| What Else Can I Do In The Wilderness?
|
|
Scott Earl Smith is a member of the Wilderness North Writer's Resouce Team. As an experienced fly fishing guide and Canadian Editor of the Fly Fish America
magazine, he has spent a lot of time casting in some remote Ontario locations, including the streams and lakes surrounding our Miminiska Lodge on the Albany River. In a little article called "What Else?"
can I do besides fish, he outlines his experiences in the wilderness without a fishing rod in his hand. You may read it or download the article by clicking here. |
| "Music From the Wilderness"
|
 |
It's called "Music From the Wilderness" and has 15 cuts of relaxing piano, guitar and string music that captures the tranquility of the Canadian wilderness. It is the music you hear as backdrop on our podcasts and it is available now for just $15 USD delivered to your door.
To learn more about "Music From the Wilderness" and to meet the composer and hear sample songs, click here.
Or call 1-888-465-3474 and order yours today.
|
Back "issues" of the Fishing Reports and Newsletters
_________
|
|
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.
|
|
|
Lessons Learned
...by Alan Cheeseman
"You're never too old" - - -
I'll bet you've heard that phrase a time or two in your life. It is usually the beginning of a line that goes on with: "to learn something new."
And generally speaking I agree with that motto.
Now "new" does not always mean "correct." An example might be: "Oh there is that mama bear on my left and the cubs on my right, I'll just go ahead and carry those cubs to her!" Oh Oh.
July has been learning month for all of us at Wilderness North. The soldiers from the U.S. and Canada who were our guests for the Project Healing Waters (PHW) event taught us some great lessons. Most of these soldiers were young men fresh from the battlefields of Afghanistan and Iraq.
However, one man stood out from all the rest. That's his photo in the upper left hand area of the header (flying co-pilot on the deHavilland Otter). He is Vietnam Vet Bill Johnston from Pittsburg, PA. Bill is also seen in the photo on the right, being welcomed to our Miminiska Lodge by Manager Fred White. In our podcast this week you'll hear Bill's take on life. And remember most of his 60 years have been without legs. You will NOT hear about his losses, about what he can NOT do, or any bitterness. Instead you'll hear the upbeat story of what happens wh en we concentrate on what we have, or how to get things done in cooperation with others, and how Bill, too, learns from soldiers like young Mike Oreskovic, of Eugene, Oregon, who spent his "Healing On The Albany" trip catching, landing, and releasing fish often by himself and all with a fly-rod - and all of it - without a left arm.
Bill has summarzed the power of the PHW organization's outreach to young soldiers in the interview. He taught us a lot. Listen Now.
I also learned that if you go fishing with your wife and two daughters, make sure you are close enough to her boat to audit the number of fish she claims she caught.
I have learned from guests that trophy Walleye do like Gulp Alive, and that the early results from our in the field study are promising. Gulp Alive is a good alternative to live bait.
I have learned that #4 or #5 hook with a Slugo or similiar large profile soft bait is a good choice to avoid loosing jigs with tails when fishing in rocky bottoms or brushy shorelines. You can rig these with the hook point just buried beneath the surface of the Sluggo - so the hook sets when the fish bites down. Yes, this includes Walleyes, especially the larger ones.
And finally, this is the time in the season when our guest counts drop off a bit, although the fishing remains pretty good thanks to cooler temps and high water levels. So it is also a good time to answer the question, "What else can you do besides fish up there?" Scott Earl Smith, Canadian Editor for the American Fly Fishing Magazine has prepared a story just for Wilderness North Guests that answers that question. Learn more about the article from the sidebar story on the left or download it from our website.
Keep in touch. I welcome each suggestion and comment. You can send one now.
Alan
Alan@wildernessnorth.com 1-888-465-FISH (3474)
|
|
Warm and Clear - All Next Week...Dr. Graham Saunders 
If you were with us yesterday, you would have thought it was spring in Texas or Oklahoma. Lots of wind, some hail, and plenty of lightning and thunder. Well it is called Thunder Bay after all. However, by the time you read this, these storms have either blown themselves out or moved out of the area. And now the "zonal flow" take control of the weather for the next week or so, bringing in seasonal temps with highs around 25C (80F) and light winds. Skies will be mostly sunny, but still a slight risk of late afternoon showers stays in the forecast. Our temperatures will be rising throughout August and we may hit a few of those hot and humid conditions, that our U.S. guests often seek to escape. However, lows in the low to mid sixties do make for good sleeping throughout our area, even on days that may find temps above 90F. The podcast tells more about zonal flows, and a future peek at August. Listen Now.
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.
|
|
High Water - Low Water - and More Master Anglers
...Krista Cheeseman
Our report starts up at Makokibatan Lodge. Our internet is down, so I am covering for MacArthur Hobbs this week. A father/son combo pulled up two nice 26 inch plus Walleye from 18 feet of water. Bob McClain and son Bob found both light and dark lures working, so "when they're hungry - they're hungry."
Lake levels are still high except for ZigZag where the passage to Crescent Lake is completely high and dry. Katelyn has the report from Miminiska Lodge below, and Tyler has the week off from Striker's Point, where Alan and I took the girls for a couple of days to fish Whitewater Lake last week. Yes, that is my youngest and least patient daughter, Sierra, holding a Walleye. She was able to reel one in on every cast. And I had the good fortune of  hooking up with a nice Northern Pike - on a buzz bait - boy, I sure could get used to that action. You'll have to ask Alan how he did - he seems to be pouting about that issue.
The Master Angler report has been updated and shows 85 Northern Pike and 33 Walleyes included to date. You can read and download the report now. Other lakes and information are included in my podcast - You may Listen Now.
|
|
 Water High - Fishing Good
...Katelyn Johnson
When Miminiska Lodge guests asked where the fish were hiding this week, our guides cleverly responded "in the lake!" Walleyes were plentiful all over the map, except for, surprisingly enough, the Walleye mine - which was a bust these past few days. Hotspots included Ferguson Bay and Caribou Island, and the tail waters of the Keezhik and Trout Fly Rivers.
Berkeley's Gulp Alive was stirring up quite the buzz this week - bringing in ample amounts of Walleyes and Northerns. Live worms, however, seem to be a classic favourite among anglers.
Congratulations to Roger Anderson for the catch of the week - a little fish with a BIG appetite! That's Roger's pic on the right.
There were no master anglers at Miminiska this week, but Bill Hendry came close with a 39" Northern caught at the bottom of Twin Falls using a Johnson silver spoon. Congrats Bill!
|
|
|
|
|
