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Closing Out The Season
....by Alan Cheeseman
It has
always seemed funny to me to close out our season at a time when fishing is
terrific. But it seems that fall schedules are such that folks just don't plan
a trip to the Ontario Boreal at this time of year. We would stay open until
about October 1st if demand was there - but it is not. Oh, after October 1st
- could be too cold maybe even snow.
You can
certainly tell by this week's season final reports, especially Ryan Lacey's
report from Whitewater Lake, that the fish certainly cooperate in September.
And you can also tell from Graham's weather story that Mother Nature does make
things tricky at times with cool, windy, sometimes rainy days. But the fish
don't care. Short days, cooler water temps, and nature's trigger points tell
the fish - "Eat now or listen to your tummy growl all winter." And eat they do with strong cast
to strike ratio that add up to great adventures even though guests are in rain
suits and multiple layers.
I like to
pause at this time of year to reflect on things I have learned from each
season...and 2010 was no exception. So here's my recap: -
The
fisheries are healthy, and even though we encountered low water levels all
season, fishing was great. Our First Nation guides taught us "Low water means
good fishing." Frankly we were a little concerned...but it was a record year for
Master Anglers with 73 pike over 40 inches and 165 walleye. Nuff said!
-
Our
staff gets better every year, and this year our guest comments all pointed that
out - again. Krista and I are grateful for everyone's hard work. It's long
hours, tough conditions, and guests see all that and appreciate it. And they
tell me what a strong team we have.
As we
look to 2011 we are considering several significant changes to our operation -
all destined to make every guest's fishing and adventure even more enjoyable
and productive. For now we plan to leave the rates just as they are - until
November 1st - and then decide on a change if necessary. So if you are planning
a trip for 2011, we are ready to take your reservation and your deposit and
guarantee you the rates as posted on our website.
Thanks to
all of you...and for the next few months - until we open again in May 2011,
expect a "Words From The Wilderness" newsletter every three weeks or so. And of
course feel free to contact me whenever you wish. Alan
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Whitewater Lake Closes the Season
...by Ryan Lacey
Well the
2010 season has come to an end at Striker's Point Lodge, and what a season it
was. Huge northern pike, loads of walleye, happy customers and beautiful
weather. This week we had quite a finish here on Whitewater Lake, with seven
master anglers and some furious winds as well as a drop in the temperature.
Par Shiree from
Michigan came in for his third trip this summer, and brought along wife Gwen
and friends Doug and Barb Whitney. The walleye fishermen and fisher-ladies
couldn't keep the fish out of the boat. Fishing mostly around main lake islands
and the usual "secret spots" really lived up to the expectations.
Pulling in some big walleye, the biggest reaching 22-23-inches. Once again we
enjoyed catching up with Par and friends and look forward to seeing them in the
2011 season.
Father and son, Bill Barger from Cicero, Indiana and Jason Barger from New York
city flew in for their third trip to Striker's Point. The guys hunted down the
pike, with Jason hooking into a very large 36-inch northern while trolling near a
rockface down river. A fly-in day trip to Lake XP (about a 20 minute flight
from Striker's Point Lodge) was enjoyed by this duo and they loved fishing for some very aggressive pike,
catching many 25-35-inch northerns. We always look forward to seeing the Bargers.
The Elo group from Thunder Bay and Orangeville just outside Toronto, Ontario
had a pretty amazing trip. The group landed four master northerns and one
master walleye. Master Angler Tom Quesnel reeled in three large northerns a 34,
40 and 42-inches. George Balla, Jr. landed a fat 42-inch northern that had a
lot of fight. He was trolling the Bay of Pigs at the time. George Balla, Sr.
also landed a nice fish, he was very happy with his 33-inch northern. Jyrki Elo
got into loads of walleye including a master 27-inch walleye jigging down river
at the rockwall. Kevin Swann managed the biggest northern of the week
coming in at 46-inches. The guys not only had some big pike but had some
excellent walleye days down river and in the narrows.
