Well the ice is out on Banning - meaning we can launch a boat & actually get fishing!
Darcy - our head guide - went out on the water last night...he put in one of the upgrade boats and went for a spin. Fished for about an hour and did great....very quick action - which was a nice surprise. You never know what these "transition times" will serve up as far as fishing goes.
The official ice out date was April 20 - which is a full week early than the average date of ice out over the last 50 years. Looking like there may be early spawns or at least on time. Still. you never know. If weather gets particularly cooler than average, it can quickly break the hopes that an early ice out brings. Still looking for the pike to begin their spawn in our back bay...nothing yet, but it should be soon!
Of course, on the Seine Chain, with the current, we're always out earlier than most landlocked lakes in our area. Still waiting for the lake trout lakes to open up. Walleye of course is closed now on the area, but the bass & pike can be a lot of fun. Darcy caught a bunch of fish - including a half dozen nice bass - in 20' of water last night.
Looking like it's going to be a great - and very busy year! Cabin 4 is almost done and looks amazing! Pics will be up here soon.
Also looking like we may have some news about a fishing TV show filming here in a months time. We've got something slated to film the 3rd week of May - will focus on topwater bass. Of course that may be a little bit earlier than the "peak" topwater times (the only time we could fit it in though), but still should be excellent. That's the big reason that I'm hoping that the water warms up quick and pushes those footballs up to the banks!
Will keep you posted!
Saturday, April 23, 2016
Sunday, March 6, 2016
2016 Winter Update
Well, we're here in Milwaukee wrapping up the end to our sport show season. We did more shows this year than we have it many years....no real reason why (aside from booking trips of course!), just with the kids all off on their own, it makes it much easier.
The shows have all been really good from a business perspective, but also it has been absolutely great to visit with many of our friends that we usually only see in the summer. Had an absolutely great dinner with the South Chicago crew...good food, good drinks & great company! Saw Larry Pozarski in Milwaukee for the first time in several years. Larry started coming to the camp in 1977, but hasn't been able to make it for a while- but hoping to in 2017.... saw Gil from Perch Lake there as well and great seeing Mike K in Milwaukee too...oh yeah - and Tal D who we haven't seen in a while! Plus John & Al.. and Norm & John.... and Joe & Rick....at Pheasant Run and - plus a great surprise with Doug, Dan & Mark (just missed Dean!)....actually we had 3 old groups come in to the booth in Chicago all at once so there was sure was a buzz of activity around our booth for a little while. ... It's funny how when something like that is going on, it attracts all kinds of others curious to see what all the hoopla is about. Great seeing Curtis P & his son in law in Schaumburg. Mike P & the guys stopped by in Minneapolis...geez - I'm sure I'm missing some too!
Anyway, we haven't been home a lot this winter, but it certainly has been a good winter weather wise. Right now, it's really starting to look like an early spring. Had some ice fisherman sporadically throughout the winter taking advantage of the great weather - saw some nice lake trout as well as nice walleye & pike!
Just getting ready to order some new boats and motors...looking like we'll be getting 3 new 16' & 15 Hp...good trouble I guess - looking really busy, but having to buy more gear & equipment. I absolutely love my Honda 15 HP motors....but I really like the Yamaha units as well...so you may see some more "Yammies" at the camp this summer. Looking at different boats, but right now leaning towards Lunds to complement our fleet of Lunds & Nadens. Likely be sticking with the MinnKota trolling motors and various brands of fish finders. Not adding any more upgrade boats this year (even though they're incredibly popular!).
We added some new 17' Souris River kevlar canoes last year and will add more this year. They were our first 17' kevlar (our others are 18')....the new ones received a big thumbs up from our canoe groups. Also in canoeing, we'll be refreshing odds and ends of equipment - stoves, packs maybe some tents etc.
We'll be adding more boats to more lakes for our remote lakes this year - plus will be adding new smaller outboards for remote lake day trips. As you all know, most don't leave the Seine Chain, but some do like to do day trips. We have a core of about a dozen lakes that are the most popular for day trip lakes....most are launch at or walk to a cache. We have over 50 lake options in the area though that our guests have fished, and some of those that were previously canoe lakes will get boats caches to make it a bit more enjoyable. We'll still have some tougher ones that'll continue to be canoe lakes though - gotta keep some tough!
Big news in these parts is that our spring bear hunt is back. We'll be running a hunt the first 2 weeks of May. The first week is already booked....but we can take 2 hunters the second week. The fall hunt is sold out.
Another new thing for 2016 is that we'll be opening the new Cabin 4! It is going to be an amazing cabin....lots of pine, vaulted ceiling, lots of windows overlooking the lake. It's 2 bedrooms and about 24' X 30'. We'll be hanging pine when we get back.
And - believe it or not, we'll be starting construction on our new lodge & office this year and hope to be opening it by late 2016 or early 2017....the plan is to have a liquor licence and a pool table, along with a short order menu (we'll also do our American Plan meals in the new lodge) ....you'll be able to have a drink, maybe some wings or a burger and enjoy an amazing view of Banning Lake! And it'll be open in the winter to welcome more ice fishermen & snowmobilers!
2015 was terrific year for us and we're looking forward to an even better 2016. Oh and, by the way, 2017 will mark the 50th anniversary that the camp has been in our family, so we're trying to plan some great things for next year as well!
Take care everyone - be safe - and we hope to see you in the woods & on the water in a few months!!
The shows have all been really good from a business perspective, but also it has been absolutely great to visit with many of our friends that we usually only see in the summer. Had an absolutely great dinner with the South Chicago crew...good food, good drinks & great company! Saw Larry Pozarski in Milwaukee for the first time in several years. Larry started coming to the camp in 1977, but hasn't been able to make it for a while- but hoping to in 2017.... saw Gil from Perch Lake there as well and great seeing Mike K in Milwaukee too...oh yeah - and Tal D who we haven't seen in a while! Plus John & Al.. and Norm & John.... and Joe & Rick....at Pheasant Run and - plus a great surprise with Doug, Dan & Mark (just missed Dean!)....actually we had 3 old groups come in to the booth in Chicago all at once so there was sure was a buzz of activity around our booth for a little while. ... It's funny how when something like that is going on, it attracts all kinds of others curious to see what all the hoopla is about. Great seeing Curtis P & his son in law in Schaumburg. Mike P & the guys stopped by in Minneapolis...geez - I'm sure I'm missing some too!
Anyway, we haven't been home a lot this winter, but it certainly has been a good winter weather wise. Right now, it's really starting to look like an early spring. Had some ice fisherman sporadically throughout the winter taking advantage of the great weather - saw some nice lake trout as well as nice walleye & pike!
Just getting ready to order some new boats and motors...looking like we'll be getting 3 new 16' & 15 Hp...good trouble I guess - looking really busy, but having to buy more gear & equipment. I absolutely love my Honda 15 HP motors....but I really like the Yamaha units as well...so you may see some more "Yammies" at the camp this summer. Looking at different boats, but right now leaning towards Lunds to complement our fleet of Lunds & Nadens. Likely be sticking with the MinnKota trolling motors and various brands of fish finders. Not adding any more upgrade boats this year (even though they're incredibly popular!).
We added some new 17' Souris River kevlar canoes last year and will add more this year. They were our first 17' kevlar (our others are 18')....the new ones received a big thumbs up from our canoe groups. Also in canoeing, we'll be refreshing odds and ends of equipment - stoves, packs maybe some tents etc.
We'll be adding more boats to more lakes for our remote lakes this year - plus will be adding new smaller outboards for remote lake day trips. As you all know, most don't leave the Seine Chain, but some do like to do day trips. We have a core of about a dozen lakes that are the most popular for day trip lakes....most are launch at or walk to a cache. We have over 50 lake options in the area though that our guests have fished, and some of those that were previously canoe lakes will get boats caches to make it a bit more enjoyable. We'll still have some tougher ones that'll continue to be canoe lakes though - gotta keep some tough!
Big news in these parts is that our spring bear hunt is back. We'll be running a hunt the first 2 weeks of May. The first week is already booked....but we can take 2 hunters the second week. The fall hunt is sold out.
Another new thing for 2016 is that we'll be opening the new Cabin 4! It is going to be an amazing cabin....lots of pine, vaulted ceiling, lots of windows overlooking the lake. It's 2 bedrooms and about 24' X 30'. We'll be hanging pine when we get back.
And - believe it or not, we'll be starting construction on our new lodge & office this year and hope to be opening it by late 2016 or early 2017....the plan is to have a liquor licence and a pool table, along with a short order menu (we'll also do our American Plan meals in the new lodge) ....you'll be able to have a drink, maybe some wings or a burger and enjoy an amazing view of Banning Lake! And it'll be open in the winter to welcome more ice fishermen & snowmobilers!
2015 was terrific year for us and we're looking forward to an even better 2016. Oh and, by the way, 2017 will mark the 50th anniversary that the camp has been in our family, so we're trying to plan some great things for next year as well!
Take care everyone - be safe - and we hope to see you in the woods & on the water in a few months!!
Monday, August 3, 2015
July 18 - August 1 Fishing
The last couple of weeks of July were a little quieter for us, but started getting really busy again around the 25th and will be going as such for the next 2 months.
The issue that defined the fishing the last couple of weeks is the fact that our fishermen had considerably strong winds to contend with on and off. The 18th - 21st or 22nd was a period like that....anyone fishing (ourselves included) had to find little inlets....we tried to give anglers an second anchor - which helped a bit. Pete H guided the McKittrick group one day...struggled against the wind but got fish and was able to show them some spots for the rest of the week. We're lucky to be on a system where there re narrow channels and that we're on Banning Lake where the winds aren't as pronounced as they are on larger lakes. You can pretty much always get out - usually only 1 -2 days / summer where Banning is even too windy - and people did get out...the strange thing is how it would last for 4 days straight...and not even recede in the evening.
When the winds did recede though, fishing was good. We had a few feeds ourselves. When I (Quent) was out, it was definitely windy and hard to fish, but we were finding walleye at around 22' (before we were blown off those schools. Others went out and had some really good fishing later in that week.
Loris' family was up from Toronto - struggled against the winds, but Wyatt came up and had some really good fishing with them later in the week when the winds died down. We had a great fish fry and lots of action.
The Budrow group were up for their annual trip and did great as they always do....fished out on the Seine and on some downstream "off system" spots.
The Kolhagen's were up for the second time and did very well.
The Rudd's, Handt's, Halgrimson's Miller, Jackie & Buzz etc were up for their annual trip with their very large group....had some great fishing as they always do. They worked the Seine Chain and a bunch of remote lakes...mainily focused on walleye, but caught bass, pike etc...Jackie got a 37' pike on Pipe - even saw some sunfish on a certain off system lake. Gene found some crappie like he always does. And they picked lots of blueberries!
The water is still somewhat high....especially for this time of the year...the highest I've seen it at the beginning of August for some time. Not such a bad thing, although there's still a pretty good current going through the narrows, so a little lower levels sometimes translate to a little less current.
Going for the nicer 'eye's in the 25 ' ish ledges...as always, we're seeing a lot of nice bass come out of those spots as well. Still getting some smallmouth action on the banks at certain times - not like June, but particularly on sunny days there's been some nice ones.
Several pike in the 30"-40" ....several bass in the 18"-20" range. Lakers were a little quieter for the ones that went after them. I didn't hear of any "trophy" walleye the last two weeks, but lots of good eaters and several in the low - mid 20 inch range.
As far as canoeing goes, it's been a pretty busy period...troop 206 from MN was in routing through the White Otter area and had some amazing bass action... the Schardt group picked up their canoes here and did their trip near Dryden and had some really great fishing(!! - our canoes have been away up on The Albany River and the Winisk, but this is a first for the Dryden area!).
The Hartnett / Godfrey group was out for the twenty somethingth time and had a great trip on the east side of Quetico. They had some great fishing as always and reported the absolute biggest bass that they have ever seen...Dave caught & released it, but by the sounds of it, it would have been in the record books.
Had a strange go down thing in one area of Quetico recently....there was a "person of interest" sighted...anyway...here's the public advisory that was released:
So they wound up actually closing about 10 or so lakes in and around that area !!
This morning we were advised that the restrictions had been lifted ...that they have found this man and taken him out of the park..
Haven't seen something like that before....
