October 2nd
Hello again from Wabaskang Camp, our final week of the season has come and gone, we had some outstanding fishing for walleyes and northern this week, we also saw our archery moose hunters bag a nice bull moose. The walleye bite was best in deep water; usually 25 to 35 was the ticket. Almost all of our guests were using oz jigs tipped with a minnow. White and blue jigs worked well along with orange and black. Chris Silbernagel released a 24 walleye, Matt Krueger released a 24 ½ fish, rookie in camp Kent Plaehn released a monster 26 walleye to win top honors of the week for rookies in camp, camp veteran Leroy Hennen takes top spot for the week for overall walleye with a chunky 27 walleye that he also released. The northern fishing was good as well this week, most of the big fish were taken by speed trolling the deep edges of the cabbage weed lines, usually in about 15 of water. Fred Meier released a 31 fish, Leroy Hennen had a great day on Saturday, and he released a 31, a 33 and a 34 northern all in the same day. Matt Krueger released a 38 and a 38 ½ northern, Chas Ratz, probably one of the best fishermen we have ever met released a 40 ½ monster northern and his friend Chris Silbernagel also released a 40 ½ to tie with Chas for the top fish of the week. We also saw super star Chas Ratz catch and release a huge 19 ½ largemouth bass that he caught down in Keynote Lake, it is the biggest largemouth bass ever caught here since we have owned the camp, that Chas is really something, [Wonder Boy], the smallmouth fishing was pretty good this week as well, Craig Plekkenpol released a 16 bass, Dave Goodlund released a 17 bass, and camp veteran Fred Meier takes top spot this week by releasing a 17 7/8 beauty. Our moose hunters had a great time hunting again this season, Tony Wygle shot his first bull moose with a bow, great job Tony. We are busy now closing up camp and draining water lines, the weather has changed now and we had well over an inch of rain today and now the ground is covered with wet snow, the winds are also gusting over 40 mph, we will try to give a final update on the season shortly, thanks for taking the time to check out our web-site, talk again soon, Jim
September 23rd
Hello everyone, its Jim from Wabaskang Camp. We had another great week of fishing here in camp, tons of nice walleyes and good numbers of decent northern as well. The walleye bite was all over the lake this week, we had some guests went down into Keynote Lake and caught their limits of 17 to 20 fish in about 12 feet of water, many of our regulars this week went to Devils Point or Doe Island and easily caught and released 50 walleyes a day, many if not most were over 19 long. They came mostly from deep water on a jig and minnow or the old mans way of fishing, dragging a bottom bouncer tipped with a minnow. We saw lots of competition this week when it came to walleye fishing, Harlan Kruse released a 21 ½ fish the first day to take the early lead but Vern Hanus quickly demolished him by catching a 22 walleye a day later. Tom Gloviak also caught a 22 fish to tie Vern, but along came camp expert Mark Steinfeldt catching and releasing a chunky 23 ½ walleye to win top honors for the week. Doyle and Luke Brocka were in camp this week and Doyle finally has his own boat now so he broke the apron strings he had tied to Harlan Kruse and was finally able to catch some big fish. On the first day out Doyle released a nice 31 northern but his superstar son Luke had his best day ever for northern, he released a 33, a 35, and a 36 ½ northern all in one afternoon. Oh Yea I think Dave Lindaman also released a 34 fish as well but who cares. Anyway Lukes northern were looking pretty good until Tom Gloviak stepped up to the plate and hit a home run by releasing a trophy sized northern pike, it was just over 41 long-great job Tom. We did have a few nice smallmouth bass caught this week as well, the biggest by far belonged to Luke Brocka, he skillfully managed to catch and release a chunky 18 bass, and he sure was excited to tell us about his catch. We have one more week of fishing and hunting left this season and we are expecting to have lots to talk about next week, until later, Jim from Wabaskang
September 16th
Hello again from Wabaskang Camp, I know we are late on posting last weeks fishing report but it seems that September is flying by and we just cant seem to get caught up. Last week we had some fantastic fishing for most of our guests, the walleyes are schooling up now in mid to deep basin areas and seem to be very hungry almost anytime of the day. The best walleye bite was in 25 to 35 of water with some fish even being caught out of 50 of water. A jig and minnow combination worked best but a lindy-rig and minnow was a close second, some of our guests also had good success using a spinner rigged with a bottom bouncer and minnow. Don Gutknecht, Kip Elm, Robert Rathe, and Roger Mobley all caught and released walleyes over 23 this week, the camp superstar for walleyes this week goes to Chuck Slawson, he managed to land a beautiful 28 fish to easily smash the competition, great job Chuck. Well this week we had the Zender clan in camp and that means the northern pike population was in for a tough week. Bob Robbins tried to compete with the Zender boys but his 31 fish the first day didnt hold up very long, Chuck Zender released a 33 and a 38 northern only to see camp legend Gus Zender waltz right on by with a trophy 42 fish, and he released his fish after a quick picture. The best northern bait seemed to be spoons and large Mepps spinners along with medium sized crank baits, the best areas wee still along the deeper weed edges close to deep water. We did see some smallmouth bass action this week as well, Margaret Barnes caught a chunky 16 bass, Marty Robbins caught a 17 ½ bass, Jerry Elm managed to wrangle a nice 18 fish to the boat but old timer Rick Zender out-did himself by releasing a beautiful 19 bass, he takes the hat home again this year. We have two more weeks of fishing left here at Wabaskang Camp and I am sure we will have lots to talk about next week, we will post a new up-date shortly, we did have snow today and our first frost was on the 17th so the trees are turning now and there are lots of geese heading South, talk soon, Jim from Wabaskang
