Cold Days To Give Way Soon
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| Last week's
forecast of
cooler and showery conditions captured reality but the outlook for this
week, "temperatures
recovering to somewhat warmer than average" turned out to be a
forecaster's
folly. It appears that the return to seasonal conditions will take a few
more
days.
Recent mornings have
been
especially cool and frost was visible in Armstrong if you were up early
enough.
Local topography and air drainage sometimes give this community the
distinction of being the coolest place in Ontario. On Monday morning for
example, Armstrong was a nippy 32 F (0 C) whereas Big Trout Lake, more
than 200
miles to the north was 50 F (10 C).
Temperatures will recover
from these cool readings during the week and be slightly warmer than
average on the weekend. The outlook, and these longer-term projections
are
always more iffy, is for summer-like conditions to persist during
mid-June.
A safer outlook is that the
longest days of the year are here. Technically, the Summer Solstice
takes place
at 7:28 a.m. on June 21 but the longest daylight hours have already
arrived.
The longest day of the year has only 10 additional daylight minutes when compared to
today. Enjoy the light!
Wilderness North Weatherman
Graham Saunders teaches weather at Lakehead University, and writes
weather column for the Thunder Bay Chronicle
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Ontario Outdoors Card |  | It was new for 2009. The Ontario Outdoors Card together with your fishing license - now it's the law of the land. The card is good for 3 years and will cost you about $9 USD. More information about these cards is available by clicking here or by listening to our podcast with the MNR officials. |
What's Wrong with This Picture?
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Look at the seat just left of the boat operator. Yup - those are life jackets. And they cannot save your life if you don't wear them. We ask guests to always wear them when the motor is running.
You may know that if you own a boat in Ontario, you MUST take a boat safety training class, and receive certification to operate your motor boat. Our guests are NOT required to take this class, but we are obligated to spend time with you helping you learn safe boating practices, and none are more important than wearing the life vests.
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License - Please
|  | These are the planes of the MNR- Ministry of Natural Resources. The officers aboard check your Ontario Outdoor Card, your fishing license, and boat safety document, and they check to see if you have alcoholic beverages in your boat. They are most interested in the number of fish on your stringer. They are professionals and they are serious about their job. When you abide by the regulations the visit is quite enjoyable.
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Hottest Fishing I Remember!
...by Alan Cheeseman
And I have a good memory. At first we wondered about the impact of the early ice out (April 14th) and the warmer than usual late winter, and the low water due to less than normal snow and rain so far in 2010.
Well wonder no more.
Every group has had Master Angler catches and good quantities. But to check the records, we looked back at 2009. Now remember, we opened May 17th last year, and one week later this year. Even with fewer anglers on the water, we have exceeded our walleye count...and are running about even with trophy pike. This week we will open Miminiska Lodge, no one has been on that part of the Albany yet, and over at Makokibatan, 30 trophy walleye are already on the board. We will post the Master Angler score sheet next week. Unofficially we number 44 big girl walleye and 19 jumbo pike.
This week's Master Angler Stories Podcast, features the voices of three Master Anglers from late May, two from Minnesota, and one from Chicago. Click here to learn about lure and presentation styles
Soldiers return as our guests.
On another note, in about a month, July 15-20, we will stage our third annual Project Healing Waters - Healing on the Albany event up at Miminiska Lodge. Group coordinator Mark Snyder has the planes, soldiers, and details in good order. Many of our guests continue to ask, "How can I help?" There's two ways, one you can buy a trip during that time and be in camp, and part of your trip price will go to PHW, or you can send us a donation to help pay the costs of flights, fishing equipment, etc. We provide, as our gift, lodging, flights from Thunder Bay to Miminiska, and all food and housing. Drop me an e-mail if you can help.
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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2010 at Makok - Wild & Crazy Start!
...by Bernard and Meryl Carroll
Bernard & Meryl  |
Well, this week at Makokibatan Lodge is "Go Pink" week. Some of our guests call
their lures "pink ladies" and believe that the walleye all have eyes this week for
pink jigs with minnows. These
macho men don't want to admit it, but, we all know they love the colour. The
weather has been awesome, this is our third year as managers here at Makokibatan
Lodge and never have we seen lower water levels or higher early season temperatures.
Temperatures last week reached 34c or 93f. Whew!
The Boucher group, staying at our outpost camp,
got tired of catching fish their first evening on the lake with 170 caught and
released walleye. Mike Kovacevic from Toronto ended his three day adventure with two Master Angler walleye, 26" and 28", proud boy he was, to leave such a great impression
on the others - he got bragging rights.
The Gildea group arrived Friday - nine guests trying to set the 2010 record for Master Anglers and have nine so far...ranging from 26" to 28"...lets keep
watching! The Hooper group arrived Saturday, and time will tell what happens there.
The Janis group of four arrived Saturday. Charlie Janis, wearing his biggest smile, got five
master anglers, (green jigs and leaches) ranging from 26" to 29"! Yes!!!!!!
29 inches! Bob Polakovich had a 27", Max
Janis had two 26", and Kevin Polakovich with a 27 1/2". We'll have their full trip story next week. In all we have 30 big trophy
walleye on the books as of this writing... with lots of good anglers still out
there. 
