Walleye Opener

Wow, where did the time go. I have been at the resort now for 15 days and it seems like just yesterday I landed the plane at Central Lake under sunny skies, calm winds and best of all, no ice on the lakes.  A flurry of projects and flying have consumed every minute of my days.  After having a chance to inspect some of the outposts, it appears everything has weathered the winter rather well.  A couple of downed trees and a pushed dock or two seem to be the major obstacles Mother Nature threw at us over the winter.  The water levels throughout the Opasquia Provincial Park are up from last year, however relatively low for after the spring run off.  Water temperatures are hovering in the high 40's.  The weather has been all across the board so far this spring.  We have witnessed temperatures already in the 80's and as low as 20.  Rain is needed as it has been a dry spring thus far.

The fishing season is now underway.  Big Hook kicked off the 2012 fishing season yesterday with....a low pressure system providing weather in the tree tops, temperatures hovering at a numbing 38 degrees and copious amounts of rain.  As dismal as it was, the rain was actually welcomed.  We received almost an inch or two, which should bring the lake levels up at tad.  Today was a pleasant 62 degrees with a 10 mph west wind.  Perfect flying weather.  

East Rapids

Okay, let us get back to the fishing.  I managed to hop out pike fishing three days ago with some of the staff for an hour on Central Lake.  We boated over to the East rapids so see if any big females were feeding on the spawning suckers.  After ten minutes of casting, Tyro boated a fat 37" pike, the largest of the evening, on a Gold Rapala J18.  We boated about 11 other pike in the area before calling it quits.  Not bad for the first night on the water.

We also boated and released several walleye while pike fishing.  The two we caught were males still milting.  My best guess is the spawn has passed and we will be in post spawn patterns for the next week.  The walleye will be lethargic and are best approached with small baits.  A couple of days of sunshine should increase their appetite.

Plenty of projects have been accomplished thus far.  Several we have completed over the past couple of days are: installed the new battery bank at Central for the solar system; Burnt Lake is nearing completion, with only a couple small updates to finish.  The new cabin looks great. Today, we opened West Lake and constructed a new boat ramp.  The camp ground hog welcomed the company.

Tomorrow night I should have a chance to scope out the walleye scene better and will provide updates on the spawn.  Good luck on the water everyone,
Nathan
www.bighookcamps.com