-The fishing at Whitewater Lodge was great. I fly fish and I caught so many pike on fly that we lost count. The Walleye fishing was, of course, just great. My wife spin fishes and couldn’t keep them off the hook! I even caught a number of Walleye on fly using a full sink line.

-Trip started out great with 55″ sturgeon caught at the inflow. The next morning my 13 year old grandson caught a 44″ pike followed immediately with a 37″ pike. At the end of the first day, the cold front slowed the fishing greatly. We still caught fish but in smaller quantities than we anticipated. After 2 days, the fishing took an upturn and we started catching more fish; however, no really large walleyes were caught. The largest being about 25″. Several pike were caught in the mid 30″ range. All in all we had a great time. Used our cell phones with Canada Topo Maps app for GPS. Worked great. Everyone agreed that they would be returning to Wilderness North.

The Week of May 24th – June 7th

Massive Whitewater Lake, at the Ogoki River inflow, continues to produce large and plentiful northern pike.  Scott E. of the Twin Cities, who has been angling in these parts for over two decades, shares in his podcast which you can listen to below. Further,  six Whitewater anglers,  five had pike over 40″.  Jeff B. listing his 43″ and Josh C. of Ohio claiming his 43″ from Goldsborough Bay and Delmar T. of Virginia got a 42″ pike on a white jig head, with a salt minnow tail. From the western end of Whitewater Lake, walleye were plentiful, though ice-out was late, and water temperatures are still cold, and the post spawn pattern is sluggish for the glassy eyes. Father, daughter duo, Rachel and Jason W. out of Fairfax VA had an incredible trip. They caught lots of big pike, walleye and reeled in a 52″ black sturgeon while fishing for pike, (the sturgeon was unintentional and released.) We also had the pleasure of hosting Mike and Andrew B. who had more than their fair share of big fish. Take a look below for some great shots!

Week of May 20th, 2019 – 

It was like a family reunion.  No, wait,  it WAS a family reunion with eight folks from middle America  (Kansas-USA)  who have only once before experienced Mother Nature-Ontario Style.

This Kansas City area family – young and old – of eight anglers, all flew out to our Whitewater Lodge, at the extreme western end of big Whitewater Lake where the rushing incoming water of the Ogoki River is just a cast away, and the nearby flooded back bays are packed with hungry Northern Pike. And they had it all: Cool, dry, windy days. Cloudy, rainy days. Sunny, warm days with a promise of Spring in the air.

And oh yes, our first Master Angler Pike for the record books. This 44 inch, toothy water wolf, was in 5-7 feet of “warmer” water as she attacked the Mepps #5-Spinner bait belonging to Dental Surgeon Dr. Phil  – ( no, not that Dr. Phil!)

And yes, once the photos were clicked – back in the water she went.  Photos below.

The walleye were more of a chore, these post-spawners were a bit more reluctant, but plentiful enough for some great fresh fish dinners.

And the group also included our first international guest of the season – all the way from India – topping off a great season opener for 2019.

Delaying their original dates for the trip – for the ice to finally get out – was worth it for this Family Fishing Adventure for the record books.

***

Well the old saying rings true, time flies when you’re having fun! Our latest Whitewater Lodge guests have departed. Both groups in had much success on walleye and numbers of pike. Water temperatures were in the 70’s, and as always spoons for pike and jigs for walleye were the ticket.

Camp attendants Boyce and Alma ventured out for their own excitement and quickly landed a 26″ walleye on a jig and nightcrawler in 4-6 feet of water.

-Boyce and Alma

Water levels at Whitewater have dropped considerably over the past little while! Make sure that engine tilt tab is engaged and take it slow. You don’t want to meet any new rocks!!! Fishing on Whitewater is fantastic with many fish being released from the river inflow, both northern pike and walleye! Guests have been putting in their time and seeing great success with fish, of significant size in the deeper holes on the lake. Use your fish finders to locate those holes and mark the waypoint so you can return again and again.

The more things stay the same – the mantra for Whitewater this week! And that’s a good thing! The Switzer father and son caught a lot of walleye and pike. They had a great trip and enjoyed the sunny weather and the peace and quiet of Whitewater Lake. The fishing was so good, they left camp with coming back another year fresh on their mind. The Boeke group of 8 had a great week with the young Torin Boeke catching a 42″ northern on his first day fishing which made his day and his fishing trip long to be remembered. Completing their day with a good fish fry in the great outdoors. Needless to say they went away a happy group looking forward to another year.

– Boyce

The Rader group had big numbers of big fish on their… wait for it… Radars!!! Whitewater lake continues to produce fantastic numbers of both big walleye and northern pike. On the northern pike side, the group released 3 master angler fish (40”, 41” and a 43”) as well as a beefy 38” northern. They kept count of their fish this past week and released all 339 pike. On the walleye side, their release numbers were well over a thousand fish with the big one of the week tapping out at 26”. Needless to say, they left camp a very happy group!

A father-daughter duo in this past week caught a good number of northern pike. They were also catching walleye like crazy using salted minnows, catching most of their walleye in the fast-moving water. The Ogoki rapids proved well for this! 200-300 walleye! A very happy father and daughter went away writing that the cabin and campsite at Whitewater Lodge were in perfect shape. Thank you to Scott for that remark.

The Reilly party had a great week fishing catching lots of walleye in the 15″-19″ range. 1 northern at 40″ and a 35” as well. The 40″ fish was caught west of Grace Island and the 35″ south of Porter Island. The Happy group kept only 5 walleye for shore Lunch and everything else was released.

A Wilderness North canoe trip also ended their trip at Whitewater Lodge and raved about the immense number of walleye at the outflow of the Ogoki rapids, just next to the camp. Walleye on the end of just about every cast!

This week the Johnston, Brett and Williams family were extremely happy with the sheer numbers of fish caught at WWL. The cold front has put some fish down, but plenty of northern’s in the 40-inch class have been released. In one day three group members landed fish over 40″! Spoons have been the lure of the week! More to come from Whitewater once the front has passed and the sun shines brightly.
– Boyce.

The Baith group had a blast at Whitewater Lodge this past week. The hot spot was most definitely the outflow of the Ogoki, as walleye were found spawning up by moving water. The group pulled in a great deal of walleye with the average of 17-18 inches. Pulling in one after the after, Brett reeled in this beautiful 22″ walleye below, followed directly by another chunky 19 incher.

As for pike the groups best were two 40″ lunkers. Dwayne caught his pike (see below) on a ‘dare-devil like spoon’, while Brett had success with a gold rapala.

“All three groups are enjoying the great fresh air of Whitewater lodge. Sitting around the outdoor tables enjoying the great taste of fresh caught walleye”. – Boyce, Whitewater Lodge camp attendant.

Spring has finally taken hold at Whitewater Lodge after a valiant battle with winter. With that, the ice is off and our first set of guests arrived. Though winter is still fighting back a bit with respect to water temperatures, things did pick up during the week and some fantastic fishing was had by all. Sunday Wilderness North guest Rob released a 40” northern pike, while his son Adam released a very respectful 36” fish. Walleye, being typical Whitewater Lodge walleye were there to play and saw Adam release a 21” fish.

From the Baith group, things were much the same as they had the pleasure of getting slimed by a 19.5 pound, 41” northern and a wonderful 24” walleye… The numbers are coming with the rising temperatures and things are shaping up for an incredible spring. If you’re going into any Wilderness North Camp in the next few weeks, keep your polarized glasses handy while you search for resting northerns in dark bottomed shallow bays. That what you may think is a log, could actually be a fish of a lifetime! Make that cast!

Good Fishing!

Boyce Randell