The issue that defined the fishing the last couple of weeks is the fact that our fishermen had considerably strong winds to contend with on and off. The 18th - 21st or 22nd was a period like that....anyone fishing (ourselves included) had to find little inlets....we tried to give anglers an second anchor - which helped a bit. Pete H guided the McKittrick group one day...struggled against the wind but got fish and was able to show them some spots for the rest of the week. We're lucky to be on a system where there re narrow channels and that we're on Banning Lake where the winds aren't as pronounced as they are on larger lakes. You can pretty much always get out - usually only 1 -2 days / summer where Banning is even too windy - and people did get out...the strange thing is how it would last for 4 days straight...and not even recede in the evening.
When the winds did recede though, fishing was good. We had a few feeds ourselves. When I (Quent) was out, it was definitely windy and hard to fish, but we were finding walleye at around 22' (before we were blown off those schools. Others went out and had some really good fishing later in that week.
Loris' family was up from Toronto - struggled against the winds, but Wyatt came up and had some really good fishing with them later in the week when the winds died down. We had a great fish fry and lots of action.
The Budrow group were up for their annual trip and did great as they always do....fished out on the Seine and on some downstream "off system" spots.
The Kolhagen's were up for the second time and did very well.
The Rudd's, Handt's, Halgrimson's Miller, Jackie & Buzz etc were up for their annual trip with their very large group....had some great fishing as they always do. They worked the Seine Chain and a bunch of remote lakes...mainily focused on walleye, but caught bass, pike etc...Jackie got a 37' pike on Pipe - even saw some sunfish on a certain off system lake. Gene found some crappie like he always does. And they picked lots of blueberries!
The water is still somewhat high....especially for this time of the year...the highest I've seen it at the beginning of August for some time. Not such a bad thing, although there's still a pretty good current going through the narrows, so a little lower levels sometimes translate to a little less current.
Going for the nicer 'eye's in the 25 ' ish ledges...as always, we're seeing a lot of nice bass come out of those spots as well. Still getting some smallmouth action on the banks at certain times - not like June, but particularly on sunny days there's been some nice ones.
Several pike in the 30"-40" ....several bass in the 18"-20" range. Lakers were a little quieter for the ones that went after them. I didn't hear of any "trophy" walleye the last two weeks, but lots of good eaters and several in the low - mid 20 inch range.
As far as canoeing goes, it's been a pretty busy period...troop 206 from MN was in routing through the White Otter area and had some amazing bass action... the Schardt group picked up their canoes here and did their trip near Dryden and had some really great fishing(!! - our canoes have been away up on The Albany River and the Winisk, but this is a first for the Dryden area!).
The Hartnett / Godfrey group was out for the twenty somethingth time and had a great trip on the east side of Quetico. They had some great fishing as always and reported the absolute biggest bass that they have ever seen...Dave caught & released it, but by the sounds of it, it would have been in the record books.
Had a strange go down thing in one area of Quetico recently....there was a "person of interest" sighted...anyway...here's the public advisory that was released:
A person of concern has been spotted in the areas of Brent Lake and Crooked Lake in Quetico Provincial Park. This person is male, Caucasian, with scraggly red-blonde hair and a beard. He may not be wearing shoes and is believed to not have a canoe. If visitors see a man matching this description, please stay clear and do not engage him. Visitors should note the time and location of their sighting and report it to the Ontario Provincial Police at 1-807-683-4200 and to a Park Staff Member. Visitors are encouraged to stay away from the areas of Brent and Crooked Lakes.
Anyway.....getting ready for a busy August...been out baiting bears and getting ready for that stuff....looking forward to seeing everyone that's yet to come this year!
Saturday, July 18, 2015
JUNE 30 - JULY 17
Summer certainly has been making it's way to NW ON.....the last week or so, we've seen some hot & humid weather (although not that "hot" as we're reminded by many of our guests!). Mosquitoes finally have kicked in....June was almost mosquito free - dunno why, but don't really care either lol!
We started out the season with some of the lowest water levels we've seen in years....it fluctuated a bit, but has remained high since mid - late May. The levels weren't as high as the last two seasons (thankfully - that was extreme), but high nonetheless. Now, mid July, they're higher than they usually are this time of year. I wouldn't mind seeing it drop an inch or two - maybe to alleviate some current in the narrows for easier fishing, but overall I have been happy with the "slightly" higher water this season.
The Groh group was in the last of July / first of June...caught some nice fish...got used to fishing a little later in the season.
Second week of July saw quite a few lines in the water...fishing started out really good and then a cold front and the mayfly hatch seemed to mess up the bite. The Meyer group was in camp for the first time and worked hard against the curves that Mother Nature threw at the fishing this week.
We saw the Volkman group (welcome back!) pick up some nice walleye early in the week - good sized ones using artificial and trolling. I always preach if you're getting all small walleye, mix up the presentation....you usually always get better sized fish on artificial and trolling is a nice change up to vertical jigging with live bait. When the bite got a little tougher they mixed it up a bit and found some really good action downstream on the Seine. One thing that's nice about the areas that they fished further downstream, is that the water body is much smaller, and it makes it easier to hone in on the fish. Work every angle you can and it'll happen!
The Reid group was in for their second visit. They worked through the tough bite days and caught and ate fish throughout. I think it helps when there's 10 lines in the water...they kept catching! They tried lake trout fishing for the first time (first time here anyway - not sure if it was the first!), and had a great time. Considering they don't have a lot of experience fishing lakers and it was mid summer they did fantastic. Found them in 80' holes suspended between 30'-40'. Lots of bites - and Brian Sr. landed a 6lb and Brian landed a 10lb!
The Halgrimson group was back....first visit this year (if you don't count ice fishing!).....worked through the slow days on the Seine and other lakes, and caught lots (of course, I've never seen then not catch lots)...See you guys again in a week or so!
It was absolutely fantastic to see Chris & Jackie Rahnasto (and their kids!) for the first time in 6 years! The Rahnasto family has been coming for many, many years and always do well. I think life got busy - with rising young families etc, but it was great to meet the 3rd generation of the family and see that they inherited the fishing skills - even at such young ages!. This time was no exception ....any talk of slower fishing was nowhere to be heard. I looked out at the lake once and saw their boat trolling around some of the islands and shoreline where people either don't often fish or they don't give the spots much of a chance. I asked Chris how they did in those spots and he said they did great! They caught lots of fish.....they caught nice fish....(did I mention that Chris agrees he gets nicer sized fish trolling - a slow troll...no doubt to get the depth), along with catching all kinds of different species off shore in front of their cabin. Hoping to see all the others again next time!
Chuck G & family are back.....been a couple of weeks so far....he agreed with the few days it was slow, but has had some really good fishing as well....and has been kind enough to explain his (incredibly successful) drop shot set up he uses. Chuck seemed to be rediscovering and enjoying some topwater bass fishing the last few days, but it sounds like another continent of his family will be in and he'll be back to dropshotting the ledges!
Lori & I got out last weekend ( the 11th I think)...this time to see what was happening with the walleye. We just went out on Banning...very hot day...first ledge we went to (not far from camp), we found lots of walleye at 25'. Well, Lori found lots of walleye (I found some!). It's getting to be the norm - her outfishing me (good guide I guess)... a little more practice on setting the hook and look out! Anyway she landed a pile. We missed a bunch too. We were using minnows - ...no real reason, just thought we'd take the minnows - she had a 1/4 oz pink jig, I had a 1/4 oz orange jig....I often think that colour doesn't always matter, but it was the only difference in what we were doing, so pink was definitely the hot colour that day. And we did see a few mayflys on the water.
Lots coming up....Lori's family is in from Toronto so we should be out on the water with them - will get some reports up! And in the next week or so we will be starting to build a new cabin in place of #4 - the old log one we dismantled a few years ago.
Monday, June 29, 2015
Quick couple of things
Rainy and kind of humid weather wise.....but what are you going to do? Sounds like nicer days are coming tomorrow. Mosquitoes are still strangely low key. Don't know why, but we'll certainly take it!
Just wanted to note a couple of things quickly.....warmer weather seems to have arrived...and the walleye (and others) are starting to head deeper. As a lot of you mid - late summer walleye anglers know, 25' ledges are usually a good bet as far as summer walleye go (and some nice bass & pike come from those ledges as well).
Anyway, we're seeing some people starting to get the walleye at this depths...as well as some big bass, but one thing I always like to point out is that many overlook the opportunities to fish walleye in (under) the weeds during the summer months - and much, much shallower. Rick & Joe from IL reported catching some nice 'eyes in weeds to underline this point. Just wanted to point that out as an option that is often overlooked in the summer months.
The Groh party is in, and Donna started the trip out catching a nice 37" pike off the docks. Good way to start!
More to come!
Just wanted to note a couple of things quickly.....warmer weather seems to have arrived...and the walleye (and others) are starting to head deeper. As a lot of you mid - late summer walleye anglers know, 25' ledges are usually a good bet as far as summer walleye go (and some nice bass & pike come from those ledges as well).
Anyway, we're seeing some people starting to get the walleye at this depths...as well as some big bass, but one thing I always like to point out is that many overlook the opportunities to fish walleye in (under) the weeds during the summer months - and much, much shallower. Rick & Joe from IL reported catching some nice 'eyes in weeds to underline this point. Just wanted to point that out as an option that is often overlooked in the summer months.
The Groh party is in, and Donna started the trip out catching a nice 37" pike off the docks. Good way to start!
More to come!
Thursday, June 25, 2015
Quick Update - Late June topwater bass
Well, Lori & I got out this evening for a couple of hours - just going for bass...It was a pretty good evening overall. Weather was beautiful....lake very calm. We casted the shores...wanted to get a handle on what was happening with the smallies.
Anyway, I had a couple shake off or hit short....landed a little pike. Lori did much better....including a really nice 18" smallie. Very fat - great fish...would have liked to take a picture, but we didn't bring a camera...next time.
We used topwater plugs - even though it's a little later in June. You can use topwater all year, just you won't get the sheer numbers that you get in early June. My hula popper didn't produce much action. Switched to some type of chug bug (or a reasonable facsimilie) and got a lot more interest from the bass.
Lori used a Torpedo all night, and she had the best luck. It was only a couple of hours, and we got some decent action. Only fished Banning - all within eyeshot of the camp. The action increased considerably on the south shore - just at dusk when we were making our way back to camp. Likely between 9:00 - 9:30 p.m. The swirling seemed to increase too - seemed to come much more alive just before dark. The bass were hitting likely 5-10 feet from the shoreline, but many were swirling further out.
Slow, patient retrieve worked best. Cast it out, let it sit, slowly jerk it back. Make sure, after the "jerk" that you reel in so your line is taut while it's sitting there before the next. Missed a couple due to loose line and inability to set the hook. All the bass hit when the bait was idle.
Purposely avoided weedbeds in order to avoid the pike - aside from the one I caught, that worked out. But the pike were doing some swirling of their own in the weeds. Likely could have had some fun with them tonight if we felt so inclined.
Weeds are really coming along...forming quickly. Didn't catch the water temp as we didn't bring depth finder.
All in all looks positive for working the shore in the next little while...will get out this weekend and try & give some more updates.
Anyway, I had a couple shake off or hit short....landed a little pike. Lori did much better....including a really nice 18" smallie. Very fat - great fish...would have liked to take a picture, but we didn't bring a camera...next time.
We used topwater plugs - even though it's a little later in June. You can use topwater all year, just you won't get the sheer numbers that you get in early June. My hula popper didn't produce much action. Switched to some type of chug bug (or a reasonable facsimilie) and got a lot more interest from the bass.
Lori used a Torpedo all night, and she had the best luck. It was only a couple of hours, and we got some decent action. Only fished Banning - all within eyeshot of the camp. The action increased considerably on the south shore - just at dusk when we were making our way back to camp. Likely between 9:00 - 9:30 p.m. The swirling seemed to increase too - seemed to come much more alive just before dark. The bass were hitting likely 5-10 feet from the shoreline, but many were swirling further out.
Slow, patient retrieve worked best. Cast it out, let it sit, slowly jerk it back. Make sure, after the "jerk" that you reel in so your line is taut while it's sitting there before the next. Missed a couple due to loose line and inability to set the hook. All the bass hit when the bait was idle.
