to stop at the giant bluegill in Orr. If bluegills actually reached this size, they would for sure be one of the fiercest predators on earth.
We have a sweet little camp spot we found when we did this drive in 2023. We made it there by 7:30 pm and enjoyed a van dinner, a beer and a wine. This morning, we were on the road at sunrise dodging an insane number of whitetail deer as we continued north. We crossed into Canada at Warroad, MN at 9 am and then it was about a 3-hour drive to Winnipeg.
I had a Zoom presentation to deliver to the Columbia Basin Fly Casters Club late tonight but had to do a 3 pm practice session just to make sure our Signature Airport Hotel had good internet connection. We also wanted to be sure that zooming from Canada didn’t have any hitches. Once a successful practice was done, Granny and I made a 40-minute drive to Lockport and I fished for channel catfish on the Red River, something I try to do each time I’m in the Winnipeg area. Normally the cats crush Clouser’s but not today. I fished for a little over an hour and was skunked here for my first time ever.
Skunked wasn’t the end of the world. It was a lovely hour of fishing nonetheless. It was sunny, calm and around 75°. We returned to the hotel at 7 pm. We doublechecked that we’re ready for the charter flight for Gangler’s Lodge at 5:45 am tomorrow then grabbed dinner. Then at 9 pm I fired up my laptop and delivered my “Streamer Tricks for More and Larger Trout” for the Washington fly fishing club. It went off well and now Granny and I are ready for a week of fantastic pike, lake trout, walleye and grayling fishing!
A special thanks goes out to our buddy Ken Gangler. Ken makes this adventure to Gangler’s North Seal River Lodge possible for Granny and I. Every angler should try to make a point to fish trophy pike and lake trout on the fly at least once.