Here we are already more than halfway through the 2023 season and our guests have consistently enjoyed good fishing each week. The water level here on Wabaskang continues to concern us but as of now our guests are still getting down into Keynote Lake with very few issues. Our boat ramp and dock are also decent at this point but if the water continues to drop, we may have some slips on the dock that will be too shallow to use. Rain is in the forecast so let’s keep our fingers crossed. The bush is still very dry so we are recommending camp stoves for shore lunches and until the rain comes no camp fires here at camp.
Walleye fishing was different for each group last week, some guests caught monster walleyes cast huge musky baits in the weeds each evening around sunset and some of our guests’ caught tons of eaters trolling or casting the shallow weeds and rocky shores all day long. Mark Kline was casting the deep weeds at sunset when he hooked into a giant 29” walleye, Mark dedicated the trophy to his father Jack who couldn’t be here after more than 40 years because of some medical issues. Tim Murphy also was on this week; he caught many 20+ walleyes and had one evening when he released a 29” and a 30” brute to easily crush his pal Mark and take-home bragging rights and the free hat for the week. Tim caught all his trophies on giant musky baits as well.
Northern fishing remains amazing again this week. Many of our guests simply trolled a spinner rig or jig dressed with either a minnow or crawler and had action all day long. The trophy sized northern were caught with big stick baits like Sandcats or Suicks and some of our guests also had great luck with orange or red and white daredevils. Mark Kline managed to catch a 37” northern, barely jade the board before he was immediately crushed by Jack Murphy who landed a 40” trophy. Sue Mincks easily out-fished her husband Bill this week, she released a 39 1/2” and a 40” northern despite having a sore finger from a penetrating treble hook. Damon Wegner was excited to report he released a 40” brute after a few quick pictures. The biggest northern of the week was caught and released by an old camp veteran, Roger Luhring is usually the walleye king around here when he is in camp but he showed his skill when he brought his 41 1/2” monster to the boat using his walleye tackle. I’m sure he is still bragging to anyone that will listen.
Bass fishing took a backseat to walleye and northern fishing this week but we still had some giants caught and released. Some of our guests were throwing top water baits and some were simply catching bass while walleye fishing. Bill and Sue Mincks caught plenty of bass but none much bigger than 17”. Greg Harvey was proud of his 17” bass. The biggest bass of the week was caught by dedicated angler Mike Pease, he made two trips to camp this season and had some great fishing on both trips. He managed to catch and release a monster 19 1/2” bass that crushed the competition and impressed his fishing buddies, great job Mike.
We did have a musky caught and released this week as well, Bill Mincks released a beautiful 32” musky to proudly claim a well-earned hat for his fish, we are seeing more muskies being caught this season than other years so we are excited to see what the future holds and are excited about the possibility of a 50+ fish being caught here in the future.
Remember to get your licenses before you arrive at camp and bring me a copy or I can make a copy when you arrive. Be sure your boat and the live well are clean and dry before you bring it into Canada as the agents are very concerned about the invasive species that might be hitchhiking into Canada, double check and make sure your boat plug is out as well.
The Whiskey Jack Restaurant is always a great place to have a great meal during your stay here at camp, let Laura and Graham do the cooking.
That’s all for week number 10 and just a teaser I may have a huge musky to talk about in my week 11 report. This is Jim from Wabaskang.
