Eveyln's Photos
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The photos above are from slides that belong to Evelyn Mesengeeshik who spent her childhood living with her family on Whitewater Lake.
The photo in the upper left and the third photo from the top in this column is of Wendell Beckwith, a US citizen who built a cabin on Best Island in Whitewater Lake in order to conduct "scientific experiments" even though he had crossed the border illegally and was considered a "squatter." Remains of the cabins he built are still on the island and are a frequent visitor stop and shore lunch destination.
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Cash for Lunkers |
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No - it's
NOT a typo!
This story is NOT about trading in your old car.
It is, however, about how Chris Clemmons the Wilderness North Resource Writer and his partner, Bob Hausler, won $30,000 and a
new Ranger boat two weeks ago.
Chris tells us:
"My
partner Bob and I have reflecting on some of the things that
made the difference in our tournament success.
One key factor that came to mind, and it might help us all, with our
future slip bobbering is this:
On the last day of pre-fishing, the wind was blowing hard from the north at 20
to 25 MPH. When we pulled into the spot and tied to our tree, we looked
at the graph and noted that we were sitting in 10 feet of water. We then set our
bobber depths for 9 feet, to keep our leeches 1 foot off the bottom. We
then cast our bobber rigs diagonal to the boat, about 20 yards away. The
baits would then drift parallel past the boat, and once they swung back behind
the boat, we would reel them in and cast out again. We basically kept a
continuous parade of four bobbers drifting by the boat.
We fished the spot for about fifteen minutes but no luck. I began
wondering if the strong winds might be pushing our bobbers along too fast.
Before my next cast, I lengthened my bobber distance from 9 feet to approximately
15 feet, and as soon as I cast the rig back out, sure enough, "Bobber
Down!" Upon
landing the respectable 18 inch walleye, both of us then lengthened all our
remaining leads to 15 feet and we started caching walleye on almost every
bobber pass, including a hefty 24 incher. (The fish were there after all,
and we had just discovered our #2 spot.)
During the next two days of the tournament, the wind only blew 10 to 15 MPH, in
our #2 spot, but we decided to lengthen our leads to about 12 feet anyway. The
rest is history and that #2 spot produced our kicker walleye on day one of the
tournament and one of our three 28 incher's on day two of the tournament.
The next time I'm using slip's in windy conditions, I'm going to lengthen my
lead to help keep my bait in the strike zone."
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Your Photos on the Wilderness North 2010 Calendar!
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If you have been a guest of Wilderness North, at any of our remote cabins or American Plan Lodges, we would love to consider your photos for our 2010 calendar. It's simple to help. Click here to open an e-mail, on to which you can attach up to three digital images. The bigger and higher the quality - the better. If we select your photo to be included, we'll call you and chat about using the image. Your scenery, your fishing, your general beauty shots are more than welcome. Make sure to include your phone number and name when you submit the photos. Deadline for submission is August 15, 2009. When submitting your photos make sure they are of the highest digital quality even if you must submit them in separate emails.
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Historic Treasure Discovered
...by Alan Cheeseman
From time
to time we all find a treasure right in front of us. A few weeks ago, Evelyn
Mesengeeshik, a key customer service employee at our Armstrong Base Camp,
mentioned she had a collection of slides dating back to the 70's from
Whitewater Lake. She brought them in, and sure enough, they were of Wendell
Beckwith, (upper left header photo) from his time at Best Island.
In addition Evelyn  told us of her
family's role in building Ogoki Lodge, and again provided us with slides of the
big lodge under construction (upper right header photo.) So we sent them off to the digitizer and now have
them as part of our photo history. Then we sat down with her, and our podcast voice recorder and listened to stories of her childhood on Whitewater
Lake and of her parents and of the summers and winters she enjoyed in the
heart of what is now the Wabakimi Provincial Park.
So today we share a few of
those photos with you, (see sidebar to the left) and Evelyn's stories on this
week's podcast. Listen in by clicking here now.
Thanks Evelyn for the pictures,
and the stories. We are lucky to have you as friend and staff member.
It is the
heart of summer - and finally the temperatures reflect it. Our fishing
reporters, Tyler, Trist and Jasmine, and Bernard and Meryl indicated that the
anglers who are in camps and at remote cabins are finding both comfort and
plenty of fish.
