August 18, 2025, 48 deg. low, 68 high
It was an errands day. We needed propane, groceries, wine, DEF and a sweatshirt for Greg, who foolishly did not bring a long-sleeve fleece. I always carry my phone when walking through a campground. I love to see how setup, especially with tents and tarps.
It is such a beautiful drive to Wawa, we didn’t mind the 30-minute ride. The first stop was propane. Martha went in the office to pay $38 for a 30 gallon tank. A nice man came to meet me and took the tank to an open, rectangular building to fill it. A bunch of heavy-duty tanks lined the walls. The tank they stored the propane in was very big. It looked like a gas pump on the other side of a circle around the storage tank. A man was talking to the driver of semi delivering gas.
The man helping me said the valve needs to be replaced, but he hadn’t read the date before he filled it. No doubt both tanks need that. This is a busy place with all kinds of stuff I couldn’t identify. Wawa, the outpost supplier to a vast region of lakes, rivers and gravel roads. The longest gravel road in Ontario is the NORT or Northern Ontario Resource Trail from Pickle Lake to Windigo Lake. It is 281km long and is maintained year-round! Martha might not want to live here, but Wawa is a vital resource town.
Next to Canadian Tire for DEF, fire starters and a jacket. I could have spent a couple of hours in that store. It has everything! Hunting and fishing gear, lures, waders, DEF, oils, tools, camping stuff, everything! I asked a man where the DEF was and he got off his ladder, led me to it and put it in my cart.
On to the liquor store, the LCBO (Liquor Control Board of Ontario). After collecting a few things, including a bottle of Polish beer, we talked to the check-out lady. Somehow we got to fishing. She and her husband just returned from a fly-in fishing trip up north where they caught northern pike, walleye and Lake Trout. I asked if the steelhead were running yet, and she said not yet, but the salmon were gathering outside Old Woman Bay. “What king of salmon?”, I asked. “Chinook, big chinook,” she said spreading her arms to 3’.
Chinook and coho salmon were introduced to the Great Lakes and have done well. They don’t run to the ocean any more, as they are blocked by the narrow, shallow St. Mary’s River. I asked about brook trout, and she said, “Some people catch specs (speckled trout) on the Old Woman.”
With no suitable sweatshirt found, I stopped at Young’s General Store. Martha was getting tired, and we had groceries that needed to be put in the freezer, so I made a quick trip. I found a suitable hooded sweatshirt with WAWA on the front and went up front to pay. With a quick look around, it is one of those old stores where it is fun to look around. Martha had said she need new Minitonka shoes, and they had a whole wall of them.
We grabbed a quick sandwich, cleaned up and hooked up to move to a different site. We will have to move once more before we leave, as this is a busy campground right next to the Trans-Canada Highway. It’s a pull-through right next to the campground road. It is hard to beat our last site where bears and foxes poop.
At 2:30 Martha suggested we go to Old Woman Bay where she could sit on the beach and read a book while I fish up the river. Always good to get in a couple hours fishing, so I agreed. By the time I put my waders and boots on, sorted out some flies in my vest, put my rod and reel together, it was 3:15. I knew I didn’t have long, so I hurried to the river. It was too shallow for steelhead to run. I remembered from our last trip that they will gather in the bay waiting for the rains to fill the river.
I tried a coachman for two pools and switched to hopper for two pools, then to a nymph for two pools, then back to the coachman. I had gotten two little bumps with the coachman earlier, and there were two beautiful runs around the corner from the bridge. I cast three times into one pool before looking ahead for my next spot when I got a decant strike, but I missed. It was 5:00, and I knew I should get back. The water was cold enough and perfectly clear. It’s a beautiful place to spend a day fishing. If I get the chance, I will bring water, some snacks and a different reel with floating line.