Purposely avoided weedbeds in order to avoid the pike - aside from the one I caught, that worked out. But the pike were doing some swirling of their own in the weeds. Likely could have had some fun with them tonight if we felt so inclined.
Weeds are really coming along...forming quickly. Didn't catch the water temp as we didn't bring depth finder.
All in all looks positive for working the shore in the next little while...will get out this weekend and try & give some more updates.
Fishing Update June 14-26
Been a tougher week fishing this week (since the 20 or 21), but Amber, Adam & the Danielson's from Minnesota did terrific with walleye and lake trout (good sizes & good numbers) and I'm seeing the Benston group bringing in quite a few 'eyes - some nice ones and lots of good eaters. Newer groups in camp, so it can be hard without all you Seine Chain veterans. Some people are saying that the bass are a bit on the shy side...seeing smaller pike, but no real notable sizes yet this week. Strange because the bass and pike have been very aggressive. The weather has been really crazy though - seems like September.....storms coming and going.....the forecasters are pretty much batting at 0% for the forecasts this week. Won't be long and it'll break though!
Water isn't moving up in temp in a real hurry - still in the mid 60's for the most part. Weeds are developing really quickly....water is staying fairly high - likely about average for this time of year. Nothing like last June though...and bugs are not bad at all (yet!).
Earlier on this period, the Krueger family was up - Dean's second trip this year.....they did terrific as always....some great walleye on the Seine and they did terrific with lake trout on Big McCauley & Little Joe. Pics from their trip going up on FB soon as well as some from Dean's first trip with the guys in May!
The Rogers group was back for the second time and absolutely hammered the smallmouth. The Uebelhach group was up for the second time as well.....I heard about a lot of really big bass with them as well.
The Murphy / Binotti group were up and did great as always. Hardly saw the guys as - aside from the night when the Hawks won the cup (!!), - they seemed to be on the water an awful lot. They got their walleye fishing out of the way early in the week and had fun with pike and bass later in the week....
and the Emery group was back for their second trip and also did really well.
It was wonderful to see Rita Scholl & the kids again. We all miss Paul, but it was such a great thing for you to come up and fish the areas that he loved so much. And, based on those stringers and pictures (awesome bass Bethany!) you brought in, I'd say that he taught his considerable angling skills to you all!
Steve & Jo Mitchell wrapped up their trip of bass fishing....reported as their best in the 7 or 8 years that they've been coming (and that's saying something!)....a comment from Steve....
Canada Wow what a trip we had. We caught 551 total fish 2 perch, 7 walleye,91 pike, and 451 bass. We caught 88 between 17-18", 58 between 18-19 inches, 17 between 19-20 inches, and 3 between 20-21 inches.This is the best we have ever done. I would strongly recommend branches seine river lodge to any one looking for a fishing trip.
I gotta say that it is great to hear someone that has been coming for several years - and has always done great - report that this year has been their best yet! Looking forward to the tackle stats Steve...and I gotta steal some of those pics from you as well!
Anyway, nothing extreme conditions wise...things are progressing along. 'Eyes moving to their summer "holes"...I'd think by early July that we'll be looking for those 25' ledges for them as usual. Had a 19" bass get caught with some guys today fishing deep for walleye....so they're starting to move as well....but you can usually get action in the shallows all summer. The fact that it seems like it's been mostly smaller pike getting caught along the banks, I would say that those big ones are moving deep as well...as noted...things happening like they always do. The weed formation is coming along quickly and will open up some different angling opportunities...and the lakers on the remote lakes are going deeper, but as shown this week, are still very catchable!
Water isn't moving up in temp in a real hurry - still in the mid 60's for the most part. Weeds are developing really quickly....water is staying fairly high - likely about average for this time of year. Nothing like last June though...and bugs are not bad at all (yet!).
Earlier on this period, the Krueger family was up - Dean's second trip this year.....they did terrific as always....some great walleye on the Seine and they did terrific with lake trout on Big McCauley & Little Joe. Pics from their trip going up on FB soon as well as some from Dean's first trip with the guys in May!
The Rogers group was back for the second time and absolutely hammered the smallmouth. The Uebelhach group was up for the second time as well.....I heard about a lot of really big bass with them as well.
The Murphy / Binotti group were up and did great as always. Hardly saw the guys as - aside from the night when the Hawks won the cup (!!), - they seemed to be on the water an awful lot. They got their walleye fishing out of the way early in the week and had fun with pike and bass later in the week....
and the Emery group was back for their second trip and also did really well.
It was wonderful to see Rita Scholl & the kids again. We all miss Paul, but it was such a great thing for you to come up and fish the areas that he loved so much. And, based on those stringers and pictures (awesome bass Bethany!) you brought in, I'd say that he taught his considerable angling skills to you all!
Steve & Jo Mitchell wrapped up their trip of bass fishing....reported as their best in the 7 or 8 years that they've been coming (and that's saying something!)....a comment from Steve....
Canada Wow what a trip we had. We caught 551 total fish 2 perch, 7 walleye,91 pike, and 451 bass. We caught 88 between 17-18", 58 between 18-19 inches, 17 between 19-20 inches, and 3 between 20-21 inches.This is the best we have ever done. I would strongly recommend branches seine river lodge to any one looking for a fishing trip.
I gotta say that it is great to hear someone that has been coming for several years - and has always done great - report that this year has been their best yet! Looking forward to the tackle stats Steve...and I gotta steal some of those pics from you as well!
Anyway, nothing extreme conditions wise...things are progressing along. 'Eyes moving to their summer "holes"...I'd think by early July that we'll be looking for those 25' ledges for them as usual. Had a 19" bass get caught with some guys today fishing deep for walleye....so they're starting to move as well....but you can usually get action in the shallows all summer. The fact that it seems like it's been mostly smaller pike getting caught along the banks, I would say that those big ones are moving deep as well...as noted...things happening like they always do. The weed formation is coming along quickly and will open up some different angling opportunities...and the lakers on the remote lakes are going deeper, but as shown this week, are still very catchable!
Sunday, June 14, 2015
Fishing Report - May 30 - June 13
As always, early June has been crazy busy - but in a good way.
Water levels are kinda wonky this year....they were low, then high, then low....then in early June they went high again.....quite high, but not like the last couple of Junes'. Weather has been back and forth too....mostly pretty good so far this month, but some rain - including a huge downfall last weekend that helped raise the levels.
The Schaeffhauser / Richards group wrapped up a very successful year....walleye and bass. They often fish remote lakes that they are familiar with, but have gotten pretty good on the Seine Chain and had a couple of really good walleye days.
The Paquay group were back....3rd year...and did really well again.
The Martin's were back for the second year and did fantastic with all species....they never strayed far from the camp but caught lots of walleye, some great bass numbers and sized and lots of pike including a handful over 30".
The Frazier / Epley group had another great year - some great bass action plus 'eyes to eat. They hit it hard and they are rewarded for it for sure!
The Rose group flew in from Oklahoma to maximize time on the water....and it paid off - they had absolutely amazing smallmouth fishing - big numbers and big sizes.
The Glisson group did well learning the chain....had some good action out here as well as a very good day fishing the Seine below the Calm Lake dam and a really productive day with pike on Miranda Lake.
New groups - the Goodrich party, the Koenig party, the Voltz party started figuring the out on the chain.
The Berry group were back - first time in June vs late summer when they usually come. Dennis' boat had some really nice walleye caught, while the Bonsett's boat did really good with the bass.....their best action came fly fishing on Banning. Great to see some people taking advantage of some terrific early summer smallmouth bass fly fishing action!
The Przyborowski group was in from Green Bay and Curtis & Gordon had some terrific success...one slow day was offset by a couple of really good days. See you guys in January!
The Eslinger group was back.....they did very well on the Chain and had a couple of really good pike days on Miranda.
Steve & Jo Mitchell finished up one week of two - so they're still at it. Those of you who know Steve know his passion for bass fishing and his record keeping. He has had some amazing years here....I don't want to jinx it, so I won't spout off any of his stats so far, but it seems like it is a record setting year for trophy bass as well as overall numbers....getting daily updates and wishing him & Jo luck! Next report I should be able to provide some specifics.
We welcomed our first few Quetico groups in....the Holbeck group was back and had a really good - albeit not too aggressive (by their standards) - canoe trip. The Phillips group had a great trip..The Spero group just left as well and had a great time as always....The 17' Souris River kevlar's we just added are getting thumbs up all around! See you in Chicago in January Mark!
So the last few weeks have been excellent overall fishing wise. Very much what you'd expect in early June as far as action and conditions go....The walleye have been hitting very well for those who are going after them....yesterday morning saw some really great walleye action. As usual, good numbers - lots of good eaters and varying sizes.....some in the mid 20" range. Minnows seem to be what most are using with leeches next and crawlers behinds that along with some artificial.
The pike have kicked in their attitude...lots of smaller ones...a number in the 30" - 40" range, and lots attacking walleye and stringers...all the classic pike tackle - buzz baits, Raps, twister tails, lures.....and pretty much anything and everything else.
The bass have been absolutely incredible. The numbers being caught (and released) are huge...and the sizes continue to impress. The number of 18"-20"+ we're seeing just seems to keep going up and up. The ones having the most success are still putting the tackle right up on the banks.....the water temps are varying between 65 - 75 on the chain, so different areas are at different stages of the bass spawn - pre, post and mid depending on where you fish. Still all very shallow. A variety of tackle being reported that is working well...Mepps Black Fury #2 with a tail, white wacky worms, flukes, various plastics....chartreuse worms, hula poppers, jitter bugs....all what you'd expect.
Actually have been seeing s fair bit of perch....the Eslingers had a good shore lunch of perch one day - which you don't hear that often here. Odds and ends of crappies - better numbers upstream, but no one has been targeting them the last couple of weeks.
The Seine Chain continues to be where our anglers spend the most of their time, but during this period we saw groups on Lerome Lake for some great bass, the Seine below the Calm Lake dam - for some really great pike, walleye and bass action, Miranda saw a few days of absolutely great pike action, Pipe Lake for walleye, Big McCauley Lake for some really nice lake trout (sounds like they were in the 30' range). We will be adding some boats to some amazing lakes this summer - likely not until a little later though....A few groups this week have already checked out some different waters, so I'll update on that next week.
One thing - and again I don't want to jinx it - is that the mosquitoes haven't been too bad at all (at least by our standards, and compared to the last couple of summers)....don't know why....perhaps the dry spring? Anyway, we'll take it!
Still in the thick of it....full this week with mostly repeat guests, so should have lots to report in a week or so!
Water levels are kinda wonky this year....they were low, then high, then low....then in early June they went high again.....quite high, but not like the last couple of Junes'. Weather has been back and forth too....mostly pretty good so far this month, but some rain - including a huge downfall last weekend that helped raise the levels.
The Schaeffhauser / Richards group wrapped up a very successful year....walleye and bass. They often fish remote lakes that they are familiar with, but have gotten pretty good on the Seine Chain and had a couple of really good walleye days.
The Paquay group were back....3rd year...and did really well again.
The Martin's were back for the second year and did fantastic with all species....they never strayed far from the camp but caught lots of walleye, some great bass numbers and sized and lots of pike including a handful over 30".
The Frazier / Epley group had another great year - some great bass action plus 'eyes to eat. They hit it hard and they are rewarded for it for sure!
The Rose group flew in from Oklahoma to maximize time on the water....and it paid off - they had absolutely amazing smallmouth fishing - big numbers and big sizes.
The Glisson group did well learning the chain....had some good action out here as well as a very good day fishing the Seine below the Calm Lake dam and a really productive day with pike on Miranda Lake.
New groups - the Goodrich party, the Koenig party, the Voltz party started figuring the out on the chain.
The Berry group were back - first time in June vs late summer when they usually come. Dennis' boat had some really nice walleye caught, while the Bonsett's boat did really good with the bass.....their best action came fly fishing on Banning. Great to see some people taking advantage of some terrific early summer smallmouth bass fly fishing action!
The Przyborowski group was in from Green Bay and Curtis & Gordon had some terrific success...one slow day was offset by a couple of really good days. See you guys in January!
The Eslinger group was back.....they did very well on the Chain and had a couple of really good pike days on Miranda.
Steve & Jo Mitchell finished up one week of two - so they're still at it. Those of you who know Steve know his passion for bass fishing and his record keeping. He has had some amazing years here....I don't want to jinx it, so I won't spout off any of his stats so far, but it seems like it is a record setting year for trophy bass as well as overall numbers....getting daily updates and wishing him & Jo luck! Next report I should be able to provide some specifics.