From the outpost cabin up at Musgrave-Kilbarry comes Salem,
South Carolina's Steve Grant's report of a 26 inch walleye caught July 31st on a reef runner crank
bait. From D'Alton Lake Bill
Engler of Omaha, Nebraska caught and released a 28 inch walleye, on August 2,
while fishing companion Dan Wells, also of Omaha got his 26 incher on August 2
as well - - using a "Little Joe"
rigged with a worm. Dan
Johnson had a spinner bait going when his seven pound 28 inch walleye came
calling on August 1st from D'Alton Lake.
It's that fish deep, fish slow time of year - and
when you do a Master Angler Pin awaits your results. To date a
total of 57 pike and 69 walleye Master Anglers have been registered for the 2009 season.
And Graham's recap of the July weather adds scientific evidence
to the "feeling" we had that the past month was a strange one - "weather wise."
Chris
Clemmons follows up his notes from last week. In the article: "Cash for Lunkers," he explains how slip bobber
angling played a key role in his recent Cabela's Walleye Tournament championship.
Some time ago he provided us with an in-depth article on slip bobber techniques ("Slip Bobbers for Real Men") which we have posted at the website's download page - look under fishing articles. This is a great read if you too would love to find and catch those big Canadian
Walleye.
We have
received lots of photos for our 2010 calendar and the deadline of August 15th
is fast approaching, so if you have a digital photo you would love to have on
the calendar, click here to send it in.
Attention
2009 Master Anglers: If you have caught and released a walleye 26 inches long or
longer, or a pike 40 inches long or longer it should be listed on our Master
Angler Report  at the download page at the website. If you don't see it there, click here to send us the date and lake on which you caught the trophy, the lure you used, a photo of the catch (if you have one) and
give us your mailing address so that we may send you your Master Angler pin
right away. In December we'll send the list to the Ontario Federation of Hunters and Anglers for official registry.
I always
value your comments and questions. Send them to me by clicking here or call at 888-465-3474.
Alan |
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 Koops Scoop Up Walleye
at Mim
...by Tristan & Jasmine Yuswak
Well,
the
weather has finally turned and today bring-eth forth blue skies and warm
temperatures to Miminiska, but for how long? It has been no secret that the
weather has been bloody crazy up here this summer, but that also makes for
bloody good fishing.
Tom and Jeremy Koop
flew their own plane from Ironton, Minnesota this past week for a little bit of
R&R, something they had been yearning for all year. They managed to get
straight into the walleye action and within 2 hours of arrival, were ripping
into their first shore lunch of the stay. They were getting it good with
walleye all over 18 inches and all fat and healthy ones at that.
The high
water here seems to be bringing a whole treasure load of food down the river
system and the walleye are benefiting tremendously. I put the Koops onto my
secret spot of the Keezhik river mouth, and they did alright until I gave them
a tub of GULP ALIVE 4" Minnows and they said that really turned the tide into
great fishing. The Gulp seems to be proving itself quite well with the walleye
up here and even though the Mayflies are about and the fish are eating well, if
you dangle that minnow in front of them, they are going to hit it.
I still
haven't had the chance to get up the Keezhik and go after the brookies myself
with the fly rod, but I'm hoping that before season end that I am able to catch
one of those babies.
Hoo-roo
for this week from Miminiska
Lodge.
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The Big Lake Lives Up
To It's Reputation
...by Meryl & Bernard Carroll
The
Francis group landed at Makokibatan Lake- here along the Albany River - with
one thing in mind-monster Northern Pike. Dedicated anglers and perfect
gentlemen, they found themselves catching plentiful sums of both northern and
walleye totaling 563 fish during their week stay at our outpost cabin. Terry
Francis of Monclova, Ohio fulfilled his personal goal by landing a 41-inch northern pike on his
third day of fishing. The weapons of choice were a hand made rod that Terry
constructed himself, tipped with a Johnson silver minnow and neon green grub
tail. Russ Howard, from Auburn, Indiana and also of the Francis party earned the status of master angler
landing a beautiful 27 inch walleye. With strong winds and high waves, the
majority of fishing was targeted on the north shore and south channel of the
Albany River. The young lads of the group made their fathers proud landing
countless pike and walleye while toughing out a few swarms of black flies and
squiters*. A great group of guys and a great week of fishing, we look forward
to seeing this outpost party again.
