Happy Holidays

December 2011

Holiday greetings from the folks at Wabaskang Camp. We wish each and every one of you a wonderful holiday season and prosperous new year. We hope all of you are enjoying the holidays with your family and friends. We are looking forward to seeing you again next season and catching up with the “news”.

Julie and I have owned Wabaskang Camp for twelve seasons now and we hope to be here for many more. Each year brings us new friends and new experiences that we will cherish forever. The 2011 season was a complete opposite from the previous year. The weather was hot and dry with some type of fire ban or restrictions being in place all season long. We had numerous fires burning in the area and had many days when the air was filled with the smell of burning pines. Almost everyday we saw water-bombers flying the area heading to a fire or looking for smoke, I sure was thankful we were spared the worst of the smoke.

I arrived in camp on the 25th of April this year; the weather was warm and dry so I was able to jump right into the long process of getting everything out of the sheds and back where it goes for the season. The lake had a good ten inches of ice on it when I pulled into camp but by the 6th of May most of the ice was gone. The ice did manage to drag three sections of our floating dock right over the steel poles and tear all the welds loose between the sixth and seventh sections. After a few days of figuring out the best way to repair the dock I got to work and after five days of hard  work the dock was back in place and the welds were repaired, this Fall I took the last three sections of the dock apart and moved them to a safer location for the winter. I was able to fire up the water pumps and our brand new water treatment system on the 6th of May and Julie pulled into camp two days later. (She is not big on using the outhouse}. With the help of Donna, Peggy and Greg we were able to get all the cabins and the lodge clean and tidy before our first guests arrived. The beginning of the season had us busy scraping and painting a few cabins between all the other regular jobs that have to be done. We saw our last bout with snow flurries on the 27th of May, the weather changed to warm and dry, the last decent rain of the season fell on the 10th of June, we had over three inches and the lake came up almost a foot, good thing because the rest of the year was dry and hot. The season progressed on into mid summer and I stayed busy repairing the old ice house and painting and shingling it, the building looks as good as new now. Julie managed to paint the floors in many of the cabins and we added futons to all the cabins to make them more comfortable and relaxing. The dry Summer allowed us to repair and replace many of the culverts along the road, we added gravel as well to many areas along the road and did a great deal of ditching, hopefully the road should be in great shape this spring when I pull into camp.

The fishing was exceptional again this season; it seems that the average size of the walleyes is getting bigger each season. The wet spring and then dry summer seemed to keep the walleyes on the move constantly searching for the huge schools of bait fish that would roam the lake day after day. We saw limits everyday of nice eater fish and had tons of trophy walleyes released during the season. The best fishing was with a jig and minnow or a lindy rig and minnow or crawler, the depth range went from three feet in the Spring to 40 feet in the late Fall, the water temperature warmed slowly during the season and wasn’t a huge factor on where to look for fish. If you found the bait fish you found the hungry walleyes. Many of our guests also discovered the relatively unfished waters of the deep midlake basins. Our guests would troll a large crank bait or shallow running stick bait over 40 to 60 feet of water and catch huge walleyes as they were pushing the ciscos to the surface in the mornings 
and evenings, the biggest fish of the season were caught this way. Here are just a few of the bigger fish that were released or mounted during the year.

Terry Lauer   26” walleye  5-21-11
Steve Taylor           26 ¼” walleye  5-21-11
Mike Pease  27 ½” walleye       5-31-11
Joe Barnes  24” walleye  5-28-11
Rich Pease  25” walleye  5-28-11
Chris Tucker  27” walleye  5-29-11
Lance Loger   25 ½’ walleye  6-4 11
Chris Tucker   26” walleye    6-4-11
Randy Cook   27 ¾” walleye  6-6-11
Craig Codner    25” walleye   6-11-11
Dale Wilson    27” walleye     6-11-11
Bernie Stankewicz 28 ½” walleye  6-15-11
Dave Woolard   25” walleye   6-18-11
Connor Jankus  25” walleye   6-19-11
Monty Green   25” walleye   6-20-11
Glenn Grooters   27” walleye   6-20-11
Joel Sandager   29” walleye      6-29-11
Christy Butcher  24 ½” walleye  7-2-11
Kristy Lammers  26” walleye   7-2-11
Mike Lammers  26 ½” walleye    7-2-11
Mike Lammers    28” walleye  7-2-11
Christy Butcher  28 ¾” walleye (M) 7-2-11
Jeannie Snyder  28” walleye   7-6-11
Mike Lammers  28” walleye  7-7-11
Reid Lammers  25” walleye   7-18-11
Mike Lammers  25” walleye  7-24-11
Bob Schellhorn   26” walleye  7-27-11
Jaret Wunsch  29 ½” walleye (M) 7-28-11
Todd Peterson  25” walleye  8-3-11
Craig Mericle  27 ½” walleye  8-6-11
Kristy Lammers  26 ½” walleye  8-15-11
Leon Luhring  24” walleye  8-20-11
Mike Luhring  27” walleye  8-20-11
Susan Langfritz  25” walleye  8-23-11
Mallory Luhring  24” walleye  8-26-11
Jeff Schmidt  25” walleye  8-27-11
Keith Sorenson  27 ½” walleye  8-27-11
Don Rowe  28” walleye  9-8-11
Don Gutknecht  24” walleye  9-11-11
Larry Dufel  26” walleye  9-11-11
Larry Schultz  25” walleye  9-11-11
Scott Toppin  24 ½” walleye  9-19-11
Ricky Stephens  25 ½” walleye  (M) 9-22-11
Leroy Hennen  25 ½” walleye  9-25-11
Mike Zahnen  28 ½” walleye  9-25-11
Dave Goodlund  29 1/8” walleye  9-29-11
 
Our northern fishing continues to be some of the best in the area. The low water conditions caused most of the deep water cabbage weeds to either die off early or not emerge at all. Finding the big fish when the weeds are sparse was a challenge that most of our guests met with a vengeance. The best technique and probably the most widely used on Wabaskang was to troll the weed lines with a huge shallow running stick bait or “Bulldog” type bait. The fish were scattered this season and covering a lot of water was the ticket to big fish. Once you found an area with active fish my guests would go back time after time and cast the same area with good success. Here is a few of the bigger fish that were released or mounted this season:

Lee Munger  42” northern  5-21-11
Pat Munger  41” northern  5-22-11
Joe Barnes  40” northern  5-28-11
Wayne Gajewski  41” northern  6-9-11
Dan Schmitz  39” northern  6-14-11
Craig Codner  39” northern  6-15-11
Kevin Reints  40” northern  6-15-11
Bill Wilson  44 ½” northern  6-15-11
Marty Robbins  38 ½” northern (M) 6-21-11
Katie Little  38 ½” northern  6-28-11
Ryan Little  42” northern  6-29-11
Reid Lammers  39” northern  7-2-11
Bryan Butcher  39” northern  7-3-11
Rhett Lammers  43” northern  7-4-11
Kristy Butcher  40” northern  7-7-11
Evan Neihouser  40” northern  7-8-11
Jesse Blevins  42” northern (M)  7-12-11
Bill Mincks  41” northern  7-17-11
Bill Mincks  41” northern  7-20-11
Reid Lammers  39 ½” northern  7-23-11
Reid Lammers  42” northern  7-27-11
Jaret Wunsch  41 ¾” northern  7-28-11
Sarah Peterson  39” northern  7-31-11
Kevin Halla  39 ½” northern  7-31-11
Bonnie Oliver  40” northern  8-1-11
Gene Katzung  41” northern  8-3-11
Jason Hartling  42” northern  8-7-11
Steven Morse  42” northern  8-14-11
Mike Lammers  42” northern  8-17-11
Steve Harms  39 ¼” northern  8-20-11
Kyle Lerum  39 ¾” northern  8-20-11
Gene Thomas  38” northern  8-21-11
Mike Luhring  38” northern  8-22-11
Terri Weigmann  38 ½” northern  8-26-11
Andy Buffington  43” northern  8-30-11
Andy Buffington  40” northern  8-31-11
Kevin Reints  40” northern  8-31-11
Dave Zender  38” northern  9-12-11
Gus Zender  38 ½” northern  9-12-11
Gus Zender  40” northern  9-13-11
Steve Young  38” northern  9-22-11
Vern Hanus  40” northern  9-22-11
Brett Langfritz  41” northern  (M)  9-22-11
Fred Meier  38” northern  9-27-11
Fred Meier  39 ½” northern  9-27-11
Chas Ratz  39” northern  9-30-11

We saw some huge smallmouth bass caught this season. Many of our guests from Missouri and Arkansas seemed to be the experts when it came to pulling the real trophies from their lairs. The best bait by far was medium sized tube bait in a crayfish color. Another top producer for a feisty bass was a jointed “Rapala” type lure in a bronze color, just twitch the lure over your favorite rock pile or weed bed and hang on. Here is a short list of a few of the bigger fish released or mounted this season:

Kevin Johnson  18” bass   5-20-11
Reid McCord  18 ¼” bass  5-25-11
Dean Harlan  18 ¼” bass  5-25-11
Pat Munger  18 ½” bass  5-26-11
Tyler Harlan  18 ¾” bass  5-27-11
Mike Pease  18 ½” bass  5-28-11
Jarrett Hulsen  18 ½” bass  5-29-11
Ron McFadden  18” bass   6-5-11
Bob Baker  18 ¾” bass  6-5-11
Reid Lammers  18” bass   6-11-11
Brian Kinzy  18”  bass  6-11-11
Brady Codner  19”  bass  6-11-11
Kevin Reints  19” bass   6-11-11
Andy Schmitz  19 ½” bass  6-17-11
Josh Hardin  18” bass   6-23-11
Monty Green  19” bass   6-24-11
Dave Wentlandt  18” bass   6-26-11
Bob Compton  19 ½” bass  6-27-11
Tim Wuethrich  19 ¾” bass  7-4-11
Rick Sims  18 ½” bass  7-25-11
Todd Peterson  18” bass   8-3-11
Dan Taylor  18 ½” bass  8-18-11
Gary Pitchford   18 ½” bass  8-30-11
Joel Demro  18 ¼” bass  9-7-11
Tim Wuethrich  19 ¾” bass  9-12-11
Dave Lindaman  18” bass   9-17-11
 
The Lake Trout fishing on our lake can be very good if you have experience fishing for them. There is not a large population of trout in the lake so you need to know the best spots to try. We had some nice trout caught this season, most were caught trolling deep water with a blue and gold spoon, some were also caught on suckers trolled  down to about fifty feet. Bob Ayres caught a 30” trout on May 24th, Jim Loger released a 26” trout on June 5th and there were many other “eaters” caught by our guests as well.

The fall season brought our moose hunters from Wisconsin again this year. The same group of fellas has hunted at our camp for 12 years now and this year’s hunt was one of the best. Archery hunts for moose are a real challenge and our hunters showed us they knew what they were doing. On the second full day of the hunt Channing Mathews shot an exceptional bull moose just down the road on the cut-over area that had a spread over 50” wide. That evening Dave Fuller hunted near the same area and stuck a bull moose that was almost as big as Channing’s. The hunters also saw three more bulls that were trophies as well. The fellas are really excited about next years hunt already.

After the season was over and Julie had cleaned the cabins and headed home, I stayed in camp for another three weeks and finished winterizing the camp. I managed to find time to raise cabin #11 up and level it as well as redo most of the plumbing, my friends Arnold and Lynn also helped me make more gravel walkways around camp. I finished out the year cutting brush along the road. We have lots of plans for the camp next year and can’t wait to get back up north and start our 13 season.

We want to thank all our guests again this season for their continued patronage and support. We have been very fortunate to have such a great group of guests. Julie and I will not be doing any sport shows again this winter because we only have a very limited amount of openings. To those of you that received a reservation form last month please be sure to get it back to us by December 15th so we can let someone else have a cabin if you are not coming. Julie and I have been very busy answering e-mails and phone calls from people inquiring about possible openings in 2012. Next season looks as busy as ever, we all hope the economy continues to pick up steam and we will all have a good year.

You do need a passport to exit Canada by air and land so be sure to have them well ahead of your scheduled trip. For the latest info regarding passport requirements check out the web-site:
http://travelwithkids.about.com/od/insurancedocuments/a/passports.htm
For border information call [204] 983-3500 or [506] 636-5064, the phone number for the bridge at Fort Francis is [807] 274-3655

Julie, Annie and I want to wish all of you a great holiday season and prosperous new year. If you have any questions you can e-mail us at stay@wabaskangcamp.com or call [319]352-5559 and we will try to answer any of your questions. Take care and start thinking about the good times ahead.

Jim, Julie and Annie
Wabaskang Camp

October 1st

Well here it is the last week of the 2011 season. The guests in camp this week included fishermen and moose hunters. The weather has been beautiful this fall and the last week was no exception. The walleye bite continued to be best in deeper water, usually around thirty feet or so, a jig and minnow was popular as well as Little Joe rigs and Lindy Rigs, all tipped with a minnow. Wonder Boy Chas Ratz got things started with a nice 19 ½” walleye only to watch all teary eyed as Leroy Henna slammed him with a beautiful 25 ½” fish, it wasn’t long though and Mike Zahnen topped them both with his 28 ½” monster, all three of these fish were released. Mike’s fish held up all week long until Thursday when Dave Goodlund put the hurt on all the competition with his mega 29 ½” monster walleye that he released after a few quick pictures. The northern bite was sporadic again this week but we did see quite a few big fish released. Mike Zahnen took the lead momentarily with his 33” fish but new-comer Shawn Douglas quickly took over the top spot with a chunky 34 ½” released fish, Fred Meier knows all the northern hot spots and released a 38” and 39 ½” fish to take the top honors for the week. Once again Wonder Boy Chas Ratz was too small and too late with his released 39” northern on Friday----maybe next year fella. The bass bite was on again and off again this week, we saw lots of fish being caught but the biggest of the week went to Shawn Douglas, he was able to land a 16” bass to take home the hat for the week. Our archery hunters for moose arrived in camp Saturday morning and by Monday night had both their bull tags filled, both animals were exceptional sized brutes and were truly trophy animal, they also saw two other big bulls that were well within shooting range for their bows. Julie and I will be busy now shutting camp down for the season, thank you to all of our guests this season, we hope to see you all again next year, that’s all for now here at Wabaskang Camp.

