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Happy Canada Day - Independence Day!
....by Alan Cheeseman
Tomorrow is a big day here in Canada. It is Canada Day. Yup,
we have the fireworks, and a day of family picnics and sporting events.
It is also a chance to pause and be grateful for our freedom to live in a great
land. We know our US friends are celebrating Independence Day this weekend too.
We all know those freedoms - regardless of which side of the border you are
reading this - did not come free. That is why we will pause again in a couple
of weeks to honour and welcome wounded US and Canadian soldiers to our Miminiska Lodge for our
third annual Healing On The Albany event. These brave men and women have been
wounded in battles, both current and past, defending our rights to live free in
both countries. Others volunteer their help too, like our friends at the Victoria Inn here in Thunder Bay who donate the rooms for these soldiers upon their
arrival on July 15. Mark Snyder of Project Healing Waters, who coordinates the
whole event tells me that Diane Cochran AND her daughter will take part in this
year's event. We met Diane last year, and look forward to seeing her again and
meeting her daughter. Last year we had a chance to get to know her pretty well from an interview she shared with us for a podcast. I invite you to listen in by
clicking here - to meet a true North American hero. You will be even more grateful for the freedom you celebrate
in the coming days after you listen. Our second podcast this week is with a remarkable angler
from the state of Michigan, Par Shiree. What's so remarkable is the fact that
when he left Striker's Point Lodge a few days ago, he concluded his 71st
fly-in adventure to Northwestern Ontario. When you click here you will learn
his secret to success on big Whitewater Lake, and his point of view about
staying at Striker's Point Lodge - our American Plan destination here in the
Wabakimi Provincial Park. Happy Canada Day. Happy July 4th every one. I always value hearing from you, and answering your questions, so drop me an e-mail by clicking here. Alan
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Brookie Bonanza at Bloody Miminiska !
...by Tristan Yuswak
 This week
has been an amazing week of fishing up here at Miminiska Lodge, home of the
best brook trout fishing in the boreal forest - maybe in all of Canada. The
Rothenberger group from Mulberry, Indiana, were here to fish for brookies, and
boy o' boy did they find them. The very first cast that Tom Frazier made into
the waters of the Albany River with his fly rod produced a 22 inch brookie,
that had him jumping for joy with his new titanium knees!! Tough bloody
knees!! Larry
Rothenberger then caught and released three over 20 inches at the bottom of Miminiska Falls and
Tom evened up the odds with two more large trout. Their expert First Nation
guide, Thomas Nate, was bringing out the best of Miminiska Lake for these avid
fly anglers.  Their
canoe trip down the now famous Keezhik River produced for them a combined total of over
60 trout in one day. Larry and Tom were just blown away by the amount of fish
at every set of rapids and the canoe trip was the highlight of their stay. They ended up with a Master Angler 27-inch walleye and 37-inch pike on their
fly-rods for a great finish to a bloody great trip. Father
and son team Jeffrey and Gordon (Gordo) Jones from Westerville, Ohio had a remarkable week here. With the help of their guide, Joey Nate, they tallied
hundreds of pike and walleye to fish themselves to sleep every night. Gordo was
so wiped from all the pike fishing he enjoyed a few sleep-ins to get his energy
back up. Ed and
Barry (Bazza) Tocher from Toronto had a great week too, with Barry grabbing a
27 inch walleye to gain Master Angler status. They also got in on the brookies
with four trout reeled in at the bottom of Miminiska Falls on little cleo's, which
seem to be getting everything this year, pike, trout, walleye and whitefish. Well,
that's all for this week. Hoo-roo for now and no worries, mate. |
 Another Amazing Week
...by Katelyn Johnson
The Nicklaus
group from Arbor Vitae, Wisconsin had an amazing week at Striker's Point Lodge, with some memorable
catches. Steve Anderson caught a 42 inch northern at Windsor Rapids located in the
narrows while jigging for walleye with help from guide Ryan Lacey.
Jim Lahti
was jigging for walleye in this week's "honey hole." After catching MANY
walleye, he was bringing in a 15 incher when an enormous pike charged in from
the depths. The pike jumped out of the water and grabbed onto the walleye,
refusing to let go. It was a very short fight thanks to Greg Nicklaus'
amazing netting skills. He managed to get both fish in the boat before the net
broke. Jim takes credit for this week's largest catch at 46 inches!
Congratulations Jim and Steve now both Master Anglers!
This group also had a great week fishing for walleye. On the first day they
caught over 350 fish in various spots down river. Steve Anderson also caught
some very large walleye, the biggest one was just shy of master angler status
at 2 4.5 inches.
Larry Schroeder from Oshkosh, Wisconsin celebrated his 15th fishing trip to Canada by bringing along his family, which included three generations of
Schroeders. (See photo on right.) One day, the group managed to catch and release well over 200 walleye.
