Just Ten Days To Go!
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Ten soldiers, both U.S. and Canadian, are packing their bags and counting down the days to "Healing On The Albany," a week of fishing from our Miminiska Lodge. The event is now just days away, (July12-20) and Mark Snyder, PHW coordinator says everything is all set.
Mark Snyder
"Thanks to Ed Newby, the flights from Chicago to Thunder Bay are taken care of. Thanks to Ed Newby, American Airlines is rounding up the soldiers from around the U.S. to get them to Chicago. Thanks to Dallas Bergl CEO of Inova Federal Credit Union whose $5000 has arrived to buy the rods, reels and terminal tackle. And thanks to the many friends of Wilderness North for the donation of even more money to provide for clothing, equipment and supplies."
Here is the list we will be welcoming:
Team Canada: (All stationed out of Manitoba.)
David Thompson
Scott Collen
Mateusz "Matt" Kozakiewicz
Team USA:
Neil Frustaglio,
Green Bay, Wis.
Bill Johnston, Pittsburgh, Penn.
Russell Martin,
Dover, Del.
Mike Oreskavic, Eugene, Ore.
Sam Floberg,
Fargo, ND
Jacque "Jake" Keeslar,
Washington, DC
Josh Gonzales, Hickory NC (Josh is not only a vet but will also be Mark's assistant guide, and fly-casting instructor.)
We are all excited and can't wait to do our part in saying a little thank for the big job these young men have done to preserve freedom for all of us.
Information about the event, and how you can still contribute is just click away.
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The Sturgeon
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Wasn't it Weird Al Yankovic who recorded the Madonna parody, Like a Sturgeon, caught for the very first time?
Well that's what Jeff Snow was singing up at Striker's Point last week.
So what exactly is a Sturgeon?
A sturgeon is a fish in the family Acipenseridae, which contains over 20 known species. Humans are most familiar with the Sturgeon because it is a famous source of caviar, unfertilized roe collected from female fish. Both the eggs and the meat are considered a treasure by the First Nation anglers of this area of Canada. We find them mostly in our larger lakes like Whitewater, Miminiska and Makokibatan. Because they feed on the bottom, anglers bottom fishing with jigs are usually those who get the hefty surprise about a half dozen times a year.
The physical appearance of a Sturgeon is somewhat primordial. The fish are long, with several rows of bony plates along their bodies, along with an elongated snout, which has protruding barbels. The fish are bottom feeders, using their wedge-like snouts to churn up the bottom of waterways for food. Most Sturgeon eat mollusks, worms, and larvae. Sturgeons are classified as ganoid fishes, in a reference to the bony plates that line their bodies.
The northern hemisphere exclusively supports Sturgeon, and they prefer temperate, rather than tropical waters. Some Sturgeon are anadromous, which means that they travel between salt and fresh water. Others live solely in fresh water, usually within landlocked bodies of water, and some species spend their lives at sea. The largest species is the Russian Sturgeon, which can reach a length of 13 feet (almost four meters). Sturgeon of approximately half that size are much more abundant.
Humans have been eating sturgeon and their products for centuries. The caviar is the most prized Sturgeon product, but the flesh is eaten as well. Sturgeon meat is rich, high in fat, and very dense with a mild flavor. When obtainable, it is eaten fresh in many parts of Europe. In Russia, where large numbers of the fish are harvested for their roe, the meat is dried or smoked before being sold. Humans also use the swim bladder of the fish to extract isinglass, a type of gelatin used to clarify foods such as beer.
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If you would like to go back to check a story in one of our past e-mails of either a Fishing Report or a Wilderness North Newsletter you can do so in our archive file.
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Bad Start ! Good Finish ! Whew!
Thanks to Isaac Nate
...by Alan Cheeseman
I guess one might draw the conclusion that if you're going to have trouble, it's best to have it with Isaac Nate nearby. Isaac is one of our First Nation guides at Miminiska Lodge up on the Albany River. On Father's Day he was trying out one of our new boats near Miminiska Falls. Nearby, Mike Snider, Jocelyn Bridgeo and Katelyn Johnson followed along in their own boat. The threesome are all part of our staff at "Mim."