Sept 25th

Greetings to all our fishing fans out there, week 18 of the 2011 season was one for the books. We had a group of dedicated fishermen in camp and the fish were certainly cooperating with them. Our walleye bite was strong all week long; the best bite was in thirty-five feet of water using a jig and minnow combination. Some of our guests also used a lindy-rig type set-up also using a minnow. The walleyes also were caught in shallow water in the early morning using a jig and minnow or a little-joe type rig tipped with a minnow. Camp pro Doyle Brocka started the week off with a 20” walleye only to see Vern Hanus bring in a nice 21” fish. Old timer Dave Lindaman jumped on top with a 22 ½” walleye but Scott Toppin knocked him off the board with his 24 1/2” beauty, the top walleye of the week went to  Ricky Stephens, he landed his trophy walleye that measured 25 ½”, good job Rick. We had lots of big northern released this week, Curt Schurman started things off on Saturday with a nice 35 ¾” fish, Harlan Kruse decided to stick his nose into the mix with a 37” northern which was quickly smashed by Brett Langfritz who released his 37 ½” northern after a few quick pictures. Steve Young said hold on there and released a 38” beauty to take the lead in the week but veteran angler Vern Hanus landed and released a 40” monster to wipe Steve off the board. Just when Vern thought he was going to take first place for the week Brett Langfritz, a camp legend in the making landed a huge 41” trophy to take home for the wall. The fellas mainly caught their fish casting big stick baits and spoons along and in the deeper cabbage weeds near deep water. The bass fishing was slow this week because most of our guests were concentrating on walleyes. Dave Lindaman did show all the fellas in his group how it is done by taking the top spot for the week with an 18” beauty that he quickly released. Next week is our last week for this season and we should have lots of action to talk about, take care and we will talk again soon, Jim

September 18th

Welcome back to Wabaskang Camp. Week 17 was another week of fantastic fishing. The weather was nice early in the week but by mid week we had snow flurries and high winds. We also saw our first two frosts of the season. Our guests always seemed to find a spot to fish where the wind and the rain and snow weren’t so bad that they couldn’t stay out and catch fish. The walleye bite was good but it was a soft bite again and you needed to be on your toes to catch your fish. Marty Neihouser started things off for the week with a 21” fish only to have Don Gutknecht spank him with a 24” fish. Larry Schultz even managed to make the big fish board this week with his nice 25” fish which he also released. The biggest walleye of the week was caught by the old pro Larry Dufel, he managed to catch and release a 26” beauty to win top honors for the week. Most of the walleyes were coming from deep water near huge schools of bait fish; the best presentation was a spinner rig and minnow or a jig and minnow combination, night crawlers worked as well but was not the choice of most of our guests. Our northern fishing was great for the fellas that were able to stand the rough weather and cast away all day long, Tim Wuethrich caught and released a 34” and a 37” fish to take the lead early in the week but Dave Zender came along and released a hefty 38” fish to take the lead. The real northern champ in camp---hey that rhymes---was Gus Zender, he managed to catch and release a 38 ½” and a monster 40” northern, his personal best, to take top honors and finally earn bragging rights in the family. The bass fishing was good again this week as well, most of the bass are still hanging just off the deeper sides of the rock piles and are hitting just about anything that looks like an easy meal, Tim Wuethrich seemed to have the magic touch when it came to bass, he released a trophy 19 ¾” beauty to fight another day, we have two weeks left in the season and I am sure the fishing will continue to impress our guests, that’s all for now here at Wabaskang Camp.

September 11th

Evening everyone, this is Jim from Wabaskang Camp. The fishing was outstanding once again this week, we saw lots of limits of walleyes everyday and the northern fishing began to pick back up by the end of the week. The weather was mild again this week and many of our guests fished in shorts and tee-shirts part of the week. The walleye bite was best in deep water, usually 27 to 35 feet deep. The best technique seemed to be a white jig tipped with a minnow. The bite was a soft bite so if you felt any resistance on the end of your line you had to set the hook and hang on. Michelle Cook had a nice 22 1/8” fish early in the week but Jerry Elm came along and crushed her with a 27 ½” beauty. He was edged out of the top spot at the end of the week by veteran angler Don Rowe; he managed to land and release a 28” monster to take the top honors for the week. The big northern were tougher to come by this week but we did manage to see some nice ones caught and released. Randy Cook released a 35” fish on Sunday, small by his standards, but once again Don Rowe came along and took the top honors for the northern as well this week by catching and releasing a 36” fish. We did have some other nice fish released this week as well, Tom Behl released a 34” northern and Mike McKay released a 34 ½” fish as well. We will see a change in the weather next week and the fish will really begin to school up and the big fish will be putting on the feed-bag before winter gets here, we will talk again soon, Jim

September 4th

Week 15 is nothing but a memory now but the fishing was something our guests will never forget. The walleye fishing is the best we have ever seen it, many of our guests were reporting days where 80 fish or more were being released per boat. The biggest fish have moved into deep water now and are being caught on jigs dressed with a minnow or a lindy rig type setup also tipped with a minnow. Don Heim started things off with a hefty 24” walleye only to have Jeff Schmidt come along and catch a 25” fish. Our biggest walleye of the week belongs to Keith Sorenson, he was a rookie in camp but beat all his buddies by releasing a huge 27 ½” walleye, the northern fishing was spotty at best this week with most of the big fish being taken on the same baits and techniques that our guests were using for walleyes. Barney  Wiersma started things off on Saturday with a nice 36” fish only to have Chad Heim come along and bust him off the board with a 39” monster. Andy Buffington seemed to be the fella to beat in camp this week, he had a 40” northern and a 43” monster to take top honors for the week, Kevin Reints also released a 40” northern this week. Most of the big northern seem to be roaming the deep water following the huge schools of walleyes around, our guests did catch some big fish in the shallow weeds but not as many as we usually see caught this time of year. The bass fishing was decent as well this week, we had a couple of fellas from Missouri in camp this week and they always seem to catch the bass, Gary Pitchford had the big bass of the week, a nice 18 ½” beauty. Still very dry here and warm weather is once again in the forecast, we will talk again soon, Jim from Wabaskang

August 27th

Hello again from Wabaskang Camp. Week 14 has come and gone but we have lots of good fishing to talk about. The Northern fishing was tricky this week with many of our guests catching most of their northerns while fishing deep for walleyes. The fellas that did throw the big baits were seeing lots of fish follow their baits to the boat but wouldn’t hit. Kyle Lerum had the biggest fish of the week with a gigantic 39 ¾” northern and Steve Harms took second place with a 39 ¼” fish; both fish were caught on Sandcats casting over the deep edges of cabbage weed beds. Other nice northern this week include Gene Thomas with a 38” northern, Mallory Luhring had a 34” fish, Travis Holm caught a 38” northern Dan Roose released a chunky 35” fish, Mike Luhring released a 38” northern, and Terri Wiegmann managed to catch and release a 38 ½’’ northern while walleye fishing with light tackle. The walleye fishing gets better and better each week, all our guests had numerous fish over 20” each day. Leon and Mallory Luhring each released 24” fish, Susan Langfritz released her best walleye ever, a nice 25” fish, Terri Roose released a walleye over 25” as well but finally Mike Luhring managed to take top honors this week with a 27” walleye that he released. Not much for bass fishermen in camp this week, some small fish were caught but most of our guests concentrated on walleyes all week. The weather is still dry and we have warm temperatures as well, the outlook is for some rain next week and finally cooler temps. We will talk again soon; take care, Jim from Wabaskang

August 19th

It is the end of week 14 now and we have lots of fishing to talk about. The heavy hitters were in camp this week and they managed to put up some pretty impressive numbers. Our Northern Pike fishing was exceptional for the fellas that were able to establish a pattern and stick to it. By far the best Pike action was in deep water trolling for suspended monsters. A stick bait or large crank bait worked best when trolled with side planers at a depth of five to eight feet over forty to sixty feet of water. The fish were roaming the open water following huge schools of ciscos and whitefish. Little Kyle Kravachek started things off this week with a 30 ¼” fish only to have “ thunder” Mike Lammers come along and wipe him off the top spot with a 35” fish. Larry Forbes managed to release a 36” fish to temporarily put him first place but Mike Dufek from Michigan drove 30 hours just to bump him off with his 38” beauty. The Northern fishing was just warming up for our guests because “thunder” Mike Lammers coaxed a 38” fish to the boat but out of the mist came Steven Morse who expertly landed a 42” monster to take top honors and eventually win the big Northern of the week contest, Mike Lammers had two other Northern over 41” but couldn’t crush young Steven’s dreams no matter how hard he tried. Our Walleye fishing was frustrating to some of our guests and fantastic to others. The fishermen who had fished this week in the past knew right where to go and what presentation to use. Jaclyn Kravachek caught her biggest walleye ever on Sunday with a nice 23” fish she quickly released, Kristy Lammers also released a 23” fish early in the week to pull into a tie with Jaclyn but took matters into her own hands a few days later and landed a 26 ½” monster to take top honors for the biggest walleye of the week, most of the big fish were taken on large crank baits or Sandcats in open water. The bulk of the eater sized fish were being taken on a white jig and minnow or a lindy rig setup with a minnow or worm, the best depth for these fish was 15 to 24 feet. Paul Taylor was the fella in camp to beat this week with his 17” bass but Brother Dan showed him how it’s done when he released an 18 ½” beauty to take top honors for the week. We had a little rain again this week but we still need more to ease the fire worries, we have another group of seasoned anglers coming in this week so there will be lots to talk about soon, take care and think fishing, Jim from Wabaskang.

August 6th through the 12th

Hello again from Wabaskang Camp. Good news to report, we finally had some decent rains last week and things are beginning to look a little better as far as the dry conditions go. There are still over one hundred fires to our North but most have been contained or should be in the next week or so. The fishing has remained good as usual with lots of trophy sized fish being caught and released. The Walleye bite was good both shallow and deep last week, we had many of our guests using a jig and minnow or jig and white twister tail combination in 10 to 15 feet of water with outstanding results. Jon Mericle started things off with a nice 23” fish only to see his father Craig smash him off the leader board with a gigantic 27 ½’ Beauty, father and son both released their fish as well. The deep water bite was best if you trolled a lindy-rig type set-up with a long Snell, usually 6 to 8 feet behind a slip sinker, minnows were the number one bait but crawlers also produced well. The best depth seemed to be 26 to 32 feet of water. Many of our guests did well on northern in the same areas that they were fishing walleyes. Matt Stark caught a nice 27” northern his first day out but Larry Forbes quickly erased him with a 34 ½” beauty on Saturday as well. Jason Hartling got into the act with a huge 42’ Northern on Sunday which he caught while working a weed line for walleyes, his fish ended up being the top northern of the week. We have seen some cooler weather now and hopefully the rains will continue to sweep across our area and bring some much needed moisture to the area, we will talk again soon, Jim from Wabaskang

August 8th

Here we are at the end of another week at Wabaskang Camp. The walleye fishing continues to be great for most of our guests with almost all of the fish coming out of ten to twelve feet of water. A white jig and minnow combination seemed to work as good as anything but a spinner rig and worm was just as effective for many of our guests. It seems the fish are staying shallow and feeding on the huge populations of baitfish in the lake this season. Corey Katzung started things off this week with a nice 23 ½” fish only to see Mark Kline from California bring in a 24” whopper, next youngster Todd Peterson landed and released a 25” walleye to move to first place but by weeks end Mark Kline jumped back to the top spot with a nice 26” fish, he caught most of his big walleyes on sandcats while fishing the weed beds for northern. The northern fishing was good as well this week with lots of big fish being caught and most were released. Sarah Peterson jumped onto the big fish leader board early on with a 39” fish which she released, next Kevin Halla bumped her off  the board with a 39 ½” monster, Bonnie Oliver showed all the fellas in camp how it is done by releasing a huge 40” fish which she expertly caught using light tackle while fishing for walleyes. We thought she was going to win top honors when along came Gene Katzung who released a monster 41” northern to take top honors for the week, he also caught his fish on light tackle while trolling for walleyes with a spinner and minnow combination. The bass fishing has slowed some now with the best bite being early and late along reeds and rock piles, once again youngster Todd Peterson managed to land and release a huge 18” bass to win top honors for the week. We are still very dry here and there is not much rain in the extended forecast, the lake level is still adequate and the fish are still biting so we will just keep plugging along and hope for some wet weather in the near future, lots of fires north of us but nothing close right now, we will talk again soon, take care, this is Jim from Wabaskang.