They enjoyed the great fishing and beautiful scenery so much, that they spent
at least 12 hours on the lake every day.
We had some extremely warm, sunny days this past week with cool and windy weather expected today...but Graham says it will warm up by this weekend. So please
remember to pack sun hats and SPF 15 when you are preparing for your own fly-in
adventure!
Hope to see you soon.
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 More Master Anglers at Makok
...by Meryl and Bernard Carroll
This week at Makokibatan Lodge -
here on the Albany River - we welcomed back some former guests. Noel Bon Ami
and Paul Lienard from Clermont, Florida. Excited to get back for a
great week of fishing, Paul is now a Master Angler with his 27 inch walleye
caught on a "Hot n Tot" near "walleye alley."
Jerry Salmen from the Lillie
group of Three Rivers, Michigan caught a trophy 29 inch walleye on jigs
dressed with Gulp Alive minnows, while his friend Lee Steinmiller got his
Master Angler pin for a 27-1/2 inch glass eye caught on a "crippled" Rapala. "Crippled" is how he described this trusted ol' friend from the tackle box.
The Shanahan group of five anglers from Howell, Michigan, three brothers and
friends...had an terrific trip as well. Paul Shanahan, the great fisherman of the
group, proudly reported a 28 inch walleye! Awesome!!! We look forward to seeing
the Shanahans again in August.
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Fish 'em Fast - Slow - Deep - Shallow
...by Joe Pichey
 After a
highly successful and extremely busy June, we can look back at things and say
"WOW, what a start!!!!" This has
been one of the best starts to a season we have ever witnessed. Every
destination is producing great daily numbers of fish and Master Anglers to
boot. Nearly every group so far has boated a trophy fish. The only
problem is trying to figure out what patterns are working. I have
given up trying to figure these fish out, as they are not following normal
patterns. One day, they are deep. The next they are up top chasing bugs. It's
extremely difficult to get a read on their patterns. The best advice I can
give is to come prepared to fish them in every situation imaginable. Fish 'em
deep, fish 'em shallow, fish 'em fast, fish 'em slow. It all works
depending on the mood they are in. Jim and Cindy Gilbert from San Diego, California found fish in almost every depth they
fished. They were also successful in landing two 40 inch plus northern
while on their Dawn Lake trip. One came on jig with a yellow tail, the other on the now famous Williams Whitefish. They promised photos...stay tuned. The
Svinarich group from Holly, Michigan landed great daily numbers of better than
average fish on their trip to Opichuan's remote cabin. These guys fished
it hard and it paid off with an outstanding trip. The
Cabush group from Kansasville, Wisconsin fished ZigZag for the first time and
had a very productive trip. These guys have fished other lakes with us,
but agreed that the wait for this fishery was worth it. With big smiles, they
hopped off the plane and said book us again for next year into ZigZag. It's all
yours guys! I am looking forward
to July and hearing what patterns work for these finicky "summer pattern"
fish. All I can say is to be prepared for everything! Be prepared to go
deep, shallow, fast and slow. You name it, the fish will be there at some
point in your trip, COUNT ON IT. I look forward to
hearing from you all soon! Send me an email. |
 Goodbye Cold and Windy
Hello Warm - Sunny Summer
...by Graham Saunders
Weather
variety has to be the theme of the previous week. Temperatures changed from
seasonal to quite cool and windy during the previous two or three days.
Thunderstorm activity has been below average this year but made a comeback in
the past seven days. Some thunderstorms resulted in moderate rain amounts and
continued a slow recovery of regional water levels. WE had three inches at
Armstrong base.
Today is likely to be the coolest day in the coming week. Temperatures will
reach mid-70s F (around 25 C) most days. Sunny days will be followed by more
clouds and occasional showers later in the week.
The outlook for July includes temperatures and precipitation near or slightly
above average.
Here are some factors that can influence these long range forecasts - no, it is
not a dartboard!
1. An
assessment of water temperatures in the tropical Pacific Ocean. This is the
basis for the much talked about El Niņo effect.
2. Other
cycles or oscillations of air pressure occur in the tropics and over the
Pacific, Arctic and Atlantic Oceans. These far-distant processes are considered
in the grand calculation as well.
Another influence, and it is somewhat complicated, is upstream soil moisture
content.
Asleep
yet...hang in there!
The most recent El Niņo (May 2009 to March 2010) has been replaced by neutral
conditions but current trends and model outlooks suggest the chance of a La
Niņa in 2010 is now clearly more likely than not.
Environment Canada, as of June 1st is displaying maps that indicate warmer than
normal summer and fall seasons, followed by a below normal winter. I am staying
with the summer forecast made in March. As with El Niņo, there is a lag
time between formation and effects experienced in Canada.
Wilderness North Weatherman Graham Saunders teaches weather at Lakehead University in Thunder Bay, and writes a weather column for the Thunder Bay Chronicle.
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