Well, it’s been a cranking week up here at Miminiska Lodge, with plenty of action on and off the lake. The new Barbie (BBQ) is up and running on the sunset deck with all kinds of goodies being brought off it, while guests quench their hard-earned thirst with a big cold beer. The best cold beer is an Aussie beer, but this Cannuck beer ain’t bad.
The Perona group from all over the USA, spent their trip harvesting fresh walleye in between a two day fly-in canoe trip, fishing for brook trout. They had a magic time paddling down the rivers and fishing all the great little spots that are off the beaten track. The untouched landscape and the expert knowledge of our First Nation guides Robert and John George helped to immerse them into this amazing Canadian wilderness. This world class fishery is something to be nurtured and enjoyed by all anglers and through Wilderness North’s catch and release program, these brookies aren’t going anywhere except into the memory bank.
The Nord group from Illinois enjoyed a four day trip, summed up by Larry Nord’s own words: “The best fishing in the 14 years that I have been making the trip to this lake.” Well, blow me down, he was right, they all individually averaged 50 walleye a day mostly in the 19-20 inch range. They even had a couple of great moments when reeling in walleye with a big northern attached in such a way that even the Good Dr. Nord would find difficult removing in surgery! Haha, Larry then topped his trip with a 34 inch northern, which earned my “bloody good effort” award for the week. Joe, dead-set had a walleye jump out of the water and grab the lure on his rod as he was shifting it around on the boat, which brings me to warn you male anglers coming up here, that maybe it would be a good idea to drop ashore to use nature’s washroom instead of hanging it over the side! Haha.
Tom and Jared from North Carolina, also weighed in with an average of 50 walleye a day, with the biggest being 21 inches. Jared landed himself a 28 inch northern to round off the trip. Jared loved watching his Dad slave over the hot fire to make him his shore lunch on the last day, making the walleye so much tastier! Come back cobbers*, we miss ya already!*cobbers – Australian slang for pal or friend
The Stover group rounded up their trip with a tally of over 700 fish for four days hard work. It really goes to show that the walleye are up here in great numbers and that they are ready to bite. The “honey hole” is turning out to be quite a feature as anglers head there after supper and fish for a few hours in the amazing evening twilight. Fishing is always great and its only a 3 minute boat ride from the dock.
Just thought I would take the time to mention that the Sheila’s (Miminiska chicky-babes) in the kitchen are cooking up a storm and waiting for your arrival! The food here is so good, it takes a lot of wood-splitting after supper to not feel guilty about throwing it down the hatch, guests are welcome to join me there or there are some great jogging trails around the island to burn off those great meals.
The weather has been great up here again this week, with nice warm days and cool breezes coming in for the relief in the arvo*. Perfect weather for a cold one or two. *arvo – Australian slang for afternoon
…Tristan Yuswak