August 2nd

Good morning from Wabaskang Camp. We have gone through the tenth week of our season now and there is only nine more weeks of fishing to go. It has been very dry here this month and there is not a lot of rain in the forecast. The lake levels are below normal but there is still lots of water so there is no problem getting anywhere you want to go on the lake. The walleye bite has been moving to deeper water the last week or so with lots of limits of fish coming out of 20’ to 27’ of water on jigs and minnows or trolling spinner rigs with a minnow or night crawler, there has also been a good deep water trolling bite in the mornings and evenings over 30’ to 60’ of water using crank baits and stick baits that dive to about six feet and attract the suspended fish that are feeding on the huge schools of ciscos and other bait fish holding over deep water areas. So far we have had decent fishing each week and week 10 was no exception. The  bass fishing was spotty early in the week but if you worked the reeds and rock piles in the mornings and evenings you could catch lots of the feisty fish, our big bass of the week belongs to Rick Sims, he released a fat 18 ½” monster back into the lake. We saw lots of big northern again this week as well, you just had to be at the right place at the right time to capitalize on the feeding frenzy that took place in certain weed beds each day. Dennis started things off on day one with a nice 29” he released only to see Rhett Lammers slide past him with a 32” fish, not to be out done, big brother Reid comes out of nowhere to take first place with a released 39 ½” monster northern that fell victim to a Sandcat bait, Reid was talking trash for the next few days before Bob Schellhorn  back slapped him into second place by catching a trophy 40” fish, after a few days of whining Reid Lammers found a 42” monster northern to vault him into the top spot on the leader board, Along come my buddy Jeret Wunsch and right in front of Reids tearful eyes he pulls in a trophy sized northern that was so close to beating or tying Reids fish that we went ahead and called it 41 ¾’ just so little Reid wouldn’t sit down in the bottom of the boat and cry the rest of the day. Our Walleye fishing was exceptional as well this week; most of our fishermen were fishing deep water--- 20’ or more with a jig and minnow combination. We saw numerous limits of nice sized fish each day and also had some whoppers released this week as well. Cindy Luhring started the competition off on Sunday with a 23” fish only to see Don Heim and Roger Luhring land 24” fish, Big Rich Luhring  and Mike Lammers each caught a 25” fish  on Sunday to keep the leader board interesting, Most of these fish were caught using a jig and minnow combination in 22’ to 27’ of water, Bob Schellhorn upped the stakes with a nice 26” walleye he released on Tuesday only to see  fishing phenom Jaret Wunsch land a trophy 29 ½” monster walleye that is going on the wall. He caught his fish trolling over 60’ of water with a 6” Sandcat lure, poor little Reid Lammers failed to rally at the end of the week and had to settle for first place in the Northern category and was a no-show as far as trophy walleye fishing goes, maybe he should give Jeret a call and get some pointers for next years trip. Lets hope for some rain this week, stay in touch, that’s all for now from Wabaskang Camp.

July 24th

Here we are again, another week has flown by and I have lots of fishing news to report. Week nine of the season had some of the hottest weather we have seen in years and some of the strongest sustained winds that I have ever seen. We had five days of temperatures in the low to mid nineties and high humidity which made the days almost unbearable. Almost no wind early in the week meant for some tough fishing for most of our guests. Susan Mincks got things started with a nice 36 ½” northern on her first day out. Craig Mericle landed a nice 23” walleye on Sunday to get things started in the walleye category. Hot weather and calm days followed and the fishing suffered on our end of the lake. By Thursday the weather had done a 35 degree change from hot to cold and the wind blew all day on Thursday, sometimes over 60 miles an hour, the fish started to turn on and our guests took advantage of the cooler temperatures and had good catches of walleyes and northern. Reid Lammers and Matt Howard each had 25” walleyes to take top honors for the week and Bill Mincks had two 41” northern this week as well to easily out-shine the rest of the fishermen in camp. I must say that all our guests worked extremely hard for their fish but in the end everyone had plenty of fish to eat while in camp and most managed to take their limits home. The weather has cooled down to the seventies now and the up-coming week should be a good week for fishing, we will talk again soon, this is Jim from Wabaskang.

July 23rd

Hello again from Wabaskang Camp. Sorry we have not updated our news site for a few weeks but I will try to be more prompt the rest of the season. Week eight was a week of mild temperatures and dry weather. We had a camp full of fellas from Missouri and points south so the fish saw a ton of spinner baits all week. Roy Green was here for his second trip this season and made the board and ended up with the big fish of the week honors in the Walleye category with his respectable 24” fish. We saw some good bass fishing this week as well, Kyle Ulrich landed a 17” beauty but Brother Brett knocked him out of the top spot with a gigantic 19” fish. Most of our bass were caught throwing spinner baits along the rocky shore lines and along the weed edges. The weeds have thickened up good now and are holding good populations of big northern. Jason Comer started things off with a nice 36 ½” fish, along came Jerrod Yarger who quickly took over first place with a 38 ½” pike. Sam Pickle, who drove all the way from Oklahoma to see us pulled into a tie with Jerrod with his 38 ½” beauty only to see Jesse Blevins hammer the competition with his huge 42” trophy fish which is going home for the wall. Still hot and dry now and no good rains in the forecast, stay in-touch and we will have all the news from week nine soon, talk soon, Jim from Wabaskang.

July 13th

Good morning from Wabaskang Camp. Just wanted to update all our friends out there on how the fishing was last week. We have had an exceptional year so far and the fishing continues to be top-notch as we move into week nine of the season. The weeds have finally thickened up some now and the big pike are beginning to chase the big baits. We had lots of slot fish last week and some real monsters as well. Reid Lammers and Bryan Butcher both released 39” fish, both were caught throwing Sandcats along and over the weed beds. Evan Neihouser released a beautiful 40” fish which he caught on light tackle while fishing for walleyes, Kristy Lammers also released a 40” monster that she caught while casting a Sandcat over the weed beds. We had lots of big-time northern fishermen in camp this week but the top fish goes to the youngest fella in camp. Rhett Lammers managed to catch and release a monster 43” Pike that hit a Sandcat being trolled behind a planer board; he definitely kicked his Brother Reid’s butt this week---great job Rhett. Our Walleye fishing was slow early in the week with a Mayfly hatch going on. By the end of the week we had a very respectable number of big Walleyes being released. Kristy Lammers released a 26” fish, Mike Lammers caught and released a 26 ½” Walleye, and two 28” monsters as well, most of these big fish came on sandcats while fishing for Northern Pike. Jeannie Snyder outdid her husband Kevin with a beautiful 28” fish which she released as well. It seemed like the ladies in camp this week had the fellas number, Christy Butcher landed a beautiful 28 ¾’ fish while her hubby Bryan watched with wide eyed amazement and envy, she is taking the fish home to go on the wall—better luck next time Bryan. Our Bass fishing was second to none again this week for the guests that were up early and were throwing top-water and tube jigs, Marty Neihouser had more than one 18” bass this week but as usual his “buddy” Tim Wuethrich stole the show (and the hat) with a 19 ¾” hog.  We are in need of some rain now but the lake level is still slightly above normal, everyone take care and we will chat again soon, Jim

July 5th

Greetings from Wabaskang Camp. We have progressed to week six now and the fishing has continued to impress us all. The walleye fishing remains top notch, we are seeing several year classes being caught and the big fish seem to be hanging around in shallow water which makes them easier to find and catch. Many of our guests are using the standard jig and minnow combination with great success. The walleyes also were taking night crawlers trolled in shallow water next to the weed lines. Cade Sandager caught a nice 22 ½” fish, Gerald Hinkemeyer had a 23 ½’’ fish, Leo Fortenberry made the board with a beautiful 23 ¾” fish, but the week belonged to Joel Sandager, he released a 27” monster and a huge 29” walleye, both were caught while casting for northern along the weedy points and bays, he had a week he will never forget. Our northern fishing this week was tough going for many of our guests, it seems the bigger fish are hanging out along the many weedy and points where the walleyes are and they are eating small walleyes and minnows and don’t seem to be interested in chasing the big baits. The felas in camp that did cast for northern still caught fish but not the numbers they are use to. First timer Cade Sandager released a 35’’ fish, Bob Compton released a 36” northern, Gerald Hinkemeyer also released a nice 36” fish, Katie Little had top honors for a day with her 38 ½” monster but her husband Ryan knocked her out of first place with a monster 42” fish, the weeds are growing fast now and our northern fishing should be rocking and rolling by next week. We had some good bass fishing this week as well. Dave Wentlandt released a 18” bass and Bob Compton released a huge 191/2” bass to take top honors, he also released a 25” musky this week as well I would say he had a pretty good week. We are seeing a mayfly hatch this week so the walleyes will be well fed and may be a bit difficult to catch the next few days, the weather has been warm and dry and the lake is still a bit high but is going down some each day, we will talk again soon, Jim from Wabaskang.

June 30th

Good morning to all of you out there. We had another great week of fishing here at Wabaskang Camp. Week 5 was a week of exceptional walleye fishing. Our guests had days of 75 fish or better per boat, many of the fish were over 22” and most were released.  The walleyes are still holding close to the weeds in shallow water, usually around 10 to 12 feet. Our guests had great success using a lindy rig type set-up tipped with a minnow or worm. The mayfly hatch has begun but it is a smaller hatch than most years and hasn’t really affected the fishing much. Some of our guests also caught walleyes trolling  crankbaits along the weed lines , the bigger fish seemed to come from  isolated weed pockets next to deep water, we did have one group that did extremely well fishing shallow rock piles with the jig and minnow combination, Connor, Mark, and Ward Jankus all had fish in the 25” and 26” range, they released all the bigger fish as well, Dave Woolard and his buddy Monty Green each released a 25” walleye as well, top honors goes to Glenn Grooters this week, he caught and released a beautiful 27” fish which he caught using a night crawler. Our northern fishing is still a little slow; the weeds haven’t thickened up much yet so most of the big beauties are just roaming the shallow weed lines waiting for a meal to present itself. When the weeds thicken up some, probably another ten days or so the big fish will gather in those areas and be easier to find and catch. Josh Hardin caught a nice 36” northern, his first trip here and his first big Northern, it is going home for the wall, the biggest northern of the week goes to Marty Robbins, he also is mounting his 38 ½’ trophy, his father Bob also lost a huge fish at the boat that may have knocked son Marty out of first place if they could have gotten it into the boat. Big bass were caught this week as well, they are on again and off again because of the unstable weather and high water, the spawn is winding down now and the bass are beginning to move to more traditional spots like rock piles and reedy points, Marty Robbins released a 173/4’ fish, Josh Hardin released a 18” beauty, and Monty Green took top honors this week with a monster 19” trophy, he quickly released the fish back to fight another day. We should see some great walleye fishing again next week and hopefully the northern pike will begin their normal Summer feeding patterns and start churning the water looking for an easy meal, we will talk again soon, Jim from Wabaskang..

June 20th

Another great week here at Wabaskang Camp. Week number four finally saw mainly sunny skies and mild temperatures. Our guests had great fishing all week and everyone seemed to catch plenty of fish. Last week we didn’t talk about bass and I wanted to say that we did have some nice fish caught that week. The bass seemed to be undecided about rather to get serious about spawning or just hang around the spawning beds and wait for the water to warm some yet. Ron Mcfadden released a beautiful 18” bass early in the week only to have the sly and sneaky Bob Baker edge him out with a 18 ¾” fish later the same day, he was excited to learn he had the big bass of the week and as it turned out the biggest of the season up until the fellas came in on week four. As far as bass go for week five we had lots of big fish released and saw numbers of bass caught each day on different baits and in different areas of the lake. Reid Lammers and Brian Kinzy both released 18” beauties on Saturday the 11th, Brady Codner and Kevin “grumpy old man” Reints both landed trophy sized 19” bass, the biggest bass of the week belonged to Andy Schmitz, he released a 19 1/2 “ bronze back to take top honors. Surface baits and tube jigs worked well if you fished the shallow reeds next to the spawning areas. Our walleye fishing was great once again this week with many different year classes coming in each day. The week started off with Brady Norton catching and releasing a 23” walleye, Craig Codner released a 25” marble eye, and Dale Wilson came along and slammed a huge 27” fish, his personal best so far. He thought he had top honors for the week only to have Bernie Stankewicz slip under the wire with a huge 28 ½” walleye. Also his best ever and it earned him the big fish of the week award. Most of our guests were using minnows on a jig or hook and sinker, fished in shallow water almost any time of the day. The best depth seemed to be around 12 feet. We saw some huge northern as well this week. Some were caught casting medium sized stick baits and some were caught using live bait. Matt Kinzy released a nice 34” fish using a mepps spinner as his lure of choice, Reid Lammers released a 36” northern caught on a sandcat, Ron Allan managed to wrestle a 37 ½” fish to the boat for a quick picture, he was using light tackle while fishing for walleyes with a minnow. Dan Schmitz caught and released a 39” fish as did Craig Codner. Kevin Reints held top honors for less than two hours with his torpedo sized 40” northern only to have Bill Wilson smash him off the leader board with the biggest northern of the season so far, a 44 ½’ monster caught on a sucker in shallow water, he released this trophy fish after a few quick pictures. The weather seems to be calming down now and we are seeing water temperatures in the upper sixties now, lots of good fishing to be had this week so check in with us later to find out who caught what, bye for now, Jim from Wabaskang

