KESAGAMI'S Bage Pike Breakdown.
Some weeks back after just returning home from a Northern fishing trip, my buddy Ian and I were messaging back and forth when he asked a seemingly simple question... "Why Kesagami?"
Well, it might have been something I drank but, that evening memories of the Moose days and Kesagami came flooding to mind. Once responding to Ian's inquiry, I remembered as I often do, how significant the old home of James Bay and times spent on the rivers and lakes were, and still are valued...
"It's like going home man. It's James Bay, the Mushkego and 10 years of me. Told myself too when leaving the north I'd always try and find time each year for a walleye and pike trip because, those are the fish I really learned my fishing with. Kesagami is a numbers pike fishery that houses giants, and it is an insane numbers walleye fishery too. Attawapiskat, Nipigon and Kesagami, all unique and amazing scenery, all fish quite differently, and all special. When we choose to go to Kesagami it's pretty much completely ours, and when I asked Grant to pick a place this summer when he was to be healed of his cancer, he chose it. No objections here, Kesagami is amazing."
FRIENDS & WHISKEYS.
Grant aka Slop, Huddy aka Sluddy, and Mikey aka Roland Martin, all assembled at my place the eve before departure. Some drinks and pizza, a little gear weigh-in and a few laughs, we were all passed out by 10:30pm knowing that 3:30am and the nine hour drive to Cochrane was coming pronto.
Being that it was a Sunday and we motored half our way north through the early hours of the morning, we reached Cochrane in super time. Instead of a usual sunrise flight, it was agreed with our outfitter (and pilot) Maurice to take-off in the afternoon. The day before, Maurice had his daughter's wedding to attend, so we cut the dood some slack. Ha!
Touchdown on Partridge Lake came around 4:00pm, and stepping off the plane we were greeted on the dock to a warm westerly breeze. Inside the cabin while unpacking, Maurice went over the ins-&-outs of the fridge, stove, generator and shower before finally hitting the skies home.
http://i11.photobucket.com/albums/a1...Kesa12-001.jpg
As the Chronzy would say at this point in his show... "paradise."
We hit the BBQ for some quick burgs, flipped a couple boats into the lake, fixed on the new Yammy Sixers, then blazed into the sunset for some walleye shopping at "The Grocery Store."
http://i11.photobucket.com/albums/a1...Kesa12-002.jpg
Somewhat exhausted from our travels, we under-spent and came back early for a planned nightcap with a few friends we smuggled in. Whiskeys MaCallan from Scotland, Bushmill from Ireland and Wiser the Canuck were in da house.
http://i11.photobucket.com/albums/a1...Kesa12-003.jpg
A KICK IN THE ARSE.
With the exception of Sluddy Huddy we're a few lads sorta outta shape. Tired, crusty eyes were forced to pry open that next early morn as I had to get up, put the coffee on and make the gang breakfast.
A little later start, we were then faced with the 400 yard portage that would take us from Partridge over to the boat cache on Kesagami Lake. Loaded down with much gear, weak ankles, pot bellies and crooked old man backs, we shuffled over the rugged terrain like mules in mudpits.
http://i11.photobucket.com/albums/a1...Kesa12-070.jpg
http://i11.photobucket.com/albums/a1...Kesa12-071.jpg
A rather wee bit of a greyish sky, our boats fished together for the day. Starting midlake near our access point we all
found that the overcast weather was putting the pike down, but the eyes sure didn't mind the climate.
http://i11.photobucket.com/albums/a1...Kesa12-007.jpg
Maurice flew in overhead while we were out probing around Fossil Island. Our overweight (beer) had arrived. Winds building some from out of the south I asked the guys if we should travel to calmer shores along the bottom of big Opimiskau Bay. They were game.
http://i11.photobucket.com/albums/a1...Kesa12-008.jpg
Having never really been to that particular part of the lake before, we were headed for a little of the unknown. The actual bowels of that bay a mystery.
http://i11.photobucket.com/albums/a1...Kesa12-030.jpg
A couple spots on route to check first, Mikey found an eager biter which he in turn eagerly wanted photographed with a little extra deceiving EAP (extended arm pose for any non-fishing family readers or lost anglers) The toothy sinister grins say it all don't they?