The
Majkia group enjoyed a five-day stay at Makokibatan our American Plan Lodge. With our
guides Eli Baxter,  Matty Sobiera and Bernard Carroll at their side, there were
plenty of fish caught. The group worked all aspects of the river system, in
search of some lunkers. Numerous walleye in the 17-24 inch range were landed in
the back lake, followed by honourable mentions of a 34 and a 38-inch pike along
the North shore. With a little help from of Master Guide Eli Baxter, (photo on
right) the group found themselves hip deep in walleye by fishing a few honey
holes along Sandy Point. Eli and Bernard Carroll challenged the famous Albany
River outflow rapids down river in search of monster brook trout. Although the
trout weren't on fire that day, the group had a great time soaking up the
scenery and landing a feed of walleye in calm water pools. No master anglers
were charted, however honourable mentions go to Dayna Majkia with an honest 25¾
inch walleye as well as to Pattie with her chubby 24 inch beauty. As oil
sizzled and walleye fried, everyone enjoyed good conversation and reflected on
a few days of fishing in one of the finest fisheries that Northern Ontario has
to offer.
*squiters - Newfie slang for mosquito - the Ontario
Provincial Bird.
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Secret Ledge Provides Great Walleye
Action Within Sight of Striker's
...by Tyler Lancaster
Our good
friends, the Shiree Party from the greater Detroit,  Michigan area were with us
this past week and enjoyed their second trip of the season to Striker's Point Lodge on big Whitewater Lake. And believe it or not, they will be back for a
third trip at the end of August. Par, Hormoz, Rick, and Bob have been fishing
Whitewater Lake, since the 80's. These guys have oodles of "hotspots"
all over the lake, but they also know you don't have to travel but two minutes
from the dock to get into non-stop action. One of their favourite nighttime
holes is actually located within sight of the dock.
A lot of the walleye have been coming from roughly 20 feet of water close to
structure such as rock piles or sand/weed ledges. We are also beginning to see
lots of fish glued to mid-lake humps and reefs. When the walleye start to
congregate at these locations, the action can be fast and furious.
The hardest part can be finding the right spots.
This is when your electronics can be essential. A good way of staying on the
fish is to locate a hump and toss a marker buoy out. If the spot proves itself
to be a "keeper", immediately plug the coordinates into your GPS unit
(or ark your paper map) and be very careful not to let it get into the hands of
your fellow fishermen!
We are quite busy this week and I can bet with the extra boats out there, we
will have some more great stories for your next report.
Tight Lines,
Tyler Lancaster
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 A Change In the
Weather Pattern - Finally!
...by Graham Saunders
The weather in recent weeks has been relatively consistent: cool
temperatures and mainly cloudy skies, interspersed with occasional sunny breaks
followed by showers. A large area in central Canada has experienced similar conditions,
whereas, British Columbia in the west has extreme heat (some days with 100 +)
and northern Quebec has recorded temperatures 5 to 10 F above normal.
Last week was a continuation of this unsettled pattern in
Armstrong and in the Ogoki and Albany River watersheds.
The good news is that in next days we should to a different
weather pattern - one I would call more typical of this time in the summer.
Today and tomorrow will feature warmer temperatures, although
occasional showers are still likely. The weekend will continue the warming
trend and, something missing from this forecast for many weeks, warmer than
seasonal temperatures early next week.
July temperatures were at least 2 F below normal from Saskatchewan
to New Brunswick and south to Memphis, Tennessee and Washington, D.C.
People from the Manitoba border to around Lake Nipigon have the
best argument that they have suffered. This was the cool centre, with Kenora,
Red Lake, Geraldton and locations in between around 5 F cooler than an average
July. An area from Pickle Lake to Armstrong was even cooler, more than 6 F
below normal. Remember when being "cool" was a good thing!
Warmer than seasonal temperatures were somewhat nearby. Moosonee
on James Bay was 2 F above average and exceptional warmth extended to the
vicinity of the North Pole. Rumours have it that Santa's elves were requesting
air conditioners - Hmmmm?
Graham Saunders is professor of climatology and meteorology at Lakehead University in Thunder Bay.
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