June 14th

Hello again from Wabaskang Camp. It has been over a week now since we have added any new camp news to our site so there is lots to talk about. We have seen lots of rain here at camp and the lake has gone up almost a foot in the last week or so. The fishing has been good throughout the season and last week was no exception. Most of our guests are fishing the shallow water areas near any type of submerged weeds using a number 6 gold hook tipped with a minnow or piece of crawler, the rig is slowly pulled along the bottom in about ten to twelve feet of water. Don Wauthier got things going with a beautiful 24” walleye, Ron McFadden and Lance Loger each had respectable 25 ½” fish and Randy Cook won top honors with  handsome 27 ¾” Walleye which was quickly released. Chris Tucker also had a 26’ walleye released to fight another day. Our resident Lake Trout expert Jim Loger from Dike Iowa managed to land a nice trout again this week, he released a beautiful 26” fish to take top honors for the week, and he earned a nice blue hat for his trouble. Lots of good Northern this week as well but they were tougher to come by than in other weeks, not a lot of weeds showing up yet so the northern are scattered and not very aggressive. Bob Kinzy showed his son and grandkids how it is done by boating and releasing two 36” monsters, Richard Kalpinski  also released a 36” northern but once again Wayne Gajewski blew the competition away with a gigantic 41” northern which was also released. We will try to add more pictures soon, lots of moose sightings on the lake and a driver even hit one at the end of our road last weekend, that’s all for now, talk again soon, Jim

June 6th

Hello again from Wabaskang camp. Week number two was a wild week of fishing and weather. The walleye fishing was outstanding if you were using live bait such as minnows and crawlers but if you were throwing tube baits or small stick baits the going was tough. It seemed like we just couldn’t find a consistent fishing pattern that would hold up for more than a day or so. Most of our walleyes were caught using small jigs dressed with a small minnow or piece of worm, the fish came out of three to eight feet of water and we saw more than six different year classes in the same areas. The fellas also used a small gold hook and split shot dressed with a minnow to catch a ton of walleyes. Joe Barnes released a 24” fish, Rich Pease released a 25” walleye, Chris Tucker released a beautiful 27” walleye, and Mike Pease released a huge 27 ½” walleye to take top honors for the week.  Smallmouth Bass fishing had good days and bad days, some days you could see the big females moving around the beds and then another weather system would blow through and scatter the bass. We had one morning when the wind blew so hard some of the private boats actually broke loose from the dock and drifted to shore. When you have wild weather the fish seem to move constantly and keep everyone guessing as to where and what they are feeding on. In spite of the wicked weather Mike Pease released a giant 18 ½’ fish and youngster Jarrett Hulsen also managed to bring a football sized 18 ½’ bass to the boat, of course all the big bass were released after a few quick pictures.  Our Northern Pike fishing was good this week but most of the anglers we had in camp were walleye fishermen. Rich Pease released a 36” northern and Joe Barnes released a giant 40” fish to take top honors for the week. Both fish were taken on light tackle while fishing shallow water for Walleyes and Perch. The Perch are on the beds or near the beds now and were easily caught if you knew where to go, the biggest Perch of the week were caught by Jerrett Hulsen, a 12” perch and Mitch Kleinschmidt had a 12 ¼’ perch. The end of the week saw almost three inches of rain on Friday morning and more rain through this weekend. The lake is high again now and somewhat cloudy but fishing has held up fairly well and so far this week we have a 27 ¾’ walleye released by Randy Cook and a nice 18 ½’ bass released by Bob Baker, Bob Kinzy also says the northern are getting more active and invading the shallows looking for an easy meal, he released a 36” fish on Saturday. We will talk again soon; this is all for now, thanks, Jim from Wabaskang.  

May 30th

Well here we are again, finally getting around to writing an update for week one of the 2011 season. All of our guests enjoyed some great spring weather this week along with some exceptional fishing most days. The leader board ended up with a four way struggle for top spot for the biggest bass of the week. Reid McCord released a 18 ¼” fish and didn’t fall out of the boat this time, Dean Harlan landed and released a beautiful 18 ¼” fish as well, Pat Munger came along and caught and released a huge 18 ½” beauty only to have Tyler Harlan edge him out in the final hours of the week with a football sized 18 ¾” smallie. All in all the fishing was superb considering the up and down weather we experienced all week long, we had a high one day early in the week of 77 degrees and saw a low of 26 degrees on Wednesday morning, and Julie’s tomato plant did not do so well. Lots of baitfish flooding the shallows now and the week ahead shows some warmer air coming in by midweek so the shallows should warm enough to bring the big female bass to their beds and the huge northern should begin to wake up and become more active chasing tube baits and spinners. Hope everyone enjoyed the pictures from this week and there will be more soon, time to pick up the trash and clean the fish house, talk later, Jim

May 25th

Greetings from Jim and Julies Wabaskang Camp. Well the season is off and running and some fantastic fishing is here for the taking. We had some beautiful warm weather on Friday and Saturday but Sunday and Monday brought cooler temperatures and light rain, on Tuesday morning everyone woke up to snow flurries. As far as fishing goes there has been some big fish caught and lots of eaters as well. The bass seem to be a bit undecided about setting up to spawn yet or not. Most of the bass being taken this week so far have come from the weedy banks and points next to deeper water, almost all the bass have been the smaller males but we did manage to see Kevin Johnson catch and release a nice 18” fish and Dean Harlan did him one better with a 18 ¼” beauty also quickly released. The walleyes have been real shallow, usually in three feet of water or less. Most of our guests have been using a split shot and small minnow pulled slowly across the soft bottom to catch fish, some of our friends from Missouri use only soft tube baits or top water baits and have done equally as well. The three biggest so far this week include Terry Lauer with a 26’ monster released, Josh Lembrich also with a 26” beauty and top honors so far this week belong to Steve Taylor with a 26 ¼” trophy, all three fish were released after a quick picture. Lots of big northerns roaming the shallows right now gobbling up an occasional small walleye or perch. We have had lots of fish taken so far on light tackle or sucker rigs, Butch Schultz brought in a 36” fish, Carlie Harlan released a fish around 33”, Mike Schultz released a 38’ fish, Kevin Johnson released a 39 5/8” monster, brothers Scott Munger and Lee Munger went toe to toe with Lee’s 42” torpedo just beating Scott’s 39” beauty, both fish were released. Mike Schultz also landed a 40” monster that looked like it was a log coming through the water. We did have one lake trout caught by Bob Ayres who was guided by Ron Johannes, a 30” beauty that he plans on making a replica of when he returns home. The perch are setting up on their spawning beds now and the big females should slide up out of the deeper water any day now and we should have some fantastic perch angling going on. That’s all for now, it’s time for bed for me, this is Jim at Wabaskang saying goodnight.

May 16, 2011

Hello from Jim and Julie to all our friends. We have been very busy opening up camp and getting everything ready for our first guests that will arrive on Thursday. I have been here since the 25th of April and the ice went off the lake on May 9th. When the ice pulled away from the dock it drug about a third of the dock right over the steel poles and broke some welds but we were able to repair everything and should have everything as good as new before the season starts. The weather has been really nice the last two weeks with little rain and lots of sunshine. Julie arrived here on the 8th of May and she has all the cabins ready to go and just needs to wash some windows and get the lodge in order. We will be very busy the next few days with all those finishing touches but we are looking forward to our 12th season here at camp. Hopefully we will be posting some nice fish pictures on our site soon and everyone will catch a real dose of Wabaskang fever. Take care and we will see many of you soon.

Camp News

2010

DECEMBER 2010

A warm holiday greeting from Jim, Julie and Annie of Wabaskang Camp. We wish everyone a wonderful holiday season. We have owned the camp for eleven years now and we are looking forward to the upcoming season as if it was our first. Our guests make each year more and more enjoyable and  we enjoy seeing all of you year after year.  We know that the tough economic times have hurt us all in one way or another and we pray that the years ahead will see a return to more prosperous times.

The 2010 season was one for the record books in terms of rain. We  had another season of high water and cool temperatures. The floating dock kept everyone’s feet high and dry but without it we would have been in big trouble, the dock is nine years old now and was worth every penny. We made lots of improvements around camp again this season, I managed to rewire every cabin in one way or another and add outlets to all the bedrooms. It was a tough summer to get much painting done but we were able to paint a few cabins and do some touch-up painting on a few others, hopefully 2011 will be warm and somewhat dryer so we can get the rest of the painting done. We did more upgrading on our water system again this season, we now chlorinate the water before it is pushed through the lines to your cabin. Each season I manage to cut trees and brush along the power line into camp, this Fall we had to replace some rotten poles as well, it seems as if this job is a never ending one that will always be there to work on no matter how much time you spend trimming and cutting during the year. When the season was winding down we replaced six hot water tanks, I removed them from the attics of the cabins to boxes mounted on the outside of the bathroom walls, this way they are easy to work on and any leaks just run onto the ground and not through the ceiling into the cabin. The new heaters will recover quicker and give you hot water without much of a wait between showers. The heavy rain during the season meant we had to replace smaller culverts with larger ones and also add new culverts in spots along the road that normally had no water problems, we also put in new culverts around camp to keep the water away from the launch  area and away from Cabin #9, hopefully this should solve the problems we had with heavy rain last year. After Julie left for home and I was on my own I replaced the floor in the lodge and redid all the plumbing in the bathroom and kitchen. Still lots of work to do around camp but we accomplished almost everything we wanted to this season.

Fishing was superb on Wabaskang again this season, we had lots of eaters and numerous trophy fish released this year.  The perch fishermen in camp did well early in the season fishing on the South end of the lake using bobbers and bits of night crawlers or small jigs dangled on a bobber in about three feet of water, the spawn for perch was the first part of June this year and if you had the right spot you could catch your limit of fish in a few hours. Many of our guests brought in fish around 12 inches long. The average fish were in the 9 to 11 inch range.

Smallmouth Bass fishing was great again this season as well. Most of the fish were caught on tube jigs and small crank baits early in the season and bigger cranks and top water baits through the Summer, as Fall came along many of our guests took bass down as deep as 30 feet on a jig and minnow combination. I have been fishing Wabaskang lake for over 40 years now and early on you rarely saw any good catches of bass in size and number, now our guests can easily catch a limit of bass almost anywhere on the lake in a few hours with many of the fish over 18 inches. A few of the bass released or mounted were:

 
Dean Harlan 18 ¼” bass released  5/15/10
Norby Reiff 19” bass released  5/19/10
Blake Johnson 18 ½” bass released  5/24/10
Blake Johnson 19 ¼” bass released  5/29/10
Steve Sauer 18” bass released  5/30/10
Gary Spatz 19 ½” bass released  5/31/10
Dan Schmitz 19” bass released  6/6/10
Mike Lammers 19 ½” bass released  6/7/10
Bob Michaud 18 ½” bass released  6/16/10
Joe Nunlist Jr. 18 ½” bass  6/20/10
Marty Neihouser 18” bass released  6/27/10
Tim Wuethrich 19” bass released  6/30/10
Roy Green 18” bass released  7/11/10
Cassidy Askildson 18” bass mounted  7/26/10
Marge Schurman 18” bass released  8/19/10
 
Steve Young 18” bass released  8/26/10
 
         
The Walleye fishing on Wabaskang was second to none in my opinion this year, we had numerous big fish released as well as tons of eater sized fish. The “hogs” were taken on huge top water baits trolled over deep water weed tops, we also saw some big fish taken the traditional way using a jig and minnow. We had big fish taken each week, some in shallow water and some in deep. Here are a few of the bigger Walleyes released or mounted:
          
 
Dean Harlan 27 1/2” walleye released  5/16/10
Mike White 27” walleye mounted  5/28/10
Ken Scheidt 28” walleye mounted  5/28/10
Ann Peterson 27” walleye released  6/14/10
Ryan Little 28” walleye  released  6/22/10
Brandon Schroeder 27” walleye mounted  6/26/10
Kenny Fouts 28 ¼” walleye  released  6/26/10
Marty Neihouser 29” walleye released  6/27/10
Jaret Wunsch 29” walleye released  7/20/10
Chad Peterson  30” walleye released  7/28/10
Tim Schaeffer  27 ½” walleye released  8/17/10
Doyle Brocka  27 ½” walleye  released  9/14/10
Chas Ratz 27” walleye released  9/18/10
 

The Northern  Pike fishing was great  some weeks and somewhat tough on others. Many of the big fish were taken on huge stick baits while casting or trolling over deep weed lines.  The best fishing seemed to be on cloudy days near deep rock piles, it just seem to be that someone would get into the fish and have the best Pike fishing of their lives then go back to the same spot the next day and come up with nothing. The fish were following the big schools of bait fish most of the season and if you were in the right spot at the right time you came up big. Here are just a few of the bigger fish either released or mounted:
              
 
Kevin Johnson 41 ¼” northern released  5/15/10
Dan Taylor 43” northern released  5/17/10
Bill Kleinschmidt  42 ½” northern released  5/25/10
Wayne Gajewski 40 ¾’ northern released  5/31/10
Kevin Reints  39” northern released  6/5/10
Derek Bagwell 42” northern released  6/7/10
Ron Phippen 40 1/8” northern  released  6/13/10
Dave Wentlandt 41” northern released  6/24/10
Bryce Wentlandt 41” northern released  6/24/10
Izak Christensen  39” northern released  6/28/10
Kristy Lammers 40” northern released  6/29/10
Rhett Lammers 41” northern released  6/30/10
Kenny Schroeder 43” northern  mounted  6/30/10 (it took you long enough)
Chad Hawker 39” northern released  7/4/10
Chad Hawker 39 ½” northern released  7/8/10
James Hagen 39”  northern released  7/10/10
Kady Mericle 41” northern released  7/12/10
Roy Green  41 ¼” northern released  7/15/10
Jaret Wunsch 39” northern released  7/18/10
Brian Boevers 42” northern mounted  7/23/10
Bill Mincks 44” northern released  7/22/10
Rodney Askildson 39” northern released  8/2/10
Mike Lammers 41” northern released  8/13/10
Ivan Harken 39 ¾” northern released  8/15/10
Ed Rasmussen 45” northern released  8/20/10
J.J. Hansel 39 ½” northern released  8/21/10
J.J. Hansel 40 ½” northern released  8/22/10
Mike Lammers 41” northern released  8/12/10
Kevin Reints 41” northern released  8/25/10
Gary Shaver 40” northern released  8/30/10
Jim Bulten 42” northern released  8/30/10
Joel Demro 39 ½” northern released  9/9/10
Curt Schurman 39  ¾” northern released  9/11/10
Vern Hanus  40 ½” northern released 9/14/10
 
          
The Lake Trout  fishing was productive to those that chose to give it a try. Most of the trout were caught in deep water in the months of June, July, and August. The best bait was a blue and silver spoon fished anywhere from 40 to 60 feet. We also had a few trout caught in shallower water early and late in the season, here are a few of the larger fished caught.