http://i11.photobucket.com/albums/a1...Kesa12-004.jpg
Once nearing the shores of Opimiskau we set on a short troll to prospect our way along. The wind which was out of the south had been dying off during our pleasure cruise, and once we neared our destination a sudden cold, crisp north wind rippled the waters from a completely new direction. There was an eerie calm before the storm... but then Mike started banging around in the boat looking for rain gear.
http://i11.photobucket.com/albums/a1...Kesa12-005.jpg
As Mikey and I watched feeding terns swoop down on baitfish at the mouth of a feeder creek dumping into Opimiskau, we were startled to find the boat had drifted too shallow by the push of quickly building waves. Turning back to meet Grant and Huddy, I found myself apologizing while explaining we better high-tail it out of the south and head to the north. We were now exposed to a 15-20 kilometer fetch and a storm was brewing fast. The boys agreed to follow and so we shot out of the south and took our pounding as we headed to the north end of the lake against the rising chop. I was again thoroughly impressed with how well 14 1/2 foot Naden boats handle rougher water, but Mikey's nads in the tsunami seat suffered some bruising.
Up north we peppered some bays into the early evening yet came up rather shy of any decent pike. We started our day fishing in T-shirts but now under all of our layers of clothing, could see our breaths in the cold air. A retreat to the calmer seas of Partridge Lake for some warming walleye hooksets under a promising sunset was the final play. Surf & turf, beer, whiskey and cheesecake would refuel our fires before bed. Heartburning good!!!
http://i11.photobucket.com/albums/a1...Kesa12-006.jpg
http://i11.photobucket.com/albums/a1...Kesa12-009.jpg
COLD FRONT TORNADOS
One thing about Kesagami is it could be considered another planet. Seriously, there's no accurate weather stations, no other astronauts or scientists probing around the land there figuring things out, and certainly no cell service and operator to direct your call. Try punching in Kesagami Provincial Park to Wikipedia and all you get is the middle finger emoticon.
When the BIG lodge is shut down and all the softies are gone, it's just us in our boats at the mercy of Mother Nature and any other devine interveners. In that vast worldscape you're like just a singular-celled organism adrift in the Pacific.
Our expected forecasts were pretty much shot second day as well. In the past for winter weather I have used Kapuskasing's forecast if the winds are mostly west, Cochrane if south and Moosonee's when out of the north. Summer weather... humidity, convection winds, blah... But really, the elevation from James Bay to Kesagami in just 50 miles or so rises from sea level to 900 feet and this alone changes things dramatically many times over. At the southern tip of the Hudson & James Oceans, the weather is often unpredictable too, chuck in the jet stream which often dives southward when hitting Hudson, and any originating southern warm fronts colliding with Arctic air masses or cool temps off of James... well, I'm no meteorologist so it's kinda retarded for me to hypothesize about. Anyways...
Huddy's and my turn to share a boat, Roland Martin guiding Grant in the other. It was a cold morning with variable skies pretty much all day but not knowing any better we went pike fishing. Haha! Actually, from the boat cache we thought things were looking up for a moment...
http://i11.photobucket.com/albums/a1...Kesa12-021.jpg
... but this didn't last and was the longest ten minute window of sun allllllllllllllllll day.
The earlier morning fish was tough again and I will blame it on the cold front because I'm a jackarse and just that confident in myself. But no, there were times on this day with Huddy that I really began to question everything about our approach and locations for the pike, but seeing that the cabbage was a good green in most places we couldn't reason against simply continuing to pound proven weedbeds. What I knew we had not been given yet were the better pike weather conditions. Pike can always be caught in garbage at any time but, usually cold fronts, overcast, rain and intermittent big winds from differing directions rarely play well into the sulky summer moods of those sight hunting northerns. In other words, I wanted the sun to blaze, winds to drop or just make up their mind on a direction, and especially a stable weather front to take hold, before making up my mind that we were or were not in trouble. A full moon too for good measure would be wicked...
But Huddy, Mike and Grant around noon began collecting other evidence to consider weighing in on... the forage.
http://i11.photobucket.com/albums/a1...Kesa12-010.jpg
http://i11.photobucket.com/albums/a1...Kesa12-016.jpg
http://i11.photobucket.com/albums/a1...Kesa12-012.jpg
Yes, the forage was all there. If it wasn't in the weeds it was still nearby and shallow. The surface temps on the lake were probably cooking somewhere around 70+F (warm enough we waded comfortably and swam in two feet of water to wash up) but, below that surface it had to be prime cool, especially if whiteys were hanging around in 5 to 6 foot depths.
