Another great week of weather and fishing has come and gone here at Jim and Julie’s Wabaskang Camp. Week number 4 saw plenty of big walleyes being released along with numerous northern over the trophy size. Crappie fishing was good especially in the mornings and evenings using small jigs tipped with a twister tail or minnow. Bass seem to be biting everywhere close to shallow water where their spawning beds are clearly visible now. We continue to experience very dry weather, and the long-term forecast doesn’t predict much rain. There is some smoke in the air some days, but it hasn’t been too bad the last few weeks.
Our group of guests this week really enjoyed good walleye fishing. Most of our guests were using a jig and minnow combination or a spinner rig and minnow combination. Best depth seemed to be 8’ to 14’ depending on the wind and clouds, clear calm days saw the fish feed early then retreat to the deeper water during the day, on windy, cloudy days the walleye stayed shallow all day and were easier to find. Wisconsin fishing legend Steve Irish released a chunky 24” walleye on day one, Dave Schaller was here fishing one last time with his old but reliable Lund Boat before he buys a new rig, so he was happy to release a 25″ walleye along with many smaller fish. Friends but competitors Carolyn Wilson and Deb Petrasek each released beautiful 26” walleyes, Tanner Jacob released a pair of 25 3/4” beauties, Randy Adams was so proud of the 25” walleye he released this week but his wife Joyce quickly took the smile off his face when she caught and released a monster 28 3/4” walleye, her best ever.
Bass fishing kept all our guests busy with plenty of action this week. Twister tails, crank baits, and spinners all caught trophy bass. Dan Edeker started things off when he released a fat 18” bass, Ryan Hawkey had his new boat in camp for the first time and his biggest bass of the week released was a whopping 19” beast. Chandler Seehusen released his 19” trophy, always great to see him out-fish his dad Clint. Landon Harms was the youngest guest in camp this week but his fishing skills at the ripe young age of 12 are very impressive, his biggest bass released was a fat 19” brute, he must get his talent from mom Nicole because grandpa Steve sure can’t teach him or even himself much about fishing. Quinn Edeker was the hat winner this week, he released a beautiful 18 3/4” and 2-19” bass to be crowned camp “Bass King”😀
Northern fishing had some decent days and some slow days. Not much new weed growth in the lake yet so the big brutes were roaming the shallows in areas where the walleyes and crappies were hanging out. Some big fish were caught on medium sized stick baits and many of the decent northern this week were simply caught while angling for walleyes and crappies. William Beebe made his first trip to camp and he caught and released his first trophy northern, a beautiful 38″ trophy, Colton Petrasek doesn’t fish all day everyday but when he does go out fishing with his family he makes the most of it, he released a chunky 38” pike. Kevin Reints always catches big pike and this week he released a pair of 39” monsters, he fished with my brother “Big Mike” and I’m sure Mike wants some credit for putting him on the fish. The big winner of the week was Tanner Jacobs, he released a monster 40” northern to snatch the free hat away from Kevin and claim top honors for the week.
Crappie fishing continues to be a great alternative to walleye and northern fishing. Our guests caught many crappies in 6′ to 12′ of water using slip bobbers and tiny jigs. Kevin Reints, Tanner Jacobs, and Cory Luchtenburg headed out one evening in search of crappies and they found plenty of action the last few hours of the evening that night. They had plenty of fast action with the biggest crappie being around 14″. Landon Harms, no big surprise, was the winner of the crappie hat this week, he caught a giant 14″ crappie early in the week to take top honors and poor grandpa Steve could only shake his head in astonishment.
If you are coming to camp with your personal boat, be sure the boat and live wells have been cleaned thoroughly since your last trip using it, no plugs in the boat or live wells as well. Get your fishing license before getting to camp either from home or stop at Clark’s Bait and Tackle in Dryden or Vermilion Bay, also Dutchies General Store just up the road from us sells licenses along with souvenirs, gas, bait, groceries, and a great selection of alcoholic beverages. Make plans to enjoy a meal at the Whiskey Jack Restaurant while you are our guests, Laura and Graham have an excellent selection of sumptuous menu items to choose from. That’s all for week four of our 2025 season, this is Jim from Wabaskang.
