A party of canoeists makes its way through the narrows at the north end of Sarah Lake in Ontario’s Quetico Provincial Park, just north of the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness. (Sam Cook photo)

Last week, six of us made an eight-day trip through Ontario’s Quetico Provincial Park, starting at Nym Lake, just north of the park, and paddling to Mudro Lake near Ely. We caught walleyes, lake trout, bass and northern pike, and we traveled through the heart of the park.

On Delahey Lake, near the center of the 1.2- million-acre wilderness, we camped at the “Cookie Jar Campsite” on an island at the west end of the lake. There, in what is now a large olive container, hundreds of canoeists have stashed notes for their fellow travelers. We read several of them during our visit.

In all, we traveled 90 miles and crossed 44 portages as we weaved our way through the park. We had excellent weather, and the bugs were manageable.

Quetico is lightly traveled these days, perhaps because the per-person, per-night fees have risen over the years. With fewer travelers, we could always find a campsite late in the day and firewood near the sites was always plentiful.

Here are some more photos from our trip:

Dinner was often swimming beneath the canoe. (Sam Cook photo)

Canoeists have left hundreds of messages for their fellow travelers in the “cookie jar” (now a large olive container) at the “Cookie Jar Campsite” on Delahey Lake near the middle of Quetico Provincial Park. (Sam Cook photo)

The waters of Marj Lake in Quetico Provincial Park are an emerald green, much like those of neighboring Joyce Lake but different from nearly all other lakes in the park. (Sam Cook photo)

Scott Neustel (right) of Duluth tends the oatmeal will Wayne Bogen looks on at Delahey Lake in Quetico Provincial Park. (Sam Cook photo)

A pair of pink lady’s slippers, or moccasin flowers, bloom on the forest floor beneath pines on Marj Lake. (Sam Cook photo)

Scott Neustel (left) and Terry Christensen of Duluth take a breather and check the map after a portage on the “Delahey Death March,” a series of long portages west of Delahey Lake in Quetico Provincial Park. (Sam Cook photo)

Campers watch the crescent moon rise over Conmee Lake in Ontario’s Quetico Provincial Park. (Sam Cook photo)

I’ve been in the woods for a week, just catching up.

Here’s a report from Todd Carlson with results from the Captain’s Platter fishing contest June 8 on Lake Superior. More than 200 anglers took part in the event, he said.

Many Vessel Safety Checks were performed by the Duluth Sail and Power Squadron.

Here are contest winners listed by division:

Lake trout

1. Jim Fudally 14.11

2. Mike West 13.40

3. Tom Reulle 12.43

King Salmon

1. Jason Norman 11.07

2. Pat Joyal 8.20

3. Mike Duffy 7.84

Coho Salmon

1. Kyle Shuster 2.24

2. Mike Duffy 2.16

3. Adam Norman 2.13

Walleye

1. Tom Linderholm 8.27

2. Gary Campbell 4.06

3. Tom Brunasky 3.56

Captain’s Platter Champion (combined weight per class)

Tom Linderholm, “Reel Nauti, 23.66 pounds

Lake trout 7.63

King 5.77

Coho 1.99

Walleye 8.27

Cormorants and gulls rest on Potato Island on Lake Vermilion in July 2012. (DNR photo)

A USDA Wildlife Services crew killed 70 cormorants on Lake Vermilion on May 29 as part of an effort to reduce the cormorant population on the lake, said Duane Williams, Department of Natural Resources large-lake specialist at Tower. The day before, DNR officials had counted 349 cormorant nests on Potato Island in the eastern basin of the lake. That total was down from 434 nests last year.

Each nest is assumed to represent one breeding pair of cormorants.

The birds where shot with shotguns. State and federal agencies had decided to take about 10 percent of the total number of nesting cormorants, Williams said.

After the culling, Wildlife Services crews oiled all of the eggs in the cormorant nests on the island with corn oil. Oiling the eggs prevents young from hatching successfully, but adult cormorants remain on the nests. If the eggs were destroyed, the adults likely would re-nest and lay new eggs, Williams said.

The cormorant population on Lake Vermilion, which has been increasing since 2004, is thought to be responsible for a low population of perch, an important forage fish. In 2004, cormorants had just 32 nests on Lake Vermilion, Williams said.