Sept 9th
Hello everyone, its Jim again from Wabaskang Camp. We had another great week of fishing here in camp, the fall colors are starting to show up and there is a hint of fall weather in the air. The walleye bite was very good again this week, most of our guests were once again fishing the deeper areas of the lake next to rocky points and fast slopping shore lines. The best depth was generally around 30 feet and the best bait seemed to be a lindy rig and minnow or a white jig and minnow. Mike Hannemann caught a nice 21: walleye the first day out, Craig absent-minded Mericle landed a chunky 21 ½ fish the same day, Judy Warnke showed the fellas in camp how it is done by catching a 22 walleye to briefly take the top spot on the leader board. It seems the ladies in camp this week really knew what they were doing because next up was Ann Peterson, this is her third trip of the season and she skillfully caught and released a chunky 25 walleye she caught using a night crawler, the big walleye of the week goes to Ruth Rowe, she always seems to catch some really nice fish each time she is visiting us in camp, she was fishing the deeper water on the main lake when she caught and released a beautiful 26 walleye, good job Ruth. Our northern fishing was good one day and slow the next, there was a good bite going on in the deeper weed beds on the main lake and up in North Bay, the big brutes were moving in and out during the week and if you were there when they were you had some great action. We also had some very nice northern caught trolling spinner rigs up and down the shore lines during the middle of the day, gold and silver blades worked the best. Tom Behl released a chunky39 ½ fish, J.J. Hansel released a 39 brute, Dave Lewis managed to catch and release a nice 36 northern and Daryl Miller released a chunky 34 fish. The biggest fish of the week goes to Fish Magnet Steve Young, he skillfully released a 40 monster to take top honors for the week. We will talk to all of you again soon, also wanted to say thanks to Klinton Patterson for his mouth watering pork chops on a stick he shared with us the week before last—–bring lots more next season, Thats all for now from Wabaskang Camp.
September 2nd
Greetings from Wabaskang Camp. We had another exciting week of fishing here in camp and there is a lot to talk about. The guests this week were all regulars and knew exactly where to fish and what to use, the walleye bite is really popping now and we had lots of boats with 75 fish days. The best technique was once again a 5/16 oz white jig tipped with a minnow, the best depth almost all week long was between 27 and 36, the morning bite seemed to be money in the bank for our guests and the late afternoon early evening bite was good as well. Most of our guests were fishing the main lake in the morning and then working their way back home in the afternoon hitting some of their favorite spots on the way back to camp. Bill Buss made a return to camp and started things off by catching a chunky 22 ½ walleye, Mike Kukrow managed to tie Bill by catching a 22 ½ fish as well, Mark Luhring stormed to the top of the leader board next with a 23 ½ walleye only to watch Jeff Bruncheon crush him with a beautiful 24 fish. We all know that with the camp Superstar, Brett Langfritz in town no one has a chance staying on top of the leader board and once again he slammed poor Jeff back to reality by easily catching and releasing a trophy sized 26 fish, next came Janet Rieckenberg, she skillfully landed a 27 ½ beauty to take home and put on the wall, it didnt take Brett long to crush all the competition though, he simply jumped back into his boat and skipped across the lake to a super secret hot spot and quietly landed a monstrous 29 trophy walleye to once again show why he is known around these parts as the Walleye King, he decided to take his 29 beauty home to put on the wall—with Susans approval of course, way to go Brett. Our northern fishing seemed to be decent one day and very slow the next, we had some big fish caught but not the numbers we usually see this time of the season. Most of the big fish were caught by casting big stick baits and Mepps spinners along the deep side of the cabbage weed beds or near the deeper edges of the numerous rock piles around the lake. Mike Kukrow stepped up to the plate and started things off by releasing a chunky 32 ½ northern the first day, he held on to the top spot for a few days but Dan Edeker and Mike Lammers teamed up to put on a clinic on day three, they released dozens of northern in the slot and also released four 35 fish, two 36 fish, a 37 fish, two 38 northerns and giant 42 monster all in one days casting, not bad for a couple of hay-seeds from Iowa, by the middle of the week Leon Luhring had seen enough, he managed to catch and release a gigantic 43 trophy northern to quietly slip into first place on the big fish board, too bad for Leon that Wabaskang Lake mystery man Chad Heim was in camp, he skillfully landed and released a beautiful 43 ½ fish to take home bragging rights for the big northern. We did see some huge smallmouth bass caught this week as well, many of the bass were caught in deep water while fishing for walleyes, Spencer Holm showed off his amazing skill at catching bass by landing a football sized 18 beauty, good job Spence. We had lots of good times with the groups this week, Larry Luhring made sure his son Rich always came up to the lodge each morning with a huge breakfast plate for Julie and me, Jimmy Peters from Tripoli made his melt in your mouth pork loin for us and about twenty of his buddies, it is always great to see you pull into camp Jim, just when we thought it couldnt get any better Chad Heim invited us down to his cabin to enjoy a great prime rib dinner with him and his gang, thanks again Chad. We sure ate well this week and cant wait until next year. The fall season is just around the corner and we will have some impressive numbers to tell you about next week, we will talk again soon; this is Jim saying goodbye from Wabaskang.
