Hello again from Jim and Julie’s Wabaskang Camp. Week four of the 2022 season has come and gone so let’s talk about the great fishing our guests enjoyed. The walleye bite was solid again this week with most fish coming from shallow water less than 12’ deep. A great presentation was a light weight jig tipped with a minnow or twister tail type plastic. The trick was to cast right up to shore and rip the jig back to the boat keeping it off the bottom and above the emerging weeds. Other guests used a split shot and bare hook with a minnow or crawler and had great success just dragging it along the bottom in about the same areas. Doug McCord and Mike Williams each released walleyes around 24”. Dave Schaller returned to camp for a second trip in three weeks and was rewarded with a beautiful 27” walleye he released. Reid Lammers had the unfortunate circumstance of fishing with his dad “Big Mike” but still managed to catch and release a nice 27 1/2” walleye. “Big Mike Lammers” was finally back after two long years away and he made the most of it, he released three walleyes that measured 27 1/2” and also released a giant 28” walleye to take top honors for the week. Bass fishing was good this week but the fish were in a transitional period where some had finished spawning and some were still on or near their beds. Most bass were caught on soft bodied tube jigs or flashy spinners in smaller sizes. Reeds and rocks were hot spots for both big and small fish. Neil Stayrock started things off by catching and releasing a chunky 19” brute. Dave Schaller once again got his name on the board by releasing a 19” bass the next day. Doug McCord starts slow but finished fast when he released a beautiful 19” bass as well. Someone had to break the tie and of course “Big Mike” was up to the challenge, he released a 19 1/4” and a 19 1/2” bass to sweep the bass challenge this week. Our northern fishing is always fast and furious it just seems like some weeks we see huge numbers of big fish and some weeks we don’t. This week we had some real diehard northern fishermen in camp and the numbers were better than the other weeks this season. Most of our guests we’re throwing big stick baits like Sandcats and plastic tube baits over 6” long, the best areas we’re wherever weeds and rocks were present. Bryce Seehusen started things off with a chunky 30” northern released, his brother Chandler released a scrappy 33 1/2” northern the same day. Garrett Murray’s first trip to camp saw him release a 34” northern, Colton Petrasek best was an impressive 35 1/2” northern which he released. Lance Petrasek and Dave Schaller both released 36” torpedoes. Reid Lammers managed to catch and release a nice 38 3/4” northern, too bad so sad because brothers Cade and Brody Williams released fish of 39” and 40” respectively to sweep top honors in camp this week. Crappie fishing is still hot and heavy with many fish over 13” being caught. A slip bobber and minnow or tiny tinsel tailed jig did the trick, most fish were on rock piles or around flooded timber. Quinn Edeker caught a 13 3/4” crappie and Theresa Voster and Reid Lammers each landed 14 1/2” crappies to take top honors for the week. As I am writing this update, we are experiencing temperatures in the low 90’s but cooler weather moves in tonight. Hwy 105 remains closed so use the detour as the bridge has not been cleared for traffic yet. No poultry or live bait allowed into Canada at this time from the U.S. so purchase your items in Canada. Also, if you are headed our way get your licenses on line or elsewhere before you arrive as we are not set up to work with the MNR system at this time.
That’s it for now, talk soon, this is Jim from Wabaskang.