Mike Schultz 27” trout  5/17/10
Mark Lewandowski  29” trout  6/29/10
Paul Dennert 32” trout  6/29/10
Eric Siech 30 ½” trout  released  8/2/10
Tom Gloviak 22” trout  released  9/15/10
Peter Linsmeier  23 ¾” trout  9/17/10

Normally we don’t have very many Muskies caught during the season. This year we had two huge Muskies caught. The first fish was caught and released by Garrett Hancock from Indiana. He managed to skillfully catch and release a monster 51” fish, the second Musky was caught by Joel Demro from Minnesota, [ grew up in Iowa ], he landed a beautiful 39 ½’ fish which was also released.

Julie and I are both back to work  at Kay and L Draperies now. We took two days and went on a little vacation to the Amana Colonies over Thanksgiving,  We will be very busy from now on answering phone calls and returning e-mails from people inquiring about camp. The 2011 season looks to be as busy as ever, lets all hope the economy continues to pick up steam and we all have a good year.  

You do need a passport to enter  and exit Canada by air as of June 2009. A passport is required for land entry to Canada effective June 2009 for those citizens age 19 and older. For complete details on the latest laws regarding passports check out the website: http://travelwithkids.about.com/od/insurancedocuments/a/passports.htm

For border information call  (204) 983-3500 or (506) 636-5064 , the phone number for the bridge at Fort Francis is (807) 274-3655

Julie and I are looking forward to the Spring of 2011. We have many projects to work on again this upcoming season. We will probably head North sometime after April 21st, 2011. Last year the weather was wonderful and made opening up camp an enjoyable chore. Our opening for Walleye is May 21st, 2011, that will be our first day of the new season. We mailed out the reservation forms to many of you and if you haven’t returned them to us yet please do so right away, we have quite a few groups that are looking for a particular week that is currently reserved so the quicker you and your group can get back to us the sooner we can finalize the reservation book for the new season. We won’t be able to hold your cabin without some type of correspondence  from you before December 15th, 2010. You can always e-mail us at stay@wabaskangcamp.com or call us at (319) 352-5559 and leave a message, I will try to get back to you right away. We will not be doing any sports shows again this year, we only have a very limited number of openings for the 2011 season.

We want to wish all of you a great holiday season and we are looking forward to seeing everyone again next season, take care and start thinking about the good times ahead.

Jim, Julie and Annie
Wabaskang Camp

November

We are both back home now, the weather was wonderful this fall and I hated to leave camp but we are looking forward to next season with great anticipation. I managed to replace six electric water heaters this fall along with installing a new floor in the lodge. We added new culverts on the road and around camp as well this fall. I managed to slip out one day with Ginger and catch a nice limit of Walleyes. Our moose hunters had a good week of hunting; they saw some nice animals and Matt White shot a nice bull on the second day of their hunt. The fellas also caught many nice walleyes during the week. We will be working on our Christmas letter now and should have it in the mail to our guests soon, many of you with reservations for next season will be receiving your reservation forms in the mail this week, please be sure to get them back to us no later than the fifteenth of December with your deposit or let us know your intentions, thanks to everyone who came to camp and spent time with us this season, take care and start thinking about the great fishing to come, thanks, Jim and Julie

September 26th

Evening everyone, one more week to go and the 2010 season is in the books. Week 19 saw tons of good Walleyes and a couple of days of exceptional Northern fishing. We had mostly veteran Wabaskang fishermen in camp this week along with just a couple of rookies. Chas Ratz, one of the new fellas in camp seemed to catch on fast and ended up winning top honors for the biggest Walleye of the week, he landed and released a beautiful 27 inch fish that he was certainly proud of.  Leroy Hennen, one of the Wabaskang Camp veterans in camp had a great week as well. He managed to make the board with a 17 inch Smallmouth Bass, a 26 inch Musky and a 38 inch Northern, all of which he released after a few quick pictures. Other big Northern caught in camp were : Chas Ratz with a 36 incher, Matt Krueger had a 37 ½ incher, Chris Silbernagel  also had a 37 ½ inch fish and Craig Plekkenpol, with the first 38 incher of the week took top honors for big Pike of the week. The weather has fallen into the fall patterns now with cool damp days and a wind of about twelve miles an hour each day, we saw three frosts this week with a hard frost on the 25th, our Moose hunters will be in camp this week and all indications are they will have some good hunting ahead of them, hope you all enjoyed the camp pictures this season and hopefully we will have some moose pictures to add this week, bye for now from Wabaskang Camp.

September 22nd

Hello again from Wabaskang Camp. Our season is coming to an end with only two weeks remaining. Last week saw incredible Walleye fishing but tough Northern fishing. We had a camp full of experienced fishermen and it was “game on” between the different groups. Most of our big Northern were caught fishing deep water for Walleyes, many fish in the 24” to 27”  range were routinely caught each day in 30’ of water using a lindy rig or jig and minnow, we did have a few fellas that showed us when the going gets tough the tough get going, Dave Harms released a 36 1/2” beauty, Curt Schurman came to play with a 39 3/4'” monster but the Allison boys were once again blown off the board by the gang from Waterloo – Cedar Falls, Vern Hanus put everyone in their place with a gigantic 40 ½” torpedo sized Northern, all three of these fish were also released after a few quick pictures. We also saw a few lake trout come in this week, one was caught by Tom Gloviak, a nice 22” fish and a second one caught by Pete Linsmier, his fish was just under 24” long. A few of our guests tried their hand at bass fishing, we had lots of small fish being caught but the biggest fish was caught by a rookie at camp, Matt Weilhamer managed to land a pie plate sized fish just over 18” long, good job Matt. The real hero in camp this week was Doyle Broka, he managed to win top honors for the biggest Walleye with a beautiful 27 ½” fish, he was later tied by Jim Anderson who also caught and released his 27 ½’” fish as well, Doyle and Jim showed everyone what it takes to catch a big Walleye. These fellas have lots of patience and infinite skill at a level so high their fishing partners can only dream about, maybe Doyle can teach his buddies some new techniques next season. Week 19 is here and so far the Walleye fishing is as good as ever, we will see if the Northern fishing makes a comeback this week, that’s all for now, Jim from Wabaskang.

September 14th

Hello from Wabaskang Camp, another week has passed with great fishing still the norm. The windy and wet fall weather is still in the forecast for this week and most of next but the fishing is worth the effort. We had some serious walleye fishermen in camp this week with lots of 18 to 24 inch fish being caught. Most of the walleyes were caught in 30 to 40 feet of water on a jig and minnow combo or on a lindy rig with a large minnow. The walleyes are staging in deep water hanging around the schools of bait fish that are abundant all over the lake. Don Gutknecht pretty much stole the show this week by catching and releasing many big walleyes, the biggest being a nice 26 1/2'” beauty which was quickly released. Our northern fishing was good this week if you could find some weeds to cast in, the truth of the matter is most of the quality fish were caught while walleye fishing deep water. Don Gutknecht released a 34” northern but top honors goes to Keith Oelmann who released a nice 39 ½” fish caught in deep water while fishing for walleyes. Keith also had top honors this week for his 17” bass just edging out Ed Rasmussen and Robert Rathe, both fellas had nice 16 ½” bass to brag about. We had another musky caught this week here at Wabaskang, Joel Demro skillfully caught and released a beautiful 39 ½’ monster, good job Joel. We are looking forward to week 18, the weather is turning colder each day and the fishing should be fantastic for weeks to come, we are closing the camp ground down now because of the frosty mornings and the promise of cold weather in the forecast, we will talk again soon, goodbye from Wabaskang.

September 8th

Hello from Wabaskang Camp. Week 16 is in the books for 2010 and we had some great fishing to brag about. The week started off with temperatures near 85 degrees and high humidity, by the end of the week we struggled to reach 50 degrees for a high. The walleyes were stacking up on deep water humps and rock piles in huge numbers. Most of our guests used a slip sinker and gold hook to catch their fish; we saw nice limits of fish most days even though the weather has been so unpredictable. First timer Dave Sproul won the big fish of the week with his 28 inch walleye. Our northern fishing was tough this week for the fellas actually fishing for northern, it seemed that most of the big fish are following the schools of walleyes around and not roaming the weed lines like most fall fishermen would think. We had some huge northern caught and released this week by our walleye fishermen. Gary Shaver released a monster 40 inch beauty only to see James Bulten wipe him off the leader board with a huge 42 incher which was also released. Pretty good anglers if they can land fish of this size with light walleye tackle. We saw limited smallmouth bass fishing action this week because most of our guests were targeting walleyes. Another new comer to camp, Marty Bess was able to win top honors with his 17 ¼ inch bronze beauty, not bad for Marty. We look forward to week 17, hopefully the weather will cooperate and our guests will be able to enjoy some sunshine for most of the week. We will update again soon, so far this week the walleye fishing has been second to none, we will see if the pattern hold s true throughout the week, bye for now, Jim at Wabaskang.

August 30th

Greetings from Wabaskang Camp. We had another interesting week here at camp. The Walleye fishing has been good all season but this past week saw numbers and good average size for all our guests in camp. Most of the bigger fish were coming out of 25 to 35 feet of water on a jig and minnow combination or a lindy Rig with a minnow, some of our guests were using night crawlers and did good as well. The biggest Walleye of the week was caught by Craig Mericle, a nice 26 ½” beauty.  We had some success this week casting for big Northern Pike, most fish were caught along the weed lines using big Bull Dogs and Sandcats, J.J. Hansel released a  40 ½” , Kevin Reints and Mike Lammers both released 41” fish to finish the week tied for top honors.  Our Smallmouth Bass fishing was spotty this week, most fish were caught on a jig and twister tail combo or just a bobber and worm, Susan Langfritz caught and released a beautiful 16 ¾” fish only to be clobbered on the last day by Steve Young who caught and released a monster 18” beauty. The weather has warmed again this week, highs the last few days close to ninety degrees, should cool off tonight and the rest of the week is cooler than normal, we are seeing the trees beginning to change colors now and Fall is just around the corner, bye for now, Wabaskang Camp.

August 23rd

Hello from Wabaskang Camp. We have seen week 14 come and go with lots of big fish being caught and released. The Walleyes seem to have begun their move to deep water; many fish were being pulled from 25 to 35 feet of water using the old jig and minnow combo. Our guests were seeing fish anywhere from 16 inches to 27 inches in the same areas all week long. We had two 27 plus inch fish caught this week by Tim Schaeffer and Mike Luhring, Both of these fish were caught on minnows fishing in 20 to 30 feet of water using a slow troll technique. Most of the bass wee caught by Travis Holm fishing right off the dock using a bobber and worm, he had a seventeen plus inch fish but Marge Schurman stole the show with a beautiful eighteen inch beauty. Our Northern fishing proved to be somewhat of a challenge this week. The big fish were not chasing the traditional big stick baits usually used to catch them, most of the big Northern were caught by our guests while they were Walleye fishing in deep water. Ivan Harken was showing off to his gal Jessica by catching and releasing a nice 39 plus inch fish only to get slammed on Friday by Ed  Rasmussen who skillfully caught and released a huge 45 incher while fishing for Walleyes with eight pound test line. We should see a huge migration of Walleyes to deep water this week as the big schools of bait fish are beginning to move deep as well. Our guests are still catching small and medium sized Walleyes and Northern in shallower water but most of the trophy’s are heading down to deeper water. The weather outlook for this week is hot early and cools in the second half of the week which will keep the fish moving from shallow to deep depending on where the bait fish are. Hot here today, high around 83 but a predicted high of 57 tomorrow means our guests will have to adjust their techniques to find the fish, we need some stable weather patterns to push the fish to their normal late August hang-outs, we will talk again next week, so far this week our biggest Northern is 41 inches and the Walleyes is at 26 ½ inches, both fish should be beat by tomorrow, take care, bye from Wabaskang.