Aug 25th
Hello again from Wabaskang Camp, it has been a great summer of fishing and week 14 was no exception. The weather was warm and mild, most of our guests were wearing shorts and tee-shirts out on the lake every day. The walleye fishing was fantastic especially if you were out on the water by 6 am, the best bite was in deep water, usually around 30 feet or more, the best bait was a white or green oz jig tipped with a medium sized minnow, another deadly method was a Lindy type rig and light slip sinker about 5 feet above the hook, again a minnow was by far the best bait to use. We started off the week with lots of nice fish in the 20 inch range but by weeks end the fish were getting bigger and more numerous. Leon Luhring started things off by releasing a chunky 20 walleye only to see fishing phenom Brett Langfritz jump onto the board by releasing a nice 22 ½ fish, New comer Crystol Cordes and old timer Dave Harms both caught and released matching 24 walleyes-isnt that special! As the week went along cagey Dan Roose made like his name and rose to the top spot on the leader board by releasing a beautiful 25 walleye, the walleye have moved to deeper water in large numbers now and our guests should have some fantastic fishing the rest of the season. The northern fishing was slow this week because many of our guests were concentrating on the walleyes and leaving the northerns alone. Camp regular,- (sorry to say) Tim Schaeffer released a nice 36 ½ northern only to see the Ontario Fishing Legend Bob Holm slam the door in his face with a 37 ½ trophy fish, Bob ended up taking home the hat for his big fish. The bass fishing was very difficult to establish any type of pattern for, some of our guests caught some good bass in shallow water next to rock piles and sunken logs and some of our walleye fishermen actually picked up, some huge bass while fishing 30 plus water for walleyes, once again Dan Roose hogs up all the glory by releasing a 19 bass that turned out to be more than he could handlemaybe let Terri hold the fish for a picture next time fella. We had some youngsters in camp this week that also caught some huge fish, little Morgan the garbage machine Luhring released a 28 northern, her sister Mallory released a 35 northern and also caught and released a chunky 16 bass one evening, the girls mom Kim also made the news this week by taking a ride to the Dryden hospital to have a huge treble hook pulled from the back of her ankle that was neatly placed there by her loving husband Mike, some families will do anything to make the camp news. We are looking forward to week 15 and should have lots more to talk about since we will have a camp full of regular that know the lake like the back of their hands, talk again soon, Jim from Wabaskang
August 19th
Hello again from Wabaskang Camp, we have completed week 14 of the 2012 season and have some really good fishing to talk about. The weather is beginning to feel like Fall now even though we are weeks away from September, the walleyes are moving deeper now and our guests found great fishing in the 26 to 32 depths, there is also a good bite still going on right on the weed lines in about 12 of water. The best baits seemed to be a jig and minnow combination in a green or white color or a spinner rig tipped with a minnow or crawler. Newcomer Mike Kepple started things off with a nice 23 fish only to see Josh Kempers land a chunky 23 ½ walleye, Mike Lammers limped onto the board with a laughable 24 walleye which Jeremy Damgaard quickly erased by releasing a 26 beauty, Bob Kepple had seen enough so he quickly topped the leader board by releasing a chunky 28 trophy walleye, his fished won him top honors for the week. Our northern fishing was very good this week as well, we had lots of camp veterans here and they really showed off their talents, the big northern were being caught on large crank baits, Suicks, Dare Devils, Sandcats, and Bulldogs mainly, the best areas seemed to be the edges of cabbage weeds near deep water, the smaller northern were in close to shore and the big brutes were near the 13 to 15 depths. Jeremy Damgaard started things off by releasing a nice 35 fish, next old lady Kristy Lammers slipped in the back door with a chunky 36 ½ fish, her lead was short however as Josh Kempers released a 37 ½ northern the next day. Old camp legend Tim Wuethrich jumped into the mix by releasing a beautiful 39 trophy which he later said was tiny compared to the fish he was seeing follow his baits to the boat but not striking, next came Marty Neihouser, he usually has his name on the board each week he is here and this week was no exception, he released a 41 ½ brute that weighed almost as much as him, Tony Opperman took the lead towards the end of the week by releasing a 42 monster which he caught on a big Dare Devil, just when Tonys fish looked like it would take the top spot for the week Kristy Lammers once again slammed the door in his face by catching and releasing a huge 43 ½ trophy, she has caught more than her share of big fish this season. Most of the bass this week were caught when fishing for walleyes in the deeper rock piles scattered around the lake, Craig Mericle had the magic touch this week and wins top honors by releasing a chunky 18 fish. The fishing should continue to impress everyone as the weather cools and the walleyes move to deeper water and begin to gather in huge schools, lots of regulars in camp this week as well so we should see lots of trophy fish released again, we will talk again soon, thats all from Wabaskang.
