Friday, June 26, 2009

Another Update

Hey - I'm posting 2 days in a row...that's a record...

Anyway, it's been a busy day...biggest news is that the walleyes turned on in big way for the Milow group....everyone in the group did great with the 'eyes today....saw lots of fish....all kinds of sizes....from little ones all the way through to lots of nice ones...

Most of the guys & gals were jigging with live bait...I believe they said around 15'....Cjad & Betsy weren't getting much action jigging but they started really getting into them in a big way by trolling the ledges with Wally Divers...

It was a hot day - everyone is about 3 shades darker from when they went out this a.m.....the wind was negligible .....the fishing Gods smiled today....

Oh - & hey...remember that I mentioned that 10 year old Jarrod caught a nice 29" pike? His sister Ellie caught a 30" tonight....and Jarrod even came over to tell me about it. Now that's a classy fisherman!

The Sell / Klug group went lake trout fishing today.....it's been hot the last few days so the lakers are starting to dive. Joe tells me that they were suspended between 60' - 80'...still they did very well including a real nice 8 or 9 pounder...

Mitchell's are wrapping up a very successful bass fishing trip with another great day......

Still a few boats out, so I may have to do a second post tonight....we'll talk to y'all soon!

Thursday, June 25, 2009

Fishing Update

Well, it's been a busy couple of weeks since my last post....

Hey - remember when I was spouting off that ice was out on time....the pike & walleye all spawned on time....the first couple of weeks looked like it would be consistent & predictable? Well....

The problem was that, although things happened on time, we still continued to have colder than usual weather.....after all those first benchmarks of the season, the weather stayed cold (& wet) and in a nutshell, the water took forever to warm up.

The result? Well, for the most part, the walleye fishing was pretty good throughout.

The pike though.....many groups, starting with the Krings reported that they were lethargic - acting like musky....lots of follow ups ....not a lot of action. Even when they bit, many didn't fight like they usually do. Miranda Lake was great for pike action though for the Krings....

The bass seemed to be taking longer to get up to their spawning beds....water warmed up quicker upstream, so that action was a little quicker there......

The Frazier / Epley group did very well...mainly looking for smallies....they were the first to find the warmer water. Gary & Lisa stayed 4 or 5 days longer than the rest of the group, and it really paid off. They did amazing their last few days.....on the one day they counted, they landed 80 fish...some great sizes.....and they were all released to grow even bigger for next year.

The Schroeders' were back....3rd or 4th trip ....first one in a few years. It was great to see them again. They had some good walleye, and a some nice lake trout at Big McCauley Lake....

The Otto group was up for pike & encountered the situation I described above.....kind of lethargic...

The Lynch family did very well......the kids in the Powell group seemed to have a lot of fun with topwater smallies (based on the number of topwater plugs that they bought)...

The Greenwell brothers were up....Bill for the 1st time....I think it was Paul's 3rd trip....they did good with the 'eyes & got some really nice pike as well. Paul's really worked on his walleye jigging technique & it seems to have paid off.

Rick Stewart was up...Daniel couldn't make it this year.,...Brandon Candler came with him. They had a great day pike fishing on Miranda & got some nice smallies.....really nice smallies....did I mention that Rick caught a 7 pound smallmouth?

Most of the groups found the walleye slow during this period....when I mentioned this to the Flier / Finlayson guys though, they looked at me like I was crazy. They did very well upstream with walleyes, even better downstream plus had some great 'eye action on some nearby lakes as well. When I said that others were finding that the walleyes weren't biting well, Josh said "I've never seen them not biting here!"....'Course they've been coming for years & years to the area and ALWAYS do great......even in -40 in January when they come ice fishing.

That's the thing with the walleye - they're finicky, and usually take the longest to figure out. Once you do, the action can be fantastic....lots of the "system veterans" find that the walleye are almost "too easy" to catch. At the same time, many newer groups often struggle.

Talking to our great MNR Area Biologist Brian Jackson (who always seems to have time to patiently answer my barrage of questions), walleye nettings on the system last year(?) showed stable numbers versus 1999......that's good news....but the real good news is that the number of 'eyes over 18" increased by 8%!

So basically, the walleye are there....the people that are consistently having trouble getting them should mainly look at where they're fishing, and technique (including bait / tackle). They're obviously doing something different than the vets who have no trouble most times......most times it seems to be location.....and many times it's just not getting your bait down deep enough. I've seen "new guys" from a few years back struggle with the 'eyes, but work at it....try different techniques / tackle / bait / locations etc....now a lot of those guys are the "system veterans" I talk about.