August 14th

Greetings from Wabaskang Camp. Week thirteen has come and gone and the fishing seems to be as good as ever. We saw lots of nice catches this week in spite of the stormy weather. Our Northern fishing seems to be somewhat out of whack; most of the huge fish were taken along the rocky shorelines near deep-water drop-offs. Once again the best bait was a Sandcat trolled in about twenty feet of water. Kristy Lammers and Adam Langreck each released nice thirty-eight and a half inchers but were blown out of the water by Mike Lammers with a monster forty incher which was also released. The Northern seem to be following the huge schools of bait fish that are beginning to form near the deep water areas, we should continue to see good Northern fishing as long as you follow the food source. Many anglers fished the weedy areas and could not develop any type of pattern that would hold true from one day to the next, stay away from the weeds when the water is high and go to the rocks if you want trophy Pike. The Walleye bite was consistent in the deep water areas if you were fishing mornings and evenings. Many of our guests were catching nice Walleyes in thirty feet of water on spinner and minnow combinations or jig and minnow rigs. There is still a decent Walleye bite along the weed lines in shallow water if the lake is choppy and the sky is cloudy. Alan Orr and Kyle Krivachek each caught beautiful twenty-five inch fish only to be bested by Kristy Lammers who caught and released a nice twenty-six incher. Once again the biggest Walleye of the week was caught on a Sandcat trolled along deep water next to shallow humps. The Smallmouth Bass fishing seemed to be picking up some this week. Most were caught while fishing for Walleyes in shallow weedy areas, Rhett Lammers  and Anthony Morse each had a bass over sixteen inches but Don Wauthier showed he had what it takes by catching a jumbo sixteen and seven-eighths inch fish. We had over three inches of rain again this week and the lake continues to rise, lots of wind with the storms has got the lake whipped up some and the fish seem to be moving on a daily basis, follow the food and find the fish, words to live by if you are a fisherman. We are looking forward to week fourteen, the forecast show daily high temps only in the fifties and sixties, we should see an explosion of good Walleye and Northern fishing as Fall-like weather moves in. Lets hope for some dryer weather and mild winds for the up-coming week, that’s all for now, bye from Wabaskang.

August 9th

Evening from Wabaskang Camp. We had another good week of fishing here at camp, our guests had no trouble catching fish even though we had some frightening weather to contend with mid-week. The Walleye fishing seemed to be about normal for this time of the season. Many of our guests found fish in shallow water early mornings and late evenings using minnows or crawlers on a bare hook or spinner rig. The fish seemed to migrate to deeper water when the sun was high and the bigger fish were taken on a jig and minnow combination in twenty-five to thirty feet of water. Our biggest Walleye of the week was caught by Rob Watkins, a nice twenty-three incher. Northern fishing was slower in the early part of the week but began to really take off after the storm on Tuesday. Most of the bigger fish were taken on live bait rigs using large minnows or suckers. The fish seemed to be chasing big baits up to the boat but would not take the lure. We should see a big change in Northern fishing this week once the weather cools down some. Rodney Askildson still managed to land a beautiful thirty-seven incher to take top honors for the week. We saw lots of small to medium sized bass being caught in the same places where the smaller Walleyes were being caught. Emma Traugh caught and released a nice seventeen incher right from our dock and Matt Stark landed a seventeen inch plus fish to take top honors at the end of the week. We had trees blown down this week and several heavy down-pours to contend with this week which made fishing rather unpredictable all week. The weather forecast is hot, humid and chances of storms early in the week so the fishermen will need to try new spots and techniques to keep ahead of the game, that’s all for now, see you next week, Jim from Wabaskang.

August 2nd

Hello from Wabaskang Camp. We are through week eleven now and all indicators are saying we have had an exceptional season of fishing so far. This week saw the walleye bite remain steady for nice eater sized fish. Most of the fish were taken on small pieces of night crawlers hooked to a spinner rig of some sort. The fish remained shallow for the most part, usually hanging out in less than 12 feet of water along the weed lines. Matt Olsofski brought in a nice 25 incher, Rose Halla landed a 26 inch beauty but Chad Peterson took top honors for the week with a monstrous 30 inch Walleye which he quickly released. Once again the biggest Walleye of the week was taken on a Sandcat fished over the cabbage weeds in shallow water. Our Northern fishing seemed to be a bit frustrating to the seasoned anglers who usually throw big baits over the weed tops. It seemed the best Northern fishing was along the rocky shorelines where the fish were laying in ambush among the boulders and logs close to the bottom. Our biggest fish were caught by Matt Olsofski who caught and released a beautiful 361/2 incher and Sarah Peterson who took top honors for the week with a huge 38 incher which she released after a couple of quick pictures. The bass fishing seemed to pick up this week if you knew where to go. Cassidy Askildson landed a beautiful 18 inch bronze back which is going home for the wall, not bad for a young lady who is only 8 years old. We are looking forward to week 12, the weather has warmed up some and the humidity has been around the last few days, the forecast shows a chance of thunderstorms almost each day this week but not an all day thing. Lots of big time Walleye anglers in camp this week so there should be some impressive numbers to talk about next week. Talk again soon, over and out from Wabaskang.

July 27th

Welcome to week number ten here at Wabaskang Camp, we are at the half-way point of our season now and it has been a great year of fishing so far. We had a camp full of experienced anglers in camp and the numbers of big fish taken sure showed it. The Bass fishing began to pick up this week with lots of bass in the 15” to 17” range taken. Most of the Bass were caught on night crawlers in weedy areas adjacent to deep water. The biggest Bass of the week was expertly caught by Craig Jennings, a beautiful 18” bronzeback.  We had one new fella in camp this week who seemed to really stick it to all the regulars, Jaret Wunsch had just the right touch on the big Walleye this week; he skillfully landed and released a huge 29” monster while his little friend Reid watched in jealous awe. The Walleye bite seemed to be in two completely different areas of the lake. We had a good shallow water bite tight to the weeds on crawler harnesses and minnow rigs, most fish were in the 16” to 19” range with an occasional 20” plus fish. The bigger Walleyes were coming from 18 to 30 feet of water on the sunken humps and rock piles. Most of these fish were taken on the jig and minnow combination. Jaret’s big Walleye came on a 7” Sandcat fished over the weed tops in 12 feet of water, great job Jaret. Our Northern fishing was second to none again this week, we saw lots of 25 “to 27” fish being taken on jigs and minnows and big stick baits. The biggest fish of the week were taken on Sandcats fished among the weeds in ten to fourteen feet of water. The best fishing was on cloudy and breezy days or during a rain storm. Jaret managed to catch and release a nice 39” fish only to have his friend Reid snatch the big fish glory from him with a 391/2” torpedo, woooweee but wait one minute here Reid you were blown out of the water by Brian Boevers with a huge 42” monster he is putting on the wall and then Bill Mincks slammed you with a 44” log sized fish which he promptly released, woooweee Reid better luck next time, no prize for third place. We are looking forward to week eleven, the lake is high and the bug population is low, should be another interesting week here at camp, talk again next week , bye from Wabaskang.

July 19th

Hello fromWabaskang Camp. Week nine has come and gone with lots of big fish and even more big fish stories. The Walleye bite began to move from the shallow weed edges to deeper weed lines and rock piles. Smaller Walleyes seemed to be in ten feet of water or less and were easy pickens on a crawler harness or jig and minnow, the jig needed to be less than a quarter ounce for the best luck. If you wanted the big fish most of my guests fished in deeper water along cabbage weed lines and rock piles that tumbled down to around eighteen feet or so, again a night crawler or minnow worked best, the fellas throwing crank baits or plastics had limited success, the best bite using artificial baits was early morning or late evening around sunset. Kady Mericle had a nice 24” Walleye but she was knocked off the top of the leader board by Bob Medearis who edged her by 1/4'”. Bob has a free hat coming for his big fish of the week. The Northern fishing continues to be outstanding. Many of our guests caught the big Northern while fishing the shallow water for Walleyes, they would latch onto a huge fish and the fight would be on with light tackle, we had some huge northern caught on big stick baits as well, Jim Hagen landed and released a 39” beauty, Kady Mericle managed to catch and release a huge 41” monster but once again she was knocked off the top of the leader board by Roy Green who landed and released a 41 ¼” torpedo.  Our Smallmouth Bass fishing was tough going this week compared to other weeks, the fish are still in transition from the spawning beds to their summer haunts. Roy Green did manage to catch a nice 18” bronze beauty to take top honors for the week. Fishing should really take off this week with a more stable weather pattern and fish beginning to be a bit more predictable. We have high water levels but with a floating dock we have no problems here at camp, we will up-date again soon, bye for now, Jim from Wabaskang.

July 10th

Evening from Wabaskang Camp. Week eight was a week of stormy weather and unpredictable fishing. Our guests did great one day and struggled the next. The Walleyes were mainly hanging out on the weed edges and shallow rocky shorelines. The best bait seemed to be a worm harness or minnow and jig combo fished as slow as you could. The bite was a not very aggressive so you had to be on your toes to feel the fish and set the hook before it was gone. Mike Lammers managed to find some huge Walleyes roaming the deeper weed beds and landed three fish over 26”, the biggest being 291/4”, he was using huge Northern baits in the nine inch range, he released every fish he caught. Joe Kuschman had a nice 28” Walleye and Syd Hancock caught and released a beautiful 25 incher to round out the week for big Walleyes. Our Northern fishing was good to our guests who were throwing the big baits and weren’t afraid to cast their guts out all day. Chad Hawker seemed to have what it takes as he released lots of big Northern this week, the two biggest being 39” and 391/2”. We saw a slow down in Bass fishing this week, most of the big females were in post-spawn mode and were tough to catch. We saw lots of smaller fish being taken on twister tails and spinners. Joe Kuschman managed to catch the biggest bass of the week, a nice 18” beauty. We had a huge Musky landed this week as well, Garrett Hancock got hold of a 51” monster that was the talk of camp on Friday, and he took some pictures and released her at the dock to fight another day, good job Garrett! The weather has been showing signs of calming down this week and fishing should really begin to explode on all fronts, we will keep you updated, bye for now.

July 5th

Welcome to Wabaskang Camp week seven update. We had another week of heavy rain and muggy temperatures. Total rain from June 26th to July 4th was around four inches, we had culverts along our road wash out and the Electricity was off twice this week. Fishing was good one day and slow the next, some stable weather coming in this week should get the fish back in the mood to put on the old feed bags. The Walleye fishing was exceptional for the trophy sized fish and in my opinion tough going for the eater sized fish. Most of the smaller sized Walleyes were coming from inside cuts on shallow weed edges on the smallest jig you had in your tackle box tipped with a bit of worm. The trophy sized fish were coming from deeper weed edges on large stick baits like suicks and sandcats, Kenny Fouts started things off early in the week with a 28 ¼” beauty which he quickly released only to be topped by Marty Neihouser who skillfully caught and released a monstrous 29” beauty. Northern fishing was great depending on who you talked to. We had numerous fish in the mid to upper 30’s released all week. Isak Christensen kicked things off with a released 39” monster only to be bumped from the leader board by Kristy Lammers who released a trophy 40 incher, next Rhett Lammers  jumped to the top spot by releasing a torpedo shaped 41 incher, just when we thought the bar had been set pretty high Kenny Schroeder came from the rear of the pack and  landed a huge 43 incher which as he said has been a twenty eight year quest of his, he decided to keep this monster and put her on the wall, the fish will continue to bring great memories to Kenny for many years to come, he may have had a bit of help from his buddy  from above, good job  Kenny. We had two huge Lake Trout caught this week as well, Mark Lewandowski had a 29 incher and Paul Dennert, with the skillful leadership of Bob Compton landed a huge 32 incher which came out of about 55 feet of water. Our Bass fishing slowed some this week while the big females were recovering from the rigors of the spawn, to show his exceptional skill and talent, Tim Wuethrich caught and released a pumpkin sized smallmouth that was 19 inches long. We should see some better weather this week along with more seasonal patterns beginning to take shape; we will talk again soon, Jim from Wabaskang

June 28th

Morning everyone, greetings from Wabaskang Camp. Fishing continues to impress us here at camp. We are still seeing the effects of a huge Mayfly hatch this year but walleyes are beginning to move back to their normal early summer patterns. Most of the walleyes are coming on night crawlers pulled very slow on a spinner rig, the shallower the better. A good morning and evening bite is still available if you can stand fishing right in the weeds. Some of our guests had good luck tossing white or brown tube jigs into the weed pockets and slowly dragging it back to the boat. The biggest walleyes were actually being caught on huge northern baits that seemed to look similar to a small walleye in size and color, Ryan Little took home top honors with a beautiful 28” walleye that was quickly returned to the water after a few quick pictures. Our group of northern fishermen really had good success later in the week, we saw most of the bigger northern being fooled by huge baits that dove about two feet below the surface and had a slow wobble as they were retrieved back to the boat. Dark colors seemed best along with copper and gold combos. The Wentlandts seemed to have an edge over our other guests when it came to pike fishing, both father Dave and son Bryce caught gigantic 41” monsters, Bryce gets bragging rights though because his fish  was heavier than Daves by almost 6 pounds. Bass fishing had good days and slow days, most of the fish were ready to leave the spawning areas and head back to rocky points and deeper weed lines, Joe Nunlist Jr. showed his group of 12 how it is done by taking top honors with a beautiful 18 1/2 “ miniature football sized bass, he admired his catch and quickly released her to fight another day. The weather has not settled down yet with a storm front passing by every other day or so, fishing patterns are changing daily but the forecast shows signs of improvement, we had almost two more inches of rain this weekend and the lake is in great shape, we need some warm weather now to see our Summer patterns emerge and the fish begin to feed on a regular basis, that’s all for week six, we will chat again soon, bye from Wabaskang Camp.

June 20th

Good morning from Wabaskang Camp. Week five has come to an end with an explosion of May Flies on the South end of the lake. Our guests still enjoyed great fishing for Walleyes and Northern. We had a week of unstable weather as storm fronts seemed to move through every other day. The fish have stayed shallow to gobble up the May Flies and feast on the bait fish that are swarming the shorelines. Most of the biggest walleyes were caught on night crawlers or jig and minnow combos, we should see a good crank bait bite begin this week now that the weeds are establishing themselves and are thick enough to hide the Walleyes when the sun is high. The biggest Walleye of the week was caught and released by Ann Peterson, a beautiful 27” fish. Our Northern fishing was good even when most of our guests were actually fishing for walleyes. Many big Northern were caught on jig and minnow combos fishing shallow water where the Perch and Walleyes were hanging out. Large spoons caught a large share of big Northern, as well as bulldogs and suicks, the biggest northern this week was caught by Ron Phippen, a huge 40 ½” monster which was quickly released. The Bass fishing this week fell off a bit from the week before, most of the big females were done spawning and were resting up before going back to their regular haunts and habits. Bob Michaud managed to catch and release a football sized fish that was 18 ½’ long, he was proud of his fish. Week six is now underway, we had mostly sun yesterday and some light rain this morning, should be a good day for the Walleyes as we have a slight chop on the water and cloud cover, we will talk again soon, bye from Wabaskang.

