Fishing continues to be strong at Makok, even with water levels dropping. Trophy walleye are strong, but also, trophy pike! This past month has been an amazing week for big pike–caught and released a stone’s throw away from the lodge.  The cut and just around the corner from the lodge continue to produce some masters. The largest being 43 inches! Fish were caught in 2-3 feet of water on red and white daredevles and rapalas.

Our numbers this season are as follows:

97 walleye (26 inches and over)  and 4 pike (40 inches and over)!

Check out these master angler catches:

-Really a first class experience at a very reasonable price. Super friendly service with staff going the extra mile for whatever you needed. Great food and very nice lodging. Fishing did not disappoint! Overall a great trip. We will definitely be back.

-Great! The lake has lots of walleye with some nice big ones that were 25+ we were always able to catch fish without any problems. We would definitely go back again!

-We had a wonderful time. Food and service was excellent and fishing was great. Hoping to do again in the future. This was my 5th trip to Makok

-Our trip was excellent can’t wait to plan the next adventure. The staff was over the top from dock boy’s to head cook although I wish we didn’t have to feed the mosquitoes.

-Awesome!

-This was my third time there and accommodations, fishing and people were fantastic as always. We plan on going back in the near future.

From the Guests:

In our group of 10 we had 8 newbies and well all I can say is that each morning all I heard was THANK YOU for inviting us to come here. The accommodations, food, service, fishing and lodge staff were ONE word: AMAZING. Beyond their expectations. Best fishing camp they had ever been too. I guess all 8 newbies were impressed.

Almost every day was so hot and sunny that we fished in shorts most of the time. Thursday was a little bit different with high winds and light rain but everyone ventured out, braved the elements and caught plenty of fish. Each day all 10 of us had enough walleye for shore lunch with a few pike for the northern fans.

When we estimated the count for 3 and 1/2 days of fishing it was around 65 pike and 600 walleye. I believe that we had (4) 26″ walleye, numerous 24 to 25″ walleye, (1) 38″ pike, (1) 36″ pike (3) 32 to 34″ pike, (4) 27 to 30″ pike and a ton of smaller ones as well. No one complained of not having enough ACTION. The lures of choice were jigs with a worm and colors that ranged from black, white, brown etc. If you weren’t catching on a color just change it and ‘wam’! The Hot and Tots or equal were working well too for both walleye and pike.

A good surprise was one of our fishermen used trolling baits and had great success. They fished the deeper parts of the lake and marked hundreds of fish each day. Additionally, they played around with some spoons that ran deep with a sinker and scored big on pike. The walleye were also biting deeper down and favored  6 to 8″ spoons. Trolling baits worked as well, but we accused them of not wanting to get their hands dirty with worms.

Makok’s water level seemed to be a bit lower than normal and the lake temperature was running around 70 to 73 degrees. To accommodate, we simply fished deeper parts of the lake. The warmer water was enjoyable however as our crew ventured out into the lake for a swim to cool off. It worked. In the evening we all met for Happy Hour before a sit-down dinner. There was always plenty of food! Evening fished landed us some great numbers, along with beautiful sunsets.

We saw moose, bald eagles, a bear-cub pair, and a small otter. Some group members even heard wolves howling at around 2 am. Sunday morning came and we all said we could have stayed longer as it was so relaxing and enjoyable. The staff could not have done more for us. WELL DONE WILDERNESS NORTH AND STAFF AT MAKOK

Hope to see you again, I know that some of our newbies are already planning for next year.

-Larry and friends

From the lodge:

Makok guests have been focusing on walleye this last week with great success. Numbers are consistent and sizes are impressive, with the largest being a chunky walleye measuring to a whopping 28.5” (see below for pic)! This sweet fish was caught on a ¼ inch jig head in Walleye Alley. New guests are arriving in the next few days and will be met with water temperatures in the low 70’s. Current guests are having success at 15-17 ft for the masters and Walleye Alley continues to be a hot spot, along with the outlet of the Albany! Air temps for the region are very warm so stay hydrated!

A recent river trip led to great success for the Hassett group! With multiple master walleye and some epic battles with brookies, this group was over the moon about their adventure! See photos from their trip below.

– Anita

Last week saw storms rolling through the north, but we were fortunate that they didn’t hit hard at Makok. While we did get some rain, showers didn’t last more than a half hour at a time giving anglers plenty of time to dry off!

Air temperatures have remained in high-70s to mid-80s; while water temperatures have been sitting between 66 to 71 degrees Fahrenheit. The water levels have slowly been dropping, with a 5ft decrease since May 18. Currently the entrance to “the cut” has only 1- 1.5 ft of water! Always make sure to engage your engine tilt tabs before you head out!

If you’re on the prowl for walleye, we’ve been having success trolling the shorelines and casting the river outlet on the east side of the lake.

