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......

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!

Merry Xmas & Updates

Hey Everyone...

Hope you're having a great Christmas season, and that this posting finds you all healthy & happy!

A couple of quick updates....

FYI - June 2010 is really starting to fill in quickly. As an example, for the weeks of June 12 - 19 and June 19 - 26....we are currently out of boats & motors for those weeks. As of right now though, if you bring your own boat & motor, we have 2 small LHK cabins open for those weeks - none of the larger HK cabins. Of course, check in with us anyway as cancelleations do happen.

Otherwise, the rest of the summer is peppered with bookings...still pretty good availability, but, being a smaller camp we do fill in quickly so if you've got some dates in mind, let me know & I'll hang on to them for you.

Beautiful weather here right now....got about a foot of fresh powder (ie snow!) on the weekend. Snowmobiling has been awesome, although the snowmobile trails aren't open or groomed yet.

Atikokan's world class cross country ski trails are open though. Looking like anothe great year for skiers! I'm hearing rumours that Mount Fairweather - Atikokan's downhill ski facility is opening soon. Should be a great winter for that too.

We're making a big rink on the ice on the lake today. As we had some cold weather in December with no snow, the ice is nice. Shouldn't need too much flooding to make it very good.

Anyway - take it easy everyone. Hope to talk to y'all soon!

Quent

May Update

Hey Everybody.....

Quick update...

Well, we're in the thick of it now....so far so good. Walleye opened last weekend (May 16) and that usually is the official kick off to the season....

That said, the walleye fishing has been great......sometimes a bit slow action wise, but many days / evenings the action has been great too. The only problem opening weekend was that it was hard getting the 'eye's under the slot (18"). Lots in the 19" - 20" range....pretty much all males.

Lori's brother Scott was up from S Ontario with his daughter Heidi, and they did great with walleyes....ditto Darryl & John from Atikokan.

Saw a few smallmouth opening weekend.....19" - 20"...very nice smallies.

The Benson group from Nebraska were up this past week & officially opened our new American Plan dining services....the guys did really well overall.....after a day or so, they really got in the walleye groove....good action & some nice sized ones.....including a 25". Also another nice bass - 4 + pounds and some pike. They also did a day in Miranda where they caught lots of pike.

BTW - cleaned a 13" smallie for the Bensons & it had eggs.....reinforcing that, one of Pauls S's group last night caught a 20" right up near the shore, so look out....topwater smallmouth action is about to begin! Based on the last week and a half, we've seen a bunch of trophy smallies already - 4 pounders almost seem the norm (without anyone actually fishing for them!). Should be a great bass fishing year again.

Anyway - will update y'all again soon!

Quent

Coming Soon - Fishing Season

Been getting lots of calls about ice out.....looking good - here on the Seine, the ice is 20' - 100' from shore....should be able to get a boat in next week.


Other lakes without river flow are a little further behind. I know lots of you want to get at some early lake trout & other action. I'll let you know the minute it's a go. In any event - we're 'way better off than this time last year.....should be able to get some good spring time action soon.


Just as a quick note though - the walleye opener last May was great - here's a couple of pics from "the opener '08"....




The weather was nasty - cold, windy....but the fishing - particularly the walleye was great.

Early Season Fishing

Hey Everyone,

Just a quick post...with this new format, I'm hoping to stay more current with my updates & especially photo posting.....

I'll be sharing a few stories /pics from last year...we have tons of pics to go up....2008 was one of the overall best years fishing we have seen on the Seine Chain. I even got out a lot more often (and caught a few too)....

For now though, we're really looking forward to a great 2009. Our bookings are (touch wood) looking terrific, with a very high number of old guests coming back. We have all the regulars that come up every year (sometimes twice or three times), plus a whole lot of groups that came once or twice a few years ago that all seem to be coming back this year.....

It's great having new groups come, and we're blessed with quite a few...and it's sure nice to see old friends again.

Anyway, we're hoping to kick it off this year by April 23 for some lake trout, pike & smallie fishing with the Blackwelder group from Florida. This'll mark a number of years that Earl has been up in early spring....last year we had a late ice out & it wasn't doable.

Of course, we're hoping for another early (or at least average ) ice out this year.....Anyone who's interested check in with us re: ice condditions. I know lots of you are chomping at the bit to wet the line for some great laker & pike fishing ASAP....if Mother Nature cooperates we sure will as well.

Will keep y'all posted!

Quent