#22. McCoy's Harbour, Lake Superior, Ontario. 1989.

Fishing Stories! Most everybody has a good fishing story right? We hardly ever fish on our trips but we always carry some hooks and line, just in case. But, when we have tried our luck we've landed some darn good stories! Perhaps the best would have to be this beauty lake trout Reid caught. It all started at a lunch spot somewhere below the last drop on the Dog River where Wally Schaber found a fishing rod in the water. Wally, having endured Reid's taunts about not catching fish all the way down the river, made a show of presenting it to Reid and telling him to do something useful with it. Later that day at our campsite on Superior Reid took his new rod and wandered out onto the rocks. He cast once...nothing, and then a second time and...darn, snagged on the bottom. But then the bottom started moving! It was a great battle and took all three of them plus a lot of yelling, scheming, and laughter to land it. It was delicious and a great way to end our trip - unless your name was Wally 😁.

And then, in typical Lake Superior style, things got weird. The next day we took out at Michipicoten Harbour and started home. We stopped at a restaurant in Wawa to find a phone, only to have a friend of Wally's recognize him and stop to chat. Doc Murphy was interested in our trip and said he had been on the Dog just 2 weeks ago. And he'd lost his fishing gear...yup, that's right; the rod Reid had for only 24 hours was no longer his, but it had served its purpose and given us a great story to tell! So, what's your best fishing story?

About Today's Paddling Pic: These last few days and weeks I've found myself looking back on some wonderful memories and images of where canoeing has taken me, and it's made me smile. I feel so fortunate and grateful for these places, people and experiences, and it's kind of nice to reminisce. And in doing so I can't help but to also look forward to a time when we can all paddle safely again! So for the next while Reid and I are posting a picture a day (with a story) that will brighten our day and hopefully yours too. I invite you to share your stories in the comment section.