Great news for those on the hunt for water wolves! We are seeing an increase of numbers being reeled in, with the largest being a Master Angler at 41.5”. Popular lures are continue to be jigs with either a single or double twister tail. Rapalas are starting to become a hit with the bigger pike in deeper water.

-Nick, Dockhand

Hello from Makok!

We have had a lot of bright sunny days up here with winds picking up throughout the day. Temperatures have been steady in the high 70s – low 80s. Water temperature is sitting around 68 – 71F. We have seen water levels drop about a foot this past week. The pattern of monster walleye continues, with fish reaching 26 to 28 inches caught and released. Pike fishing continues to excel, with some of the larger northern’s starting to show up.

Our biggest pike caught and released so far has been 36″. Soon enough, the big girls will show up – patience is the key. Master Angler ‘eyes still being caught on jig heads and twister tails at Sand Point, The Cut and down along Walleye Alley.

-Anita

“Too many 25″ & 26” eyes to count, plus throw in a few 3ft pike and you have a fishing trip. The largest walleye of the trip was a beautiful 28inch walleye! The new boats were a real plus and of course, Anita and the girls at the lodge were outstanding. Looking forward to a return visit. “-Ron and Bob

“We had an amazing time at Makok. We hammered fish using spinners with leeches. We fished mostly in 6.5 to 7 feet of water.  Did really well at the Cut.” -Degaz Group

“The Martin party of 17 had a fantastic week.  Anita and the team served up excellent weather, fishing (catching), and hospitality all week.  Nearly every member of the party caught a 24”, or greater Walleye with the largest measuring 28”.  Two members caught nice 38” Northern.  As always, the Cut was hot all week with Walleye Alley and Sandy Shore producing abundant large, fat Walleye.

All in all, the group had a fabulous week of fishing and friendship.  All made possible by the awesome accommodations and service provided by Wilderness North”.  Thanks!!!!!!

“We had excellent weather, very little rain and no high winds during our stay. The fishing was just exceptional. The average walleye size continues to increase…we boated and released over two dozen walleyes over 26” in our group of 4. We primarily used 3/8 ounce jigs with a plastic tail and minnow for walleye. Spent some time pike fishing with Johnson Silver Minnows, Mepps Cyclops and Daredevles. One the highlights this year was a river trip with our guide Joe, we had a wonderful day fishing for brook trout….caught several very beautiful brookies.

Accommodations and hospitality were excellent….many thanks to Anita and her colleagues! Great trip…thanks”

-John and friends

Weather conditions: strong winds ranging from 10 to 25km from mid-morning to late evening and rain storms with the warmer temperatures into the mid-70s

Water levels: water has been slowly starting to drop down, about 8 inches from last week.

Fish: lots of master walleye caught since the 9th, 28 total ranging from 26 to 27.5 inches. Jigs have been the lure of choice, finding trophy success at the cut, sand point, and walleye alley. Our master angler catches have been found in 5 to 9 ft of water.

River: We have had several river trips with guys in search of rookies! This week saw the catch and release of many brook trout; the largest being 20-inches!

“As always we had a fabulous time; and this year especially. Next, let me commend the quality of service provided by your staff. To a person, they were outstanding. Possibly the best we have ever had. And that Anita, she is really special! She did a remarkable job and without exception so did the others. Maybe it was the chemistry of the collective personalities, but it was the best of the best.” -Makok guest

It’s been another busy week at Makok with a full camp.
This past week saw groups from Michigan join us. We enjoyed many shore lunches, lots of tall tales and a fair bit of wind here. We have been challenged with some east winds, that make shore lunching at the close island a bit exciting. Our shore lunch cook is a pro though and handles it seamlessly.
Lots of master angler walleyes to report with this past week’s largest being 28 inches and caught by Mr. Hughes and not far behind him, Pete with a 27.5 incher.
We are finding these big beauties at 20ft, with the smaller fish hovering around 12-15 ft.
Water temp is still cold! Jigs continue to be the lure of choice, with some guests throwing rapalas and my favourites, hot n tots. We are seeing guys mixing it up with feathered jig heads as well.
We have had over a dozen fish over 26 inches in the first week here.
Until next time!

– KC

Sunday brought our first guests here to Makok—after a couple days of record warm temps (90F), the weather decided to be challenging on the first day! We had strong east winds and rain for most of the day, but still managed to get a couple master anglers on the board already!

Today was the first shore lunch of the season and boy, was it good!

Water levels are high—we just saw the ice go completely off 5 days ago! Water temp is 55F.

We have 4 Master anglers on the board so far: a 26, 27, 28 and our biggest a 29 1/2. The lure of choice so far seems to be any kind of Rapala. And that was proven Monday at Sandy Point! Frank Mahler released a fantastic 28” walleye while fishing a crank bait. 6 lb walleye! Not too shabby!