Birch Lake, Ontario: 1172. Was that how many black flies, gnats, and mosquitoes attacked me in Canada this past week?! Nope–that was how many walleye and pike my friends Tracy, Mike, Larry, and their Florida buddy Tim caught July, 2014 on Birch Lake! Tim was unable to make the fly-in trip this year so the boys invited me to share a boat and cabin with them for a week. And…what a week it was! We caught 917 walleyes and pike during out time on the water from July 11 to July 17!! Even with the spectacular catch, the boys gave our week a C- rating compared to past years!! For the past nine years, my pals booked the week through Kay Air Service and Outposts. We drove to their home base at Lake Lac Seul on Friday July 10, spent the night, then flew to Birch early on the 11th with Peter Kay in his Beech 18. I found the modern cabin set up well with all the conveniences of home except for the short walk up the “hill” to the outdoor toilet. They use solar panels to provide electricity and propane to fire the hot water heater and stove. A solar panel caught the sun’s energy at the water pump on the water’s edge to bring lake water to the cabin. We started fishing Saturday morning and didn’t stop until later in the day on Friday, the 17th. Tracy cooked, Mike and Larry did boat chores and cleaned fish, and I was the designated dishwasher and cabin cleaner. We never went hungry and had fresh fish at least three nights during the week! We fished out of a heavy 14.5 foot deep Alumarine boat powered by a 15hp Yamaha. These boats are built for the fishing conditions found in Canadian waters! Every spot we went to we caught fish but the best spots were near dying weed beds anywhere from 4-12 feet. We did catch some nice bigger fish along the 12-14 foot ledges near the big rock walls. Our best presentations were either using a floating jig head or straight wire hook with some colored beeds ahead of the hook, a small floater, and I noticed Mike liked using the Smiley blades. Shorter snells, about three feet, seemed to work the best. We tipped the lures with 3 inch plastic tails or Uncle Josh pork crawlers. Our best colors were pink/white, chartreuse, motor oil, firetiger, and green/green. I caught the biggest walleye, a near 27 incher, on the floating jig head with the long pork crawler! Tracy won our fishing contest for the biggest walleye using small crankbaits three of which were in Iowa Hawkeye colors while I had the Iowa State model. He caught numerous walleyes pulling the crank behind his bottom bouncer right on the bottom. Unfortunately, both Tracy and Larry lost their baits to the toothy pike. Mike caught one walleye after another with only three barbs left on the two trebles following some savage pike bites! I’m keeping the two surviving baits in my office conference room as a reminder of the week together and a good story of the Hawkeye beating the Cyclone! Thursday night the neighbor next door came over to say his Dad and a buddy had not returned for the day. We formed search parties and headed out early Friday morning. The son was able to reach Kay Air from a satellite phone at a nearby lodge. Our on the water search was not successful but when Pete arrived by air, he had them located within ten minutes. The men had run out of gas and spent the night on a small island a long way from our cabins. What did I learn about this? It’s safer to fish with two boats in case one has a problem on Birch Lake. The maze of islands and bays all look alike, Carrying a hand held GPS unit is a must to avoid getting lost. And, making sure your gas tank is full plus taking extra fuel for a long day on the water makes good common sense. My right arm is still sore from holding my St. Croix rod all week catching lots and lots of fish! But, as they say, it’s a “good hurt”! I want to thank Tracy, Larry, and Mike for including me in their annual Birch Lake trip this year. Please go to www.kayair.com to look over the fishing packages they have for fishing Lac Seul plus their three outpost locations. Karen, Peter, and their family took very good care of us and I would give them an A+ recommendation. Thanks for reading and looking over our pics from another walleyewisdom.com fishing team adventure!! Spike