 After watching the sun go down on a cool June evening, the girls hopped in with Isaac, and Mike pushed off alone in his boat and things turned very bad, very fast.
Mike, now in the fast current killed the motor. Oh No! Seconds later he crashed over the falls while Isaac, Katelyn, and Jocelyn looked on, unable to reach him, and hearing his cries for help.
That's when Isaac sprung into
action. 
Parking his boat, and telling the girls to "stay put," he ran down the Petawanga portage to below the falls- started a boat kept there for guests, and motored back up the river toward the falls in hope of finding Mike alive.
No one has ever gone over the falls and survived.
Two hours after Mike disappeared Isaac found him still in the boat, in the dark, near freezing (2c-34f). Mike was soaking wet, shivering and disoriented as Isaac carried him on his shoulders, sharing his own dry clothes, back up the portage to safety.
This past week our video crew motored out to the area on a clear sunny day with Mike and Isaac on board. (No Mike was not allowed to run the boat:-) There Mike and Isaac told their story to the cameras, part of a boat safety video we are preparing.
For now, we've pulled a few audio clips from that video shoot to share with you. So, pull on your life vest - sit back - and listen now to a most remarkable rescue story about a most remarkable guy.
Isaac Nate a Wilderness North Hero
(Photos: Header Mike and Issac at Mim Falls - to the right: Mike top - Isaac in the midde and Mike and Isaac lower.)
Our reporters have great stories, see below. The Master Angler list continues to grow, and this week Walleye Anglers outnumber Pike Anglers for the first time. See the list. Dr. Saunders tells us all lake levels, including Lake Superior's water levels have never been higher.
Keep in touch. I welcome your e-mails to guide us in creating a report that works for you...you can send one now.
Alan
Alan@wildernessnorth.com 1-888-465-FISH (3474)
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Sunglasses? - Maybe
Raingear? - Oh Yeah
...Dr. Graham Saunders 
Today, Wednesday, July 2 can be downright stormy. Strong northwest winds could make boating a challenge: So my advice? Wear the life jacket and rainsuit at all times in the boat.
Temperatures will be on the cool side. On Thursday things settle down a bit, but clouds seem to prevail in the near term forecast, with afternoon showers and thundershowers always a possibility. (I'll explain more in the podcast).
Lake Superior is higher than it has been in a decade despite the fact that just a year ago it was at an all time low. This higher level is a direct effect of the amount of snow and rain we have had in the past few months. In June alone we had eight inches of rain, so streams and rivers are high and flowing fast. I can tell you more in the podcast.
Lake levels, especially Ogoki Lake, are VERY high. The Eabamatoong - Fort Hope area water levels are so high that the Eabamata Lake is "flowing back" into the Albany River. Well that makes sense, after all - the word Eabamatoong is Ojibway for "river flowing back."
Graham Saunders, is professor of meteorology at Lakehead University here in Thunder Bay, and weather commentator for the Thunder Bay Chronicle Journal and for Wilderness North.
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Fishing So Good
It Might Just Be a Sin
...Mark Prokopchuk
 No, this is the not the story of one becomes 5000. It more like my envy for the fishing going on throughout our collection of remote cabin destinations and lodges. All the water levels are high, with the single exception of ZigZag. Yet the couple, who had never been on that lake, managed to produce both a Master Angler Pike and Walleye. I have updated the Master Angler report, and you may read it or download it from the download section of the website. This was the first week that Master Angler Walleye anglers outnumbered Pike anglers. It seems that neither high water nor high barometric pressure can keep the fish from playing. As usual, the number of Pike being caught by those angling for Walleye continues to rise.
D'alton Lake continues to produce good numbers at the falls. Guests way up north of the Albany, on Machawaian Lake, report the best production they have experienced in 30 years. Anyway, come on over to the podcast and I'll tell you more about lure selection and detailed lake information.
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Rough Weather - Smooth Angling
...Katelyn Johnson
From a weather perspective, things could not have been more mixed at Miminiska Lodge. Foggy mornings. Clear and warm mid-days. Loud and boisterous thunderstorms in late afternoon - just about every day. But from an angling perspective it could not have been smoother sailing. Every guest in camp caught dozens and dozens of Walleyes every day, from the Honey Hole, to the drop off by shore lunch island, to the outflow of the Trout Fly River. Hear more details on lure selection, etc. on my podcast.
