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The Weekly Fishing Report  For June 17, 2009
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They're Cubs But Not from the Windy City!
Bears Begging
They look cute and cuddly. And they ARE hungry.

But do NOT be tempted to toss them food, even if they form a road block. (See right hand header photo.)

 These are Ontario Black Bears, and they have some trouble distinguishing between the food and the hands that feed them.

The lateness of Spring's arrival has them lined up on Highway 527 North. Until the berries and brush fill in, they are classic pan handlers.

And if you are in camp, NEVER NEVER tempt them to visit for left-overs. They have bad manners, bad breath, and very good memories and like California's Governor:
They Vill Be Bach!


 

Healing Event For Soldiers - Four Weeks Away

Wheel Chair 

We are counting down to July 11th and are very excited that our plans are taking shape for our second Healing On The Albany Event at our own  Miminiska Lodge. At this time ten Canadian and US soldiers have confirmed their presence at our event.

As you may recall, the event is fully authorized  by Project Healing Waters. We continue to welcome monetary gifts that will enable us to transport these worthy men and women of the US and Canadian military service to our Albany River Lodge. There is more information here at the website:

Healing on the Albany
Lakers On a Fly Rod ? - You Bet!
Scott Earl Smith
You can almost detect a little drool running down the chin of Scott Earl Smith when he talks about springtime lake trout fishing in Ontario.

Scott is the Canadian Editor of Fly Fish America magazine, lives in Thunder Bay and is part of our writers resource team.

This week he drops off his article on catching these notorious Dogs of the Deep on a fly rod. Now is the time, and again in the colder surface waters of autumn. In the summer they are deep and outriggers are your ticket to success.

Arriving guests on Waweig Lake are catching great lakers as a bonus to their night's stay before their flights in the morning. But not on fly rods.

Scott's article - available in our download section of the website - called Fly Rod Lake Trout, tells the whole story, from tackle selection to fly selection.

Once you read it, that might just be drool on your chin.

 
License & Registration Please
MNR Planes
Hey, they're just doing their job.

 They are Ministry of Natural Resources Conservation Officers.  And their job is to protect the bountiful fisheries we have here in the Boreal forest.
So they fly out to area lakes and visit with anglers to insure that the limits of the fishing licenses are not violated, that there are no alcoholic beverages in the boats, and that everyone has a PFD that fits. They also make sure the boat's safety kits are aboard and available. In addition they can coordinate search and rescues should the need arise. Last week they visited our Striker's Point Lodge on Whitewater Lake, and Steve Arbaugh sent in the photos from above.
 
AlanPilot
Big Pike - Big Warm Up
...by Alan Cheeseman

     Canadian Flag  
Finally, the warm days are here. In fact it is nearly 26c (82f) here today with bright sunny skies. And just in time. We are really ready for the arrival of Spring.

The warm sun is bringing water temperatures up and for the most part it is turning on the pike in the shallow waters, especially at Whitewater Lake. Here is a 26 mile long lake that is part of the Ogoki River system. It flows west to east. And anglers at both ends of the big lake scored big this past week. The Chase brothers, from the Milwaukee area (that's Richard in the upper left hand header photo) each had a 40 plus Mr. Toothy, and both on the same day. WOW! Steve Arbaugh, of Harbor Springs, Michigan scored a 46 inch northern on the western end of the lake on a fly rod. Tyler has the story in his report.

Our first report from Miminiska Lodge's, Tristan Yuswak, a man from the land down under, is part of this week's report as well.

Our podcast series on Chats with Master Anglers opens the mic to both Richard and Larry Chase (Photo on the right.) from Milwaukee, and Steve Arbaugh of Harbor Springs, Chase PikeMichigan as they share tips about their successful trophy pike angling. Listen in by clicking here.  

Master Anglers:
We now have 25 walleye over 26 inches caught and released in both the Ogoki and Albany River watershed. As for the pike we now have 30- forty inches or longer - in the 2009 record books.

Click here to request your own copy of the Master Angler list for 2009.

Talk to you next week - and as always feel free to drop me an e-mail by clicking here or by phone at 888-465-3474.


Alan

Grfaham SaundersHow Do You Like The Weather Now?
...by Graham Saunders

Summer sort of jumped on the scene the past few days, and that really takes the heat off of me. So to speak:) Yesterday it was 81f in Armstrong.

So, why the delay in Spring? Recent weeks of cool weather were related to a persistent low over or near Hudson Bay which was part of a pattern around the Northern Hemisphere. It resulted in unusually warm weather in Europe, British Columbia and other areas, while some areas including the prairies and central Canada, have been much cooler than average.

It appears that this pattern has now changed. The cool weather with only a few "normal" temperatures has been replaced with average conditions, with occasional very warm and some cool spikes likely. This summer weather pattern is likely to continue at least into early July. WHEW!

The short term forecast includes sunny and seasonable temps (H75 and L55) through Friday morning. Some isolated showers beginning that afternoon, and light rain on Saturday, with highs mostly in the mid 60's. Light rain again Sunday, some showers on Monday, and sunny again on Tuesday with highs around 73.

Click here to listen to the podcast.

Albany River Lake Report
...by Meryl and Bernard CarrollMERLEAND BERNARD

During our second full week with guests at Makokibatan the weather didn't improve very much, but the fishing sure did. We think it is those rising water temperatures.  And we're excited about the good weather forecast for the week to come. In fact this past Monday was our warmest day of the year at 21c (72f).

The Tacia group - from Michigan - first time guests at our Makok Outpost, were totally amazed by the mighty Albany River and the large number of fish they caught.
 
