Another great year is off and running here at Jim and Julie’s Wabaskang Camp. Julie and I are excited to be starting our 26th season here at camp, so many great friends and fantastic memories along the way have made the time fly by. I suffered a setback last season after breaking my back and pelvis, but I am getting closer to normal as each day passes. Julie had her second knee replaced in January and is still a bit sore, but she is managing things just fine. We are both excited to see all our returning guests as well as new guests that are coming this season. There was plenty of snow this winter and we had to have a contractor open our road three weeks before we were planning to come up just to be sure we could get into camp, the contractor said he was pushing 5′ drifts, and the road had well over 2′ of snow the entire length of our road. Our first guests arrived on the 14th of May, the weather was summer-like with a high of 84 degrees that day but only four days later Saturday the 17th weather had changed, and our guests had to deal with gusty winds, wet snow flurries and a high temperature of only 34 degrees. Fishing was good if you could find a spot out of the wind on opener and many of our guests managed to have a great walleye fish fry that evening, as the week went along the weather gradually improved and our guests could enjoy the great fishing and beautiful sunsets.
Walleye fishing was good in the shallow warm water areas of the lake, a slip bobber and minnow worked well but a simple split shot and look with a minnow or crawler also caught many limits of fish. Small jigs tipped with a minnow or twister tail caught numerous walleyes as well. Pete Koss released a chunky 22 3/4″ walleye on day one, our guests caught plenty of medium sized fish all week, Russ Schultz, Eli Huck, and Steve Watson all caught 24″ walleye this week, Norby Reiff released a beauty 27″ trophy but the biggest walleye of the week was caught and released by camp phenom Tristen Kolb, his 30″ monster is easily one of the biggest walleyes we will see this season.
Bass fishing was fast and furious along the shorelines in any shallow bay. Our guests used tube baits and jig and minnow combinations to entice the feisty fish to bite. Most of the bass are staging in their traditional spawning areas and both big females and the smaller makes were everywhere. Dave Schaller released his 18″ trophy, Tom Kolb released a beautiful 19 1/4″ bass, Jim Fucile managed to land and release a giant 19″ beauty, the biggest bass of the week was once again caught and released by camp phenom Tristen Kolb, his 19 3/4″ trophy was a hat winner for him this week.
Northern fishing was spotty this week with most of the northern caught while our guests were fishing for walleyes and perch. Tristen Kolb released a nice 34″ fish, Uncle Tim Kolb released a chunky 35″ brute, Dave Schaller had to mention to me he released a beautiful 38″ northern, the biggest northern of the week were caught by Tristen Kolb’s father Neil, he released a 40″ and a 40 1/4″ northern back-to-back to win top northern angler of the week.
Crappie fishing continues to impress our guests with many limits being caught this week, most areas on the south end of the lake are holding giant populations of crappies in the 12″ to 15″ range. The fish are in any areas of shallow water and reeds with a water temp of 69 degrees or better. A slip bobber and minnow were great but a tiny jig and twister tail also caught loads of fish. Almost everyone in camp had crappies around 13″ but the biggest crappie of the week was caught by Kyle Kuck, his 15″ crappie was good enough to take top honors for the week and win him a free hat.
The water levels here on Wabaskang Lake are very good right now but with almost no rain since late April there has been a ban on open fires and many days the air is filled with smoke from fires burning west of here in Manitoba. Remember to get your license before arriving in camp and make a copy for me if you can or we can copy it when you get here. Be sure your boat and live wells are clean, and all plugs out from your last fishing outing before you enter Ontario as the border agents are concerned about aquatic invasive species entering Ontario waters. The Whiskey Jack Restaurant is open for business and Graham and Laura have the best sandwiches, wings and pizza in town. You can purchase your fishing license at Dutchies General store just up the road from my driveway, they also sell groceries, bait, souvenirs, and adult beverages, yes, a one stop shop for all your needs. Well, that’s all for now, this is Jim from Wabaskang.