And when Scott Von Eschen, of San Francisco, CA in the U.S. cast his fly line in the shallow pencil reeds behind the Honey Hole, "hold on" because he was catching big fish! Scott, daughter Andie, and Scott's dad Peter had a trip of lifetime. Scott operates a specialty adventure company in San Francisco targeted at youth. You can learn more at his website.
Mike and Matt Meyer from Sharon, Ontario had a Walleye trip dreams are made of. They talk about their secret to success in my podcast.
This coming week our guides will explore the waters between Miminiska and Makokibatan Lake - so I'll have some special news about this rarely fished zone of the Albany River next week.
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Record Week for Pike and Walleye and
Did I Mention That Sturgeon?
...Tyler Lancaster
What a great lake, I'm telling you. Whitewater Lake offers so much, from great shore lunch locations, plenty of sightseeing opportunities, courteous, friendly staff at Striker's Point Lodge, and an abundance of amazing fishing.
This week was like all the rest, terrific. The James group from Ohio were delighted by the bountiful Walleye catches. They also all joined the 30-inch club, with Craig James's 38 inch topping the list. Bob Sellers added an ingenious addition to his arsenal of fishing tackle, a breakfast sausage. Unfortunately the fish shied away from his offering of processed meat.
 The Clemmons crew from the greater Chicago area had a weeks worth of fishing and made the most of it by averaging 12 hours a day on the water. It certainly paid off for Tom Kaltenecker, who boasted a 30 inch Walleye. He caught it in 14 ft of water while vertically jigging a 3/8 oz jig head with a sucker minnow. It was taken at the second point in on the north shore of the Ogoki outlet, at a spot they referred to as "on demand." Mike McMahon's hard work rewarded him on his last night with a 38 inch Pike while trolling a Johnson Silver Minnow in the back bay, behind the lodge. Chris Clemmons, and Dale were pretty tough on the Wally's this week, landing several fish in the 20-24 inch range. Severe weather caused flight delays for the Clemmons group, which in turn resulted in an extra day of fishing. Dale made good on his bonus night by successfully landing a beefy 43 inch Northern that hit a 30 inch Northern first. He then tossed a Johnson Silver Minnow which the Pike grabbed right away. He was fishing at the first island straight out from the lodge.
Paul Gilling and his gang from Oklahoma had a good start to their trip. Richard Lyles caught a 40 inch Pike while casting a Johnson Silver Minnow in about 5 ft of weedy water straight across from the lodge, on the south shore.
And a late breaking development, the story of the week came from Jeremy Snow of Vittoria, Ontario. He was here fishing with his father Terry. Both were fishing right off the dock. Terry was tearing up the Walleye, about 13 in a half hour. Meanwhile, Jeremy hooked into something big and heavy. It was about 10:45 pm. Something was peeling line off of his spool at an alarming rate. Before it was to late, Tyler Lancaster, Jeremy, and Terry actually had to untie a boat from the dock and follow the speeding fish. Finally at 11:30, and after several runs under the boat, a 60 inch Sturgeon was raised and netted. It was caught on a ¼ oz jig head, and white tail with 8 lb test. The fish was truly a monster. (See the sidebar for a picture and Sturgeon information.) Although Terry's Walleye action was so rudely interrupted, he was pleased enough to take some great shots of this prehistoric beast.
All said, the action hasn't ceased since we opened on the 21st of May.
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Pesky Pike - Picky Walleye
Abundant Brookies
...MacArthur Hobson
 If you have been up our way, or seen a map of big Makokibatan Lake, you know if the winds are up, the choices for fishing spots are limited. However, last week the winds were moderate and anglers went anywhere they wanted to on the lake. As a result Walleye, Pike and Brook Trout were very agreeable and cast to catch ratios were high. Some guests at Makokibatan Lodge even reported the Pike as "pesty" with a fish on every cast. The Walleye seem to have made the move to summer patterns - deep in the cooler water - but catchable with lightweight dark jig heads below 15 feet.
 One party went "down the river" - a trip only available for guests with guides - and caught 8 brookies - one over 19 inches! There are more details on lure choice and fishing techniques on the podcast.
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