Greetings from Jim and Julies Wabaskang Camp. Well week number one of our 2018 season was loaded with good fishing and thus a camp full of happy fishermen. The water warmed from 45 degrees on Saturday the 19th to over 60 degrees on Thursday the 24th. One of the best crappie bites we have ever seen is happening right now on Wabaskang. Our guests are traveling down to Keynote Lake and seeing great action catching crappies. The best bait or lure to use was a tiny white jig tipped with a small minnow, the depth varied some but the best bite seemed to be around six feet. Steve Taylor does actually catch fish here at camp and he brought in a chunky 13’’ crappie, goofy Steve Watson had a gigantic crappie measuring 13 1/2’’, Dave Schaller had a big crappie 14’’ long, Brian Weller caught a crappie 14 1/4’’ , the big crappie of the week went to old timer Terry Lauer, he landed a beautiful 14 1/2’’ crappie to take home the prestigious free hat of the week. The walleye bite was decent on week one, fish were shallow and eager to take a twister tail or small crank bait. Our guests fished the many sheltered bays near camp and found most walleyes in five feet of water or less. Small minnows or worms also caught good numbers of fish when fished on a slip bobber or simply tossed out on a small hook and sinker. Dick Dunham started things off with his chunky 20 1/2’’ walleye, nothing special by my standards but fishing with his buddy Steve Taylor makes every fish special to Dick——-ha ha. Plenty of jumbo walleyes released this week, most came from Keynote Lake of Ruby Lake, Brian Weller released a 26 1/2’’ fish, Eric Kreuscher released a 27’’ walleye, and the champion angler this week who released a beautiful 28 1/4’’ walleye was none other than second year man Shane Arthur, he is back home in Wisconsin now proudly wearing his well earned camp hat. Northern fishing was tough this week for the big brutes, plenty of big fish were cruising the shallows but were not interested in chasing a lure or even taking live bait. Steve Taylor released a 37’’ northern that kept his somewhat respectable reputation on track but his dreams of winning the tge big fish of the week honors were quickly crushed by Butch Schultz when he successfully landed and released a 38’’ beauty. Not much action on trout this week, Scott Johnston was the only angler in camp to catch a trout, his 21” trout was good enough to earn him bragging rights and a camp hat. Perch fishing was average, most of the jumbo females were still waiting to come shallow to spawn so many smaller males were caught but not very many “ jumbo” fish. Bass fishing was red-hot this week. The big females are moving shallow to spawn and were eager to attack anything that passed by. Plenty of trophies released this week as the fish were hitting crank baits and tube jigs with regularity. Steve Watson released a 17 1/4’’ bass, Ereic Kreuscher released a 17 3/4’’ fish, Aaron Kreuscher released a 18’’ bass, my buddy Jim Fucile released a gigantic 19’’ brute but the top bass this week was releasd by Scott Johnston, he slid his 20 1/4’’ bass back into the water after a quick measurement, great job Scott. Our warm weather is causing the fish to be less predictive and a pattern hasn’t really developed on the walleyes or perch yet but some stable and cooler weather predicted for next week should help improve the fishing for both species. Remember ‘’ catch and release’’ of the trophy fish is the best way to ensure great fishing for your future generations. To those of you asking about restaurants and shopping nearby please consider a meal at the Whisky Jack Restaurant just a stones throw up the road from my driveway, great food and super friendly hosts. Dutchies General Store is now open as well, Rikki can pre-order any groceries or beverages you may need for the week and have them ready for pickup when you get to camp, she also has a huge selection of unique gift items you will want to check out, her phone number is 807-529-6556. That’s all I have time to say for now, we will chat soon, this is Jim from Wabaskang.
