Early Morning Fishing On Labor Day

This Labor Day we went camping at a small lake in far Northern MN.  We packed up the truck and the boat and I was looking forward to some time relaxing around the campfire and doing some fishing.

As soon as we got there, we hopped in the boat and trolled around the lake.  We didn't catch much.  We weren't too surprised as a lot of people said they didn't have any luck on that lake.   We got back in around 4 o'clock and hung out around the fire for the rest of the night.

I'll make a long story short.  Beer/whiskey/vodka/wine was all flowing pretty good that night.  I woke up about 5:30 am feeling pretty rotten.  After spending some quality time hunched over by a tree, I realized that yes I am getting older.  I can't quite party like I used to without the consequences.  Note to self - don't do that again!

I was going back to bed, and thought, "How often am I up this early in the morning on a weekend?"  There was no one else awake at the campground, and it was still pretty dark.  I hopped in the boat and using just the trolling motor made my way across the lake.

I threw out my bluegill shadrap (rapala) and within 10 feet I caught a blue gill.  Then I had a couple more strikes, ended up catching a couple of largemouth bass, a couple of bluegills, a crappie, and even had a walleye almost in the boat. (lost it at the end.)

The lake was covered with just a little bit of fog over the water.  To the right swimming almost with me were two loons, looking for breakfast.  Ahead of me, a beaver swam across the lake, then splashed it's tail and went under.  There wasn't a single bug; the loudest thing on the lake was the hum of my trolling motor.  The lake was perfectly still and calm.  You could see the ripples of the fish swimming beneath the water.  It was the coolest thing I have ever experienced fishing.

From now on, I will get up every morning before the sunrise to go fishing while I am camping.  It was by far the best time I've had, and one of the most peaceful times I've had.

After fishing for a couple of hours, I made my way back to the shore and saw my family waiting for me by the landing.  I pulled the boat ashore and we had breakfast.  Perfect day, thanks Labor Day 2012.