Spring greetings from Jim and Julie’s Wabaskang Camp. Our 24th season is off and running and we are seeing some of the best fishing on opening week than we have in many seasons. The water level on the lake is low right now but no issues getting around anywhere on the water. We are seeing water temps in the mid to upper 60’s already which has virtually every species of fish in the lake actively feeding in the shallow water. The walleye fishing has been crazy good with our guests working the shoreline out to about 8’ of water. Slip bobbers and minnows or worms are working but soft bodied tube jigs and even crank baits are catching just as many fish.
Josh Lembrich caught and released a 24 1/2” and a 25” walleye back-to-back, Steve Taylor released his 25 1/4” walleye, Neal Kolb managed to catch and release a beautiful 26” beauty, Stephen “Goo Goo Eyes” Watson caught a chunky 26 1/2” walleye, Russ Schultz even surprised himself when he landed a 26 1/2” walleye he is going to mount on the wall. The superstar of the week is no surprise to me, Tristen Kolb the youngest angler in camp at the young age of 13 landed a monster 29” walleye and he managed to talk father Neal into footing the bill to have it mounted, great fish for sure.
The northern fishing was good as well this week with all the decent sized fish being caught in the shallow warm water with lite tackle while angling for perch and walleyes. Larry Lembrich released a 32” and a 34” northern, Dick “the handyman” Dunham released a chunky 32 1/2” northern, Tristen Kolb had a good time releasing a 35” and 35 1/2” northern, once again Russ Schultz impressed himself and everyone else in camp by catching a massive 36” northern he is going to hang on the wall next to his walleye. The biggest northern of the week was skillfully caught by Scott Johnston, he landed a beautiful 38” northern to win bragging rights in camp.
Bass fishing was super this week as well with the bass being very shallow and staging in or near spawning areas which made for some fast action for our guests. Best visits were small crank baits, tube jigs, and a bobber and worm. Neal Kolb and Dick Dunham both released 18 1/2” beauties but the biggest bass of the week goes to Charles Taylor, he released a massive 19 1/2” bass that was his biggest ever, it easily won him the money for biggest bass of the week from his group.
Perch fishing was decent but many of the fish were smaller males that were in the shallows ahead of the bigger females. Tiny jigs and minnows or worms worked well with rookie Robert Yarbrough catching the biggest in camp this week, a fat 12” beauty.
Crappie fishing also was good this week with tube jigs or slip bobbers catching most of the fish. Keynote had the most action with many nice fish being caught. Lynn Arte caught a beautiful 14” crappie, Jim “sleepy” Dunham caught a 14 1/2” crappie and Mike Schultz managed to land a 15” brute despite suffering through a week of terrible back pain. Next week looks like some warm weather is on the way along with it some chances of thunder storms.
To our guests coming to camp remember to get your license before arriving in camp and poultry products are allowed this season but must be in original store packaging. The Whiskey Jack Restaurant is open for business with some new mouthwatering items on the menu, also check out Dutchies General Store for licenses, groceries, souvenirs, and your choice of many adult beverages. That’s all for now, talk again soon, Jim