Finally before lunch Grant cracks the case with a great fish... and I hope he writes about it online too.
http://i11.photobucket.com/albums/a1...Kesa12-019.jpg
http://i11.photobucket.com/albums/a1...Kesa12-017.jpg
http://i11.photobucket.com/albums/a1...Kesa12-020.jpg
At 9 1/2 feet tall with a cheese locker the size of an oil drum, one can only imagine the gargantuaness of Grant's pike's awesomeness. A truly magical fish conjured from the "bage" (said like... "Bahj" referring to cabbage weed) with extraordinary rod wizardry.
We met up mid afternoon for tea and crumpets on some piece of shoreline from heaven, before then proceeding to a nearby island in order to sip walleye off a rocky shoal. It was a very productive and proper engagement.
Come prime-time the gang moved back in a couple different bagey (referring to bage (est. and said as, bahj) referring to cabbage) and worked different baits for the northern esox. When the sun would take just a moment to peer around clouds for an extended period the results were...
http://i11.photobucket.com/albums/a1...Kesa12-013.jpg
The skies were trying to clear and we could tell, but the fish were still making us work. I was chucking a home-made in-line buck and slow skurfing it up high over the bage when a KER-GULP happened!!! Huddy sighed a quick, "why do they always hit your lure," as my rippin'-long, arm-cranking, battle ensued. "Because Huddy, I'm a good fisherman," I did boast.
http://i11.photobucket.com/albums/a1...Kesa12-011.jpg
A great shouldered slobby northern to finish the day on.
After walking back to Partridge the evening sky was clearing nicely. Needing to stay behind and cook supper, the fellas set off to the Grocery Store for a sunset slay.
http://i11.photobucket.com/albums/a1...Kesa12-014.jpg
Upon their return, Grant's favorite, Walleye Tornados were served.
http://i11.photobucket.com/albums/a1...Kesa12-023.jpg
TAKING IT UP THE BAGIBOU.
This was day 3 for the big lake, day 4 of the trip. My little journal notes...
- F'n killer tough pike fishing until the grocery store walleye.
- Analyzing the bage and pike all day.
- Nap in Otter and bathing in Kesagami.
- Lasagna and salad.
- Warming SW wind switch to NE wind late evening and new cold front.
- Terrible unstable weather and short pike windows.
And there was one other thing of note... THIS!!!
http://i11.photobucket.com/albums/a1...Kesa12-027.jpg
http://i11.photobucket.com/albums/a1...Kesa12-025.jpg
http://i11.photobucket.com/albums/a1...Kesa12-026.jpg
http://i11.photobucket.com/albums/a1...Kesa12-024.jpg
Grant's and my first day in the boat together proved to be another tough go on the pike. We had all hit the hay the night before under a starry sky but woke to a high ceiling of whispy like cover, that through the day tossed in more and more fluff monsters. It siznuckled bizalls that's fo' snizzle. But, as we were touring around plucking some nibbler eyes up around Windigo we made the executive decision to try out some new bage in an old and under-investigated shallow, sandy bay. Upon making a loopy-drift across and through said sandy bage bay, out of me sight-seers I caught one of Ontario's more rare beasts... a bull woodland caribou. Instant brain-boner I was out of the boat and walking to the beach for pictures.
http://i11.photobucket.com/albums/a1...Kesa12-029.jpg
There's Grant anchored light years away... I yelled back to him, "WHAT IF THE BULL CHARGES ME!!!???"
But it didn't. Instead I got pretty dang close (maybe 60 feet) to this rather tame and beautiful animal before it decidedly snuck off into the bush and somehow disappeared without a trace through the thickest coniferous jungle-junk. Walking up on that caribou gave quite a rush... and standing there on the beach a moment to soak it in was pretty surreal.
http://i11.photobucket.com/albums/a1...Kesa12-028.jpg
The "rest" of the day belonged to Grant. HaHa!
http://i11.photobucket.com/albums/a1...Kesa12-031.jpg
After a good siesta for some and a shrub scrubbin' for others, the gall darn pike sent us packing empty handed. Still... after that kind of day experiencing some good times and convo with some friends, how could one be "grouchy?"
http://i11.photobucket.com/albums/a1...Kesa12-032.jpg
One couldn't be "grouchy" at Kesagami because an end of day trip to the Grocery Store will always see to that.
http://i11.photobucket.com/albums/a1...Kesa12-033.jpg
Continued...