2018 Wilderness Report #9

The odd weather continues for us here in the Opasquia Provincial Park.  August began the month with...frost.  Well not quite, but almost. The morning of August 1st our temperature gauge was indicating 1 degree Celsius or a chilly 34 degrees Fahrenheit.  Since then, the temperatures have skyrocketed back into the mid 80's with some more warm weather in next weeks forecast.  Fortunately, some rain tagged along with the cold last week Tuesday.  We will take every drop of rain given, as this will go down as one of our drier summers on record.

A foggy Central Lake morning

Thankfully, there has been enough rain to keep the forest fires in check.  As a side note, please be mindful when having shore lunch and extinguish your fire completely. As stated earlier, conditions remain dry and water levels are still 12-24 inches lower than normal, depending on which body of water you are on.  Watch out for rocks with the low water! The safe passage waterways change with the low water. 

The hot and cold weather has had an effect on the fish. Unstable weather usually leads to unstable fishing.  According to multiple guests, one day of fishing will be hot and the next the fish are suspended and dormant.  Water temperatures began the week around 70 degrees only to fall to 64 several days later.  The rollercoaster water temperatures have been pushing fish all throughout the water column. The majority of walleye have been holding anywhere from 10-25' of water on windblown reefs and rocky points.  Slowly backtrolling and jigging is still the preferred technique for locating and boating walleye. The bigger fish seem to be holding further down the water column between 20-25'.  I was able to chat with several guests at the outposts the past couple days. West Lake has boated numerous walleye

 between the 22-26" on deeper reefs while vertical jigging 1/4 oz jigs with 3" ripple shad tails.  SW Lake has been boating large numbers of walleye along weed beds and rocky shorelines as shallow as 8 ft.  South Lake has found many fish between 18-23" at depths ranging from 15-18 ft.

Warming up the plane during sunrise. 

Pike are holding in their typical summer pattern locations: in deeper weed beds and along windblown points.  Shiny spoons and bucktails work best on sunny days.  The topwater bite is getting more consistent on overcast days or evenings.  Several guests have reported northern latching onto walleye while walleye fishing. Central Lake has boated several northern between 35-39".  Burnt Lake reported a 42" pike, caught "right in the mouth" according to the guests. Translation "the secret spot will remain a secret".
SW Lake was having fun fishing pike with a fly rod in the evenings. Unfortunately, I haven't spoken with Cocos or West Lake about the pike fishing.

The days are getting shorter, we are losing approximately 4 mins of daylight each day here in the north country.  In just a couple week signs of fall will begin sprouting.  The first notable signs are the birch tree leaves and the whiskey jacks (grey jays) coming to camp for food.  It is amazing how fast the seasons progress here.  Well, except for winter, that seems to last forever.

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