Legendary guide Eli Baxter says, "low water, lots of fish...and BIG ones." We all know Eli knows what he's talking
about. We are excited to have him back for another season, he had his 87th birthday
this year....and is still guiding. |
Master Pike and Walleye at Whitewater
...by Katlyn Johnson
What a week for master
angler fish here at Striker's Point Lodge!
Last week I mentioned the Blankenship group and their SEVEN master angler pike -
well, by the end of the trip their grand total was TEN master angler pike!
Larry Blankenship from Tazewell, Virginia claims the largest catch with a 50 1/8 inch
monster. He promises to send the photo from his disposable camera. He was
fishing with large minnows in swift water about 8 feet deep at the west end of
the lake. Larry and friends were fishing for walleye but the walleye fishing
suddenly stopped. He joked that, "When the walleye stop, the big fish have
moved in!" This turned out to be the case, and after a long fight he was able
to bring in the fish with the help of his friend Ted Taylor, who did a great
job netting the monster pike. Larry also caught a 41" northern, and Ted had a
42". Kevin Abel from Abington, Virginia was the walleye champion of the group; he
caught A LOT of walleye all over the lake!
Randy Nurenberg (Bottom pic.) and his sons Chris and Matt from Andover, Minnesota had a great
end to their trip, bringing in three master angler pike. Chris caught a 44"
northern just in front of our lodge. (Top pic right.) He was fishing with a William's Gold Spoon
at a place our lodge manager Bill
Carroll pointed out. Matt (Middle pic.) caught a 41" big girl in Gator Alley, and another 40" northern just off burnt island.
The Davidson group from Powhatan, Virginia commented on the AMAZING fishing all over
the lake - with exceptionally big numbers of walleye in McKinley Bay. Friend
Nick Blily from Midlothian, Virginia caught a 40" northern off of burnt island with
the help of guide Nick Tomberg.
Ward Jankus (Lower pic.) from Neenah, Wisconsin caught a 29 ½ inch walleye his first morning
fishing here on Whitewater Lake. It was his 6th cast of the day. Again, manager
Bill Carroll gets credit for suggesting a great fishing spot just off the rock
pile down river. Ward would like to rename this fishing spot "Ward's Point."
Friend Jim Moran (Top pic.) helped net the fish. Jim, publisher of Badger Sportsman, came very close to catching a master
angler walleye himself, but was just short at 25 ½", fishing with a ¾ oz pink
jig and a leech.
Ward and Jim also managed to see some wildlife on their trip, and they caught this great picture of a moose
s wimming across the lake. Ward and Jim waded into the
water while fishing just below the rapids after the portage trail. While
reeling in a walleye, they witnessed a northern come up and grab the fish just
inches from their legs! They did
step back.
Scott Esperson and Mike Knutson had a lot of success fishing for walleye down
at the west end of Whitewater Lake. They managed to reel in 67 fish within an
hour while fishing in the rapids! Also, Scott wrangled a master angler 47"
northern, and another 37", both caught in the narrows near Ogoki Lodge.
It's been a week of record catches here on Whitewater Lake! But - it's still
early in the season! Perhaps we will see even BIGGER catches as the weather -
and the fishing - heats up.
From Striker's Point Lodge on Whitewater Lake, this is Katlyn Johnson casting
off. |
Help! Someone - Anyone...Will We Run Out of Fish?
...by Joe Pichey 
I'm afraid that if this action keeps up, we will be out of
fish by mid June and our late season guests will be "Out of Luck."
Guests
are reporting weekly numbers above 2000 walleye in locations like ZigZag. (No
surprise there, eh?)
We have had master angler after master angler show up at
the front desk with smiles all around as the fishing is as hot as it's been in
10 years. Big fish! Little fish! Big fish eating little fish as they are
being reeled in. To quote the great Bill Murray in Meatballs "It just
doesn't matter, what you are throwing at them." Pink jigs tipped with
minnows, big shiny metal spoons, or homemade pike lures that were
designed on a cocktail napkin, the fish are feeding and they are in an early
season frenzy.
We have had master anglers from ZigZag, Musgrave,
Opichuan, Striker's Point, Makokibatan, Dawn and Ogoki. If you don't see
your lake on here, that means we have not sent a group in yet or it would have
made the list. Several groups that come back year after year are reporting that this is the best
year ever for both daily numbers and trophy fish.
The Paul party from Dallas, Texas headed into Zig Zag with high hopes and came out
with band aids covering most fingers as over 2000 fish were landed in a seven-day
period. Thank goodness for catch and release!
They let us know that they would like to book ZigZag "from now
thru 2018." Who says those Texans can't catch these northern beauties?
We have had another successful trip by the McMaster boys, eight anglers from right here in Ontario as they headed into
Opichuan. Not only did they land a master angler walleye going 28 inches
but they also landed several nice brook trout in the ri ver.
The Younger
group that headed into ZigZag also netted a 29.75 inch glass eye as well as a
27 incher. Photos on right.
I'm sure that as the weather grows more stable and the water warms up, the fish
will head a little deeper, but with the low water conditions, they will
continue to concentrate and feed at a blistering pace.
We are looking
forward to seeing everyone soon and as always, feel free to e-mail me at joe@wildernessnorth.com or call me at base camp
807-583-9929 as I love to talk fishing.
See you soon,
Joe |
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