The opening line of Jack Broome’s 9/11/19 “From the West End” column in the Burke Gazette reads and I’ll quote, “One of the greatest adjustments we oldies have is dealing with rapidly changing technology.” Truer words were never spoken.

On Wednesday afternoon of 9/11/19, Francis & Jeanette Doom, Betsy and I left Wagner in the Doom pickup for Pickle Lake, Ontario. It is a thousand mile trip. Our ultimate destination was the remote “fly-in” Doom cabin on Kwinogans Lake. Kwinogans is full of walleyes and northern pike.

Our I-29 route took us through Watertown and Fargo before we spent the night in Steinbach, Manitoba. From there it was on to Kenora, Dryden, Vermillion Bay, and Sioux Lookout before reaching Pickle Lake where we made a late afternoon flight in a venerable Dehavilland Otter to the cabin. We would have Friday, Saturday, and Sunday to fish before our Monday morning departure.

Friday morning we launched Francis’s 18’ Lund into the lake. It was equipped with his new Minn Kota i-Pilot electric trolling motor with auto-pilot and integrated GPS. Unfortunately the manual told us what the system would do, but it didn’t explain how to operate the hand-held remote. Francis probably thought he would figure things out by pushing the buttons. I would have thought the same. Not so. The buttons required a certain sequence.

As Francis worked the remote, the bow-mounted motor would occasionally rear itself up and drop into the lake. In an effort to start the motor or turn right or left, the motor would throw itself back onto the bow deck. After much frustration, we finally gave up and tried trolling jigs with the 60 HP Mercury outboard. It was way too much motor, but by drifting and casting, we returned to the cabin with more than enough walleyes for a great supper.

Saturday morning Francis messed with the motor. No luck. As I grew increasingly impatient, I finally suggested that we take one of the smaller outboard motors from the shed, put on a 14’ open boat, and go fishing. An hour later we were underway. The 15 HP motor was perfect for that lake as it both planed us out and trolled beautifully. It was overcast and rain threatened, so we fished close to the cabin. Francis’s jig wore a dark, motor oil-colored soft plastic body. I put a white body on my jig.

“Roger, do you believe the old adage about bright lures on bright days, dark lures on dark days?” asked Francis.

“Francis, I believe in whatever works,” I replied. Eight walleyes later, Francis switched to a white jig body. From that point on we matched each other fish for fish. Color matters, although I feel that white or yellow usually works on walleyes.

The fishing was good, but I realized that Francis would have much preferred the padded swivel seat in his 18’ Lund. The bigger boat would also comfortably seat Jeanette who wanted to fish. Saturday night, after we devoured some luscious T-bone steaks, I made a suggestion.

“Francis, why don’t we switch trolling motors by taking one of the manually operated motors from another boat? I’ll fish from the bow where I can raise and lower the motor.” Fortunately for us, and to the credit of Minn Kota engineers, the mounting bracket on the big boat accommodated both motors. Sunday morning we made the switch.

By Sunday noon, Jeanette, Francis, and I were headed to the south end of the lake where we generally catch the lake’s largest walleyes. Betsy wanted to stay behind and read her book. It took us some time to find the fish, but once on to them, we nailed them. I’ll tell you, Jeanette can flat-out fish! Perhaps it has to do with a woman’s touch. Anyway, we returned to the cabin with enough fish to vacuum seal and freeze our limits and have a great Sunday night supper of fresh fillets.

On the way home we stopped at the Sioux Falls Scheels where Francis bought his trolling motor. They happily accommodated us with a manual for the Minn Kota remote.

Just how good is Kwinogans walleye fishing? I believe that one could go out in the worst of conditions and still come in with fish. A Kwinogan trip is pure adventure. The cabin, though remote, is extremely comfortable. Want to go? Give Francis a call. He, like me, has lost many of his buddies, and is always looking for a partner or two.

See you next week.