Squaretails of Drowning River, Northern Ontario 1920s. (canoe fishing trip)
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Great find! I've done the Drowning twice, there are still lots of squaretails, but maybe not as thick as in the 20's. I think their last campsite was at Bald Rock, the little falls they show at the end is almost certainly Bald Rock Falls. I wonder if their guides were the famous Vanderbeck family, made famous in the novel Traplines North. http://www.amazon.com/Trap-Lines-North-Stephen-Meader/dp/1931177074
Wood smoke & running water, wood canoes & bamboo rods, I'm ready to go !
I'll look for that book, thanks memequay.
Yeah forest runes, that sure looked like fun eh?
Check out the fry pan at the 7 min in the film.
Yeah forest runes, that sure looked like fun eh?
Check out the fry pan at the 7 min in the film.
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I thought of Sadie when I saw that dog in the film.
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The Drowning has been on my bucket list for a long time, so I sure enjoyed watching this film. Added bonus is the setter. I am thinking of giving Memaquay a gift of the fund raising knife (if my money order gets to Robin in time) if I win, if he will guide me. Trap-Lines North is a favorite of mine going back to grade school. I have a old copy that a Librarian I dated was throwing out because of its condition. I still have the book and I read it once a year. I sometimes wonder what became of Marylin the Librarian!!
You might be able to convince me without the knife. Been a while since I have done that river, and I would be interested in opening up the Wabagimiga river upstream to Waba Lake. That is a tough haul upstream, the old guys used to pole upstream, I'd like to do it before I get to decrepit.
at 7:19 that's a beautiful sight, trout in a cold handle over an open fire...I have the book also, plus the other one called Pack, Paddle and Speckled Trout with some of the same characters in it, a good read if your into these old time stories.
Thanks for the link, I have watched it a few times. I mentioned to Memaquay that I would like to try the Drowning, but I think my days of a solo there are gone.
Thanks for the link, I have watched it a few times. I mentioned to Memaquay that I would like to try the Drowning, but I think my days of a solo there are gone.
The Drowning is not a hard trip, you could easily do it Robin, if we got out at Supawn Lake. I usually run it in three days, but that's travelling pretty good. Slowing down and trying some fishing would be fun, I might actually break out my fly rod. At high water, the Drowning is a nightmare. At low water, it's a fairly easy run. Did I ever send you my documentation for that river? I could be convinced to think about running it again, I'd just have to see if the road into Supawn was still truck friendly.
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Memaquay............
I got out my head lamp today, did some diving in the back corner of the closet to find my topo maps of the Drowning River. I have spent the rest of the day, Daydreaming! I have the bamboo flyrods, and am only 5 days drive away from that area. What would be the best time of the year, for lower water and fishing. I am like Robin, only older, an have hardly any river canoeing experience. I have ran the Yukon many times clear to the mouth however (in river boats). Ya, you have to read the river, but it is half mile wide to a mile wide. Only thing to watch for is sand bars and drifting trees.
I too, would be interested in your documentation of the Drowning if that is at all possible. Any other places for a old guy to maybe find some specks (where I grew up we called them squaretails to distinguish them from Lake trout in conversation) near the road system in your country, not really interested in big fish, just like to look at the pretty ones off the beaten path somewhat.
I have re-read S. W. Meaders book TRAP-LINES NORTH and Edwin W. Mills' PADDLE, PACK AND SPECKLED TROUT in the last week to really make these short dark days fly by.
Congats on the knife win too, by the way.
BB
I got out my head lamp today, did some diving in the back corner of the closet to find my topo maps of the Drowning River. I have spent the rest of the day, Daydreaming! I have the bamboo flyrods, and am only 5 days drive away from that area. What would be the best time of the year, for lower water and fishing. I am like Robin, only older, an have hardly any river canoeing experience. I have ran the Yukon many times clear to the mouth however (in river boats). Ya, you have to read the river, but it is half mile wide to a mile wide. Only thing to watch for is sand bars and drifting trees.
I too, would be interested in your documentation of the Drowning if that is at all possible. Any other places for a old guy to maybe find some specks (where I grew up we called them squaretails to distinguish them from Lake trout in conversation) near the road system in your country, not really interested in big fish, just like to look at the pretty ones off the beaten path somewhat.