We welcomed our first few Quetico groups in....the Holbeck group was back and had a really good - albeit not too aggressive (by their standards) - canoe trip. The Phillips group had a great trip..The Spero group just left as well and had a great time as always....The 17' Souris River kevlar's we just added are getting thumbs up all around! See you in Chicago in January Mark!
So the last few weeks have been excellent overall fishing wise. Very much what you'd expect in early June as far as action and conditions go....The walleye have been hitting very well for those who are going after them....yesterday morning saw some really great walleye action. As usual, good numbers - lots of good eaters and varying sizes.....some in the mid 20" range. Minnows seem to be what most are using with leeches next and crawlers behinds that along with some artificial.
The pike have kicked in their attitude...lots of smaller ones...a number in the 30" - 40" range, and lots attacking walleye and stringers...all the classic pike tackle - buzz baits, Raps, twister tails, lures.....and pretty much anything and everything else.
The bass have been absolutely incredible. The numbers being caught (and released) are huge...and the sizes continue to impress. The number of 18"-20"+ we're seeing just seems to keep going up and up. The ones having the most success are still putting the tackle right up on the banks.....the water temps are varying between 65 - 75 on the chain, so different areas are at different stages of the bass spawn - pre, post and mid depending on where you fish. Still all very shallow. A variety of tackle being reported that is working well...Mepps Black Fury #2 with a tail, white wacky worms, flukes, various plastics....chartreuse worms, hula poppers, jitter bugs....all what you'd expect.
Actually have been seeing s fair bit of perch....the Eslingers had a good shore lunch of perch one day - which you don't hear that often here. Odds and ends of crappies - better numbers upstream, but no one has been targeting them the last couple of weeks.
The Seine Chain continues to be where our anglers spend the most of their time, but during this period we saw groups on Lerome Lake for some great bass, the Seine below the Calm Lake dam - for some really great pike, walleye and bass action, Miranda saw a few days of absolutely great pike action, Pipe Lake for walleye, Big McCauley Lake for some really nice lake trout (sounds like they were in the 30' range). We will be adding some boats to some amazing lakes this summer - likely not until a little later though....A few groups this week have already checked out some different waters, so I'll update on that next week.
One thing - and again I don't want to jinx it - is that the mosquitoes haven't been too bad at all (at least by our standards, and compared to the last couple of summers)....don't know why....perhaps the dry spring? Anyway, we'll take it!
Still in the thick of it....full this week with mostly repeat guests, so should have lots to report in a week or so!
Thursday, May 28, 2015
FISHING REPORT MAY 24 - 29
Pretty busy week here at SRL.....
I know that most of our guests fish mainly on the Seine, but that doesn't mean we don't have a lot of other lakes to choose from. In this past week, aside from the Seine Chain Lakes - Calm, Banning, Chub, Little McCauley & Perch, our guests also could be found fishing Bold Lake, Dovetail Lake, Joe Lake, Miranda Lake, Niven Lake, Big McCauley Lake, Factor Lake, Warner Lake and Lerome Lake. And that doesn't come near the total of other options they could have chosen. As well we had one day last week when we saw a good variety of fish species all in one day: pike, smallmouth, walleye, perch, crappie, lake trout & splake. Pretty cool. And it's only May 28!
Anyway, things are ramping up. The Kruger / Kotil group just left and had another great year...they caught some nice fish - lots of action. Good numbers of walleye - some big pike and some really good lake trout days.They worked the Seine & a few remote lakes.
I know that most of our guests fish mainly on the Seine, but that doesn't mean we don't have a lot of other lakes to choose from. In this past week, aside from the Seine Chain Lakes - Calm, Banning, Chub, Little McCauley & Perch, our guests also could be found fishing Bold Lake, Dovetail Lake, Joe Lake, Miranda Lake, Niven Lake, Big McCauley Lake, Factor Lake, Warner Lake and Lerome Lake. And that doesn't come near the total of other options they could have chosen. As well we had one day last week when we saw a good variety of fish species all in one day: pike, smallmouth, walleye, perch, crappie, lake trout & splake. Pretty cool. And it's only May 28!
Anyway, things are ramping up. The Kruger / Kotil group just left and had another great year...they caught some nice fish - lots of action. Good numbers of walleye - some big pike and some really good lake trout days.They worked the Seine & a few remote lakes.
Dean K with a nice May pike
As the pic above indicates, it seems that the big pike have emerged from their annual "funk" I wrote about last week. Saw several in the high 20" range last week, quite a few between 30"-39"...still waiting for a 40" + inches this month, but it shouldn't be long as their activity has heated up.
The Stults group are just finishing up - first time here. They explored a lot of the system and seemed to do well with pike. Gave us a great "poor man's lobster" recipe for pike. Looking forward to trying it.
The Schaeffhauser / Richards group is in camp. The guys (& girl) have already done really well - on some remote lakes plus had some great walleye action ob=n the Seine - not very far from the lodge!
Walleye seem to be a bit scattered, heading to their summer holes....already deeper that last weekend. Bass slowly moving towards the banks....gonna be a great smallmouth year again! Water temps seem to be 57-63 or so.
Picking up the first of a couple new Souris River canoe tomorrow, and a another Lund Fury / Honda boat upgrade package early next week.
Water is low, but came up again the last couple of days. The good news about the low water is that the narrows are quite fishable - unlike May / June the last couple of years with the high water & fast current.
Raining now....I better post before I lose the internet!
Quent
Sunday, May 24, 2015
MAY 2015 UPDATE
We're a week in since the walleye opener last weekend and getting pretty busy. Wrapping up some of the spring renovations and welcoming anglers from all over.
Last weekend - opening of the walleye season - was a challenge for weather. Opening day - Saturday - was pretty nice. Everyone in camp had walleye for dinner - fishing was good. Wyatt was up for the weekend and did very well with some of his friends. Lori, Kiana, Tegan & I got out Saturday evening and did very well with the 'eyes. Good action and, after seeing a number of smaller ones in the beginning, got into some really nice ones. All very close to the camp.
The weather over the next couple of days was nasty - cold, tons of rain and even a few inches of snow. It cut into some fishing time, although the folks that went out in the worst of the weather did do well. The past 4 or 5 days have been beautiful weather wise, but I'm hearing that the 'eyes are biting very lightly....gotta stay focussed to make sure you feel those hits. Lots of smaller pike being caught - seems like the big ones are in their post spawn lethargy the last couple of days....getting reports of follow ups by some monsters, but not biting. Of course that should change in the very near future. In the meantime, we suggest experimenting with the tackle and the presentation. I had a good talk with a well known trophy pike guy a while back about this period where the big pike are in a bit of a funk, and he experiences it regularly. He developed a piece of tackle that he swears brings them out of this. Haven't tried it yet, but soon!
The bass are already impressive....already have seen a lot of 19" - 20".....they're slowly working towards the banks....it's going to be another great smallmouth year here.
Had the Tackett group in last week for the first time, and they were a big help reporting a lot of the above stuff to us as we were pretty busy on land at the camp. Great meeting you guys! Brian Young was in from Colorado - another first time Seine Chain guy - and did really good. Great chatting with you about all kinds of stuff. Check out some of the pics Brian took on our Facebook page - including a really neat rainbow we saw on the water. Watch for many more - he'll be sending some really nice shots once he's home - including some amazing northern lights from last week.
The Hollander group from MN is in and doing terrific with the lake trout - thanks very much for giving us a taste Brian!
The Kotil / Krueger group is back in camp for their annual trip and already have been doing well with the 'eyes on the Seine and on some remote lakes.
Put our first canoe group in on Friday, and we're taking delivery of some new, awesome, Souris River kevlar canoes this week!
As well, will be adding another Lund Fury "upgrade" boat to the fleet this week.....the popularity of the upgrade package has been amazing!
Like I mentioned, wrapping up some reno's we've been working on as once June comes, there's no way we can keep doing them. Prepping the two big cabins for siding.....so right now they look kinds "bare" lol - but are still almost like new inside.
All our terrific friends from Atikokan have been helping as always - Spilchuks, Halasz', Warkentin's, Howie (with Mark W) with the mechanical & welding work....Ridings have chipped in too. There's no way we could be this far along without all of you!
Will try & keep the posts regular this year!
Last weekend - opening of the walleye season - was a challenge for weather. Opening day - Saturday - was pretty nice. Everyone in camp had walleye for dinner - fishing was good. Wyatt was up for the weekend and did very well with some of his friends. Lori, Kiana, Tegan & I got out Saturday evening and did very well with the 'eyes. Good action and, after seeing a number of smaller ones in the beginning, got into some really nice ones. All very close to the camp.
The weather over the next couple of days was nasty - cold, tons of rain and even a few inches of snow. It cut into some fishing time, although the folks that went out in the worst of the weather did do well. The past 4 or 5 days have been beautiful weather wise, but I'm hearing that the 'eyes are biting very lightly....gotta stay focussed to make sure you feel those hits. Lots of smaller pike being caught - seems like the big ones are in their post spawn lethargy the last couple of days....getting reports of follow ups by some monsters, but not biting. Of course that should change in the very near future. In the meantime, we suggest experimenting with the tackle and the presentation. I had a good talk with a well known trophy pike guy a while back about this period where the big pike are in a bit of a funk, and he experiences it regularly. He developed a piece of tackle that he swears brings them out of this. Haven't tried it yet, but soon!
The bass are already impressive....already have seen a lot of 19" - 20".....they're slowly working towards the banks....it's going to be another great smallmouth year here.
Had the Tackett group in last week for the first time, and they were a big help reporting a lot of the above stuff to us as we were pretty busy on land at the camp. Great meeting you guys! Brian Young was in from Colorado - another first time Seine Chain guy - and did really good. Great chatting with you about all kinds of stuff. Check out some of the pics Brian took on our Facebook page - including a really neat rainbow we saw on the water. Watch for many more - he'll be sending some really nice shots once he's home - including some amazing northern lights from last week.
The Hollander group from MN is in and doing terrific with the lake trout - thanks very much for giving us a taste Brian!
The Kotil / Krueger group is back in camp for their annual trip and already have been doing well with the 'eyes on the Seine and on some remote lakes.
Put our first canoe group in on Friday, and we're taking delivery of some new, awesome, Souris River kevlar canoes this week!
As well, will be adding another Lund Fury "upgrade" boat to the fleet this week.....the popularity of the upgrade package has been amazing!
Like I mentioned, wrapping up some reno's we've been working on as once June comes, there's no way we can keep doing them. Prepping the two big cabins for siding.....so right now they look kinds "bare" lol - but are still almost like new inside.
All our terrific friends from Atikokan have been helping as always - Spilchuks, Halasz', Warkentin's, Howie (with Mark W) with the mechanical & welding work....Ridings have chipped in too. There's no way we could be this far along without all of you!
Will try & keep the posts regular this year!
Sunday, February 16, 2014
2013 & 2014
Hello to everyone! Like most of our guests, we're in the middle of a vicious winter that just won't let go. I won't get too involved in winter talk, as I think everyone has had enough of it.
A few things going on this winter though:
Last month (January 2014) a guy (not from this camp unfortunately) caught a 43" lake trout ice fishing. An awesome fish. Near record class. They caught the action on video and the video has gone viral. Don't want to say exactly where he was, but let's just say that many of our anglers are familiar with that area (and likely watching that video in envy)! Very cool & congrats to that lucky angler!
We, with the help of friends, started the renovations of Cabin 1 last fall. That's the small framed cabin overlooking the lake between the larger cabins. We're guessing it is about 70 + years old. Quite a history....the former owners (pre-1967) used it as their residence, and prior to that it's been said that for a brief period it served as a Quetico ranger station. It was always a favorite over the years for many of our guests, but although structurally it was good (except for the foundation & floor joists)was needing some TLC. Well, it's been raised 4' and has new footings and a new floor - nice & solid. We have it pretty much gutted down to the studs and are about to start the rebuild. For all intents and purposes, it'll be a brand new cabin come May. It'll be a nice 2- 3 person cabin with a beautiful lake view. Most everything - including windows & doors - will be new. Going to work on it this afternoon and will post some pics of the progress.
