It’s a known fact that when the east wind blows, fishing slows.  This is especially true on the Ontario side of Lake Superior where I’m spending a few days fly fishing for coaster brook trout and lake trout from Bowman Island Lodge.  The east wind started yesterday around 5 PM and it continued most of today.

This wind makes it extra cool where we’re fishing also.  Our air comes from across the whole length of Lake Superior which hasn’t exactly warmed up yet.  Nonetheless, after another hearty Canadian breakfast, Joe Wolthuis and I were headed off fishing by 8 AM.

First stops were in search of coasters.  While we got a bunch yesterday, they all came at once so it seems like we didn’t have a good coaster day.  We needed a fix.  But we hit four hours’ worth of locations and came up emptyhanded.  In fact, we didn’t have a follow or a flash.  The only signs of life from the north end of Lake Superior were a northern pike each.  Unusual catches and lucky too being neither of us had wire bite tippet to barrier their sharp teeth.  Thank you 0X SA Fluoro!

Mid-morning the clouds thickened.  At 11 came a boom of thunder followed by plenty more.  While first thought should have been let’s get back to the lodge, for both Joe and I it was more like – hopefully this change in weather will turn on the brook trout.  Sure enough, when the storm was close I stuck the first coaster of the day.  But that was it.  A flash of lightening occurred so bright I fired up the 30 HP and we bolted to the lodge.

It was a good storm and it dumped heaps or rain for an hour.  I’d call it the perfect storm because it was essentially over in an hour.  We watched it pour over a cup of hot coffee and a handful of cookies.  Then the sun came out and it was calm.  We were hoping that east wind was gone.  We were back on the water at noon.

We returned exactly where we left off.  Right where I caught the only coaster of the morning.  On nearly the exact same rock, Joe went tight and caught a coaster immediately.  We were elated thinking not only were we in a good spot, but also the storm had changed everything and the bite was back on like day 1.  But we were wrong.  We fished brookies hard for two hours and never saw another.

By 2 PM we gave up on the coaster fishing.  We felt like we needed some consistent tugs so we switched gears to search out some lakers.  We investigated some new locations.  Areas where the big rolling waves of Lake Superior were busting over protruding rocks surrounded by deep water.  It was calm now but the waves still showed.  We hit perfect looking spots but we couldn’t buy a strike.

To say the fishing was slow would be an understatement.  We forced a long boat ride to our most reliable lake trout spot from yesterday.  Finally we squeaked out some action.  Over the late afternoon we managed about six average size lakers but action was nothing like yesterday.  Whether it was the weather, barometric pressure, sun, calmness – who knows – the fish were sleeping.

Between 6 and 7 PM we worked our way back to the lodge.  It was glassy calm.  Joe had two spots near the lodge he thought were worthy of a few casts.  It was a great call.  I picked up a coaster at the first spot.  He got one at the second.  It was nice to end the day on a high note.

Today was our slowest day.  We landed a mere four coasters and six lakers.  And we worked hard for them.  As for the rest of the crew, no one was skunked.  That’s good.  And Jerry actually found a nest of coasters – sounds like what Joe and I ran into yesterday.

Its all good here in Ontario tonight.  Its calm and we are having a beautiful 11 PM sunset.  Gary made his homemade lasagna and it was delicious then we hit the Finnish sauna.  Tomorrow is our last day.  How time flies when you’re having a good time.

Jeff Currier Global Fly Fishing