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!!!!!!

Greetings from Mim!

We saw an uncharacteristic spring warm-up where the lake and river temps were much higher than previous years at the same time. However, with recent crisp nights, the temperatures have settled to 68F.

Killer locations this week included Beaver Island, Ferguson Bay, Freestone River outlet and of course the ol’ honey hole. Doug and Diane had a great run and released 50 fish at the hole in just an hour and a half. Top pick lures this week for pike: Jackall Rhythm Wave 4.8, 4″ X-Zone Swammer (swim baits) and Zara Spooks (top water). For walleyes, go traditional with twister tails and jig heads (1/4 and 1/2 oz. orange and white are current hot colors!).  Top fly this week for brook trout was the Chernobyl Ant (pink and brown). This week also saw Austin and Neil catching a 39.5 inch pike while reeling in an 11” walleye! And Aussie Dave landed a sweet 19” brookie at the bottom Freestone! What an experience!

– Brian and Kate

Moj is still a tried and true walleye factory with groups catching heaps of fish in the 20-21” range. Average sizes are very strong here at Moj! Pike fishing has changed this week with warmer temps driving the fish deeper. They started back up again toward the end of the week with the cooler weather and should be fantastic this coming week. Big fish for this week went 35”! Still nothing to scoff at!
– Bob

A quote from Rob: “Fishing and weather have been outstanding this week. We have seen both moose and eagles. Yesterday there was a very large grouse outside our cabin! What a noise it made! Below is a picture of Brandon! This was his first trip to Canada – he had the largest northern of the trip with this 36″ he caught with an Orange Rapala. The entrance to Kilbarry is kinda embarrassing, the fishing was so good. We were catching fish every 2 out of 3 casts. We were not fishing. We were catching. Great time! Thanks to you, Alan, Lynette and everyone at WN. Great trip and looking forward to 2019!”

“I am lucky enough to have fished on Ogoki since I was ten (See photo- Bob Funk and Temius Nate at Ogoki Outpost in 1975). The weather this year was fantastic: warm, lots of sunshine, no rain and the winds manageable every day.  It would be hard to order better weather, but I can’t remember a more challenging year to bring two walleyes back to camp for dinner.  I don’t believe the weather caused the difficulty as the problem wasn’t a lack of fish; each of our three boats netted 50+ walleye a day.  There were many spots where virtually every cast would hook a walleye until all the commotion would draw in a big northern that would bust the school.  Some of those 40+ inch northern got more than they bargained for when the hook of the jig set before the line was cut.  The problem was that virtually all of the walleye were more than 18 inches as most ran 20- 23.  We would actually have to hunt for schools of smaller fish for dinner.  I can only wish for the same “problem” next year.”

Best, Bob

We are so thankful for the support from guests like Bob, who keep coming back year after year!

Below are more photos of Bob and his group!

Fishing this week has produced lots of walleye as people seem to be finding them everywhere including off the front dock in the evenings. Largest walleye this week was 26” caught at the islands just west of Striker’s. Pink, orange and white jigs seem to be working the best, trolling spoons in the creeks have also produced a good mix of walleye and pike, lots in the 30-37 inch range. Wildlife has also been phenomenal with guests enjoying the many bald eagles on the lake. One group even managed to snap a picture of an eagle picking up a walleye. There have been lots of moose sightings and a few caribou cows and calves as well!

-Matt

“Our group of four had pretty good luck on walleye with most of them running in the 16 –20” size. We are guessing we caught over 600 walleye in 3 1/2 days. Most were caught on jigs using Gulp grub(or similar bait) or paddle tails in white, chartreuse or pink colours. We did catch a few casting huge musky lures. Most were caught in 8- 24 foot water off wind-blown rocky points (rougher the better). I had the motor running at all the times to control position, speed and depth. I personally wanted to go after big (over 40’’ northern), but with the water temps in the high 60’s – mid 70’s, we would need to use a different approach.

These trips are always an adventure and this was no exception. In camp, we had some bears, a friendly groundhog and the staff saw a cow moose & calf one day. Some of the group saw woodland caribou and we all saw lots of caribou tracks at the shore lunch spot. There are loons and eagles and it always fun to see them pick up lunch (eagle fly-in)” – Scheef Group

Also enjoying the plentiful Whitewater Lake this week was the Poling group! Their photos say it all:

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