I have re-read S. W. Meaders book TRAP-LINES NORTH and Edwin W. Mills' PADDLE, PACK AND SPECKLED TROUT in the last week to really make these short dark days fly by.
Congats on the knife win too, by the way.
BB
The Drowning is a small river, and at low water, some dragging is inevitable. At high water, the water has nowhere to go, and it stacks up in a terrifying fashion, obliterating portages and creating havoc in places where havoc never existed. The first time I ran it, the water was very low, and there was a large trout die off going on. The river stank of dead fish, and I probably saw over a hundred specs between 8 to 18" belly up, floating in eddies. When we went upstream on the Wabagimiga River, we found a small spring dripping cold water into the river. There were about 200 specs there, ranging in size from small to probably 5 pounders, all trying to get some relief. I couldn't bring myself to catch any, it would have been like shooting fish in a barrel.
The second time I ran it, the water was very high. The river is so small in places that with a big flush like that going on, there is no possible way to scout for anything up ahead, and strainers can be a real problem. Huge haystacks appear out of nowhere. I had to extend most ports by 3 to 400 yards to make entrance to them safe. In some places, the concept of "must make eddy" took on a meaning far past what I considered to be reasonable. I tried a few casts, but the water was just too high.
I'm not sure what the fishing is like on the Drowning anymore. There are quite a few places where locals can access the river. If one is a dedicated spec fisherman, I'm sure success would occur. I was in the port clearing business when i ran it, so it was all work and very little play.
The Kowkash River (actual name is Kawashkagama, but locals call it Kowkash)is another trout river in the area. I've run it quite a few times. It's a much easier river than the Drowning, at high or low water. There are only a few ports, and it is basically a placid river, interspersed with three or four water falls. It also has easy access and exit points, unlike the Drowning. Getting out of the Drowning is one of the highlights (lowlights) of the trip. The Kowkash has good road access at both ends. The middle of this trip report describes the Kowkash http://www.canoetripping.net/forums...orts/329-g-town-to-meta-gchs-outers-club-2012
We have only tried fishing on the Kowkash at Howard Falls. We fished the little streams that came off the falls, as well as the eddies in the main chutes. It was tough, bug filled fishing, the kind you have to clamber around in the bush to get to. However, lots of trout were there. One needs to have a fair amount of patience, and lots of hooks. Never tried fly fishing on the river.
If you send me your mailing address, I can pop the Drowning info in the mail for you.
The second time I ran it, the water was very high. The river is so small in places that with a big flush like that going on, there is no possible way to scout for anything up ahead, and strainers can be a real problem. Huge haystacks appear out of nowhere. I had to extend most ports by 3 to 400 yards to make entrance to them safe. In some places, the concept of "must make eddy" took on a meaning far past what I considered to be reasonable. I tried a few casts, but the water was just too high.
I'm not sure what the fishing is like on the Drowning anymore. There are quite a few places where locals can access the river. If one is a dedicated spec fisherman, I'm sure success would occur. I was in the port clearing business when i ran it, so it was all work and very little play.
The Kowkash River (actual name is Kawashkagama, but locals call it Kowkash)is another trout river in the area. I've run it quite a few times. It's a much easier river than the Drowning, at high or low water. There are only a few ports, and it is basically a placid river, interspersed with three or four water falls. It also has easy access and exit points, unlike the Drowning. Getting out of the Drowning is one of the highlights (lowlights) of the trip. The Kowkash has good road access at both ends. The middle of this trip report describes the Kowkash http://www.canoetripping.net/forums...orts/329-g-town-to-meta-gchs-outers-club-2012
We have only tried fishing on the Kowkash at Howard Falls. We fished the little streams that came off the falls, as well as the eddies in the main chutes. It was tough, bug filled fishing, the kind you have to clamber around in the bush to get to. However, lots of trout were there. One needs to have a fair amount of patience, and lots of hooks. Never tried fly fishing on the river.
If you send me your mailing address, I can pop the Drowning info in the mail for you.
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