We packed up camp and hit the water early. We had to make up some time and try to get as close to Knife Lake as possible. The rain and flown out of the area during the night and the morning broke cloudless and warm. It was a much needed morale booster after a cold day paddling in drizzle.

We crossed Splash Lake and made it to the far western end of our trip; Newfound Lake. It was just as pretty looking as any other lake we had been on but, much to my dislike was full of motorboats. Fisherman, canoe outfitters and other were puttering around like ants. I didn’t think this many boats were going to be this far out and I was disappointed to be proven wrong.

Thankfully we were only on Newfound and Sucker Lakes for a short time. We rounded the corner and high tailed it to the portage that would take us into Birch Lake; which we reached in less than an hour. Birch Lake, though very pretty, would end up being as packed with people as Ensign Lake was. This area out of Ely is apparently very popular.

As we neared the end of Birch Lake we suddenly heard a loud “crack” followed by a lot of mumbled sounds that I discerned to be talking. The sounds were off in the distance however and we did not pay much attention to it. When we reached the portage into Carp Lake however, we found the source of the sounds. A group of Boy Scouts had been shooting the rapids, tipped their canoe and snapped the gunwales and crinkled their rented Kevlar canoe. By the time we reached the far side of the portage (where they were) the boat was put back together and was water worthy, if a little ugly.

It was still pretty early in the day and none of use wanted to do any more river portages (we had walked the canoe between Birch and Carp Lakes) so we decided to take a site on Carp Lake and do some fishing. The Boy Scout group wanted the site on the northeast side of the lake so we took the site on the southwest side. We set camp quickly and hit the lake.

Never have I caught such large Bass. The middle of the lake was an expansive weed bed and, using buzz bait, we slayed the fish! I caught a 7lb smallie while Donnie landed an 8lb Large Mouth. We spent the next few hours catching fish after fish before Gopher and I decided to explore the lake a little bit; Matt and Donnie continued to fish.

Near the site the Boy Scouts took a small river pours out of Knife Lake into a small pool of water. Gopher and I cast a few lines into the water but the heat of the day won out and we went for a swim instead. The water, crystal clear, was refreshing and we spent a little bit of time diving to the bottom, which was about 10 feet deep, in search of lost fishing lures and other things that might have made their way down from Knife Lake.

Fish and swimming done for the day we all headed back to camp where Donnie fried up all the Bass in “Shore Lunch”. We ate like kings that night and watched the stars before tucking in for the night. The sky was promising so I took a gamble and left the rain fly off my tent, wanting to see the stars through the mesh as I fell asleep.