Hello again from Jim and Julie’s Wabaskang Camp. Week 11 of our 25th season is in the books so let’s talk about how things went. Our guests are still struggling catch good numbers of eater sized walleyes this week, most of the smaller desirable fish are still tucked away in the weeds and are hard to find. A jig and minnow work or spinner rig and crawler but both techniques require patience because “weed” bites happen more often than “fish” bites. Our guests did catch some trophy walleyes this week, Anita Bray landed a nice 24” walleye, Lucas Halla always catches some big fish and he released a chunky 25 3/4” walleye, the big walleye of the week was caught and released by camp misfit Todd Peterson, his 26 1/2” beauty was a hat winner this week.
Bass fishing gave our guests plenty of action. Crank baits and twister tails were once again the choice of most of our guests. The bass were on weed edges this week more than rock which is a bit unusual but this entire season has been that way. A jig and minnow also caught plenty of the bass this week. Bonnie Oliver started things off when she caught and released a beautiful 17 1/2” bass, Mark Scott once again proved to his wife Lynn how it’s done, he released a gigantic 19 1/4″ brute that had him really excited. Barb Lepak caught and released a chunky 19 1/2″ bass that would have been a hat winner but her fun hating son-in-law Chad Peterson had to catch and release a monster 20 1/4″ bass to snatch the hat from her hands, real nice Chad.
Crappie fishing was spotty this week but we did see a few of our guests catch some big crappies. Keynote Lake was best and the fish were caught in about 20′ of water about 5′ off the bottom. A red and white spinner and minnow or crawler worked well. Kari Priebe caught a chunky 13” crappie, Barb Lepak and Andrew Halla both caught crappies 13 3/4″ but Barb reported hers first so she takes home the hat for the week.
Northern fishing was decent all week with plenty of action for our guests. Crank baits, spoons, stick baits and a simple jig and minnow combination all worked well. Deep weed edges were best where there was plenty of shade for the fish to escape the hot, windless, sunny days and wait for a chance to ambush a meal. Todd Peterson released a 37 1/2″ brute, no hooks to the face this year👍, Andrew Halla released a 37 3/4″ and a giant 40″ northern and was pretty cocky about winning a hat until his wife Jackie caught and released a massive 41 1/2″ “hat winner” way to go Jackie.
Remember to have your boats clean and live wells clean and dry along with all plugs pulled before crossing into Canada to help prevent the spread of invasive species. We don’t issue fishing licenses here at camp anymore but Clark’s Bait and Tackle in Dryden or Vermillion Bay can fix you up, you can also run a few miles up the road and get them at Dutchies General Store along with groceries, souvenirs, and all your beverage needs. If you’re running early the Whiskey Jack Restaurant is a great place to stop for lunch on Saturday before coming into camp, Laura and Graham will also cook you a great meal for Wednesday through Sunday if you want to take a break and let someone else do the cooking. That’s all for now, this is Jim from Wabaskang.