Brothers Bill Davidson from Midlothian, Virginia and Bob Davidson from
Powhatan, Virginia were in for their second eight-day trip this season. I had
the absolute pleasure of guiding the two and spending the day with the
brothers. The boys had a great trip, Bill with two Master Anglers, a 41.5-inch
and 42.5-inch northern. Both were caught on a #7 silver and red Williams spoon
trolling the weed patch outside the Bay of Pigs. We battled some cold weather
with mid-morning fires and hot coffee. A great day was spent fishing down
river, walking down to the first set of rapids catching walleye and pike almost
every cast. The eight days went by too fast, and I really look forward to their
spring trip next season.
The Striker's Point team is already anxious to start the 2011 season, and we
hope to see you back here. We want to thank all our guests for making this
summer such a great summer and wish everyone a safe, and happy winter. That
will be it for me this year; can't want to get back on Whitewater next year.
See you all Striker's Point!
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Is It Over Already?
by Joe Pichey - Outdoor Specialist
Wow, this season sure did fly
by! It seems like just a few days ago, we were welcoming our first group
of the season and reminding everyone to "fish em' slow" and
"dress in layers." This has been another great season
for master angler fish at every location that we have. Starting with the
Jenness and Butcher parties in May all the way thru the McBride and Haverkost
parties in mid September, it seems that every group has a story to tell about
the big one or the big one that got away. We all love to tell those stories.
After my trip into Makokibatan Lodge about a month back, I thought my
story telling days were over for the season. That was until the Barger group
from New York asked me to come along on their day trip into "XP" Lake
in search of northern pike. This lake has a reputation of producing huge daily
numbers of mid sized pike. Since we have not had a group go in there for almost
three years, I decided to tag along to make sure everything went well. After
flying from Striker's Point Lodge to XP Lake and getting the boats and motors
into the water, native guide Dave Rich cranked on the 15 hp Johnson one time
and then again before she rev'd up and we were on our way. I was in one boat heading one
direction as the Barger group headed in the opposite way. This is not a big
lake, but one that has some good island points and weed beds that are easily
accessible within five minutes. After trying a few different locations without
success, my fishing buddy and I headed to a nearby island and drifted over the
"windy side." Throwing Johnson Silver Minnows tipped with yellow and white
twister tails, this "boat ride" quickly turned into "boat
chaos." The pike were stacked up on this island point and hitting
anything that was thrown in front of them. We had repeated doubles and at one
point, I had seven straight casts where I landed a 28-33 inch pike. My hands
were getting sore from unhooking these toothy critters and my buddy was bleeding
from a few different finger tips. After about four hours on the water, we had
managed to catch about 30 pike between 25 and 33 inches. Nothing overly
gigantic, but still a lot of fun. The Barger group landed another 15 pike and
had a "blast." All in all, this trip boated approximately
45 pike in about four hours. This is a great day trip and something that we
will be offering for next season. On a side note, I must apologize to Chuck Hoegeman from Mount Juliet,
Tennessee. A few weeks ago, I was enjoying some time out at Miminiska Lodge and
discussing favorite lure choices with Chuck. He mentioned that his "go
to" lure for walleye is the "Swedish Pimple." Apparently,
Chuck's wife pokes fun at him for using this great lure and does not believe
that he catches fish with it. I can assure her that he does. Chuck and his
boat partner Stanley Woszczynski had a great time and caught huge daily numbers
of walleye while fishing the "walleye mine" at Mim. Chuck asked me to give the
Swedish Pimple a mention in the newsletter so that his wife will finally
believe him. You owe me Chuck!!! Thanks again to all of our guests for a great summer. As always, I look forward to hearing from you. Send me an email.
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 Prairie Weather? Indian Summer?
...by Graham Saunders
We have experienced
some of the Prairie weather, with strong winds, cool temps, occasional showers
and scattered light frost. It is in great contrast to most of the summer but .
. . reality check . . . it is fall.
We should
expect a continuation of cool conditions and showers interspersed with some
afternoons with sunny breaks. Afternoon seasonal temperatures are in the mid
50s F at this time of the year. Morning temperatures are not much above
freezing.
At the
moment, cooler-than-normal temperatures prevail across southern Canada, with
warmer than usual both in most of the USA and Arctic regions of North America.
Environment
Canada and the Weather Network are predicting these conditions to prevail for
the next two weeks.
I think
we will see a return to seasonal and warmer about one week from now. Indian
Summer is due.
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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