Another great week of fishing here at Jim and Julie’s Wabaskang Camp. We had hot temperatures early in the week and cool temps later in the week. We are still not seeing any significant rain in the forecast but are optimistic we will finish out the season with no major problems. Plenty of trophy fish being caught and released this week, the low water hasn’t slowed the fishing any this season.
Walleye angling was top notch again as our guests released multiple fish over the 18” mark. The best areas to fish seemed to be in deeper water around a depth of 20’-25’ feet over rock humps or gravel bars. Mornings saw the best action for bigger fish but “eaters” were biting all day. A Lindy Rig tipped with a minnow worked well along with a drop shot rig or Little Joe Spinner. Worms also caught good numbers of walleyes but the biggest fish definitely were caught on minnows. Brandon Robinson and Barney Wiersma were lucky enough to fish with lake legend Brian Boevers, he guided them to a 23″ and 24″ walleye which were released after a quick picture. Jeff Jutting released a 25″ walleye which was quite mediocre for a fella of his self-proclaimed talent. Brian Luecke had a great week here at camp, he released a chunky 25″ walleye. Dave Pepin was fishing with Brian and Dave released a 25 1/2″ walleye, I’d say some friendly family rivalry going on in the boat all week. Chris Hand always had a fish story to tell every night when we picked up garbage, he had a phenomenal week fishing walleyes, he released two fish that measured 28″ each, his buddy Jeff could only sit back and watch. The grand champion of the week was 2nd year guest Jeremy Bilharz, he released a monster 29″ walleye to win the free hat.
Northern fishing was decent but the overall size went down just a bit from previous weeks. The bigger northern we’re caught on Sandcats and Doctor Spoons along with the regular jig and minnow combination. Many fish were caught on weed edges close to deep water and some giants were caught on rock piles in deep water. Charlie and Vicki Zender work hard at northern fishing all week, they cast all day long and literally catch dozens of decent fish each day. They both managed to release chunky 34″ northerns, I bet Vicki’s fish was bigger but I’m sure Charlie did the measuring. Terry Kramer released a beautiful 37″ northern, if Dave Lewis was here, he would have been proud. Camp nuisance Craig Mericle released a 35 1/2″ and 36″ northern he caught while walleye fishing, I must admit Craig and wife Kady put long hours on the lake which thankfully keeps them out of my hair😜. Barney Wiersma loves to cast for big fish and he managed to catch and release a 36″ northern but was quickly out-done by his buddy Brandon Robinson, Brandon released a chunky 38″ northern that put a big smile on father-in-law Brian Boevers face. Martin Meek caught a decent 37″ northern in Keynote Lake, not bad for his first trip to camp. The winner this week for biggest northern released was Brian Boevers, his 38″ northern was a hat winner which he graciously donated to son-in-law Brandon.
Bass fishing was up and down this week, many of the traditional areas along rocky shorelines didn’t produce as well as deep water close to bait fish. There were plenty of 18″ fish caught this week, Chris Hand had numerous fish that size and most were caught in 22′ of water while walleye fishing, he claimed the hat for the week along with bragging rights over buddy Jeff Jutting for another year, hate to be you, Jeff. Martin Meek also caught multiple bass around 18” but unlike Chris, Marty was too humble to brag about it so we will let his pictures on our Facebook and website do the talking.
Only one seasoned crappie angler in camp this week and he knows where to look and what to use for the tasty fish. Scruffy faced Larry Dorenkamp easily caught his limit with the biggest being an impressive 14” crappie. Larry has the patience and skills most fisherman only dream about, right Craig?
Next week we start the final three weeks of our season with plenty of anxious guests expecting to catch a fish if their lifetime. Remember to get your license before arriving in camp. If you’re bringing your personal boat, be sure the live well is clean and dry along with the rest of your boat and be sure the plug is out of your boat. Remember to give the Whiskey Jack Restaurant a visit while you are in camp, Laura and Graham can prepare a great meal for you and your fishing buddies. That’s all for now, this is Jim from Wabaskang
