The final Manitoba morning sunrise was surprisingly nice. As before, I threw the lure a little bit partially as an excuse to see the sun rise. The clouds, while anticipating rain added a surreal quality to the scene.
After breakfast the Arizona crew went looking for the one guy's bear. I went fishing with Max.
We went back up to the general area where I had caught the big pike on the previous day. Action was good - probably better than the previous afternoon, but not for the big guys. Still, I'll take pike after pike after pike any day. There were a few good fish in the mix though.
There were also a handful of good smallmouths brought in. Pound for pound, these smalleys do fight better than most fish.
Sadly, my magic lure broke. Making things worse, the only other white spinnerbait I had was destroyed by a pike when it ate the skirt. Luckily another spinnerbait did yeoman's duty for the rest of the morning.
On the way back to camp the rain started - first as a light shower then to a full-on rain. The wind picked up as well, making the final few miles in the boat a little less fun than the great weather that has been experienced so far. Once in camp it poured for a short while before raining most of the rest of the day intermittently.
Back in camp the Arizona crew was gone; the bear wasn't found. It was a bad shot; frustrating. It does happen.
After lunch I wasn't sure I wanted to go way up river to fish in the rain, especially with the threat of heavy rain so there was a bit of down time. When it lightened up I did want to go, but Max and I went down river to bait bear stands instead.
Baiting bear stand is fun as well and there is always a chance to see a bear when walking in; while this might be intimidating, I was hoping this would have happened.
There were a few other people fishing in the area and I can only guess what they thought we were doing by beaching our boat and walking into the bush for 15 minutes or so. If I saw that, I'd assume it was a grow operation and maybe go snooping. I'm sure it happens.
Once done baiting we went to tie up the downriver boat. I was pushing off some rocks and ended up slipping and basically falling in. I got out quick, but not quick enough as my borrowed boots filled with water and my pants and feet were soaked. I guess this is all part of the fun...
Dinner that night was excellent Mexican food made by Max's girlfriend. It is a little odd, maybe even awkward being the only person left in camp. Yet, it was fun too as I got a chance to talk to everyone at dinner and after.
As it got later, I knew I needed to pack some stuff up and prepare for the drive in the morning. Bear camp was quickly coming to a close.
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