This week we have six Master Anglers in the group - wow! It's exciting. Jeff Warner with the largest walleye of the group at 28 ½ " and 7.2lb. John had two master angler walleye one at 27" the other at 28" caught at sandpoint with jigs and leaches. Tom Tacia caught his 26" walleye using that time proven system of jig and leaches.

Our legendary First Nation Guide, Eli Baxter and his apprentice guide Matty Sobiera led the group east for the river adventure of a lifetime.  It wasn't long before the boys found themselves reeling in feisty brook trout. The trout ranged from 14-19 inches in length with the lure of choice being a medium size Little Cleo spoon. Most fish were caught above the rapids in faster moving currents.

The McMaster gang, who enjoyed a stay at our outpost camp, also fished downriver. Native guides from Fort Hope Reserve - Collin and Miguel joined them to form a party of 12. Amongst the bad jokes and a few hefty snags, trout were landed above and below the rapids -  with a majority of trout responding to silver William Wabblers in both fast and slow-moving water. Congrats to Jack Hansen of Thunder Bay for his 26 inch -Master Angler walleye. For many of these anglers, it was their first trip for Brookies-and what a trip it was.
Whitewater Lake Report
...by Tyler LancasterTyler with Brookie


With the unseasonably cool temps and rain this week at Striker's Point Lodge, the bite was fairly tough over here on Whitewater Lake. Anglers were working hard for their fish using a variety of different techniques.
 

The Davidson group from Virginia, who made master angler status on the last report, finished their trip off with nine northerns greater than 38". Nick Bliley ended up with a 42" and a 46". Bob Davidson had a 42" and Bill Davidson also had a 42" and a near "world record beater" that gave us a view boatside, before heading for a downed tree and wrapping himself up in the branches. The head on this thing looked like the hood of a Mack truck. Dave Merrill logged his personal best with a hefty 41" northern.
 
Michigan's Mike Lashbrook and his three fishing pals,Striker Pike returning guests for over ten years, found conditions equally tough. However, Steve Arbaugh managed a gargantuan 45" sow while fly-fishing down the Ogoki outflow. You can hear about this remarkable catch by clicking here. Steve and his friends also got a peek at the inside of the Ontario Ministry Of Natural Resources Conservation Officer Enforcement DeHavilland Beaver floatplane - see side bar story on left.
 
Also with us last week were the Schramm party, mostly coming out of the Chicago area. Stuart Schramm landed a 42.5" pike on his first day and Tim Crane repeated the feat on his last day.
 
The trophy pike have all come out of shallow, weedy, north shore bays, areas usually dry, but not with this year's high water. The extra water can make it tougher to find these fish as they have much more room to hide. The good news is that we have had sunshine and stable weather for the last couple of days. The big girls may be already starting their move to deeper water.

Walleye angling should also improve with true arrival of spring - at last.
Miminiska Lodge on the AlbanyTristan
...by Tristan Yuswak
 
Whilst staff members at Miminiska Lodge seem to have been falling into the water this week, (wow that water is cold)  we thought it's about time we told you about what's being brought out of the water by our great mates up here.

The Atansoff -from Iron River Michigan -group flew off after an amazing week of fishing, scoring well in every department with brookies, walleye and northern's. They especially enjoyed taking to the canoes and portaging into some of the magic little trout spots - like the tail waters of the Keezhik River.

Tom and Gabriela arrived to a warm welcome, quickly ripping into the walleyes and Gabriela especially enjoyed catching lunch for her father. They took time out on Sunday during the heat of the day, to have a sauna and swim to replenish themselves for a beautiful twilight of fishing at the "honey hole," where Gabriela caught herself a 26 inch walleye, earning herself the first Master Angler this season for Miminiska! True blue effort Gabby!

Kelly and Eric enjoyed a great day of weather and fishing, quickly tallying up almost 200 walleyes by supper-time, which I thought earned a "Crikey mate, bloody good effort award." We have neither a certificate or hat pin for this award - but I'm working on management.

The weather up here has been great the past couple-a-days, 18 degrees centigrade yesterday, but a far cry from the heat I am used to back in Perth, Western Australia.  However, these warmer temps gives me a fair dinkum* taste of home, minus the old roo's hopping about of course ☺. The Caribou seem to have selected our runway as their new grazing ground, so there has been plenty of wild-life spotting around the place as well.

Looking forward to another great week of fishing up here and meeting new mates along the way.

Hoo-roo

Tristan Yuswak
- - - the Aussie in the great Possie (Position)
*reliable or genuine

 
Pike on Weed Wacker String ?
  ...by Joe Pichey
Joe PicheyPondering
I have now been here at base camp in Armstrong for about a month and it's already crystal clear what I enjoy most about my job. It's getting to meet guests from all over the world and chat about their expectations and experiences.

None more so than the Scott party from ScottPartyPittsburgh, Kansas who arrived Sunday night for their very first fly in fishing adventure in Canada. I'm not sure if it was their homemade pike lures (the size of a small Buick, made from wood and weed whacker string) or the crowning of Jim Scott as the new pancake eating champion of Waweig Lake, but this typical Wilderness North group is what makes my job so enjoyable. In less than 24 hours, these guys have mastered "Red Neck Golf", eaten enough pancakes to make Aunt Jemima wave the white flag, and caught a half dozen nice Waweig Lake lake trout. They even had time to teach a class on pike lure construction using your typical lawn mowing equipment parts (sweed whackercord for whiskers?).  This kind of fun is the reason I wake up every morning smiling and looking forward to the next group's arrival.  I look forward to seeing you soon.

BTW: I still have some "filler" trips at very sizable discounts, if you're interested in having a fly in adventure yet this summer and your schedule is flexible.