October greetings from Jim and Julie’s Wabaskang Camp. We have been very busy cleaning cabins and getting everything ready to be drained and winterized. The weather stayed warm and mild through September but now we are seeing cooler temperatures and decent rain, almost 3.5” in the last week! The lake hasn’t changed much but we are encouraged by the rain we are getting. Always plenty to talk about each week so I’m going to start with week 18. The dynamic father/son duo of Gene and Corey Katzung were our guests during week 18, they love to fish in the middle lake trolling spinner rigs that Gene makes himself. The two caught plenty for eater sized walleyes but nothing big enough to brag about. They prefer to troll the reed and weed edges in about 12′ of water. They skid punched up a few decent perch in the same areas. Northern fishing gave them plenty of action, again trolling weed edges was the ticket for success. Corey released a 31″ and a 33″ northern as his two top northern but his dad Gene put the hammer down on Corey when he released a feisty 35 1/2″ and a monster 39″ fish. Great to see all the trophies go back so maybe in the future Gene and Corey can watch their younger family members catch great fish as well. We encourage catch and release of all trophy fish and are encouraged by what we are seeing with our guests. I believe everyone realizes that if they want their kids and grandkids to have the same experience then releasing the big fish is the way to go. It was great to see Gene and Corey enjoy a great week of father/son fishing and memory making. Corey also captured some great pics of the northern lights that we are posting on our site as well.
Week 19 of our season was another week of mild temperatures and very little rain. Our guests this week was Fred Meier and Scott Sorenson, they both enjoy the solitude of a late September trip along with the superb fishing. Fred’s group has downsized over the years but we really enjoy having them as our guests on the last week of the season. The fellas found great crappie action down in Keynote Lake the first few days of their stay, they caught crappies in 12′ to 23′ of water near large pods of baitfish. Fred’s biggest was 15″ and Scott’s was 14 1/2″, Fred said almost any lure or bait would catch fish once you found them. They enjoyed a meal of the tasty fish and also took home plenty to enjoy later.
Northern fishing was decent for the guys with plenty being caught while jig fishing for walleyes as well as casting for the big brutes. Sandcats was the lure of choice and both guys caught plenty to admire and then release. Fred’s biggest was 38″ and Scott’s biggest was 39″, all the big fish were released to fight another day.
Walleye fishing was steady all week and a jig and minnow was the way to go. The best depth was around 23′ but slightly deeper on calm, sunny days. Fred’s biggest walleye was a 24” and Scott’s was a respectable 23″ fish.
Bass fishing was spotty but we did see two really nice fish being caught and released. Fred caught his 19″ bass casting the shallows in Aerobus Bay and Scott caught his 19 1/2″ bass while walleye fishing deep water in the big lake.
Another season has gone by and we are excited about seeing everyone again next season. We finished our shingling projects last week and will start working on raising and leveling the lodge next week once we have the dock put away for the season and the cabins all winterized. Julie and I enjoyed a few trips out in the lake, and we had great weather and good fishing, Julie released a whopper northern that was 39″ long. We plan on sending out the reservation forms in mid-November along with the Christmas letter. Remember to check your passports and make sure you don’t need to renew it before your trip next season. We will make a few more “end of season” videos before we leave at the end of October. That’s all for now, this is Jim from Wabaskang.
