I went to Sylvania for my first canoe camping trip. Copy and paste a trip report.
I came back early, which says something.
Sunday was lightning and rain as noted above. I stayed at a campsite over by Clark lake for Sunday night...in the rain. Woke up Monday morning to rain, which let up just before I launched onto Crooked lake but then came back an hour or so later.
Lots of bluegill in crooked lake. I talked with somebody else that said they landed over 100 on Saturday. I fished my way along the shoreline to the portage for high lake. I got tired of the gills, even on the BFS and 0 wt fly rod. I did manage to land an oddball crappie, didn't realize they were in there. A few really small bass were thrown in for variety.
By the time I made it to the portage I was already soaked. I made it onto High lake and fished my way to the Bobcat campsite. I picked up a couple of smallies and soon realized they were all smaller males guarding nests and got a pass for the rest of the trip. I saw a few older beds on Crooked lake but High lake was loaded, with a male on virtually every one. I moved off to deeper water on points and steep banks with adjoining flats for the skunk. I offloaded my gear at Bobcat and made camp in the rain. I headed back out just before dark, hoping some fish would move up shallow to feed...nope. Cooked and ate dinner in the tent vestibule then crashed for the night listening to rain.
Got up this morning to lots of clouds sans the rain. I fished High Lake for a bit then portaged back to Crooked instead of heading toward Kerr lake and 4 additional portages. I lost balance and sat my fat butt down a bit hard, breaking one of the seat supports. By the time I Macgyvered it back together the wind and rain started up. Cut my losses and headed out.
I'm sure there are plenty of fish in those lakes, and they get hammered. My skills at deep suspended fish is lacking. Electronics help, which I didn't have. I had photos of lake contours to go off of but that didn't pan out. Its post spawn (not by much) and the hens are in deeper water with lockjaw. If I head back, I'll take electronics.
For a wilderness area, this place sees a lot of people. At the campsite on High lake, the forest floor is pretty much picked clean of anything that will burn, with paths everywhere.
In hindsight,
Had I taken my drysuit then the rain would have been a nothingburger. I wore a pair of crock sandals that I had worn previously on a couple local kayak trips. There was actually more hiking on those local trips than the portage at Sylvania and figured I was golden, but sadly not the case. as I ended up with open chaffing sores on 5 different toes. A lightweight stadium seat of some sort would make my back happy. In the rain, the order of gear as I pack the drybag is important to keeping stuff dry while setting up camp.
I came back early, which says something.
Sunday was lightning and rain as noted above. I stayed at a campsite over by Clark lake for Sunday night...in the rain. Woke up Monday morning to rain, which let up just before I launched onto Crooked lake but then came back an hour or so later.
Lots of bluegill in crooked lake. I talked with somebody else that said they landed over 100 on Saturday. I fished my way along the shoreline to the portage for high lake. I got tired of the gills, even on the BFS and 0 wt fly rod. I did manage to land an oddball crappie, didn't realize they were in there. A few really small bass were thrown in for variety.
By the time I made it to the portage I was already soaked. I made it onto High lake and fished my way to the Bobcat campsite. I picked up a couple of smallies and soon realized they were all smaller males guarding nests and got a pass for the rest of the trip. I saw a few older beds on Crooked lake but High lake was loaded, with a male on virtually every one. I moved off to deeper water on points and steep banks with adjoining flats for the skunk. I offloaded my gear at Bobcat and made camp in the rain. I headed back out just before dark, hoping some fish would move up shallow to feed...nope. Cooked and ate dinner in the tent vestibule then crashed for the night listening to rain.
Got up this morning to lots of clouds sans the rain. I fished High Lake for a bit then portaged back to Crooked instead of heading toward Kerr lake and 4 additional portages. I lost balance and sat my fat butt down a bit hard, breaking one of the seat supports. By the time I Macgyvered it back together the wind and rain started up. Cut my losses and headed out.
I'm sure there are plenty of fish in those lakes, and they get hammered. My skills at deep suspended fish is lacking. Electronics help, which I didn't have. I had photos of lake contours to go off of but that didn't pan out. Its post spawn (not by much) and the hens are in deeper water with lockjaw. If I head back, I'll take electronics.
For a wilderness area, this place sees a lot of people. At the campsite on High lake, the forest floor is pretty much picked clean of anything that will burn, with paths everywhere.
In hindsight,
Had I taken my drysuit then the rain would have been a nothingburger. I wore a pair of crock sandals that I had worn previously on a couple local kayak trips. There was actually more hiking on those local trips than the portage at Sylvania and figured I was golden, but sadly not the case. as I ended up with open chaffing sores on 5 different toes. A lightweight stadium seat of some sort would make my back happy. In the rain, the order of gear as I pack the drybag is important to keeping stuff dry while setting up camp.
