PARTRIDGE.
A buzzing plane from the nearby airport took to the sky near noon. Bren and I had since finished our coffees with Maurice, been to town for a big breakfast and returned with hopes we would soon fly. We all watched anxiously as the plane crept higher, and seeing that the low ceiling had been comfortably lifted, Maurice suddenly said, "let's go!"
Nervous excitement as our Cessna climbed off from the lake, I think all held their breaths as we turned the plane northward and assessed the horizon. Our distance looked good, here and there were small cells of weather we'd possibly have to maneuver, but our ceiling was ample now and the compass setting sure and true. In the air I was quickly overwhelmed with thoughts of past trips to Kesagami, good times once shared, and one burdening reality that this may be my final trip to the lake. As a friend, Maurice was kind to offer Brenda and I this visit, one which could be the last to have any stay and close-up Partridge Lake. "You should keep it Maurice, just Partridge," I begged. "You should buy it Andrew," he replied. In my old life I maybe would, I thought.
Landing unscathed on Partridge, Maurice was hurried along by a large southern front which had chased us all north. The generator would need some easy tweaking and fuel considerations through the week, but we had a back-up and propane lights as well. The boat gas for Kesagami's fleet would be just "about" right, although we had flown in an extra 5-gallons in case. And lastly, there would be no shortage of raspberries around camp or space for Brenda and I to roam alone. Pick-up in one week, Maurice took off for home about ten minutes before a wall of rain hit. We spent the late afternoon settling in.
Brenda's last visit to Kesagami had been in March 2009. She had never fished the lake other than on ice. It had always been a hope she would agree to accompanying me at least once on a summer trip, so I was quite happy to have her along this season. Bren may have come sooner but life has a funny way of passing each of us by. Her years since 2009, she and I had made the move from Moose Factory to the Ottawa Valley and settled in. In the meantime, Bren first found full-time work in a community health practice as well as in a hospital doing obstetrical and med-surg nursing. Later, she took on a role for a year with a community project to help many people without physicians find suitable coverage. But, most importantly during all this time, Brenda finished her Master's in the Nursing Program with the University of Ottawa and, before final graduation had already secured a full-time position as a Nurse-Practioner with a new clinic opening in the region. Not too bad a stretch at all, and our family is certainly very proud of her accomplishments.
SHAPIRO.
A cool and windy morning gave way early to sun and a warming southwest blow. Offshore further out on Kesagami Lake the waves were up, yet in front of our boat cache the water was like glass. The portage from Partridge was a little slippy and soggy from the nights heavy rain and our ankles weren't stiffened yet from the repeated walks across, but still, in that earliest trip with gear and then even beyond, the exercise never took more than ten minutes.
By 9:00am we were setting out lines on the troll and at 9:20am Brenda scared the living crap out of me when in all one motion she suddenly stood and powerfully drove an enormous hookset into the first pike of the trip. Right off we could tell it was a giant pike, and Brenda was nervously laughing her way through a spirited battle. The pike had but one hook on the treble just barely embedded in the tip of it's top lip. I was a little rusty with handling another's fish and twice she sprung away on hard reel-peeling escapes, but third try I did manage to slide four fingers under the plate of one submitted, thick pike. Tale of the tape it easily bested the length of Bren's old 41-inch PB, but most impressive was the girth. Late summer and fall pike are feeding machines, and this one Brenda fed at the right time, in the right place with the right lure she picked; a lure she now safe-guarded her favorite for the rest of the week.
Resetting it was best to stay put and really work the area. Two out of three trips past, this was my big fish spot. Depths from 2-10fow it was interesting to have a sonar this trip for the first time. We were in one wicked transition zone, with plenty subtle ups and downs just inside on the flat, sparse isolated offshore cabbage beds heading towards the deep, and a long defining shelf extending off a point. The wind this day was just right to blow bait off or along the flat, to fall over the shelf and across the point into some cabbage. It all played quite perfectly for a pike ambush from any angle.
Half hour after the first fish Brenda sprung from her seat again. Trolling same direction, same place, same spoon, same 2.8mph she put the same "umph" into crossing this next pike's eyes. The fish in turn gave her an immediate charge right back and it ran hard... over my line.
Reeling in we had a cluster-shmuck on our hands. My line, leader and spoon were wrapped and knotted around hers, and while trying to hold all things together and make quick work, the fish was running away from the boat. One point the braid wrapped and tightened around my index finger and sliced into me good, and after a quick and stupid attempt to hand-line in the fish, come this point Bren opened the bail and I guided some of her line out to let it swim further away and provide a more forgiving time and space. Before long, we realized the fish was just there, well back from the boat, swimming with us on the drift and not fighting, only waiting. Not putting any line pressure on, the fish allowed a little time to better assess things, and that's when I did what I should have done first, cut my line. Like that, Bren now began putting the gears to the pike and once it came boat-side we were in awe. Another huge pike lay in wait for Brenda. It took a run from the boat same time I jumped forward to loosen Bren's drag. After that, it was all up to her and she did awesome, same as the other fish, played it great, this one an even bigger pike than the first. Another new PB just 55-minutes now into the fishing trip, we were both flippin' right out.