Just started designing a new "lodge" that we hope will be open for 2015. It's going to be nice - great lakeview, deck. Planning on a pool table and some other rec stuff. Looking forward to many good times in it - including winter action.
We're happy to report that 2013 was our busiest in the 47 or so seaons our family has had the camp. Thanks to every one of our guests!
It was certainly a different kind of year.....some observations:
Latest ice out we've ever seen. We weren't getting boats in until May 11 (usually it's the end of April) - and we're usually a week earlier than other lakes due to being on a river system.
Then we rolled into extreme water conditions. The first half of the summer was higher than I've ever seen, the second half was the lowest I've seen since around 1978. Fall rain brought it back to around average before freeze up.
The walleye were overall very good. They continued the system trend of the last few years where the average size is going up each year. There were many times throughout 2013 that the wallaye fishing on the Seine was the best I've ever seen. Seems like a lot of the fish that came out of some of the big spawns we've seen over the last 10 years or so are growning up giving better sizes and even bigger spawns.
The bass continue to amaze. Great numbers and sizes....good variety of sizes too,smaller ones, lots of 16" - 18", but we're seeing more and more 20"+. We saw a lot in the 20" - 21" this year and a number even larger. With many of our smallmouth anglers practicing catch & release, there's no reason to think that 2014 will be any different.
Still lots of smaller pike, but we did have quite a few 30" - 35" this year and quite a few that broke 40". Although it always happens, I think there were 'way more reports of aggresve (ie crazy) pike attacking other fish as people reeled them in. All species too....including other pike.
Crappie are continuing to show up in the system, although are still pretty elusive for our anglers. The first bunch we saw this year were in the bellies of pike. Gene R. from MN seems to be the one guy who can figure them out and land some.
Perch were caught here and there all summer - the guys from W VA, got into a bunch of nice ones right by the camp. We also saw more whitefish caught than in recent years.
Off system lakes were very productive....had some great walleye and bass action on a few of them.....plus some good pike. The waters with the lake trout gave our guests some excellent laker fishing. Looking forward to expanding into some new and seldomlyfished waters in 2014!
Likely the best biting species of the year though was the mosquito! I think that some periods were the worst for the critters that I've ever seen. And we didn't have an exclusive on them - I heard reports from all over N Ontario that it was the worst year for bugs in a long time. Here's hoping that's one bite that doesn't rival 2013 this year!
Great time at the All Canada Show in Chicago last month, and Lori will be at the Progressive Insurance St Louis Boat Show for 5 days starting February 26. Please come out and say "hi!".
A few things going on this winter though:
Last month (January 2014) a guy (not from this camp unfortunately) caught a 43" lake trout ice fishing. An awesome fish. Near record class. They caught the action on video and the video has gone viral. Don't want to say exactly where he was, but let's just say that many of our anglers are familiar with that area (and likely watching that video in envy)! Very cool & congrats to that lucky angler!
We, with the help of friends, started the renovations of Cabin 1 last fall. That's the small framed cabin overlooking the lake between the larger cabins. We're guessing it is about 70 + years old. Quite a history....the former owners (pre-1967) used it as their residence, and prior to that it's been said that for a brief period it served as a Quetico ranger station. It was always a favorite over the years for many of our guests, but although structurally it was good (except for the foundation & floor joists)was needing some TLC. Well, it's been raised 4' and has new footings and a new floor - nice & solid. We have it pretty much gutted down to the studs and are about to start the rebuild. For all intents and purposes, it'll be a brand new cabin come May. It'll be a nice 2- 3 person cabin with a beautiful lake view. Most everything - including windows & doors - will be new. Going to work on it this afternoon and will post some pics of the progress.
Just started designing a new "lodge" that we hope will be open for 2015. It's going to be nice - great lakeview, deck. Planning on a pool table and some other rec stuff. Looking forward to many good times in it - including winter action.
We're happy to report that 2013 was our busiest in the 47 or so seaons our family has had the camp. Thanks to every one of our guests!
It was certainly a different kind of year.....some observations:
Latest ice out we've ever seen. We weren't getting boats in until May 11 (usually it's the end of April) - and we're usually a week earlier than other lakes due to being on a river system.
Then we rolled into extreme water conditions. The first half of the summer was higher than I've ever seen, the second half was the lowest I've seen since around 1978. Fall rain brought it back to around average before freeze up.
The walleye were overall very good. They continued the system trend of the last few years where the average size is going up each year. There were many times throughout 2013 that the wallaye fishing on the Seine was the best I've ever seen. Seems like a lot of the fish that came out of some of the big spawns we've seen over the last 10 years or so are growning up giving better sizes and even bigger spawns.
The bass continue to amaze. Great numbers and sizes....good variety of sizes too,smaller ones, lots of 16" - 18", but we're seeing more and more 20"+. We saw a lot in the 20" - 21" this year and a number even larger. With many of our smallmouth anglers practicing catch & release, there's no reason to think that 2014 will be any different.
Still lots of smaller pike, but we did have quite a few 30" - 35" this year and quite a few that broke 40". Although it always happens, I think there were 'way more reports of aggresve (ie crazy) pike attacking other fish as people reeled them in. All species too....including other pike.
Crappie are continuing to show up in the system, although are still pretty elusive for our anglers. The first bunch we saw this year were in the bellies of pike. Gene R. from MN seems to be the one guy who can figure them out and land some.
Perch were caught here and there all summer - the guys from W VA, got into a bunch of nice ones right by the camp. We also saw more whitefish caught than in recent years.
Off system lakes were very productive....had some great walleye and bass action on a few of them.....plus some good pike. The waters with the lake trout gave our guests some excellent laker fishing. Looking forward to expanding into some new and seldomlyfished waters in 2014!
Likely the best biting species of the year though was the mosquito! I think that some periods were the worst for the critters that I've ever seen. And we didn't have an exclusive on them - I heard reports from all over N Ontario that it was the worst year for bugs in a long time. Here's hoping that's one bite that doesn't rival 2013 this year!
Great time at the All Canada Show in Chicago last month, and Lori will be at the Progressive Insurance St Louis Boat Show for 5 days starting February 26. Please come out and say "hi!".
Sunday, May 27, 2012
Late May Update
Just a quick update here (have done more on our Facebook page and Twitter - you can log on to those pages from our websites)....
As posted on FB & Twitter a week or two ago, temps on the chain were between 55 - 59...then a couple days later they spiked up to 59 to 64. This of course was causing some anxiety in our bass anglers booked in June hoping to catch the peak topwater when the smallies are right up on shore. Well, we have had a whack of rain in the last 5 or 6 days and as of yesterday the temps ranged from 58 - 61 - actually down a bit!
Despite the piles of rain, water levels on the chain have been consistent. Not low, but not as high as we'd expect with all the rain. I assume the Calm Lake Dam is wide open. Getting loads more rain today and the next two days so we'll see what happens.
Smallies are being caught between 3' - 8'. The Gentry group found them around islands yeterday, but not many on the shore. The Scholls caught some really nice ones (18", 19" etc) off the shores today though - albeit in 4' - 8'. They're getting there. Should be an interesting week!
The Hollander group was in early as usual and did fantastic with trout in mid Apri.
lThe Kniffen group came in early May and did a lot of fly fishing on the chain. Landed some nice smallies and smaller pike - they found that the bigger ones had already gone deeper (the spawned 3 weeks early this year. they did tie into some bigger pike on McCauley lake though.
The Armstead group did very well last week....nice 'eyes, bass & pike. Did lots with Lindy Rigs and Hot n' Tots. Was great to see them do so well their first time on our system.
A few groups in camp this week and is going to be a very busy June....will keep you all posted. As mentioned the Scholl's are all in and are doing great as always. Did great yesterday with all species downstream, and today with some nasty weather, stuck close to camp and brought in a terrific stringer of walleyes and caught some great smallies. I believe they were using Lindys and minnows.....
Anyway - gotta go.....will talk soon!!
As posted on FB & Twitter a week or two ago, temps on the chain were between 55 - 59...then a couple days later they spiked up to 59 to 64. This of course was causing some anxiety in our bass anglers booked in June hoping to catch the peak topwater when the smallies are right up on shore. Well, we have had a whack of rain in the last 5 or 6 days and as of yesterday the temps ranged from 58 - 61 - actually down a bit!
Despite the piles of rain, water levels on the chain have been consistent. Not low, but not as high as we'd expect with all the rain. I assume the Calm Lake Dam is wide open. Getting loads more rain today and the next two days so we'll see what happens.
Smallies are being caught between 3' - 8'. The Gentry group found them around islands yeterday, but not many on the shore. The Scholls caught some really nice ones (18", 19" etc) off the shores today though - albeit in 4' - 8'. They're getting there. Should be an interesting week!
The Hollander group was in early as usual and did fantastic with trout in mid Apri.
lThe Kniffen group came in early May and did a lot of fly fishing on the chain. Landed some nice smallies and smaller pike - they found that the bigger ones had already gone deeper (the spawned 3 weeks early this year. they did tie into some bigger pike on McCauley lake though.
The Armstead group did very well last week....nice 'eyes, bass & pike. Did lots with Lindy Rigs and Hot n' Tots. Was great to see them do so well their first time on our system.
A few groups in camp this week and is going to be a very busy June....will keep you all posted. As mentioned the Scholl's are all in and are doing great as always. Did great yesterday with all species downstream, and today with some nasty weather, stuck close to camp and brought in a terrific stringer of walleyes and caught some great smallies. I believe they were using Lindys and minnows.....
Anyway - gotta go.....will talk soon!!
Monday, March 19, 2012
2012 STUFF
Hey.....it's getting awfully close to fishing season....figure I better do a quick update....
First - I apologize for not updating sooner - but I haven't been entirely quiet. I've posted some stuff to our Facebook page (Branch's Seine River Lodge) as well as our Twitter account (@seineriverlodge). Please "like" or follow" us or whatever. And please post / tweet etc comments, questions etc.
Well - quickly - 2011 was a great year. Fishing overall was very good. Walleye populations were high and I really think the smallies and lots of huge smallies. Had one guest who has fished the chain for over 20 years say that July 2011 was his overall best for big fish of all species.
New stuff? Well, crappie are hitting the Atikokan area in a big way. Nice ones too - seen lots 12" - 15" from guys ice fishing. They're about 10 miles upstream right now, and general consensus is that they'll be on the Seine Chain very soon (if not already). Some concern as to the effect they'll have on the walleye, although there seem to be some lakes around that have both good walleye crappie fishing. Many lakes saw smallies overtake 'eyes but we're lucky - they both seem to flourish on our system. Have the Milow group planning to do some crappie fishing in June and will monitor it and, if it seems good (which we believe it will), we will be promoting crappie along with all our other species in 2013!
New stuff for 2012....Well, we're in the process of renovating all the cabins - some a little freshen up, some (cabin #3) with portions gutted. Every cabin will see at least some new windows. Freshening up the office and seriously looking at starting another new cabin sometime this year. Just bought a bunch of new couches, plus getting a handful of new docks....plus going to be buying some new boats and motors etc etc.
And.....the weather in March has been fantastic! The last few days have been in the mid seventies. The snow is pretty much all gone and the lake is opening up very quickly. If it keeps like this it'll be open by April. We're loving it as it has given us a head start on the yard work etc. BUT - I know that this warm spring and early break up sounds alarms for all you fisher folk out there. Usually, our ice is out the end of April - give or take a day or two. If conditions are fairly normal, spawns happen "on schedule" (for lack of a better term) and fishing - at least through the end of June - is relatively predictable. Then when this happens a wrench is thrown into the whole scenario. Spawns are early and lots of fishermen are not sure what to expect and face the uncertainty of how to fish, where to fish, what to use etc. A lot of people book the same week every years and get a comfort level of what to expect. Anyway - at this point it seems like it will be an early break up - BUT the jury is still out as far as spawns. I've seen very warm springs before - and boldly predicted early spawns, only to see the weather cool down and seem like it will never warm up. One warm spring / early break up year - since spawns are triggered by water temperatures - the spawns wound up being REALLY late and I looked (and felt) like a fool. So - don't panic yet...we still have a bit of time and anything can happen.