August 12
Hello again from Wabaskang Camp, we had another great week of fishing and saw some of the ladies in camp teach the men a lesson. The week started off with Candy Jo Young catching and releasing a chunky 34northern, this is her first time in camp and her husband Steve was very proud of her catch, he also released a 34 pike the next day, old timer Deane Fober landed a beautiful 35 northern which he released as well, camp regular Paul Augustin beat everyone in camp this year by catching and releasing a 39 northern. Most of the fish were caught on medium sized crank baits or spoons, some northern were also caught while fishing the weed lines with a minnow or worm rig, the big pike are moving into the deeper edges of the weed lines looking for an easy meal. Our walleye fishing was good this week as well, there were good catches of fish along the weed lines and around the rock piles scattered around the lake, the best bait was a night crawler on a spinner rig and a jig and minnow combination, the best depth seemed to be around 12 to 15 feet, Camp legend Dave Fober caught many nice walleyes this week and kept busy all week long trying to keep everyone in his group on the fish, Rob Watkins caught a beautiful 27 ½ walleye using a crank bait right in the middle of a cabbage bed, his wife Deb stuck it to him though this week by catching a walleye that measured 28 long, too bad Rob, the bass fishing this week was spotty at best, the biggest bass of the week goes to Dave Stark, he managed to boat a chunky 16 ½ fish. We are looking forward to next week, the weather is cooler now and we are beginning to see some fall patterns emerge; we will talk again soon, Jim from Wabaskang.
August 5th
Good evening to all our fishing friends. Week twelve was another week of big fish and great weather. We did manage to get some rain early in the week but most of the week was sunny and mild. Our northern fishing was good for the small and medium sized fish but the big brutes were chasing baits but just not hitting them. Todd Peterson did the best in camp this week numbers wise, he released a 30, a 36 , and a chunky 36 ½ northern, Mike Willer released a 32 fish, Phil Obermeyer got into the act by releasing a 36 ½ fish but old camp legend John Kline took the top honors this week by boating a nice 38 northern, most of the fish were roaming the weed edges and were hitting big stick baits, some of the fish were also caught while fishing for walleyes using a jig and minnow. The walleye fishing was decent as well this week, Ann Peterson released a nice 21 fish that she caught on a night crawler, Newcomer Paul Newton landed a beautiful 26 ½ fish that was caught right along a shallow weed line just before dark, Father time himself, Ron old man Peterson easily won top honors this week with his monstrous 30 ½ walleye that he quickly released after a few quick pictures, the bigger fish were coming in on night crawlers and crank baits. Our biggest bass of the week goes to little Todd Peterson, he released a chunky 18 fish. The walleyes are moving into deeper water now and should be schooling up soon and the northern are definitely beginning to come back to the weed beds and should begin to chase the big baits with real conviction, another week ahead of mild weather is expected so the fellas in camp this week should have a great week of fishing, we will talk again soon, Jim from Wabaskang
July 29th
Greetings from Wabaskang Camp. Another week of great fishing here at camp, the weather was warm but not as hot and humid as the week before. The big fish were once again hitting crank baits and huge stick baits. We had a camp full of seasoned camp veterans and the fish numbers and sizes showed it. The walleye bite is taking off along the deeper reefs with a great morning and afternoon bite. Many 17″ to 23″ fish were being caught on a white jig and minnow combination, the best depth was around 22′ to 28′ and even a little deeper at times. Old timer Jerry Snelling got things off to a roaring start by catching a beautiful 28 1/2″ walleye on his first day out, he figured he had the big fish of the week all sewed up but as usual he was way off the mark. Brandon Robinson managed to match Jerry’s fish by releasing a chunky 28 1/2″ fish but in the process they also dropped a digital camera in the lake, seems a little fishy that there is no picture to verify his catch, camp nuscience Jaret Wunch also pulled into a tie with his released 28 1/2″ beauty, even newcomer Matt Eberline caught a 28″ walleye to take home and mount, we thought we may end up with a three way tie for first when camp legend Mike Lammers released a monstrous 29 1/2″ walleye to take top honors for the week, many of the big fish were caught trolling deep open water areas of the main lake basin using planer boards and medium diving crank baits. Our northern fishing was good as well this week, again many of the bigger fish were caught trolling cranks and Bulldogs as well as Suicks and Sandcats. Rhett Lammers released a 37″ fish, Jaret Wunsch released a 38″, Larry Luhring even caught a nice 39″ fish he released, Mike Lammers released a 40″ monster only to see his huge disappointment of a son catch and release a 42 1/2″ trophy, good job Reid, we will continue to see lots of big fish next week as long as the weather settles some and we get back to normal temperatures, remember you can go on-line now and get your outdoors card and fishing license right from home and save lots of time messing with it when you get here, just go to www.ontario.ca/outdoorscard and click on the link to purchase licenses, talk again soon, Jim from Wabaskang
July 22nd
Hello again from Wabaskang Camp. Week nine of the season was a hot week weather wise and a cool week fishing wise. The walleye bite was spotty most of the week, the smaller fish were hanging around cabbage weed lines and shallow water rock piles. A good bait was a jig and minnow or a little joe spinner and minnow. We saw good catches of eater sized fish but you really had to stay with the shallow bite and work your bait as slow as possible. We had a few bigger walleyes come from deep water areas of the lake, they were caught trolling huge stick baits or crank baits over fifty or more feet of water at about the ten to fifteen foot depth. Terry Howard had a 20″ walleye, his son Eric caught a 21″ fish, Craig Mericle released a 23 1/4″ fish and Rick Self released a nice 23″ walleye, the northern bite was good early in the week but slowed down some here on this end of the lake by the end of the week. Many of the fish were caught by using big stick baits casted among the weed lines. Craig Mericle caught a nice 39 1/2″ fish, Ronny Self released a 39″ fish but Lee Peterson beat beat everyone with his monster 40 1/2″ fish. We didn’t see much smallmouth bass fishing this week in camp, Karen Forbes had a nice 15″ fish to beat everyone in camp, she also released her fish. Karen and her husband Larry will be staying here in camp a few more weeks and they will be celebrating their 55th wedding on Saturday, congratulations to the two of you. We are looking forward to next week, our guests coming in on Saturday are camp regulars and will certainly put up some impressive numbers when they hit the water, we will talk again soon, Jim from Wabaskang
