Week 4, 2023 June 10th – 16th
Another great week here at Jim and Julie’s Wabaskang Camp. Week 4 of the 2023 season was maybe the best week in all the years we have owned the camp as far as trophy sized fish being caught and released. Walleye fishing was very good in the weeds and on and around the scattered rock piles. By far the best bait was a soft bodied plastic bait, anything around 3”-4” long and white, yellow, brown, or orange were all very good colors. A simple jig and minnow also caught walleye but mainly smaller fish. Lance Petrasek started things off on Saturday when he landed a chunky 23″ fish. Kurt Voster quickly crushed Lance’s fish by releasing a 24″ beauty. Danny Edeker is a modest fella but he did mention him along with his gang never caught so many trophy walleye in one week, their biggest was around 27”, not bad for a bunch of guys from Iowa. Will McCord was a rookie in camp this week he fished with my brother “Big Mike” and Jordan Hansen, Will spent most of the week watching in awe as Mike and Jordan released plenty of trophy walleye but he did manage to snag a modest 27 1/2″ walleye he quickly released after a picture. Jordan Hansen had a great week obviously because he was in the boat with “Big Mike” which basically makes fishing for walleyes like shooting fish in a barrel. Jordan released a pair of 28 1/2″ walleyes to take second place in camp which basically means he was a big loser to Mike. Mike had a phenomenal week casting for walleyes, he released many over 24″ including a 27″,28″,28 1/2” and a giant 29 1/2″ trophy, I guess he is finally putting all that fishing knowledge I passed on to him to good use.
Bass fishing was decent but slower than the previous weeks. Spinner rugs and worms caught fish as well as crank baits and tube jigs. Many of the bass have moved away from their spawning beds now and were harder to locate. Danny Edeker once again impressed his gang when he released a feisty 17 3/4″ bass. Lindsey Irish was back in camp this week and despite being stuck fishing with “Father Time” Steve she released a magnificent 18 1/2″ trophy. The biggest bass of the week was released by Trenton Thiel, his 20″ beauty is the biggest of the season so far, great job Trenton.
Northern fishing was really something during week four, we had many brutes released in the upper 30’s and Lower 40’s. Some of our guests used planer boards pulling huge stick baits and rubber baits and some of our ” old school ” guests used a simple jig and minnow to land the toothy critters. Jess Wilson released a 36″ brute, she was happy just to beat her brother Sam, which seems to happen most of the time anyway. Tanner Jacobs was new to camp but he released a chunky 37″ northern that he was very proud of. Of course, Nate Hutzel had to quickly bust Tanner’s bubble by releasing a 37 1/2″ brute, what are friends for? Austin Kaja was newcomer to camp as well this week, he had buddy Sam Wilson guiding him around all week and the 37 1/2″ northern he released put a big smile on his face. Dave Schaller made his second trip to camp this season and even though he does not like all that northern slime in his boat he did release a beautiful 38″ fish. Colton Petrasek is taking after his dad Lance the “Master Angler,” he released a beautiful 39″ brute to fight another day.” Big Mike” released lots of slot northern with his biggest being a modest 39” brute, Jordan Hansen released a 40” northern that put a smile on his hairy face. Mike Williams from what I am told accidentally caught and released a 40” brute while using lite bass/walleye tackle. Dale Wilson released a whopping 41” northern that he was so proud of but it he still ended up in second place too bad so sad. The biggest northern of the week was unbelievably caught and released by camp legend Steve Irish, he hooked the fish using his walleye tackle and had to chase the fish with the boat because he was running out of fishing line, when the fish was landed with the help of daughter Lindsey the dip net broke and the jig popped out of the northern mouth but they managed to get it into the boat and get a great picture. He was happy and finally calmed down a few days later.
We had very few crappies caught this week with the biggest being around 12”.
No trout to mention as they have gone deep now and our guests did not try for them.
Another week of dry weather here but hopefully some rain is in the forecast. No open fires allowed right now so a camp stove is required for your shore lunch if you decide to do one. Remember to get your license on line or at a tackle shop before you arrive in camp. Dutchies General Store just a few minutes up the road can fix you up with a license, groceries, beverages, and tackle if you need anything. The Whiskey Jack restaurant is open at noon on Saturdays if you are hungry and running a bit early stop in and let Laura and Graham cook you up a great meal. That’s all for now, this is Jim from Wabaskang
