I’ve been buggerin’ around putting shrimps on the Barbie all week. (Sorry about that, I’ve been talking to Tristan too much out at Miminiska Lodge.) We have had another great week at most remote cabins even though the fish have gone deep looking for the cooler water due to the warming temps. We are seeing days in the mid 80’s recently with little to no wind on several afternoons. As you all know, that combo is not ideal for great walleye fishing. Let’s hope for a little cloud cover and some chop in the coming weeks. These less than ideal” conditions have not deterred our outpost guests over the last week as several have reported great days on the water.
Roy Renfro and his boys from Wyoming came up for the first time and had some very productive days at Dawn Lake. After spending a day with us a base camp and helping with some kitchen duties and a little yard work, the Renfro guys headed out for some R & R. Good daily numbers of 20 to 22 inch walleye were common as well as solid pike numbers. While no “trophy” fish were landed, several monsters were hooked and “released early” (wink wink). We’ve all had that happen a time or two.
The Colvin group from Canyon Lake, Texas had another good trip, this time into Musgrave Lake remote cabin. The fish were plentiful each day, but seemed to go deep around midweek. This father/sons group is already looking forward to coming back next season and landing that elusive 45 plus inch “toothy critter.”
We had some first time visitors in the Tanis group from Delaware. They went out to Opichuan remote cabin and caught some nice thick fish with solid numbers each day along with a nice 26 inch fat and tasty walleye. Keith Tanis of Delaware was able to tease her with a Williams Whitefish spoon. Doesn’t she know that spoon is reserved for the 40-inch pike?
The Heubner group from Georgia headed back into Ogoki Lake and found a few master anglers along the way. David Robinson from Georgia came across a nice 42-inch northern using the ol’ daredevil spoon as his bunk mate Lee Heubner tricked a 41-incher with the Rapala X-rap. The Shissler boys of Illinois also took a shot at Ogoki and netted “tons” of walleyes including a 26 1/4 walleye. Many of the groups reported that it was hard to keep track of the numbers of walleye caught each day. The big ones have gone deep and require some extra work, but they are worth it!!
The Price group invaded Butland Outpost again and Mary Groeneveld of Michigan landed a nice 26-inch “goldeneye” on a yellow twister tail.
The Hedlund group from Wisconsin opened Machawaian and reported great numbers throughout the week, but did not boat any trophies. “The sun drove them deep on a few days” reported a few in the group, but everyone had a great time.
The Madden group from Ft. Wayne, Indiana returned this year and headed out to Makok Outpost and had a great time “getting away and relaxing.” Larry Madden boated a 26.5 inch walleye and lost one “that was easily over 30 inches” at the side of the boat. His son James also landed a 26 incher during their trip. Brent of Ft. Belvoir, Virginia came along just a week after returning from Afghanistan. We thank Brent for his service and look forward to seeing him again soon!
Let’s hope the clouds and chop come back for a while so these big fish move up a bit. Feel free to contact me with any questions and I will get back to you as soon as I can. I look forward to seeing everyone soon!
…Joe Pichey -Outdoor Specialist