“We’ve had persistently low perch catches (in test nets) for a number of years,” Williams said. “We felt that (the cormorant population) was the most likely explanation.”

The Duluth Sail and Power Squadron’s 9th annual Captain’s Platter Fishing Contest will be held from 6 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday. The event drew more than 160 participants last year and provides awards in four divisions: lake trout, walleye chinook salmon and coho salmon. This is a Lake Superior and/or St. Louis River basin contest.

In addition, the DSPS will be offering free Vessel Safety Checks to those who wish to have their boats inspected. They will be checked for the appropriate necessary equipment for operating vessels on Lake Superior and the St. Louis River basin. The safety checks are part of a national program in partnership with the US Coast Guard Auxiliary.

The Tournament headquarters is at the Duluth Sail and Power Squadron Dock in Allouez Bay (44th Ave East and the Superior Bay). Entry fee is $15 a person for adults and it’s free for kids 15 and under. Tickets and rules available at Marine General, Bait Box, Fisherman’s Corner, Northwest Outlet, or at the Squadron Dock Friday June 7th.

Steve Harrington of Duluth holds another nice lake trout he caught in Ontario’s Quetico Provincial Park over the past weekend. We try to make the trip each year shortly after the ice goes out. (Sam Cook photo)

Two of us made our mostly annual trip into Ontario’s Quetico Provincial Park to see if we could find some lake trout over Memorial Day weekend. We went up through Ely, from the Moose Lake public landing to Prairie Portage, then in from there a few miles.

In early spring, lake trout can be caught easily near the surface, as opposed to later in the season when they must seek deeper water (50 feet or more) to find the temperature they like. The water is very cold this time of year, especially with our late spring. We troll using Wally Divers, Rattlin’ Raps, jointed Rapalas, and other crankbaits that look like minnows. Fishing was good. The largest fish we caught was eight pounds. We’d keep a couple of smaller fish for supper each night.

Much of the reason we go into the canoe country is for the solitude. The park is lightly traveled. We typically see almost no one for four days. Because the trip was later this year, over the holiday weekend, we saw about six parties in four days.

The moon was just past full and flooded our camp with light each night. The loons were paired up and calling madly. Woodpeckers drummed and yammered. We watched a beaver swim down a small set of rapids, then slap its tail when it saw us. At one portage, we saw a sheet of ice that was at least 8 inches thick in many places, pretty rare for May 26.

Here are a few more photos:

Dinner is secured. We kept a couple of lake trout for supper each night. (Sam Cook photo)

Lake trout fillets sizzle in a frying pan over the fire. (Sam Cook photo)

Steve Harrington checks out a thick sheet of ice we found beneath cedars at the end of a portage in Ontario’s Quetico Provincial Park on May 26. (Sam Cook photo)

Holes of various sizes formed where the ice was melting along the portage. (Sam Cook photo)

Steam rises from cooking pots on a May morning in Ontario’s Quetico Provincial Park. (Sam Cook photo)

Wisconsin’s northern zone muskie season opens Saturday, and, despite a late start, the fish are likely to be done spawning in most waters and ready to feed, state fisheries experts say.

“I think the muskie will be largely done spawning by the weekend,” says Steve Avelallemant, longtime Department of Natural Resources fisheries supervisor for northern Wisconsin. “It took a while in coming but we went pretty much from winter to summer. The water temps bounced up nicely and it was an accelerated spawn.”

Avelallemant expects the muskie action to be good for anglers because the fish, post-spawn, will be looking to feed and because the water temperature has warmed up and the fish are getting more active.

A 40-inch size limit is in effect statewide and applies to 94 percent of muskie waters in Wisconsin.

Check the Guide to Wisconsin Hook and Line Fishing Regulations for specific waters or check DNR’s online regulation database.

Not surprisingly, the sale of Minnesota fishing licenses is lagging far behind sales in recent years, according to the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources. Minnesota’s general fishing season opened Saturday, but ice remained on many lakes and opening weekend was cold and windy.

Total license sales through Monday stood at 257,665, according to the DNR. Last year at the same time, sales were 413,273. Here are sales for the comparable period in other recent years:

2011 — 344,187

2010 — 435,270

2009 — 381,194