With a cool morning of 5 C we headed back onto the waters of Shakwa Lake to do some lake trout fishing. The wind was still blowing. The mist was dissipating. My partner and I decided that we had better drift fish the rest of the trip. It is no fun paddling a sixteen foot aluminum boat back to the landing.

Thus we aligned ourselves with the wind. Cast our lines out and commence to jig. A short period later a loon appeared. It was no more than ten feet from the boat. This is not uncommon, but when a loon hangs around there is something amiss. The loon proceeded to dive. I then notice it swimming below the boat. The water here is very clear. Now we were worried about the loon getting snagged in our lines. This display went on repeatedly. Then out of the corner of my eye I caught a flash of white just below the surface. Ah, now we knew what was happening. The flash of white turned out to be the mate of the above water loon. It was obviously dead. The live loon was attempting to protect its mate. Now how did that loon die. We had heard no commotion around us to indicate a fight. Our motor was not running so that eliminated that idea. It will be forever a mystery of the wilderness. Reeling in our lines we immediately left the area.

The next day we headed back to the landing with out any mishap. The boat and gear loaded up. We headed home.

That is it for this week. I will be along the shores of Lake Superior for the next three weeks. I will see what I can find.