9/3: Left work at 3:30. Cool and foggy night at Amnicon Falls SP outside of Superior, WI
9/4: Up at dawn, nice sunrise, "meh" breakfast at Perkins in Superior. Picked up entry permit at Tofte station around 9:00 a.m. On Gull around noon. Clear sky, moderate winds out of the south pretty much all the way across Saganaga. Did NOT biff it on the slippery rocks going into Swamp. Got overambitious and crossed Monument Portage. Site 1996 occupied, so another 1.5 tired hours to site 2002 on Ottertrack. Thunderstorm overnight.
9/5: Overcast early morning gave way to another beautiful day. Nightcrawler came up out back of the tent and was promptly used by the landing to catch a nice smallmouth. Morning paddle down to Little Knife Portage and back, 16.5" walleye and some more smallmouth on the way. Brief afternoon dive near camp, some smallies. Storms overnight.
9/6: More beautiful daytime weather, winds up a little more. Paddled down to set up camp at site 2188 on Little Knife, not much in the way of fish en route. Busted snorkel, so duct tape to the rescue! Afternoon dive with only some walleye or trout hanging out very deep off of the ledge. Insane nighttime storm.
9/7: Cool morning, nice smallmouth on the way to Amoeber. Not much there or in Topaz. Decided to visit Cherry and at least see the cliffs. Stunning lake as always. Flipped soft baits at deep snags and had a little fun with undersized bass. Easy portaging the USS Constitution back to Knife with its new yoke pad. Rain again at night, but done early enough to see the Aurora Borealis.
9/8: Winds gusting heavily from the west under sunny skies. Nice 21" laker just off the Little Knife Portage. Paddle back up Ottertrack went at warp speed, tough to tie landmarks to the map. Across Monument Portage and down into Zephyr. Set up camp at site 335. Finally a clear night!
9/9: Another clear, cool, very windy day. Lots of smallmouth, including one 18", and one stupid snake northern on Zephyr. Got greedy and tried to finish the five-species combo platter, but got blanked on largemouth in Swamp. Cheery fire back at camp on a chilly, clear night.
9/10: On the water at 8:00 and into Sag at 8:30. High winds again from the west. Easy enough travel across Sag, but felt bad while passing by the folks fighting it coming in. Lots of people apparently stuck on American Point, in the islands, and on the Seagull River. Nothing biting on the way, and back to the car around 1:00. Pleasant hot tub soak at the hotel in Duluth and a soft bed for the night.