July 15th
Greetings from Wabaskang Camp, we have made it through week number 8 now and I couldnt be happier. The week was one of the hottest we have had in a long time, we saw temperatures in the mid-nineties and almost no wind to cool things down, even the evenings were hovering around the eighty degree mark. We had some tough fishing for big northern this week; it seemed that the fish just were not feeding when my guests were fishing for them. Many of our guests reported catching over 60 northern a day but most were between 21 and 28 long, the fish were hitting spinner baits and tube jigs right along the shallow weed lines, we did see a few bigger fish but not the numbers we are used to, Tonya Strain released a chunky 33 fish only to see Mike ORegan smash her off the leader board with a nice 39 fish, the northern fishing should pick up this week with cooler weather and rain in the forecast. Our walleye fishing was good on windy days and early morning and late evenings, the fish were roaming the weed lines looking for a quick bite before heading down to the bottom and burying themselves in the thick cabbage weeds away from the sun. Zachary Raner caught a nice 22 walleye, Joel Zulkowski had a 22 fish as well as Jim Doll, the biggest walleyes were caught by camp legend Roy Green, he released a beautiful 27 fish the first day out and Sean Vanderkamp caught a chunky 28 walleye towards the end of the week to big fish of the week honors, he also released his fish. There is still a good bite for our guests who are trolling deep water looking for suspended walleyes, we saw lots of 22 to 25 fish taken on crank baits trolled over fifty feet of water, the best time was about an hour before dark each evening. The smallmouth fishing was decent this week as well, most fish were taken while trolling weed lines with a crawler or minnow, the biggest bass of the week went to Tim Raner, he released a beautiful 18 ½ fish after a few quick pictures. We are looking forward to week nine, cooler temperatures and some rain should stir things up some. Please remember you can get your license and outdoors card right from home by going to ontario.ca/fishing and look for the link to purchase your license, we are still selling licenses here in camp but the process is taking about ten minutes per license and with 40 or more guests wanting licenses you can see how this can become a lengthy process, we will all talk again soon, goodbye from Wabaskang Camp.
July 7th
Greetings again from Wabaskang Camp! Week number 7 is in the books and we had some of the best fishing for trophy fish that I have seen in all of our 13 years here. The Mayfly hatch has finally ended and the smaller walleyes are starting to bite like crazy. Early in the week we had very hot weather and the fishing was tough for the eater sized fish but by weeks end we had lots of average sized fish coming in each day. The week started off with a flurry of big fish, day one saw old pro Tim Wuethrich release a 35 ½ northern, camp legend Mike Lammers quickly smashed Tims fish by releasing a nice 37 fish; as usual Mikes wife Kristy crushed Mike with a whopping 43 ½ fish that she quickly released after a quick picture. Kristy thought she had the big fish of the week but it wasnt to be, Max Batman Wuethrich managed to beat everyone in camp by landing a gigantic 44 ½ monster he is taking home to put on the wall. We also had many other big northern caught this week, Ryan Neihouser caught a huge 43 monster he is going to put on the wall, great job Ryan, Kaitlyn Huck caught her personal best, a whopping 37 ½ fish, Craig Barr released his biggest ever, a huge 43 northern, little Malea Wheeler also caught a nice 27 fish she said was her best ever, good job Malea. Most of the big fish were caught using huge stick baits like Suicks or Sandcats or even a big Bulldog, some fish were caught shallow and others were caught trolling the big baits over 50 feet of water at about the 15 depth. Our walleye fishing was great for the big fish as well; once again the biggest fish were caught while trolling big baits, the same baits that were used for northern also worked well for the monster walleyes. The night bite also was hot, usually between 11 pm and 1 am, some of our guests caught over 8 fish per night that averaged 26 each, Jeramiah Snyder started things off this week with a nice 27 fish, he caught his walleye in the 14 to 18 depth and it looked like his fish would be one of the top fish of the week. Reid Lammers quickly tied Jeramiah with a chunky 27 walleye of his own, it wasnt long and Marty Neihouser crushed the competition with a monster walleye measuring 31, his fish was caught trolling deep water using stick bait. We had lots of big walleyes this week, poor little Logan Wuethrich caught a huge 30 ½ walleye that would win top honors almost any week of the season but not this week, his fish was going home for the wall same as Martys. Newcomer Kenzie Spears even managed to release a nice 27 ½ fish, her personal best, Tim Wuethrich released a 28 walleye along with lots of 27 and 26 fish, Mike Lammers released over thirty walleyes longer than 25, his best this week was a nice 28. The bass fishing was spotty this week but when you did find some active fish they were feisty and were a blast to catch. Casey Christensen seemed to catch most of the bass this week; his best was a beautiful 17 ½ fish. We are looking forward to week 8, lots of Missouri fellas in camp this week and there will be lots of big fish released Im sure. Remember you can purchase your license and outdoors card on line now right from home, just go to ontario.ca/fishing and look for the link to purchase fishing license. We will talk again soon, thats all for now, Jim from Wabaskang.
