In less than six days, (June 10-16) Corey and Tim Molloy of Minnesota caught and released four pike 40 inches or more in length…the largest being a 46incher. When we asked them specifics they laughed and said, “We’re not telling”…but their photos may help reveal their success pattern. They were on Ogoki Lake, the same lake that produced that 50”+ Mr. Toothy that Jim Butcher caught in May. They did tell us they were using mostly Johnson Silver Minnows, in both gold and silver. (For those of you unfamiliar with this lure; they are anything but minnows, they are big flashing spoons and I like to fish them with a tail.) And those pencil reeds in the backdrop of the photo would lead us to believe pike were still cruising the shallows.

But frankly the report on Pike is still mixed. One of our most experienced guides, Perry Compton, was on Whitewater Lake for a day last Friday, and visited some of his favorite shallow areas with no results. However, one big fish from Whitewater, Steven Arbaugh’s 43” pike, was taken shallow on a fly rod and “popper” type lure, near sunset the day before.

The walleye fishing continues to be very strong, with guests claiming to catch all the walleye they want. D’Alton Lake anglers Dale Greif, Michael Downey and Jimmy Stopinski produced four fish in the 26 to 27 inch class, good enough to claim membership in our Master Angler Club. James Edison, Jr. at our Opichuan Outpost, and Michael Cottrell at Whitewater Lodge also turned in big
walleye reports…all catch and release. All of these trophy size walleyes were caught on jigs and combinations of live and artificial tails. (Bright day-Bright lure-Dark Day-Dark Lure) Live catches were mostly on minnows and leeches, and artificial catches on “Gulp” brand worms.

Let me take a minute here to talk about handling trophy fish you intend to release. When ever possible keep the fish horizontal. I know this is tough with those big slippery pike. Fish biologists tell us that the vertical handling may result in spinal damage, and although the fish swims off, it may die in a few days. Keep the fish out of the water for less than a minute. And when you release it, make sure it does NOT go belly up.