June 13th

It is hard to believe we are already into week five of the season. Last week was another exceptional week of fishing for our guests, lots of smaller fish being kept for the frying pan and all of the trophy sized fish being released to fight another day. The water temps have held steady for the last week or so, surface temps have hovered around 64 degrees, a favorable temperature for almost all the game fish in the lake with the exception of Lake Trout. We saw the best week of Smallmouth fishing so far this season as far as size goes, we had numerous fish over eighteen inches caught and released , many of the fish were still hanging around the spawning beds and were hitting small tube jigs and spinners, rapalas worked as well . The biggest bass of the week was caught by Mike Lammers, a beautiful 19 ½ inch beast which was quickly returned to the lake. We saw some outstanding northern fishing this week as well. Most of the bigger pike were hitting bulldogs and sandcats, as well as suicks and reef hogs, the biggest pike of the week were caught by Derek Bagwell, he used the old jig and minnow combination to land a monster 42 incher which was promptly released after a quick picture.  Walleyes were still shallow and aggressive, hitting shad raps and bettle spins along with white tube jigs and of course a jig and minnow combo and crawler and slip bobbers on the weed lines, everyone had great fishing with the largest walleye being caught by Craig Codner, a 26 ½” beauty which was released. Cool and wet weather has been in place now for about a week or so but after Sunday the skies should clear and warmer weather will return, should be another week of great fishing for our guests, talk again soon, bye from Wabaskang.

June 5th

Week three at Wabaskang Camp was an especially good week of fishing. The water has warmed into the low sixties on the surface which has the shallows alive with bugs and bait fish which in turn draws huge schools of hungry walleyes and menacing northern pike. Our guests endured three days of wet weather early in the week but the fishing was fast and furious. Walleyes were still hanging around six to twelve feet of water and were biting on minnows and especially worms. Anytime you could find a shoreline with weeds and some scattered rock with a wind pounding into it you had incredible fishing. Some of the best baits were white tube jigs, crank baits, small Mepps spinners and the old stand-by jig and minnow combo or bobber and worm set-up. Our biggest walleye of the week was caught by Garrett Taylor, a monster 29 incher. Northern were roaming the shallows looking for a quick meal. The best baits were rattling Shad Raps and medium sized stick baits, some pike were also taken while walleye fishing with jigs and minnows, the biggest pike of the week was caught by Wayne Gajewski, he landed a beautiful forty plus inch fish which he quickly released. Bass fishing was up and down all week, early on the bass were tight on their beds but after three days of rain most of the fish moved off to rocky shorelines and deeper water to rest up after the spawn, Gary Spatz was the big bass of the week winner with a football sized bass that was nineteen plus inches long, she was quickly released to fight another day. Week four is here and we have rain again today, lake levels are ideal and the fish are still hungry and aggressive, we should see a mix of sun and rain this week which will keep the fish in a hungry mood and keep them shallow where they are easy to tempt with a lure or live bait rig, we will up-date again soon, bye for now.

May 30th

Our second week of the season has come to an end and the weather was exceptionally nice for this early in the season. Our guests had some of the best early season fishing I have seen since we bought the camp. The water temperatures were hovering around sixty degrees on the calm sunny days which caused the shallows to explode with activity. Smallmouth Bass were holding tight to their beds but would eagerly take a twister tail or small Mepps spinner if it ventured too close, we had many bass released over seventeen inches, young Blake Johnson, turning nine on Saturday, caught the biggest bass of the week, a huge brute a hair over nineteen inches, he took home a free hat and pin for his efforts. The Northern fishing was fast and furious as usual, the fish seemed eager to take any bait that resembled a small walleye or minnow. Some of our guests picked up huge northern while fishing for Perch and Walleye, Craig Kleinschmidt had a beautiful Pike that was over thirty-nine inches long but he was spanked by his dad Bill who had the biggest Pike of the week in camp, a monster fish over forty-two inches long, both father and son promptly released their trophies back into the lake. Walleye fishing was as good as it gets for the second week in a row, all of the fish were shallow and at least six different year classes were feeding in the same areas. Ken Scheidt had one of his best days ever; he landed a beautiful twenty-eight inch Walleye on his last day here to win top honors for the week. Most of his Walleyes were coming on night crawlers worked in shallow water next to the reeds. Perch were biting well again this week with lots of male fish around ten inches being caught, the females were beginning to move shallow to join the males to get serious about spawning and our guests began catching some nice twelve and thirteen inchers toward the end of the week. It has been raining now since Friday night and we have had almost two inches so far as of Sunday night, our guests so far this week have been braving the wind and rain and report good fishing all over the lake as long as you are staying shallow. Lake levels are on the rise and may actually be considered high by the end of this week. One more little story to tell, Bill Sharpe was reeling his line in at the end of the day on Friday planning on heading back to camp and packing things up when he hooked a hungry thirty-nine inch northern which he admired briefly and returned to the lake, great way to end the trip.

May 22nd

What a wonderful opener we had this year, warm sunny days and cool nights for sleeping. We had a wee bit of rain but not enough to make our guests drag out their rain suits, complete opposite from last year’s opener. We have leaves on the trees, green grass growing like crazy and water temperatures in the upper fifties already. The smallmouth bass are holding tight to their beds and the spawn will be over and done with almost 3 weeks early. We are starting to see new weed growth in the shallow bays which is attracting huge schools of bait fish, along with all the game fish that feed on them. Our guests had fantastic fishing all week long and even were headed home this weekend with slight sunburn. The walleyes were caught mostly in 4 to 10 feet of water on small minnows or bits of night crawlers hung on a jig. Some of our Missouri fellas used tube jigs and other small artificial baits and did just as well. The biggest walleye of the week in camp was caught by Dean Harlan, a beautiful 27 5/8” female which he quickly released. Lots of big northern were hooked as well; most of the fish are extremely shallow feeding on the pearch and small male walleyes that have invaded the warm shallows.  Kevin Johnson caught and released a huge 40 ¼” fish only to be outdone by Dan Taylor who landed a monster 43 incher; it is his personal best which he also quickly released after a few pictures. Our guests also did very well on bass this week, Norby Reiff showed the whole camp how it is done by catching a 19” beauty, after a few quick pictures it was back in the lake to fight another day. The pearch fishing really took off as the water warmed, many of our guests had pearch over 11” with a few close to 13”, the males were definitely ready for the females to move shallow and begin the spawn.  We had a great time with all our guests again this week; everyone really enjoyed the sunshine and light winds all week. Ron, one of our regulars even managed to achieve a new nickname in camp, he will be known as the “Turtle Man” after catching and releasing not one but two snapping turtles this week, must be something about the way his hands smell that seems to attract them. A message to Bob, we will give you a call early next season to remind you to bring the steaks, seems you are getting forgetful in your old age, that’s all for now, we will update again soon, thanks.

MAY 18TH

Another wonderfull day at wabaskang camp.  The weather was gorgeous and the fishing was great!  Dean Harlan wants to say Happy Anniversary to his wife Julie in case he forgets to tell her on their Anniversary because he is having so much fun fishing.  Warm and dry for the rest of the week, even had a Lake Trout caught yesterday.  Thats all for now, Bye from Wabaskang.

MAY 16TH

What a beautiful opening weekend we had this year!  If any of you remember our opener for 2009 it was snow and below freezing temps, well that wasn"t the case this year.  We have had a weekend of sunshine and the temps in the 70's.  Everyone has been using the sunscreen and some of our guests were in shorts and T-shirts.  Of course the fishing was great and we have posted some photo's for you to look at.  We will post more photos as we get them and keep you up to date on the happenings at Wabaskang Camp weekly so keep checking our site for weather and fishing updates.

Camp News

Holiday Greetings 2009

A warm holiday greeting from Jim, Julie and Annie from Wabaskang Camp.  We want to wish all of you a very Merry Christmas and wonderful New Year.

We have owned and operated the camp for 10 years now and are looking forward to many more.  The friends we have made over the years are near and dear to us and we enjoy seeing all of you every season.  We know the tough economic times have affected many of you and we hope and pray that the upcoming year will be a happy and prosperous one.

The 2009 season was one of the coldest and wettest on record.  We had to have a friend of ours use a bulldozer to open our road in early April just to give the road a chance to dry out and allow us into camp.  I arrived at camp on April 24th to find the lake still froze and about six inches of snow still on the ground.

The first week was spent tinkering with motors and doing whatever I could that kept me inside and dry.  Julie arrived in camp on May 2nd and she was disappointed we still had no running water but made the most of things by boiling water from the lake and even melting snow for cooking and cleaning.  The days were quite cool, around 40 degrees and the nights saw temperatures fall well below freezing, I wasn’t able to prime and run the water pumps until the 7th day of May, we worked long and hard for the next week to have all the cabins clean and tidy before our guests arrived.

Just when things began to look better a Spring snow storm hit Ontario with heavy wet snow and strong winds, our guests had arrived in camp and I was forced to turn the water system off for more than a day because of the bitter cold temperatures.  Our guests managed to survive by carrying water from the lake for cooking and for toilets.  The first two weeks of the season were very cold and I had to deal with frozen water lines every morning.  Buy the time June rolled around I was ready for some warm weather and normal activities.

We had a very busy summer at camp this year, the cabins were full most weeks which kept us very busy.  Julie wanted all the cabins and buildings painted in camp this year so painting kept us busy all summer long.  Dustin Murray, a friend of ours from Eagle River helped me scrape and paint every day when it wasn’t raining, we managed to get all but two cabins painted which was very good considering it seemed like it rained all the time.

Because of all the rain this past season we were forced to spread new gravel throughout the camp, it helped keep most of the mud outside the cabins and kept the driveway in great shape.  July and August saw us installing new water lines and a new filtration system in our pump house.  The water is pushed through carbon and sediment filters before passing through an ultraviolet sterilization system, the system still has some problems to be delt with which may include the addition of a chlorination system in the future.

When the season was over I was able to do some work on the dock as well as leveling the porch on cabin #9 and putting lattice around the cabin.  I also built steps going down to the dock to give our guests an easier walk to their boats.  We have done plenty of work at camp but it seems to never end, we know our guests appreciate all the improvements.

Fishing was outstanding on Wabaskang Lake again this year and many of our guests caught and released trophy fish on a regular basis.

Perch fishing was fantastic on warm spring days, the best fishing around June 1st to the 30th and many fish were caught in the 12”.

Smallmouth Bass fishing was superb this year as well, most fish were caught on twister tails and crankbaits along the weed lines and rocky points.  Here are a few of the bigger fish that were released or mounted:

Chuck Nass 19 inch Bass released 5/19/2009
Dean Harlan 18 ¾ inch Bass released 5/25/2009
Chris Tucker 20 inch Bass released 5/27/2009
Reid McCord 19 inch Bass released 5/30/2009
Wayne Gajewski 18 ½ inch Bass released 5/30/2009
Reid McCord 19 ½ inch Bass released 6/3/2009
Dale Wilson 19 inch Bass Released 6/7/2009
Les Jones 18 ½ inch Bass released 6/18/2009
Bryce Wentlandt 19 inch Bass released 6/21/2009
Tim Wuethrich Jr. 18 inch Bass released 6/28/2009
Mike Lammers 18 ¾ inch Bass released 6/30/2009
Reid Lammers 19 inch Bass released 7/1/2009
John Dunkovich 19 ¾ inch Bass Mounted 7/2/2009
Kenny Schroerder 19 ¾ inch Bass Mounted 7/2/2209
Tom Ward 18 inch Bass released 7/12/2009
Terry Clancy 18 ½ inch Bass released 7/12/2009
Jim Carey 19 inch Bass released 7/17/2009
Jason Comer 19 inch Bass released 7/19/2009
Paul Strain 18 inch Bass released 7/25/2009
Susan Willer 19 inch Bass released 7/27/2009
Tom Gloviak 19 ¼ inch Bass released 9/16/2009
 

Walleye Fishing was consistently good all season long and some of the bigger fish released or mounted are as follows:

Steve Taylor 28 ½ inch Walleye released 5/18/2009
Chris Tucker 29 inch Walleye released 5/27/2009
Mitch Weinberg 26 ¾ inch Walleye released 5/30/2009
Niel Miller 29 ½ inch Walleye released 6/4/2009
Ron Phippen 27 inch Walleye released 6/6/2009
Dave Schaller 28 inch Walleye released 6/10/2009
Monty Green 2-27 inch Walleye’s released 6/18/2009
Ryan Nihoris 29 ½ inch Walleye released 6/22/2009
John Dunkovich 28 ¾ inch Walleye mounted 6/27/2009
Mike Bowers 29 inch Walleye released 6/30/2009
Drew Bowers 29 inch Walleye released 6/30/2009
Tim Wuethrich Jr 29 ¼ inch Walleye released 7/1/2009
Scott Compton 27 inch Walleye released 7/5/2009
Mike Lammers 28 inch Walleye released 7/5/2009
Chance Comer 28 ¼ inch Walleye mounted 7/20/2009
Ron Peterson 26 ½ inch Walleye released 7/27/2009
Kristy Lammers 26 inch Walleye released 8/15/2009
Mike Lammers 26 inch Walleye released 8/15/2009
Gene Thomas 26 ½ inch Walleye released 8/16/2009
Mike Luhring 27 inch Walleye released 8/19/2009
Leon Luhring 27 ½ inch Walleye released 8/19/2009
Larry Luhring 26 ½ inch Walleye released 8/27/2009
Don Gutknecht 27 inch Walleye released 9/6/2009
Larry Dufel 27 ½ inch Walleye released 9/7/2009
Harm Harms 30 ¼ inch Walleye mounted 9/7/2009
Jim Moran 28 ¼ inch Walleye mounted 9/14/1009
Leroy Hennen 27 ¼ inch Walleye released 9/22/2009

