Gulp, live Bait? Not needed... - Wilderness North

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Gulp, live Bait? Not needed…

Another successful week has passed at Makokibatan Lodge. Again, I find myself simply using the letters we have received from you, our guests, to describe their experience while at Wilderness North. The note below is just another example of a great experience:

Let me first start with a BIG Thank You for all that you and your entire staff did in our support and the exceptional services provided during our recent visit. The service is equally as great as the fishing and the reason we return each year. As for the fishing itself, I consider it the best walleye fishery in Ontario, if not all of Canada. I have been blessed with the good fortune to have fished  across Canada for the past 50 years and after nearly 100 trips, Makokibatan is my/our favorite. I’ve fishing many lakes in the past where 100 fish days were possible. But, nowhere have I seen a fishery that produces 100 fish catches over multiple days and with this number of trophy walleyes. Makokibatan simply has no equal for quantity, quality and size of fish. During our 3.5 day stay, our group of 6  caught 13 Master Angler Award fish which is more than most Ontario lodges will produce in a season. And the best part, is that everyone of the trophies were released to grow even larger. Other groups this year have posted even greater numbers of trophies. However, our June, 2010 group record of 23 Master Anglers caught by 4 fishermen still stands as our benchmark to break.

This year, and as in the past, our favorite locations (Walleye Alley, the Cut and the back-lake falls) yielded the bulk of our catches. However, I did come across a new stretch of shoreline that produced a morning catch of 52 walleye’s in 2 hours. Literally every drop produced a strike and had it not been for a couple dozen cut-offs by northern pike, we could have easily caught 100 walleye over that time period. On Sunday June 7th, we were so tired of catching fish, that we cut our time short and headed back to camp at 2:30pm….worn out from fishing.  When the “bite is on”, it is non-stop action. Then, when it’s off or stops, and the fish move out, we simply search until we find them again. Location + presentation= success.

As for the presentation, we’ve had the best success vertical jigging with Berkley Gulp Alive Minnows, Power Ripple or Jerk Shad. It is the best non-live bait ever invented. The color of the jig head is meaningless. In fact, we only use unpainted lead-heads (barbs bent down), 1/8-3/8 oz, depending on wind conditions. l believe Gulp Alive will out-fish live bait. At least that has been our experience over these many years. Plus, Gulp Alive is nearly indestructible, allowing you to catch dozens of fish using the same minnow. And this year a group member posted a Master Angler Northern…40” / 18.4#’s, on 6# test. Also, released for future years.

In closing; since my first trip to Makokibatan back in 1997, the experience has always met or exceeded my expectations and is the reason why  we’ve already booked to return in June 2016.

Warmest regards,

Charlie…

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