July 1st
Greetings again from Wabaskang Camp. Week six has come and gone. We had a week of warm weather and lots of sun; we also had a few days of monstrous winds that toppled a few trees here in camp and along our road. We had lots of young fishermen in camp this week, they were eager to cast for northern and bass or whatever was biting, we still have a mayfly hatch going on so the walleyes were feeding mainly early in the morning and again just before dark, the best bait was a night crawler trolled around on a two hook harness in about twelve feet of water, the best color of blade for the harness was silver or gold. Braden Lowes started things off on Saturday with a nice 21 fish, Tim Vanselow came along and hauled in a beautiful 25 walleye caught in deeper water a few days later, Matt Coy showed everyone in camp who is boss by catching a whopper, a nice 26 ½ walleye to win the big fish of the week honors. Our northern fishing continues to improve each week, we saw hundreds of small and medium sized fish this week but the bigger fish didnt start chasing baits and hitting them until mid to late week, Will Lowes started things off with a chunky 33 northern he released, Tim Vanselow released a 36 fish his first evening out fishing and also released several other big northern later in the week, Brent Minett scored his personal best by catching and releasing a 38 monster caught by trolling big stick baits behind planer boards, he is hooked on northern fishing now. Our biggest northern was caught by Mark Nihoris, he was throwing huge Musky” type baits and released a gigantic 41 monster to win the big northern of the week contest. The bass fishing kept all our young fishermen in camp busy all week, many of our guests had special areas where they could count on catching a dozen bass each time they went there, Braden Lowes released a 16 ½ bass on Sunday, his dad Andy released a 17 fish the same day, Will Lowes came along and released a trophy 18 bass but Joel Minett beat everyone this week by releasing a chunky 18 ½ fish to take the top spot. The weather is warm and our lake levels are a little above normal but that is just fine, we are looking forward to seeing what next week brings as the weeds are thickening up now and the fish are slowly moving into a more predictable summer time pattern, we will all talk again soon, one last thing to mention today, Andy England has claims to the biggest walleye of the season so far here at Wabaskang Camp, he caught his first walleye ever on a crank bait in shallow water, the fish was a magnificent 29 ½ brute, he is taking his fish home to hang on the wall, great job Andy, thats all for now, we will chat again soon, Jim from Wabaskang
June 24th
Hello again from Wabaskang Camp, sorry we are a little behind with our camp news updates but things just have been crazy busy here. Week five saw some decent walleye fishing for most of our guests. The walleyes have two main feeding patterns going on right now, the majority of the walleyes are gorging themselves on Mayflies all night long and into the mid morning hours, the best technique seemed to be a small dark jig tipped with a gray or black twister tail, just cast the jig out in about ten feet of water near any weed bed and let it fall slowly to the bottom, most strikes would happen while the bait was falling to the bottom, if you didnt get a hit simply twitch the jig a few times and usually the walleyes would respond withy a solid hit, the other technique that was producing big walleyes this week was the lime green jig tipped with a minnow or crawler bounced along the edges of the numerous rock piles around the lake, almost all of the big fish were caught this way. Ward Jankus released many walleyes over 24 this week, his brother Mark had the special touch all week long though, releasing fish of 26 and 27 to slam his brother into the ground and win the top honors in camp for the week, Our northern fishing is picking up now but there still seems to be a problem finding the fish in the same areas day after day, the bigger fish are still roaming around the lake following the walleyes as they gorge themselves on the Mayflies, the bigger fish were caught in shallow water near good green cabbage weeds, Randy Narbatovics caught a 36 ½ northern early in the week only to see camp pro Ward Jankus bump him off the leader board with a nice 37 fish that actually came off a rock pile in about twelve feet of water, Susan Mincks always seems to catch a huge northern each time she is here, she released a beautiful 43 trophy to win big fish of the week honors. The bass fishing is falling into the summer time patterns now, lots of big fish were released this week, most were caught on surface baits along the rocky shorelines or right on the edges of shallow weed beds, Les Jones released a 16 ½ bass but Randy Narbatovics quickly bumped him off the board with a 17 ½ beauty, Les wouldnt have any of that so he quickly caught and released a trophy sized bass that was 18 ½ long, super job Les. We are looking forward to next week, the weather has changed some now, we had 15 straight days of rain and now we are getting hot and dry weather. Remember you can purchase your licenses on-line, just go to Ontario.ca/fishing and look for the link to purchasing fishing licenses; we will talk again soon, Jim from Wabaskang
June 17th
Hello again from Jim and Julies Wabaskang Camp. We have completed the fourth week of our season now and we saw some outstanding fishing throughout the week. We had eight straight days of rain so the lake is coming up fast and we will be above normal by tomorrow and have high water for the next few weeks. Our guests managed to catch lots of walleyes between showers this week. The best bait was a night crawler hooked on a spinner rig and trolled slowly in about ten feet of water along a soft muddy bottom, a good second choice was a jig and minnow combination pitched along the weed line in about eight to ten feet of water. Gerald Lenguardoro caught a 26 fish, Mike Lammers released a 27 beauty, and Dave Schaller took top honors for the week with a trophy 27 ½ fish which he quickly released as well. The big fish were taken in different parts of the lake but mainly in ten feet of water or less. Our northern pike fishing has picked up some from last week, camp pro Kevin Reints started things off this week with a 38 fish he released after a quick picture, many of our guests released many fish in the 27 to 36 range this week but once again Kevin Reints managed to take the top honors for the week with a monster 41 northern that was also released after a quick picture. Most of the big northern were caught casting wind-blown rock points and reefs in shallow water, the big baits such as Sand Cats and Smitty Baits worked well along with the more traditional lures like a Dare Devil or Mepps Spinner. The bass