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!
Thursday, June 25, 2015
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!
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