Been an overall milder winter. We did wind up getting quite a bit of snow - likely some of the best snowmobiling conditions around...speaking of which we will be promoting our winter sledding & ice fishing much more. Had a great meeting with Kim Cross from our award winning Atikokan Sno Ho Club last week and looking forward to working with them promoting our world class snowmobiling as well as X Country Skiing and ice fishing. BTW - check out the snowmobiling video on our snowmobiling page to see the awesome trails and scenery this winter:
http://www.seineriverlodge.com/atikokan-snowmobile-trails-cabin-rentals-for-snowmobiling.htm
Also - new ways to process fishing licenses this year. The MNR is issuing us a POS machine to process. We'll see how that goes, but one good development is that you can now buy your fishing licenses on line...here's the link:
https://www1.on.wildlifelicense.com/start.php?lang=1
Anyway - we're getting ready as I'm sure you all are. It is looking very busy for us this year and we thank you for that. Will post some stuff soon including some of the cabin reno pics....thanks as always to all of our friends for all the help with yard cleanup, rnos and repairs this spring - Richard, Garry, Howie, Darryl, Cora, Darcy....THANKS VERY MUCH!! Talk to ya'll soon!
Well - quickly - 2011 was a great year. Fishing overall was very good. Walleye populations were high and I really think the smallies and lots of huge smallies. Had one guest who has fished the chain for over 20 years say that July 2011 was his overall best for big fish of all species.
New stuff? Well, crappie are hitting the Atikokan area in a big way. Nice ones too - seen lots 12" - 15" from guys ice fishing. They're about 10 miles upstream right now, and general consensus is that they'll be on the Seine Chain very soon (if not already). Some concern as to the effect they'll have on the walleye, although there seem to be some lakes around that have both good walleye crappie fishing. Many lakes saw smallies overtake 'eyes but we're lucky - they both seem to flourish on our system. Have the Milow group planning to do some crappie fishing in June and will monitor it and, if it seems good (which we believe it will), we will be promoting crappie along with all our other species in 2013!
New stuff for 2012....Well, we're in the process of renovating all the cabins - some a little freshen up, some (cabin #3) with portions gutted. Every cabin will see at least some new windows. Freshening up the office and seriously looking at starting another new cabin sometime this year. Just bought a bunch of new couches, plus getting a handful of new docks....plus going to be buying some new boats and motors etc etc.
And.....the weather in March has been fantastic! The last few days have been in the mid seventies. The snow is pretty much all gone and the lake is opening up very quickly. If it keeps like this it'll be open by April. We're loving it as it has given us a head start on the yard work etc. BUT - I know that this warm spring and early break up sounds alarms for all you fisher folk out there. Usually, our ice is out the end of April - give or take a day or two. If conditions are fairly normal, spawns happen "on schedule" (for lack of a better term) and fishing - at least through the end of June - is relatively predictable. Then when this happens a wrench is thrown into the whole scenario. Spawns are early and lots of fishermen are not sure what to expect and face the uncertainty of how to fish, where to fish, what to use etc. A lot of people book the same week every years and get a comfort level of what to expect. Anyway - at this point it seems like it will be an early break up - BUT the jury is still out as far as spawns. I've seen very warm springs before - and boldly predicted early spawns, only to see the weather cool down and seem like it will never warm up. One warm spring / early break up year - since spawns are triggered by water temperatures - the spawns wound up being REALLY late and I looked (and felt) like a fool. So - don't panic yet...we still have a bit of time and anything can happen.
Been an overall milder winter. We did wind up getting quite a bit of snow - likely some of the best snowmobiling conditions around...speaking of which we will be promoting our winter sledding & ice fishing much more. Had a great meeting with Kim Cross from our award winning Atikokan Sno Ho Club last week and looking forward to working with them promoting our world class snowmobiling as well as X Country Skiing and ice fishing. BTW - check out the snowmobiling video on our snowmobiling page to see the awesome trails and scenery this winter:
http://www.seineriverlodge.com/atikokan-snowmobile-trails-cabin-rentals-for-snowmobiling.htm
Also - new ways to process fishing licenses this year. The MNR is issuing us a POS machine to process. We'll see how that goes, but one good development is that you can now buy your fishing licenses on line...here's the link:
https://www1.on.wildlifelicense.com/start.php?lang=1
Anyway - we're getting ready as I'm sure you all are. It is looking very busy for us this year and we thank you for that. Will post some stuff soon including some of the cabin reno pics....thanks as always to all of our friends for all the help with yard cleanup, rnos and repairs this spring - Richard, Garry, Howie, Darryl, Cora, Darcy....THANKS VERY MUCH!! Talk to ya'll soon!
Saturday, May 21, 2011
And so it begins....
Well - actually "began".
Great having a visit with Earl B & Shelley a couple of weeks ago. They did some early May fishing & did well with bass & pike. Earl's thinking of a return in September for any of you who missed him this spring!
The Sproat group is our first in Quetico this year. Dropped the 8 guys off @ Nym Lake a few days ago and we're looking forward to hearing all about their trip next Thursday.
The Hill group is in camp now - the first cabin based anglers of the year. Some great weather earlier this week - beautiful, sunny, highs in the mid to high 70's. Their first day was slow, but they did well with bass the second day - including 3 at 4 lbs+...Further to that, here we are on May 21 and the water temps are ranging from 57 - 65 farenheit!!!Word is the bass are moving towards the spawning beds ....topwater action should be getting better and better each day. Should be an awesome pre-spawn fish this year!
ANd, of course, today is the walleye opener. Lots of people out enjoying the wilderness and endless water we have. Mother Nature isn't really co-operating though - it's raining now & we're expecting 3/4 of an inch by tomorrow a.m.
The water was low for spring up until a few days ago. Now it's about average for this time of year on the chain. For those of you who always ask, the rock in the back bay is just under the water. Current, as expected, is a bit strong.
On the downside, the blackflies have started. Hopefully they'll run their course and finsih earlier than usual.
Anyway, things are looking really good for this season. Looking forward to meeting all the new people and seeing all our old friends. We're in the process of a few cabin renos - nothing major - some new flooring - new bathrooms in cabin 5 & 8.
Anyway - gotta get back to work. Maybe if I get my stuff all done I'll be able to wet a line later.....tough decision though - do I go after some tasty post spawn walleye or see if I can get some topater bass or pike action? Decisions......
Great having a visit with Earl B & Shelley a couple of weeks ago. They did some early May fishing & did well with bass & pike. Earl's thinking of a return in September for any of you who missed him this spring!
The Sproat group is our first in Quetico this year. Dropped the 8 guys off @ Nym Lake a few days ago and we're looking forward to hearing all about their trip next Thursday.
The Hill group is in camp now - the first cabin based anglers of the year. Some great weather earlier this week - beautiful, sunny, highs in the mid to high 70's. Their first day was slow, but they did well with bass the second day - including 3 at 4 lbs+...Further to that, here we are on May 21 and the water temps are ranging from 57 - 65 farenheit!!!Word is the bass are moving towards the spawning beds ....topwater action should be getting better and better each day. Should be an awesome pre-spawn fish this year!
ANd, of course, today is the walleye opener. Lots of people out enjoying the wilderness and endless water we have. Mother Nature isn't really co-operating though - it's raining now & we're expecting 3/4 of an inch by tomorrow a.m.
The water was low for spring up until a few days ago. Now it's about average for this time of year on the chain. For those of you who always ask, the rock in the back bay is just under the water. Current, as expected, is a bit strong.
On the downside, the blackflies have started. Hopefully they'll run their course and finsih earlier than usual.
Anyway, things are looking really good for this season. Looking forward to meeting all the new people and seeing all our old friends. We're in the process of a few cabin renos - nothing major - some new flooring - new bathrooms in cabin 5 & 8.
Anyway - gotta get back to work. Maybe if I get my stuff all done I'll be able to wet a line later.....tough decision though - do I go after some tasty post spawn walleye or see if I can get some topater bass or pike action? Decisions......
Saturday, March 26, 2011
Gear That I Love V2:The Red & White Daredevil
Well the snow is melting and the phone is ringing a lot more - I can tell everyone is starting to think about fishing.
I have a lot of friends that only fish walleye. Nothing wrong with that. Walleye are a lot of fun and taste great. I always was more of a multi-species type guy though, and once spring arrived and the first lines can be wet (without a hole in the ice), I often would go after northern pike.
When I was younger I casted off shore a lot. The big pike used to (and still do) spawn in our back bay. These giants would absolutely never go after any kind of bait. They were procreating and that was that. They used to drive me absolutely nuts. I could see them splashing and swimming around like sharks - I`d cast and cast and cast but to no avail - they weren`t interested.
Once they were done though - that`s when the action really started!
I`d spend hours off shore - and later in a boat catching all kinds of pike. Some smaller, but in the spring I also got lots of action from the lunkers as well.
I through all kinds of bait & tackle....Rapalas (were great but the multi prongs were a pain to get out), various Mepps, Mr Twisters, Vibratails, topwater plugs, minnows, Little Joes....but the best hands down was the red and white daredevil.
I developed a lot of my preferences by fishing a ton - often when I should have been in school. I like and use all kinds of bait and tackle, but the R&W daredevil was (is) it for me for pike fishing - my favorite (along with the Heddon Dying Flutter - but we`ll get into that in another post).
I used to be a die hard Eppinger guy - but with a limited budget I soon went to cheaper brands...Lucky Strike et al. I found I had just as much luck but it was a lot easier on the wallet when I invariably lost one on a big pike or a snag.
I got so I liked big spoons - ie 1 ounce and 3.5 inch plus. Easier to cast and also the size I seemed to get the best response from.
And leaders - yep - ya gotta have èm when pike fishing. My personal preference is 9" - I found the 6 inch a little short when in the gullet of a huge pike, and the 12 inch tended to kink on me a lot.
I started guiding on a regular basis when I was about 10 years old. We had (and still have) some great remote lakes for pike fishing and often I`d be leading groups on these often non existent trails - some 2+ miles long - for a day of pike fishing. These guiding experiences taught me a lot and kept me in tackle (and later beer!) through the eighties.
Like I said - the trails were often pretty long and pretty tough. Packing light is essential. I had a small pack...experimented with different gear - telescopic rods etc. For tackle I`d put about a dozen red and white daredevils and leaders into one of my Dad`s tobacco cans....lid on - into the pack and that was it. Ready to go. I`d laugh - so many guys were insistent on lugging these huge tackle boxes full of all kinds of different tackle....and, pretty much all the time all they used was their daredevils.
Looking back I wasn`t that bright. I wouldn`t bring pliers and after unhooking and releasing dozens of pike each day my hands were beat to crap. I experimented with cutting off one or two prongs but it killed the action of the lure. I finally got smart - pinched at least some of the barbs and brought needlenose pliers. I`m a bit of a slow learner!
The daredevil is indeed a pike killer....but it is very effective for walleye as well. I`ve caught quite a few on it. I remember a group of guys who were out fishing èyes after a day of pike fishing. All their rods were rigged with leaders and 1 ounce daredevils (they took my advise!). They had an awesome day pike fishing and were completely exhausted.....too tired to change the tackle they said -they left the daredevils and leaders on and dropped them down and jigged them near an island on the Seine and started pulling in a fair number of really nice walleye. In fact these guys were having a very hard time catching `eyes before this. You just never know....the more I see and experience in fishing the more I really believe that there are no rules.
Of course this all works for me...I swear by my 1 ounce red & white daredevils. I`m a huge believer however in WWFY - whatever works for you. It`s amazing how one thing can work terrific for one person but be completely useless for another.
Mix it up - try different tackle, bait and techniques...don`t get stuck on one thing or idea....you just never know. I really believe that.
But - when I cast for pike in a few weeks (hopefully!) - I`ll likely have a red & white daredevil on the end of my line. As much as I mix it up, I also respect what works for me.
Take care everyone....hope to see you up here this summer! Looking forward to you die hards coming up for early pike & lake trout....keep checking in with me - once the ice is out I`ll let you know! New post coming soon!
Saturday, March 5, 2011
GEAR THAT I LOVE!
Actually I was going to call this "Gear That Kicks A**!", but thought that may be inappropriate!
Anyway, I mentioned in an earlier post that I would start getting more technical. Well, Im starting with a theme that I've wanted to do for a long time - talking about outdoor gear, tackle, equipment etc that I swear by. This will be ongoing and likely morph into "techniques that kick...." and maybe other things...like "people that kick...." yada yada...