fishing has cooled off some here on the South end of the lake, the big females have moved to deeper water to recover from the spawn and are harder to target right now, we did see some nice fish caught though, Sam Wilson released a 14 bass only to have his sister Jess release a 14 ½ bass the same day, Sam came back a few days later to take the lead with a nice 16 ½ fish only to see Mike Williams come along and blast everyone out of the running with a 19 monster. The perch fishing has held up very well so far this season, the fish are moving along the weed lines in loose schools gulping up all the Mayflies that are hatching right now, Lee Hurley even caught a 12 ½ fish to have the biggest perch of the week. We are looking forward to week five, the forecast for weather is more rain so we shouldnt have to worry about forest fires anytime soon, remember to pick up your license before you get to camp if you have a chance or even do it from home over the internet, we are still doing licenses here in camp but it does take a little more time than it use to so please be patient, lets talk again soon, Jim from Wabaskang.
June 10th
Hello again from Wabaskang Camp. Week three of the 2012 season was another great week of fishing for our guests. The week started off warm and sunny and by the middle of the week we had temperatures in the upper eighties and low nineties. The lake has been low all season but after last Friday, Saturday, and today the lake should be on the rise and I think the lake will be about a foot higher by tomorrow night than it was a week ago. The forecast says we can expect rain off and on for the next seven days, I have been busy today pumping out my boats and checking the road, the last time I drove the road, about an hour ago I noticed most of the culverts are running full and the water was beginning to run across the road in many spots, hopefully we will have a dry night and I wont have to call in help to replace culverts and haul gravel in the morning. Lets talk about the fishing now, most of our guests did very well on the walleyes this week. The best live bait to use was a medium sized minnow hung on a 1/8 or 1/4 oz jig, the best color was gray or white, another great way to catch the walleyes was casting crank baits along the shallow weed lines, Jack Kline caught a 22 walleye, Scott Mead had a 23 fish, Bob Kinzy released a 24 walleye, young Jack Phippen released a 24 ½ fish and his sister Samantha released a 25 ½ walleye, top honors goes to the camp pro here at Wabaskang, Pete Sauer released a monster 29 fish to show all the fellas in his group how it is done. Our Northern fishing was good this week as well; most fish were caught in about ten feet of water near the same areas that the walleyes were coming from. John Stroble released a 35 ½ fish, Bob Kinzy released a nice 36 fish, our friend Dave Hamann had what it takes and managed to catch and release a beautiful 38 ½ northern to take top honors for the week. The bass were still on their spawning beds and our guests caught lots of trophy sized fish using live bait and artificial bait such as tube baits and Mepps Spinners. Garrett Taylor released three bass around the 19 mark, once again Pete Sauer stuck his nose into the mix by releasing a 19 beauty and Doug McCord took top honors and the free hat by releasing his 19 trophy early in the week. Many of our guests were able to limit out on perch this week, mainly catching them on slip bobbers along the weeds using a small minnow or worm. We are looking forward to the week ahead, lots of big time northern fishermen in camp so things should get interesting. Remember you can purchase your outdoors card and license from home now or if you get a chance you can pick it up before you get to camp at a tackle shop. We are doing licenses in camp as well but the new system takes more time and we know many of you want to get on the water as quick as you can. We will talk again soon; Julie will be adding more pictures as well, take care, Jim
June 2nd
Hello again from Wabaskang Camp. Our second week of the season has come to an end and none of our guests went home disappointed. The warm weather we have been having this spring came to a crashing end at the beginning of the week, we saw highs in the upper thirties and actually had about an hour of wet snow flurries on Tuesday. The fishing continues to be superb. The smallmouth bite has been as good as it gets, the bass have been locked down on their beds and will attack anything that invades their territory. We had many bass take on tube jigs and Mepps spinners this week along with a minnow or crawler and slip bobber rig. Kevin and Blake Johnson spent two weeks with us and even though fishing legend Dean Harlan wasnt able to join them this season they managed to catch hundreds of bass without a problem. Blake and Kevin both had many bass around 18 and a few even bigger, they werent the only guests in camp catching bass though, Rick Pease and Bob Kinzy each released bass 19 long to win top honors for the week. The water levels have come up quite a bit in the last week and even though the lake is still low things are looking a lot better than they were a few weeks ago. The water temperatures on the surface are fluctuating between 54 degrees in the north end of the lake to 66 degrees down in Keynote Lake and Moose Bay. The walleyes are still feeding like crazy and can be caught on twister tails and Mepps spinners in the shallower areas of the lake and our live-bait fishermen are having great success using a jig and minnow or spinner rig and worm or minnow combination in slightly deeper water, usually 12 to 18 feet. A slow back-troll works good or even anchoring and using a slip bobber has produced. Gerald McKenzie started the competition off this week with a nice 22 walleye on Saturday only to see Bill Kleinschmidt bump him off with a 231/4 fish a few days later. Mike Pease released a beautiful 24 walleye to take the lead but his father Rick quickly showed everyone in camp how it is done by releasing a trophy sized 28 ½ monster after a quick picture, too bad for Gerald McKenzie who released a 26 ½ beauty the next day but it was too little too late. Most off our big northern this week were coming from shallow areas next to reeds and soft bottoms. The northern were hanging around the Perch spawning beds to gobble up an unsuspecting Perch that didnt keep its guard up. Rick Pease released a chunky 34 ½ northern only to have his grandson Logan who is only nine years old clobber the rest of camp with a monster 39 ½ Trophy that Im sure both proud grandpas Rick and Bill will be boasting about for years to come. We will see what this week brings weather wise, forecast is warm and basically dry so the fish should move slightly deeper but will still stay around 12 feet or so most of the day. Talk again soon, bye from Wabaskang.
