Greetings from Jim and Julie’s Wabaskang Camp. We are down to the last three weeks of the 2025 season and the time sure has flown by. We continue to deal with the dry conditions and are hoping for some decent fall rains soon. The lake water level is low but we are still able to launch boats but the heavy boats on bunk trailers are a bit tricky. Our guests are still able to navigate the entire lake with no real issues so far. Shore lunches are always popular, but we recommend a propane camp stove and not a wood fire as the foliage is extremely dry and can easily catch fire. Fishing was good this week but there were some days that were better than others.
The crappie bite has picked up now and early mornings and late evenings are by far the best time to fish for them. Our guests are using tiny jigs with a twister tail to catch most of the crappies along with a slip bobber and small piece of worm. Our guests caught many fish in the weeds early and late evenings found schools of crappies suspended over deep water. Mike Hyde caught a chunky 14 1/2″ crappie but his dreams of winning a hat were quickly crushed by crusty “Ole Steve Irish, his 15″ beauty is one of the biggest this season.
Our guests enjoyed good northern fishing this week, most of the trophy sized pike were caught on large musky baits but a few were caught on a simple jig and minnow rig or jig and twister tail. Richard Zender was our guest for two weeks this September and once again he started things off by releasing a 33″ beauty. Charlie Zender released a pair of 36 1/2″ pike this week. Dave Zender was the eldest guest in camp this week, but he released a feisty 38″ pike showing he still has what it takes. Wesley Brandt was new in camp, but he quickly caught on to things and released a beautiful 39 1/4″ pike. Patty Duckworth always catches big pike and her best this week was a monster 39 1/2″ brute she quickly released. Larry Jaske has had more than his share of medical setbacks in recent years, but he still managed to make it back to camp and catch a beautiful 38 1/2″ pike. Brian Pottebaum caught a gigantic 40 1/4″ pike, it was his personal best here and he released it after a quick picture. The biggest pike of the week was caught by Chad Duckworth, usually his only interaction with big pike is taking them off his wife Patty’s line but he did finally catch and release a beautiful 43″ trophy, excellent job Chad.
Bass fishing was sport this week for most of our guests and most if the bass caught were caught by our guests accidentally while walleye fishing. Many big bass were hitting plastics and giant crank baits in about 20′ of water. Steve Rathe managed to enjoy some peace and quiet out in the lake this week but he did stir things up when he released a chunky 18 3/4″ bass, the best bass catcher this week was the infamous Big Mike Lammers, he released a 18 1/2″, 2-19″ bass and a gigantic 20″ bass to win a free hat. His bass all were caught on deep rock piles on 4″ soft plastic grub.
Walleye fishing took a step back thus week as far as numbers go. We had plenty of 15″ fish caught but very few 17″ and 18″ fish. Jig and minnow was the most popular method for our guests. Leonard Jerrett was unfortunately fishing with the Steve Irish gang, but he made the most of his unfortunate situation and released a nice 23″ walleye. Scott Dewey caught and released a nice 25″ walleye, my neighbor from home Keith Stough went to a spot one evening my brother told him about and released a 25″ and 27″ walleye. Steve Rathe caught and released his personal best on Wabaskang this week, a beautiful 28″ walleye. Brian Pottebaum skillfully caught and released his 27″ trophy. Jim White has fished Wabaskang since he was a young fella and he is having a replica made of the beautiful 29” walleye he caught and released, a hat winner for the week for sure. Remember to have clean and dry boats if you plan on bringing your personal boat to Ontario, the border agents are concerned about aquatic invasive species entering Ontario waters from the U.S. and want clean and dry live wells and bait wells along with clean boat hulls. Get your license on line or at a local bait shop such as Clark’s Bait and Tackle in Dryden and Vermilion Bay or Dutchies General Store just up the road, try to bring us a copy to keep in file as well or we can also copy yours when you get here. The Whiskey Jack Restaurant is always a great option for a wonderful relaxing meal after a day on the water, let Laura and Graham cook you a mouthwatering meal.
Only two weeks to go then we will start shutting things down for the season, this is Jim from Wabaskang.