Yeah, I know - it seems self indulgent - and it is. But I know some things from growing up in a fishing & hunting camp, plus doing coutless sportshows from the time I was a baby. Outdoors enthusiasts (fisherman, hunters, canoeists etc)love to talk shop - tackle, gear, equipment, techniques etc. And hey - by all means post some comments. We'll have a "virtual bs session" - yakking like we do in the office at camp, in the yard, on the dock, in the boats, in the bush, at the sportshows etc. Sometimes I think that despite all the work that comes with this job (and there is endless work) it sure is great spending work time talking fishing etc. Beats a real job!
Anyway - nothing too techncal to start it off.....this first post about gear is about the very mundane but incredibly important.... footwear. And when it comes to summer footwear I am a die hard when it comes to my Vibram By Merrell boots.
The pic above shows my current pair of Vibrams. It is my second. The first ones I wore for about 3 years and was completely sold. After 3 years of spring, summer and fall abuse they still had full tread on the bottom. They were torn in the toes, and looking pretty ragged so, at the urging of Lori (my lovely wife who tirelessly tries to ensure that I look somewhat professional and civilized) I set out to find the replacement. I was lucky to fing the identical boot in the same place I bought the first pair - REI in Minneaplois MN.
Whe I say abuse, I mean abuse. They accompanied me on endless trips in the bush. From remote fishing lakes down nasty trails, to bear baiting, fishing minnows and hunting. I should have had a couple of broken ankles different times, but they provide deceiving ankle support. And the grips on the soles are terrific. I don`t know how many times I should have fallen off slippery rocks - either down a hill into the bush,getting into a boat on rocks that may as well be glare ice, or leaning towards a minnow pond on a steep slippery bank. They saved my bacon more than once. And often I`m alone in these situations. Inadequate footwear could result in accidents with tragic consequences.
These things are cool in hot weather - you often can actually feel the wind through them, and dry very quickly when they invariably get wet. They are very light and extremely comfortable.
So many people - loads on canoe trips - go into this rugged terrain with sneakers - or worse - flip flops. They`re OK for a day on the beach or while sitting in a canoe or a boat. Hey I get it - they`re comfortable - but so are my Merrells. My Dad was very adamant about proper footwear in the bush. He was a prospector who literally lived in a tent in the bush all over North America for over 20 years. He`s right - our number one injury with people on remote trips in the bush is twisted ankles é cut feet etc - foot injuries.
These are preventable. When I was a kid I used to head into the bush all the time with my running shoes. I`d get my butt kicked if my Dad found out. I just hated wearing my leather `bush boots` .....even though they were OK as far as comfort goes (once you got through whacks of blisters breaking them in), back then even the expensive ones were heavy. And if you weren`t diligent with `Dubbin`- ie waterproofing - they`d get wet and take forever to dry.
Now there`s no excuse. These new ones don`t even require a `break in`. Everyone has their favorite. Mine are my Merrells.
`Nuff said.
Talk soon!
Quent
Thursday, February 17, 2011
2011 UPDATE
Hey everybody....hope you're all having a fantastic winter.
Here in Atikokan it certainly has been a "real Canadian winter". We've had lots of very cold weather and a ton of snow. The last couple of days it's actually been very nice - above freezing - but I hear it's going to dip back down near -30 tonight & follow with even more snow this weekend.
Anyway - just a quick look at some of the things we did last season and some changes for 2011.
The biggest improvement in 2010 was definitely the new fish cleaning house. It's now right by the docks - large, clean, bright, and screened in along with some outside plugs for your trolling motor battery chargers. It received a big "thumbs up" from virtually everyone in 2010. Huge thanks to Howie Hawkes, Lenny Anderson, Wayne Menard, Daryl Warkentin, Cora Warkentin & Wyatt Branch for all the help with it. An extra big THANK YOU to Richard Spilchuk who pretty much was the driving force behind the whole project...from design to the pad and the first nail through the last this was pretty much Richards baby...and it turned out great. Fittingly, Richard cleaned the first fish in the new facility....not exactly sure, but I think it may have been a pike.
Speaking of docks, and thanks to Lenny, Howie & Richard and the others our older docks & ramps got a facelift in 2010. Plus we added a new floater....again this was very well receieved and appreciated by everyone who used them this year. We're planning to add two more new floaters in 2011 and continue to improve the ramps and older docks.
We've got a few things lined up for 2011 on top of new docks....
We now will be offering air conditioning in all of our large cabins. Right now it looks like window and / or portable units. We tend to not get too much sweltering weather - but it does happen. This should help the comfort level during those dog days of summer considerable.
On top of air conditioners, we continue to add newer furniture - mostly couches and chairs to the cabins. I think we'll have a few new fridges this year as well.
For our fishing package guests we now offer trolling motors with all the boats. Right now it looks as though they'll be transom mount...should help lots working the shoreline or slowly working fishing holes.
Facility wise we're looking at reopening our shower house for those guests coming back from remote fishing & canoeing trips or camping. Plus we'll continue to add new siding to the cabins and outbuildings.
One thing that we're really excited about is that we plan to considerably increase the amount of tackle, bait, souvenirs and supplies available in our office. We've always carried some...but we're going to ramp it up this year. It'll take a few seasons to get up to where we would like to be, and we will not stock things that don't work (just for the sake of having stock); but look for a better selection of tackle, maps and souvenirs in our office. This has especially been a demand of our canoeing and remote fishing trip guests. Gradually we'd like to become a real headquarters for these sportspeople coming to Atikokan for the vast wilderness and hundreds of lakes.
Our American Plan fishing packages are doing very well. It is growing at a very fast rate and we appreciate all of you that have joined us with the meal plan. Further to that, a huge Thank You to Jeff McNabb for helping us design our kitchen and to Jeff & Keith McNabb for lining us up with awesome suppliers! If anyone down in Florida is looking for a great kitchen you have to check out Kitchen Creations in the Tampa Bay area. Jeff & Keith are the best!
Slowly thinking ahead to 2012 / 2013 as well...thoughts of a new cabin on the lake and a new, large dining & office facility overlooking Banning Lake....but hey - I don't want to get ahead of myself!
And of course none of this would be possible with out all of you guys & gals coming to our camp year after year. Thanks you all especially!
And - ultimately you wouldn't be coming if it weren't for the fishing & hunting. So when it all comes down to it - that's what we really will be focussing on. We'll continue to actively be involved, keep tabs on new & old techniques, tackle & equipment and continue to work with anglers, hunters, the MNR and all other stakeholders to make sure this great resource is respected and flourishing.
That's all for now....spring isn't far around the corner....starting to really think fishing. Look for the next couple of posts to get more involved with actual fishing & hunting.
'Cuz that's really what it's all about!
Talk soon!
Quent
Here in Atikokan it certainly has been a "real Canadian winter". We've had lots of very cold weather and a ton of snow. The last couple of days it's actually been very nice - above freezing - but I hear it's going to dip back down near -30 tonight & follow with even more snow this weekend.
Anyway - just a quick look at some of the things we did last season and some changes for 2011.
The biggest improvement in 2010 was definitely the new fish cleaning house. It's now right by the docks - large, clean, bright, and screened in along with some outside plugs for your trolling motor battery chargers. It received a big "thumbs up" from virtually everyone in 2010. Huge thanks to Howie Hawkes, Lenny Anderson, Wayne Menard, Daryl Warkentin, Cora Warkentin & Wyatt Branch for all the help with it. An extra big THANK YOU to Richard Spilchuk who pretty much was the driving force behind the whole project...from design to the pad and the first nail through the last this was pretty much Richards baby...and it turned out great. Fittingly, Richard cleaned the first fish in the new facility....not exactly sure, but I think it may have been a pike.
Speaking of docks, and thanks to Lenny, Howie & Richard and the others our older docks & ramps got a facelift in 2010. Plus we added a new floater....again this was very well receieved and appreciated by everyone who used them this year. We're planning to add two more new floaters in 2011 and continue to improve the ramps and older docks.
We've got a few things lined up for 2011 on top of new docks....
We now will be offering air conditioning in all of our large cabins. Right now it looks like window and / or portable units. We tend to not get too much sweltering weather - but it does happen. This should help the comfort level during those dog days of summer considerable.
On top of air conditioners, we continue to add newer furniture - mostly couches and chairs to the cabins. I think we'll have a few new fridges this year as well.
For our fishing package guests we now offer trolling motors with all the boats. Right now it looks as though they'll be transom mount...should help lots working the shoreline or slowly working fishing holes.
Facility wise we're looking at reopening our shower house for those guests coming back from remote fishing & canoeing trips or camping. Plus we'll continue to add new siding to the cabins and outbuildings.
One thing that we're really excited about is that we plan to considerably increase the amount of tackle, bait, souvenirs and supplies available in our office. We've always carried some...but we're going to ramp it up this year. It'll take a few seasons to get up to where we would like to be, and we will not stock things that don't work (just for the sake of having stock); but look for a better selection of tackle, maps and souvenirs in our office. This has especially been a demand of our canoeing and remote fishing trip guests. Gradually we'd like to become a real headquarters for these sportspeople coming to Atikokan for the vast wilderness and hundreds of lakes.
Our American Plan fishing packages are doing very well. It is growing at a very fast rate and we appreciate all of you that have joined us with the meal plan. Further to that, a huge Thank You to Jeff McNabb for helping us design our kitchen and to Jeff & Keith McNabb for lining us up with awesome suppliers! If anyone down in Florida is looking for a great kitchen you have to check out Kitchen Creations in the Tampa Bay area. Jeff & Keith are the best!
Slowly thinking ahead to 2012 / 2013 as well...thoughts of a new cabin on the lake and a new, large dining & office facility overlooking Banning Lake....but hey - I don't want to get ahead of myself!
And of course none of this would be possible with out all of you guys & gals coming to our camp year after year. Thanks you all especially!
And - ultimately you wouldn't be coming if it weren't for the fishing & hunting. So when it all comes down to it - that's what we really will be focussing on. We'll continue to actively be involved, keep tabs on new & old techniques, tackle & equipment and continue to work with anglers, hunters, the MNR and all other stakeholders to make sure this great resource is respected and flourishing.
That's all for now....spring isn't far around the corner....starting to really think fishing. Look for the next couple of posts to get more involved with actual fishing & hunting.
'Cuz that's really what it's all about!
Talk soon!
Quent
Sunday, January 2, 2011
Happy New Year!
Hey Everybody! Greetings from Atikokan...
2010 was a terrific year for us - very busy and for the most part, the fish and wildlife co-operated!
More specific info soon...quick highlights...
Walleye fishing was very good....still had lots of small "eaters", but - based on nothing scientific - I think the overall size is increasing across the board for our 'eyes. Good to see - makes sense as we've had a few years out of the last 4 or 5 that were eather early springs or late falls - longer growing seasons.
Pike were the pike...ferocious. We had loads of reports of pike being huge - incredibly fat for their length....we also had a lot more yellow perch caught than ever...I'm thinking that maybe the fishermen weren't the olnly ones feasting on the perch (?)....
Smallmouth bass fishing was phenomonal....it just keeps getting better....big numbers and many, many, many trophies. From springtime topwater action to jigging at 25' in late summer, the smallies were absolutely terrific in '10.
Right now - well - we have a whack of snow....snowmobiling conditions are excellent, although there is slush on some lakes. Wet a line on Banning a few days ago - about 14" of ice in the "non-current" areas....some terrific powder though.
Will update more soon !
All the best!
Quent
2010 was a terrific year for us - very busy and for the most part, the fish and wildlife co-operated!
More specific info soon...quick highlights...
Walleye fishing was very good....still had lots of small "eaters", but - based on nothing scientific - I think the overall size is increasing across the board for our 'eyes. Good to see - makes sense as we've had a few years out of the last 4 or 5 that were eather early springs or late falls - longer growing seasons.
Pike were the pike...ferocious. We had loads of reports of pike being huge - incredibly fat for their length....we also had a lot more yellow perch caught than ever...I'm thinking that maybe the fishermen weren't the olnly ones feasting on the perch (?)....
Smallmouth bass fishing was phenomonal....it just keeps getting better....big numbers and many, many, many trophies. From springtime topwater action to jigging at 25' in late summer, the smallies were absolutely terrific in '10.