Our Northern Pike Fishing was the best I have ever seen.  We had more fish over 40 inches than any other season, here are just a few:

Blake Johnson 43 ¼ inch Northern released 5/17/2009
Ken Scheidt 40 inch Northern mounted 5/27/3009
Mike Lammers 41 inch Northern released 6/8/2009
Mike Lammers 43 inch Northern released 6/9/2009
Mike Lammers 43 ½ inch Northern released 6/13/2009
Les Jones 43 ½ inch Northern mounted 6/13/2009
Ryan Little 40 ¼ inch Northern released 6/22/2009
Leo Fortenberry 40 ½ inch Northern released 6/23/2009
Christy Butcher 40 inch Northern released 6/29/2009
Logan Wuethrich 40 inch Northern released 6/29/2009
Max Wuethrich 41 ¼ inch Northern released 6/29/2009
Chad Miller 42 ¼ inch Northern released 6/29/2009
Kristy Lammers 43 inch Northern released 7/1/2009
Reid Lammers 40 inch Northern released 7/21/2009
Brian Boevers 41 inch Northern 7/21/2009
Mike Lammers 43 inch Northern released 7/22/2009
Sue Minks 44 inch Northern released 7/25/2009
Chad Peterson 40 inch Northern released 7/27/2009
Chad Peterson 42 inch Northern released 7/27/2009
Todd Peterson 45 inch Northern released 7/29/2009
Tony Opperman 42 inch Northern released 8/10/2009
Kristy Lammers 40 ½ inch Northern released 8/16/2009
Mike Kuethe 41 ½ inch Northern released 8/16/2009
Matt Heuer 42 inch Northern released 8/16/2009
Brett Langfritz 40 inch Northern released 8/23/2009
Mike Lammers 40 ½ inch Northern released 8/23/2009
Ruth Rowe 43 inch Northern released 8/23/2009
Randy Drumtra 41 ½ inch Northern released 9/9/2009
Curt Lerum 40 inch Northern released 9/13/2009
Vern Hanus 41 inch Northern released 9/14/2009
Ivan Flock 41 inch Northern released 9/16/2009

Lake Trout were very shallow early in the season.  We saw many Trout caught this season and here are just a few:

Tyler Harlan 28 ¼ inch Trout released 5/31/2009
Jim Loger 27 inch Trout released 5/31/2009
Mike Lammers 25 inch Trout released 6/8/2009
Chris Jutting 36 inch Trout released 6/10/2009
Rob Roose 25 ½ inch Trout released 6/10/2009
Steve Taylor 25 inch Trout released 6/23/2009
Ryan Little 34 ¾ inch Trout released 6/24/2009
Mark Lewandoski 29 ¼ inch Trout released 7/10/2009

Julie and I are both back to work at Kay & L Draperies now.   We took a week-long vacation to Branson MO during Thanksgiving for a little rest and relaxation.  Every evening has kept us busy answering emails and returning calls from people inquiring about camp for next year.  All indications are we will be very busy all season long.

I want to take a moment to thank a few folks who helped make our 10th season a successful one, Arnold and Lynn, Greg and Peggy Lynn, Donna, Dustin and Don.  We want to say a special “Thank You” to all of you for your help and friendship.

All citizens crossing the US/Canada border will be required to show a passport as proof of citizenship.  This applies to Canadians crossing into the US and US citizens entering Canada.

If you purchased your fishing license from us this season and still have not received  your Ontario Fishing Outdoors Card please call the 800 number on your pink temporary Outdoors Car and inquire about its whereabouts, you will need to purchase a new outdoors card if you don’t bring up your old one which is good for 3 years.

If you haven’t returned your reservation form and deposit to us yet please contact us as soon as possible to avoid a mis-up and possibly losing your spot in camp.  We have very limited openings for the 2010 season and will not be attending the 2010 Eastern Iowa Sports Show in March.

You can check us out on our website at www.wabaskangcamp.com .  If you have any questions you can call us at 319.352.5559 or email us at stay@wabaskangcamp.com .

Everyone have a wonderful Holiday Season and God Bless you all.

Thanks so much,

Jim, Julie and Annie

Camp News

2009

 August 1st – August 7th

     Lots of wind on Saturday, many of our guests didn’t bother launching their boats until Sunday.  Still plenty of rain all week long with a total of about an inch this week.  Walleye fishing has been tough for many of our guests, fish seam to be in a transition phase, shallow one day and deep the next.  Night crawlers seem to be working as well as minnows and crank baits are catching the occasional big fish.  Andrew Fober and Jason Hartling each had a nice 24 inch Walleye.  Bass fishing was decent, Randy Hughes caught a 16 ½ inch Smallmouth, Cheri Beason had a 17 ¼ inch Smallmouth, and Dave Stark had a 17 ½ inch Smallmouth.  Fishing for big pike has slowed from last week but that didn’t stop Julie Halla from catching a beautiful 36 incher. The big Northern of the week goes to Jason Hartling, a nice 38 incher which he released.  Hopefully things will dry out next week.  We have been trying to paint all the cabins this summer and we are only half done.

August 8th – August 14th

     Another week of rain and cool temperatures.  We saw thunderstorms off and on through the week which brought heavy rain and lots of lightning manly during the overnight periods.  Walleye fishing was good in the shallows but the overall size of the fish was down this week.  A few of the bigger fish were caught by Walter Halla, an 18 ½ inch Walleye and Ryan Scammahorn, a 21 ½ inch Walleye.  Millie Louvar also had a beautiful 21 ½ inch Walleye.  Northern fishing picked up this week with lots of big fish being caught on spinner baits and stick baits.  Mark Kline had a nice 35 ½ inch Northern, Steve Morse had a 36 incher and Tony Opperman had a 42 inch beauty for the big fish of the week.  Bass fishing was good for our guests that fished for Bass with the biggest being caught by Millie Louvar, 17 ½ inch bronze back.  Forecast for next week is more rain and cool weather.

August 15th – August 21st

     This week saw five days of rain and two days of sun and clouds.  The lake is as high as we have seen it all year and we really need some hot dry days to dry things out.  This week saw the best Northern fishing of the season so far.  We had 16 Northern 40 inches or better caught and released this week.  Jerald Heuer had a 41 incher only to get beat by his son Matt who had a huge 42 incher for the big fish of the week.  Mike Kuethe also release a beautiful 41 ½ inch Northern.  The Walleye have moved out to deeper water with big fish being caught in 22 to 32 feet of water.  Mike Luhring released a 27 inch Walleye, and his father Leon released a 27 ½ inch Walleye.  Smallmouth Bass fishing was spotty but Travis Holm managed to catch a nice 17 ½ incher to win top honors for the week.  Next weeks forecast looks cool but dry, we will keep our fingers crossed.  Fishing should continue to be great for the rest of the season.

August 22nd – August 28th

     Finally a week of beautiful weather and only a quarter inch of rain all week long.  Northern fishing continued to be fantastic with lots of big fish being caught on stick baits and large spoons.  Brett Langfritz caught and released a nice 40 incher, his personal best.  Mike Lammers had a 40 ½ incher, a small fish in his standards.  And the big Northern of the week was caught by Ruth Rowe, a beautiful 43 incher caught on a rattle trap, which she promptly released.  The Walleye fishing was some of the best we have seen all year.  Most of the big fish were caught in deep water in the mornings and late evenings.  Susan Langfritz had a nice 24 ½ incher.  Brian Boevers and Larry Luhring tied for top honors this week with 2 beautiful 26 ½ inchers.  Bass fishing was spotty this week, with most fish being taken on rock piles in the early morning.  Susan Langfritz took top honors on Smallmouth Bass fishing this week with a spunky 17 incher.  The weather looks beautiful for the upcoming week; we hope the fishing stays hot!

August 29th – September 4th

     We are finally seeing dry warm weather in the last few days of August.  We didn’t have any rain all week and the sun was out most of the time.  Most of our guests had packed for cooler weather and this was a nice surprise.  Walleye fishing seemed to be spotty at times with fish being caught in depths of 15 feet for the smaller Walleye and 35 feet for the larger Walleye.  Biggest Walleye of the week was caught by Diane Snyder a nice 23 incher.  Northern fishing was decent all week with spinner baits and crank baits taking most of the big fish.  One lucky lady Cythia Fleming managed to catch a beautiful 39 incher, which turned out to be the biggest Northern of the week.  Many of our guests caught some nice Smallmouth Bass.  Matt Olsofski and Dave Muhs each had a 15 ¾ inch Bass and Randy Cook took top honors with a nice 16 ½ incher.  More unseasonably warm weather is forecast for the next ten days, which will keep the fishing patterns unpredictable and challenging. 

September 5th – September 11th

     It was a beautiful week and our warm summer like weather continues.  Fishing continued to be top notch with lots of big Walleye and Northern being caught this week.  Many of our guests caught their bigger Walleyes in deep water usually 35 feet or more on jigs and lindy rigs.  The bigger the minnow the bigger the fish.  Don Gutknecht caught and released a 27 inch Walleye, Larry Dufel out did him with a 27 ½ inch Walleye he released but both guys were beat by Harm Harms, who caught a beautiful 30 ¼ inch monster Walleye he is taking home to put on the wall.  Northern fishermen in camp seemed to find fish on the weed lines hitting spoons and big stick baits.  Most of the Northern were caught from noon to early evening on the windy sides of the lake.  Bob Biersner caught and released a 39 inch beauty and Randy Drumtra managed to get a 41 ½ incher into the boat for a quick picture before he released it.  Bass fishing was sporadic again this week but Harm Harms managed to pull out and18 inch beauty off the end of our dock.  Next week weather sounds warm and dry again. Hopefully the fishing will continue to be hot.

September 12th – September 18th

     We had another beautiful week of unseasonably warm weather.  We only had rain one morning and Harlan Kruse was our only guest that managed to get caught in it (he should have listened to Doyle).  Walleye fishing was as good as it gets this week with dozens of fish being caught over 20 inches each day.  Walleye definitely have moved deeper with the bigger fish being caught at around 35 feet.  Bob Opperman caught and released a beautiful 28 incher and Jim Moran managed to catch a trophy 28 ¼ inch Walleye, his personal best.  Northern fishing was good for those that were targeting Northern.  Big spoons and stick baits seemed to be the best lures to use.  Vern Hanus and Ivan Flock each managed to catch and release beautiful 41 inch trophies.  Smallmouth Bass fishing was good for some of our guests, Roger Mobley was proud of his 16 ¾ inch Bass until Tom Gloviak caught and released a 19 ¼ inch Bass.  The trees are beginning to turn but the forecast is for continued mild temperatures and dry weather.  Next week the Moose hunters are here and we begin closing down camp.  

September 19th – September 26th

     Our last week of the season has come and gone with some of the best weather we have had all year.  Moose hunters were a little disappointed because of the weather, it made calling the moose next to impossible so the guys went home with lots of fish but no Moose to show for their effort.  The fishermen in camp had some of the best Walleye fishing they have ever experienced.  Lots of big Walleyes and the occasional big Northern as a bonus.  Top honors for the big Walleye of the week go to Leroy Hennen with a 27 ¼ inch beauty which he released.  The two biggest Northern of the week were caught by Jay Mai a nice 38 incher and Ryan Pierce with a 39 incher which were both released. We are busy now closing down camp and putting things away until next year.  We had two hard frosts the last two mornings and next weeks weather sounds like highs in the mid 20’s which is a big change from what we are used to.  We are looking busy for next season so if you are interested in a cabin for the 2010 season email us with any questions or comments.  Hope to see you all again next season.  Thank you all very much! 
 

2008

June 14th – June 21st

     The week started out cold and rainy but it didn’t seem to affect fishing.  Lots of fish in the frying pan every night and some big fish caught and released also.  Walt Cuvelier caught a 36” Northern he released.  Scott Phippen had a 26” and a 27” Walleye and both were released.  Young Conner Jankus  boated a 18” Smallmouth Bass to take the top honors for the big Bass of the week.  A few mayflies are beginning to hatch and Smallmouth are on their spawning beds.  Lilacs beginning to bloom, looks like summer is finally here.

June 21st – June 28th

     This week saw up and down temperatures with two inches of rain total for the week.  Lots of big time Northern fishermen were here this week and the numbers sure showed it.  We had many Northern caught and released over 36 inch.  Chris Monday caught two 40 inch Northern.  Bob Compton caught and released a 42” monster Northern.  And Brandon Schroeder took top honors with a 42 ¼ inch Northern he took home to put on the wall.  His dad Kenny keeps trying, maybe next year he will get his trophy.  Walleye fishing picked up later in the week with the best fish being caught by Dave Wentlandt with a 31 inch wall hanger.  Smallmouth Bass fishing was super for those that were targeting the Bass, with the best fish being caught by Chris Monday, a huge 19 incher released to roam the lake again.  Let’s not forget about John Dunkovich and his 24 inch Lake Trout.

June 28^th – July 4^th