Big Hook Fishing Report

It simply amazes me how much the weather can differ from year to year.  Last year at this time we were begging for rain and cooler temperatures.  The temperatures were so warm I was living in the lake to stay cool.  This year thus far I have camped in the sauna for my warmth.  I am exaggerating of course, the temperatures have not been that cold but there certainly hasn't been much in regards to a heat wave.  Cloudy skies and rain have dominated this week.

Last Saturday we received 3-5" of rain.  12 hours straight of heavy downpour has caused the lake levels to skyrocket.  I advise fisherman to use caution navigating the water ways.  The high water has now hidden numerous reefs.  A plus side of the high water is the raging current at the numerous rapids.  Fish have corralled themselves in the current chasing smaller bait fish.

Burnt 
The narrows on the north end of the lake is flowing fast.  The result is, thousands of fish camped below.  I had the chance to talk with the guests yesterday and they were all smiles.  A 41" pike and 27" walleye were boated and released on Tuesday.  The guests grinned and claimed the numbers were a little low.   That morning they boated 60 fish between the two, hmmmmm high standards?  The perch have been a little difficult to locate with the rising water.  I would recommend locating wind blown weed beds and tossing beetlespins.
Central
The numbers of fish are down so far this week, however the size is up.  A 43" pike tops the list so far.  Several 40", 39" and 36" have also been boated and released.  Trolling crankbaits along weed lines have brought sizable walleye into the boat.  Yesterday I guided two gentlemen on the West end.  We trolled past Husker Rock 6 times and boated 12 eyes between 18-23".  A Chartreuse #5 Shad Rap was the hot lure.  We tried every other color combination in the box and the chartreuse/white beat them all 2 to 1.  The west portage was extremely muddy due to some blowing winds the previous day.  We still managed to boat a fat 38.5" pike and a feisty 35".  The north narrows have also been impressive, giving up the majority of the trophy pike this week.  The current guests have been throwing mostly doctor spoons for the big pike.
Cocos 
The high water has guests struggling to get up the second set of rapids.  The amount of current has been to strong.  A couple of guys pull the boat around the beaver damn to access the Sagawitcheawn River.  Several  nice pike have been boated just off the Eagles Nest weed bed north east of the camp.  As usual, the rapids is producing large amounts of fish.
Lemonade/Favourable
Lemonade is self explanatory: put jig in water and retrieve fish.  Just about everywhere in the lake has been producing fish.  A favorite spot for the guests this week has been the West side of the island.  As for Favorable, the winds the past couple of day have hampered the fishing a tad.  Pike alley produced some 35"-40" fish.  Walleye point has plenty of walleye milling about.  Trolling an orange 10' diving crankbait along the shore adjacent to the dock is killer. You certainly don't have to wander far to catch fish.
South
The guests chalked up two impressive 29" walleye along with a 42" and 39" pike. Trolling Hot N Tot's was the method of choice for catching the big walleye.  Big fish are still surprisingly shallow.  Trolling 8-10 ft weed lines and mud flats with Shad Raps is one of my favorite ways to boat big fish.  Jigging rocky points is getting more and more productive as the season progresses.
Southwest 
The lake known as the "walleye factory" has been producing some large pike over the past several days.  Guests have been focusing their attention on the east arm of the lake for walleye and have been pleasantly surprised with some large pike.  The large mud/weed flat east of the camp has been hands down the most productive spot in the lake thus far.  A couple adventurous guests made the long run all the way to the outgoing falls.  They boated tons of fish above and decided to see what the bottom of the rapids offered.  After a brush battled walk (there is no beaten path to the bottom of the falls), another ton of fish was caught from shore.  
West
The guests last week touted 60 pike between 34-43".  Most of the fish were boated in the fish bowl.  Several were caught just over the east portage, in the bay adjacent to the boat launch.  I chatted with the current guests on Monday, they had already boated and released a 42" and 41" pike along with a chunky 27" walleye.   The guests noted the Horseshoe has been quite the productive spot.

Hot Lures
Pike:  Johnson Silver Minnow with a twister trailer, Mepps Agila #5,  Five of Diamonds, Silver doctor spoon
Walleye:  Jig white head/yellow body (3" twister), Shad Rap Chartreuse/white #5,  rattle trap silver/blue, actually most color combinations for jigs have been effective.  1/4 oz or 3/8 are best sizes for jig heads.  


Remember to email some pics so I can post them to the blog! Good luck on the water everyone,
-Nathan
www.bighookcamps.com