Right now - well - we have a whack of snow....snowmobiling conditions are excellent, although there is slush on some lakes. Wet a line on Banning a few days ago - about 14" of ice in the "non-current" areas....some terrific powder though.
Will update more soon !
All the best!
Quent
Sunday, July 11, 2010
Mitchell's Stats & Fishing Update!
Hey Everyone,
Here's some stats from the Mitchells' which I know many of you are waiting for. Steve's logging of info is terrific to check out for all you fishing junkies like me....
Hey Quent,
Sorry it has taken me so long to get these to you. Here are the stats for 2010 .We caught 426 total fish, 300 bass 125 pike, and 1 walleye. Last years numbers were a little better 358 bass to 300 this year. I think I can explain why. Last year when we got there the water temp was in the 50's this year it was in the 60's. I personally think the bass had already spawned and gone back out to 10-15 feet of water and only came to shore to feed, therefore the bigger bass were not relating to the shore as they were last year. I heard in camp both weeks we were there from other fishermen how the bass were not on the shore. Just had to work a little harder this year. The weather this year was not as kind to us as last year windy and cloudy most days, with some rain. By far the most productive lure was soft plastics creature baits ,paca craws, flukes, and hula grubs. Work them slowly on the bottom and you will catch fish . Top water baits, popr's, chug bugs, tiny torpedo's and jtterbugs also caught some fish. Also we caught fish on a various crankbaits, jerkbaits, and rubberskirted jigs. All in all we had a great time seeing you and Lori, same time! same place! next year can't wait!!
Steve an Deb
Stats
pike 125
bass
12" under 70
13-14 81
15-16 97
17-18 44
19 up 8
1 walleye
Biggest bass 20" we caught 3
biggest pike 34" we caught 2
Great stuff eh? It was great seeing Steve & Deb again - and a few followers of Steve's stats got to meet him. Lots of "fish talk" in the yard while they were there.
The last week of May / first week or so of June saw the biggest shoreline action from the smallies on the beds.
Right now there is still topwater action - not as much as June - but in the past couple of weeks the fishing overall has been fantastic. We're seeing a lot of 20" + smallies coming from the deep water (ie 25' ish) - plus the walleyes overall have been great. Some of the biggest average 'eye's I've ever seen here. Lots of guys using artificial so that helps size wise - but live bait has been doing great not only with numbers but with size as well.
Plus had loads of pike caught that were described as "huge girth" - "fattest pike I've ever seen"..... we really have seen an spike in the perch population on the chain this year. More than I've ever seen - some nice ones too - I'm thinking that maybe our friendly neighbourhood northern pike population are enjoying this perch renaissance as well?
Anyway - been a great year so far - still looking forward to much more fishing action!
Talk soon!
QB
Here's some stats from the Mitchells' which I know many of you are waiting for. Steve's logging of info is terrific to check out for all you fishing junkies like me....
Hey Quent,
Sorry it has taken me so long to get these to you. Here are the stats for 2010 .We caught 426 total fish, 300 bass 125 pike, and 1 walleye. Last years numbers were a little better 358 bass to 300 this year. I think I can explain why. Last year when we got there the water temp was in the 50's this year it was in the 60's. I personally think the bass had already spawned and gone back out to 10-15 feet of water and only came to shore to feed, therefore the bigger bass were not relating to the shore as they were last year. I heard in camp both weeks we were there from other fishermen how the bass were not on the shore. Just had to work a little harder this year. The weather this year was not as kind to us as last year windy and cloudy most days, with some rain. By far the most productive lure was soft plastics creature baits ,paca craws, flukes, and hula grubs. Work them slowly on the bottom and you will catch fish . Top water baits, popr's, chug bugs, tiny torpedo's and jtterbugs also caught some fish. Also we caught fish on a various crankbaits, jerkbaits, and rubberskirted jigs. All in all we had a great time seeing you and Lori, same time! same place! next year can't wait!!
Steve an Deb
Stats
pike 125
bass
12" under 70
13-14 81
15-16 97
17-18 44
19 up 8
1 walleye
Biggest bass 20" we caught 3
biggest pike 34" we caught 2
Great stuff eh? It was great seeing Steve & Deb again - and a few followers of Steve's stats got to meet him. Lots of "fish talk" in the yard while they were there.
The last week of May / first week or so of June saw the biggest shoreline action from the smallies on the beds.
Right now there is still topwater action - not as much as June - but in the past couple of weeks the fishing overall has been fantastic. We're seeing a lot of 20" + smallies coming from the deep water (ie 25' ish) - plus the walleyes overall have been great. Some of the biggest average 'eye's I've ever seen here. Lots of guys using artificial so that helps size wise - but live bait has been doing great not only with numbers but with size as well.
Plus had loads of pike caught that were described as "huge girth" - "fattest pike I've ever seen"..... we really have seen an spike in the perch population on the chain this year. More than I've ever seen - some nice ones too - I'm thinking that maybe our friendly neighbourhood northern pike population are enjoying this perch renaissance as well?
Anyway - been a great year so far - still looking forward to much more fishing action!
Talk soon!
QB
Saturday, June 26, 2010
2010 Update
Wow - I can't believe it's the end of June already.....time flies - it's been very busy - one of our busiest Junes' ever - which is great!
Been a strange year - we had a very warm spring - as mentioned earlier, we had people in boats by around April 4. Usually the ice isn't even out until at least the end of April. Water levels are low - about a foot lower than usual on the Seine Chain....spawns were all early likely around 2 weeks early each.
Had some groups in during early May for pike & trout fishing. Most did very well.
The walleye opener was a little slower than usual. The week prior the 'eyes were hitting like crazy - people fishing other species threw a lot back.....the early spring & spwan moved them out of their traditional locations for opening week.
Late May & early June were overall pretty good for walleye though. Many smaller ones, but we've seen more 28" - 30" than I've ever seen - acouple 30" + already and quite a few in the 25" - 28"....still seeing lots of smaller ones though - everything from 6" - 7" - 12" - 14" +. Happy to say that the vast majority of the bigger fish were released, along with many of the smaller....
One of the big developments this year is that I've seen people bring in more perch than ever. We alwys saw the occasional one here & there, but this year the numbers were 'way up and many i the 3/4 - 1 lb range. A very nice surprise. Not sure what the implications of that are as far as what that indicates for the "big picture" on the Seine, but people are enjoying a lot of tasty yellow perch this year!
Late May & early June the smallmouth fishing was absolutely terrific. Many new groups that came asked why we don't "brag it up' more.....honestly sometimes it sounds like an exaggeration. We do say we have world class smallie fishing, but we had groups here this year that have fished at lodges that were specifically trophy smallmouth lodges and did better here - hands down. Crazy numbers and loads of trophies. They were on the topwater a little early this year, and the groups that hit that found the action almost unbelievable. By mid to late June they had already moved a little deeper, so were a little tougher to catch....BTW - Steve & deb Mitchell just left & Steve will be sending his annual smallmouth report. Last year they hit the topwater bite; this year the smallies were out a ways - a different dynamic with weather / conditions so a different type of bite for them this year. I'm looking forward to Steve's report as I know that many of you are as well.
the vast majority of the bass were released - I went weeks where people were catching loads of fish & still I never had to empty buckets from the fish house.
The pike were much less hesitant than last June when they were famous for follow ups but not actually biting. The pike bite has been pretty good this year - of course loads of smaller ones, but quite a few 40" + so far. I think we've seen more trophy pike so far this year than we have in a long time. Again - most released.
Other stuff ....
Thanks to Richard, Howie & Lenny, our docks are in better shape than they have been in a long time ....bought 1 new one - more to follow.
Also thanks to Richard, Howie, Lenny,plus wayne, Daryl & Cora we have the frame of a new fish cleaning house right by the docks. Waiting for the steel roof to come in, and, when finished, it'll be a terrific fish cleaning facility - including stainless steel counters, power otlets etc.
They've also all cleaned our grounds up in a big way - the debris from all the windfalls we've had is mostly gone....a lot better looks wise in our yard!
This will also provide a number of electrical outlets at the docks for trolling motors plus lighting for those nights that you stay out into the dark!
Howard H - mechanic extroadinaire tuned up our outboards and cleaned up our props & skegs this spring - huge help and very much appreciated by all!
Richard S has been the driving force behind these and many of the other improvements at the camp the last couple of years and we can't thank him enough! We'd be several years back in improving the camp (and our home) if it weren't for Richard. Most of the improvements over the previous season that you repeat guys notice when you come into the yard is due to Richard. Plus many things that you can't see. We owe him big time!
American Plan has been going great - very busy with the meal plan through late May & early June - hoping it continues!
BTW - many pics to come on the site www.seineriverlodge.com .....
Keep checking our Facebook page under "Branch's Seine River Lodge - starting to post lots more specific comments & pictures.
talk to y'all soon!
Been a strange year - we had a very warm spring - as mentioned earlier, we had people in boats by around April 4. Usually the ice isn't even out until at least the end of April. Water levels are low - about a foot lower than usual on the Seine Chain....spawns were all early likely around 2 weeks early each.
Had some groups in during early May for pike & trout fishing. Most did very well.
The walleye opener was a little slower than usual. The week prior the 'eyes were hitting like crazy - people fishing other species threw a lot back.....the early spring & spwan moved them out of their traditional locations for opening week.
Late May & early June were overall pretty good for walleye though. Many smaller ones, but we've seen more 28" - 30" than I've ever seen - acouple 30" + already and quite a few in the 25" - 28"....still seeing lots of smaller ones though - everything from 6" - 7" - 12" - 14" +. Happy to say that the vast majority of the bigger fish were released, along with many of the smaller....
One of the big developments this year is that I've seen people bring in more perch than ever. We alwys saw the occasional one here & there, but this year the numbers were 'way up and many i the 3/4 - 1 lb range. A very nice surprise. Not sure what the implications of that are as far as what that indicates for the "big picture" on the Seine, but people are enjoying a lot of tasty yellow perch this year!
Late May & early June the smallmouth fishing was absolutely terrific. Many new groups that came asked why we don't "brag it up' more.....honestly sometimes it sounds like an exaggeration. We do say we have world class smallie fishing, but we had groups here this year that have fished at lodges that were specifically trophy smallmouth lodges and did better here - hands down. Crazy numbers and loads of trophies. They were on the topwater a little early this year, and the groups that hit that found the action almost unbelievable. By mid to late June they had already moved a little deeper, so were a little tougher to catch....BTW - Steve & deb Mitchell just left & Steve will be sending his annual smallmouth report. Last year they hit the topwater bite; this year the smallies were out a ways - a different dynamic with weather / conditions so a different type of bite for them this year. I'm looking forward to Steve's report as I know that many of you are as well.
the vast majority of the bass were released - I went weeks where people were catching loads of fish & still I never had to empty buckets from the fish house.
The pike were much less hesitant than last June when they were famous for follow ups but not actually biting. The pike bite has been pretty good this year - of course loads of smaller ones, but quite a few 40" + so far. I think we've seen more trophy pike so far this year than we have in a long time. Again - most released.
Other stuff ....
Thanks to Richard, Howie & Lenny, our docks are in better shape than they have been in a long time ....bought 1 new one - more to follow.
Also thanks to Richard, Howie, Lenny,plus wayne, Daryl & Cora we have the frame of a new fish cleaning house right by the docks. Waiting for the steel roof to come in, and, when finished, it'll be a terrific fish cleaning facility - including stainless steel counters, power otlets etc.
They've also all cleaned our grounds up in a big way - the debris from all the windfalls we've had is mostly gone....a lot better looks wise in our yard!
This will also provide a number of electrical outlets at the docks for trolling motors plus lighting for those nights that you stay out into the dark!
Howard H - mechanic extroadinaire tuned up our outboards and cleaned up our props & skegs this spring - huge help and very much appreciated by all!
Richard S has been the driving force behind these and many of the other improvements at the camp the last couple of years and we can't thank him enough! We'd be several years back in improving the camp (and our home) if it weren't for Richard. Most of the improvements over the previous season that you repeat guys notice when you come into the yard is due to Richard. Plus many things that you can't see. We owe him big time!
American Plan has been going great - very busy with the meal plan through late May & early June - hoping it continues!
BTW - many pics to come on the site www.seineriverlodge.com .....
Keep checking our Facebook page under "Branch's Seine River Lodge - starting to post lots more specific comments & pictures.
talk to y'all soon!
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