Heat wave

The heat is on! The past several days have been scorchers in the Opasquia Provincial Park.  Friday, Saturday and Sunday all surpassed the blazing 30 degree, thats about 86 farenheit mark.  Coupled with high humidity, light and variable winds, makes for a muggy day.  But hey, a great way to cool off is a jump in the ole pond.

West Lake rapids 

As many people in the States have heard from the news and seen in the sky, is smoke from Canada,  There are a lot of fires in Western Canada at the moment particularily Saskatchewan and Manitoba. Fortunately, none are in the vicinity of the Opasquia Park. Conditions are very dry, as we have received minimal amounts of rain over the past month.  As of right now, no fire bans exist but we are advising customers to use extreme caution when preparing shore lunches and bonfires.

SW Lake porch

Last week Dad and I managed to knock out some summer projects.  Southwest and Burnt were the two outposts we focused on.  Southwest Lake now has a 16 x 8 screened in porch while Burnt received a new cribbed dock and walk way paired with a 16 x 8 floating dock.  See pics on the right.

Fishing 

Burnt Lake dock and walkway 

The big question everyone is asking, "What's happening with the mayflies?" The answer: the hatch occurred several days after my last post on most lakes.  Walleye fishing was slow at the beginning of last week and slowly returned to normal at weeks end.  Many fish are traversing into deeper waters and rock piles with the water temperatures on the rise.  Trolling Shad Raps, Flicker Shads, and Reef Runners are great ways to cover ground and locate schools.  If you are struggling to find fish on rocks,  they can still be found on the edges of weeds.

Pike are now primarily stalking in weed beds. I truly enjoy chasing them with top water baits late in the afternoon and early in the evening.  The dancing raider is probably my favorite bait to toss.  It is a frustrating bait to use as the fish miss A LOT of strikes.  Half the enjoyment of top water action though, is just the boil.  The sound of the fish smashing the surface gets my heart pumping.  

Hot lures

Walleye:  Shad Rap #7 chartruese/white, jigs with pumkinseed/flouro orange/white tail 3"
Pike:  Johnson silver minnow 1 1/4 oz with a white twister trailer, bucktails, top water baits

Good luck on the water everyone!
-Nathan
www.bighookcamps.com