September greetings from Jim and Julie’s Wabaskang Camp. We are down to the final few weeks of the season and the days are just flying by. Fishing has remained solid throughout the season and week 17 was no exception. Our walleye fishing is transitioning from mid-depths to deeper water usually around 28’ to 33’ or so, we are still seeing some fish caught in shallow water but the majority of our guests are doing much better in the deeper spots. A jig and minnow or Lindy Rig and minnow were the two top producers with a spinner and crawler or minnow also doing quite well. Venetta Bruns started things off in camp when she released a chunky 24” walleye on day one, she and her husband Robert don’t let the aches and pains associated with being seniors keep them from having a great time with their son Tim, let’s plan on more trips next season. Mike Dufel was back in camp this week, his best walleye was a nice 25” fish that was released after a quick picture, seems he can do more than firefighting and making spaghetti👍Julie is impressed me not so much😜 Tim Bruns made three trips to camp this season, making up for lost time he said. He managed to release a chunky 25 1/2” walleye that did top his mom’s fish but she understands. The biggest walleye of the week was caught and released by our friend Anthony Wilhelm, he released a beautiful 27” walleye he caught right in front of camp, he was fishing with Steve Rathe who was just as excited as Tony was. Our northern fishing really went up a notch this week since we had some real serious northern fishermen in camp. Many of the trophy sized northern were actually caught while working Lindy Rigs with big minnows for giant walleyes. The real serious northern fishermen like Steve Young were throwing giant stick baits and really cleaning up on the monster pike. Curt Schurman released a nice 37 1/2” fish, Tim Schaefer’s best was a 37 1/2” fish he released. Seems Brett Langfritz could only manage a measly 37” brute but he was busy babysitting Doyle all week in the boat so I understand the low output for him this week. Charlie Zender casted his guts out for two weeks but he was still proud of releasing a 36” trophy better days and bigger fish will come your way. Jeremy Bilharz released a 37” northern, his buddy Mike Hyde caught a chunky 36” fish, not bad for two new comers on the lake. Bob Bruns did impress wife Venetta when he landed and released a chunky 34” northern, not as big as his fish earlier in the season that won him big fish of the week but still a great fish. Matt Grove released a 40” monster he caught on his first trip to our camp. Chad Duckworth has a big advantage this week because he was fishing with camp legend Steve Young, Chad released a chunky 37” northern but spent the better part of most days watching Steve catch and release trophy after trophy northern. Steve is a real master at throwing big baits for big fish and the Sandcat lure was his favorite this week, his biggest northern was a monster 40” brute that is back in the lake waiting for a rematch next season😜
Bass fishing turned into more of an accidental art this week rather than an intentional target, every decent bass caught was hooked while walleye fishing deep water or working mid depths with crank baits for walleyes. Tim Schaeffer was really proud of his new boat this season but a new boat obviously doesn’t mean new skills, Tim’s best bass was a measly 18” that barely made the board but let’s give him a chance next season to see what he can do. Rick Zender used his favorite crank bait to catch and release a massive 19” bass, he used my rental boat Tim just saying. Doyle Brocka was absolutely giddy when he told me about his 19” bass he caught and released while walleye fishing, more of a fluke catch than a skill I’d say. The biggest bass of the week was caught by Chris Kersten, he released a gigantic 19 1/2” bass that put a giant smile on his face, nice catch Chris. Our crappie fishing wasn’t something to write home about this week but we did see a few very nice fish, seems Mike Hyde knows the spot and his biggest was a thick 14” beauty, he worked his tail off down in Keynote Lake but it was exciting for him to catch some very nice crappies. Next week looks cool and wet but our groups coming in are veterans who can handle a bit of rough weather. That’s all for now this is Jim from Wabaskang