Right now, about half the guys in camp are doing really well with walleye. The Murphy group is back...they're trolling & getting some great walleye & pike....using plugs I believe....Thundersticks.....they're getting nicer fish with the artificial bait than the guys using jigs / Little Joe's & live bait. The live bait guys tend to do much better with numbers, the artificial guys do much better with size.

The Mitchells' are here now ....in their second straight week of hard fishing. The fishing has gotten better & better for Steve & Debbie over the last week and a half. They're mainly smallmouth anglers and are literally tearing them up......I've never seen numbers like they're getting....plus lots of big bass too. They fish hard & it pays off.....they work the shore....they even have been catching some great wallyes working the shoreline(!). Steve has kept stats this year & I'll post them....like I said they're doing great....somehow the smallies are getting even more numerous & bigger....

The Milow group is in camp....a big group....having some trouble with the 'eyes......that's only a matter of time....some nice pike & lots of nice smallmouth. Mike & Kyle K were tearing up the smallies & pike the last few days.....Chad actually beat his record of a 38" pike .....he had caught a few 38"...thought he was cursed...finally got a 39" this year! 40" + can't be far behind! Betsy caught a great bass - 6 lbs I believe...Jarrod Olson got a real nice 29" pike - way to go Jarrod! They're all out fishing right now ....Gerald & Terry were out for a bit this a.m. & said that the 'eyes were starting to cooperate for them....should be interesting to see how they do.

Joe Sell & Co are in camp....haven't spoke to them in a couple of days, as are the McKenzie group for the 1st time....lots of lines in the water, so should have lots to report....plus the Killeaney's are coming todays, the McNabbs & Haulotte group Saturday etc etc....lots of fun coming up....

The pike by the way are back to their normal, vicious, aggressive selves. People are catching lots.....some nice ones too....the usual activity...attacking walleye & other pike as you reel them in.

The bass continue to be amazing.....they always have been, but I've never seen the action like some of these groups are getting....loads of numbers, 18" 19" - 20" 21" ......loads of 3 lbers, 4lbers....a bunch of 5 lbers...even 6 lbers & 1 that hit 7 lbs. And they're topwater...loads of action.

Anyway - gotta go....talk to y'all soon!

Now though?

Well,

Sunday, June 7, 2009

Fishing Update

Well, the first few weeks have started off well....except for the weather which has been mainly cold & quite wet. Water levels remain high....for all you who are wondering & call to ask, surface temps are around the mid fifties (farenheit).

The Schaffhauser group was up in late May as usual......and, as usual did very well almost everywhere they went. The guys have been coming to the area for years......they fish varied waters near here & do great with all species. They fish hard, but it pays off...hope to gut some pics from them soon...plus any tackle pointers they may have (feel free to leave in the "comments here guys!).

First time at our camp, but veterans of the area, the Hollander group did very well too. They were our first group to hit the lakers (outside of Quetico) this year.

The Endres party was up last week - first time to the area. The guys did quite well considering this....actually they did better in lousy, windy weather than any other conditions. Although last week that was pretty much the story with the weather....lots of wind especially.

Dan & Alan fish all species.....they left some advice for the pike. They said the pike were still pretty inactive - not a lot of fight in them....lots of follow ups etc. Their best bait for pike was a "Manns 5 1/2 Platinum Black Swimshad". They said almost all their pike were caught on that....It's a shad type rubber bait...the nose is harder and helps the hook stay in place. The guys said it's great for going through weeds & nasty conditions. It reminds me a lot of a large Vibrotail which I used to use a lot (& still would if my suppliers wouldn't always backorder them on me). My tried & true Daredevils & Raps took a back seat to this swimshad this past week.

The guys found walleye drifting....some nice ones, but we're also starting to see more & more of the smaller ones showing up. Minnows seemed to be the bait of choice for the 'eyes.

They caught lots of nice smallmouth. The bass continue to be the marquee with their numbers & size.

We have a very busy week this week - actually very busy right into July. We have the Krings in this week who always deliver, the Schroeders - first time in a few years and they always do well, the Fraziers who did great with the smallmouth last year & are bringing some friends / family with them this time around, the Finlayson group, plus a bunch of new groups. And that's just this week - I should have lots to report the next entry. I'll try & get details re: tackle / techniques that are working for y'all!

To that effect, please feel free to email me or post in "Comments" tackle / techniques that I may be missing. No matter how long we've all been fishing, there's always stuff to learn. Hopefully this blog can become a good resource for anglers coming to the Atikokan area (or anywhere for that matter!).

Talk to you soon!