It released stong and shortly after I got a scrappy pike of my own.
The morning slowed down after that first flurry. Bren and I explored some nearby cabbage beds in a couple of the southern bays, and then drove northward to fish up some afternoon walleye we would soon be sampling for dinner. After cleaning the fish at one of the lake's shorelunch beach spots, we simply decided to just kick back awhile, enjoy some sun, and rest before an evening of casting for more giants.
A couple of the northern bays on the lake wouldn't cough up squat that evening. With Kesagami I have learned over the years that the sun is very much your friend for pike. Fish can certainly be caught on overcast days, especially if the day is a stable cloudy, but when the sun shines even if just for a moment after popping out from behind some clouds, more fish will open their mouths. Through the ice or in the boat, the better time to fish pike is when the sun is bright. Well on this day, Brenda and I kinda unknowingly chilled through the best of it before the south wind switched to the north, and blew us back to Partridge to fish out our time for walleye. All good!
FOSSIL.
There's nothing quite like the sleep one gets after spending a full day playing outdoors. It's uncanny that less is actually needed too, because it's such a sound and deep sleep. It felt goooood to wake with stiff muscles and bones, and slip from the warm sleeping bag to heat up the kettle.
For the first time, instead of big breakfasts like those always cooked on similar fishing trips in past, Brenda requested the starts be a little more simple. Cereal, berries, yogurt, coffee and juice, admittedly I kinda preferred this. Easy to whip-up, doesn't bog ya down, fewer dishes to clean, and actually gets us moving sooner. She's always one step ahead of me it seems, even when I think she's miles behind. And once she got a hold of the meal plan too, she was quick to note that this dinner or that might better suited for her here or there. No problemos, only gotta ask.
A big south wind battered the dock but we slipped away anyhow, and made our daily 20-minute trek from Partridge over to Kesagami Lake. Clouds rolling in early, on the big lake the wind offshore pushed whitecaps northward. Nearby Small Bay was fish-able but after a time we didn't even move one fish. Unable to venture north we opted to sail south keeping tight to our west shoreline. Shaps & Edgar proved tough and when the wind finally died early afternoon, Fossil gave up no pike either. Oddly, rain surrounded the lake all morning and into the early afternoon. Every compass setting was taking on water, sometimes all of them at once, yet on the lake we remained untouched. After giving into trolling the shoal at Fossil for some walleyes, a little sky spit did eventually fall and we parked a moment on Fossil to have a beach-side snack under the trees, while waiting to see what happens.
We found some ripe raspberries to pick, pumped some water through the MSR, and took a few photos while stretching our legs over an hour or so. The bit of wind completely died and the sky gave us a good looking window to the north, so we jumped in the boat and made our way.
Taking off from shore and peeking back behind, a huge southern wall of rain ominously crept towards us, and I figured the lake would divide it sending the rain around us like it had all day. Turned out, my prediction was wrong. We no sooner made the North Bay and the rain began to pour down. Tucking into a small island shorelunch spot, the black spruce there sheltered us perfectly for a full two hours. Rain not letting up at all though, we were forced to retreat for an early supper back at the cabin.
Kesagami's weather is so raw and unruly, I would think it maybe akin to the Maritimes..? James & Hudson Bay so close by, the elevation within 60 miles rising from sea-level to 1000 feet, a jet stream that often dives with Arctic air below the southern point of James Bay, and plenty surrounding moist muskeg to provide the humidity for thunderstorms after any sun has shone, it is the land of extremes, and where one can experience much in just one day. This evening that south wind switched to northeast, to northwest, and before sunset I could see my breath while sitting in the outhouse. A cold front arrived, the rain poured down hard too, but in the cabin Brenda started a fire, I poured a scotch and we enjoyed a cozy game of Rummy before settling to bed.
NORTH.
Nearly noon before the fog would lift and we saw signs that beyond the low ceiling was actually some daylight in the world above. Bren and I had started out on Partridge for about an hour just trolling up some eyes in wait. She was confident we'd catch fish this day, and we did.
When the sun hit my face it was time, and we made a B-line back to the cabin to have some lunch, grab our gear and make the trip over to Kesagami.
With the rising temps through the day another mixed bag of weather would roll through. Wind from the north now, it opened up easy fish and travel to Small, No Name, North and Michelbob's Bays, as well as Windigo. We spent the afternoon mostly casting for pike, and although slower than usual, we did release a number of smaller fish. Again, when the sun came out the action heated up...
As for the big ones, I lost a forty or so to stupidity at boat-side, had a mid to high 40-incher follow to the boat from it's rocky lair in about two feet of water, and did manage one good fish for the books.
Shortened tour by all accounts, but being midway through the trip we retired back to the cabin happy to have had better weather and fishing than the previous day. Finishing again on Partridge for some evening walleye fun, Mother Nature offered about twenty-minutes time before she unleashed a nasty that hurried us off the lake. That was caught on video if interested... and with that vid a tour of the cabin as well. All that kinda stuff and more can be watched below.
Continued...
That last one is a lovely one and the expression on Brenda's face is even better. If that is the last trip to Partridge then that was the way to do it.
Best fish I've seen from Kesagami and she just nailed it. 
Thanks again for your part. 