May 29th
Hello again from Wabaskang Camp. Week number 1 has come and gone with lots of great memories for our guests. The lake is beginning to rise now and we should be in good shape for quite awhile. We had almost three inches of rain since last week and actually had snow falling early this morning, the weather is forecast to warm up and dry out some now the rest of the week. Our guests did really well on Walleyes last week, the best bite seemed to be in about eight feet of water using a slip bobber with a worm or minnow or using a small jig and twister tail. The surface water temperature was fluctuating between 56 degrees in North Bay to 67 degrees down in Keynote. Jim Fucile started the week off with a nice 22 ½ walleye only to have Paul Brantman edge him out with a 24 fish, Brent Kroll and Mike Zahnen both released 25 walleyes and Pete Koss took top honors for the week by catching and releasing a beautiful 27 walleye. The northern fishing was super for small and medium sized fish, most of our guests found the fish hitting the same type of bait or lure they were using for the walleyes and in the same areas. Blake Johnson managed to hoist a nice 31 northern to the boat for a quick picture before releasing it, Chuck Nass always catches a nice northern, he released a huge 39 fish, the top northern of the week goes to Kevin Johnson, he released a gigantic 41 northern that slammed his lure over deep water, great job Kevin. The trout fishing was good for our guests that actually tried for them, Brent Kroll is an old pro when it comes to trout and he guided his buddy Paul Brantman to a beautiful 28 fish, it seemed trolling the deeper areas of the lake with spoons was the ticket for Paul and Brent. The most exciting fishing for the week was actually for smallmouth bass, we had over 40 fish released over 18 and hundreds more released that were between 16 and 17, Nicole Robichaud, Kevin Johnson, Blake Johnson, and Landen Johnson said they probably caught and released over 400 bass this week, the biggest bass belonged to Landen, he released a football sized 19 incher. The rain will move the fish around some this week but so far all our guests are finding good numbers of fish wherever they drop a line. Last week our guests were seeing moose with calves on the lake and one of our guests saw a wolf yesterday. Dont forget that you can purchase your outdoors card and fishing license on-line now if you wish, just Google the MNR license site and a link should come up to their site, we are also doing the licenses and cards here in camp, the new system has a few bugs in it and is a little slow but things seem to be getting better. Thats all for now, talk again soon, Jim from Wabaskang.
May 22nd
Hello again from Wabaskang Camp. Julie and I have been looking forward to begining another great year. We had a beautiful spring here in camp and we were able to get the place spic and span in record time. Our first guests arrived on the 16th and we have been busy ever since. The lake is low but we did have an inch of rain yesterday and the forecast has more on the way. The fishing has been great so far this week; the walleyes are hanging out in five to ten feet of water near shallow weed points and soft mud bottoms. The biggest walleye of the week as of today belongs to Pete Koss, he released an impressive 27 fish, Mike Zahnen released a 25 walleye today, and Jim Fucile caught a nice 22 fish, Brent Kroll released a 25 walleye and Paul Branton released a 23 walleye, Paul also caught a 28 lake trout tonight in about twenty feet of water, the northern fishing is catching fire as well, Chuck Nass released a monster 39 fish and Kevin Johnson released a mammoth 41 fish to take the lead so far this week, the smallmouth bass are sitting on their beds in the warmer parts of the lake, Nicole Robichaud released a nice 18 fish, Blake and his father Kevin Johnson have caught so many bass between 17 and 18 ½ they have lost count, the biggest bass of the week so far belongs to Landen Johnson, he released a bass just over 19 on Sunday.
I want to remind everyone that they can go to the M.N.R. website and purchase and print their new outdoors card and license right from home. You can also get your cards and licenses here at camp but it does take a little bit longer than the old paper version, we are doing the license on our satellite internet and it is slow at times. Just go to ontario.ca/mnr and look for the link to purchasing licenses. That is all for now, we will talk again very soon, time for bed, Jim and Julie.
