Someone do a rain dance

Sunrise on Central 

Calling all professional weather makers, we could use a rain dance or two for our area here in the Opasquia Provincial Park.  One sprinkle of rain is all we have received the past three weeks, and more warm dry weather is on the way according to forecasts.  The forest are extremely dry and customers should avoid having outdoor fires at this time as the fire hazard is bordering extreme conditions.

Jigging up walleye with an echoltail 

The weather has been stable up here, albeit hot and dry.  With stable weather patterns comes great fishing.  Pretty much every camp has reported excellent results this week with both species.  Central is currently in the lead with the biggest pike for the week boating a dandy 44", while South is leading with a 30" walleye.  A special note should be made for South Lake, as of yesterday they had boated and released 43 walleye over 25" topping at 30".  21 of those fish were bigger than 27".  That's some hot walleye fishing indeed.  Burnt lake has also been boating plenty of 25" walleye over the past five days.  Guests noted the north end of Burnt was holding more quality fish.  SW guests were all smiles catching plenty of walleye and some very healthy 12" perch.  Cocos had several 39" pike boated along with some healthy walleye over 23".  They noted the water was as low as they have ever witnessed and it was getting tricky navigating up the rapids into the Sagawitchewan river.  West lake once again was out fishing every day I visited this week.  Guests from the previous week noted large walleye were holding on the north end, especially reefs around the only island.  They noted the
SE portage lake was excellent for numbers.

Camp dog Shadow helping me find blueberries

Coupled with the lack of rain and above normal temperatures, the water levels have dropped dramatically and are still falling.  We are approaching two feet below normal water levels.  Surface temperatures are hovering in the mid 70's range.  The warm water has most of the big pike in search of cooler water.  Most of the trophy fish being caught are holding off of deeper weed beds directly adjacent to deep water.  Shallow weedy bays are only holding small fish at the moment.  Jigging with a wire leader has been very productive for pike on deep reefs.  Bucktails, top water baits and silver minnows are still my preferred the baits to toss, maybe toss in a deep diving crankbait.

Walleye are in their typical late summer spots.  Most rock piles and wind blown points ranging 15-25 ft of water will be your best areas to attack.  Vertical jigging or dragging crawler harnesses will yield best results.  Walleye will ascend the water column on cloudy days into 5-10 ft of water, trolling crankbaits can be effective then.  Consistent wind is a key to finding the bigger schools of walleye.  If the winds have been blowing into a certain area for a couple days, concentrate your efforts there.

Keep on sending the great pictures everyone and good luck to you all on the water.
-Nathan
www.bighookcamps.com

Early August Report

An August sunset 

August is my favorite month up here in at Big Hook Wilderness Camps.  The first couple weeks of the month typically act as a transition from hot summer temperatures of July to fall like conditions of early September.  One of several reasons I enjoy fall is, the northern lights.  Daylight begins to fade quickly in August. Gone are the sunlit nights until 10:30 pm like we experience in June.  At 10 pm you can actually enjoy the night sky while getting lost in the stars and milky way. If you get lucky the northern lights will throw on a really great show.  Keep your eyes focused to the north for best aurora borealis action.  I should note the Perseid meteor shower is the 11th-13th of August this year and should be amazing if the night skies remain clear.

A chunky 35" pike caught on a silver minnow

Another reason I enjoy August so much is the lack of bugs.  On an average year the mosquito quits buzzing around the end of July and by August they are pretty much obsolete.  There are a couple mosquitoes here and there at the moment but they are disappearing rapidly.  Bugs and northern lights aside, the fishing in August is pretty darn good too.  I actually prefer August fishing to any other month.  The pike are throwing on the feed bag and are packing on the pounds for the quickly approaching winter. The walleye are rather predictable in August.  Most walleye are holding in 10-20 ft of water on rock piles.  Vertical jigging under the boat is the absolutely no questions asked the best way to catch boat loads of walleye in August. If the weather holds stable, the fish stay aggressive.

It has been rather pleasant here in the Opasquia Provincial Park.  Highs in the mid 70's and light winds have made fishing fairly easy throughout the week.  Conditions are still extremely dry and we are badly in need of rain.  The lack of rain has the lake levels incredibly low at the moment.  Be super careful when having shorelunch and out door fires.  Please make sure your fire is completely extinguished when you are done.  

Outpost Reports 

Waiting on the lake fog to lift 

Fishing at Central Lake has been pretty spectacular this week.  When you can boat and release 100 walleyes in three hours of angling, you have the ability to brag about the fishing.  Guests have been catching hordes of 16-20" walleye this week jigging in 10-20 ft.  1/4 oz pumpkinseed jigs have been the go to bait. Numerous walleye have also been in the 22-25" range.  The pike have been active when the clouds pop out and several 35-38" fish have been boated on Johnson silver minnows.  Top water action has been electric for northern. Smaller propellered Zara Spooks have been amazing. 

Burnt Lake popped a couple big northerns when I last checked in with them.  Big Boy bay is the place to be at the moment for trophies.  The walleye bite has been steady with a couple topping out at 25" were photo'd and released. Don't forget the amazing perch fishing in the weeds if you want to take a break from walleye and northern fishing.  

Cocos Lake guests have been focusing on the the deeper pools located in the Sagawitchewan river and have been doing really well for both species.  They noted the water was the lowest they have seen in almost twenty years.  

West Lake has been hitting the water super hard and I haven't been able to chat with the guys this week.  The rock in front of the dock is always one of my go to spots this time of year.  Also, the numerous walleye reefs on the north end of the lake should be holding some huge walleye this time of year.  

Southwest Lake never seems to slow down with the quantity of walleye.  The last guests trolled crankbaits along all the shorelines and claimed they boated fish wherever they went.  Nothing huge was boated last week but a ton of fish were caught.  

 South Lake admitted the week began on the slow side.  The numbers were down but there were some quality fish boated and released.  Several 27" walleye plucked 1/4 oz jigs with orange tails.  The fishing picked up however mid week and the guys said Wednesday was great.  

Good luck on the water everyone! 

-Nathan 

www.bighookcamps.com 

  

Summer Sun and Fun

One of many trophy South Lake walleye boated and released
the week of 7/15

I'm not going to lie, it has been hot this past week here in the Opasquia Provincial Park.  Daytime highs peaking into the high 80's and 90's has everyone sweating on the water.  The heat wave this past week has shot water temperatures into the mid seventies in most locations. The water I might add is just perfect for swimming.  A quick dip in the lake is the perfect remedy to cool down after a hot day on the water.

July has been a complete flip flop from June with very little rain and sunshine just about every day. Conditions are extremely dry and please use caution when having campfires and shore lunches.  Please make sure the fires are completely extinguished when you are finished.  The hot weather has been taking it's toll on the lake levels as they are continuing lower due to evaporation.

Another beauty South Lake eye.

I received several reports from the outposts this week.  Most camps reported a slow start to the week, however the walleye bite especially improved as the week progressed.  Fishermen mentioned walleye were deep in 22+ feet of water to begin the week and then moved up in the water column as the week continued on.  I managed to hit the water at Central three times over the past couple days and can attest the walleye were running shallower yesterday than at the beginning of the week.

Lake quick reports 

We had amazing luck yesterday at Central for walleye in 8-10 feet of water and even boated a dandy 26" walleye in a weed bed in 4 feet of water.  Many 32-40" pike have been boated and released also at Central, mainly coming from wind blown weed beds.  South continues to boat trophy walleye week in and week out, topping out at 30" this week.  West has had amazing luck with big walleye this week, numerous fish coming from the north end of the lake.  Burnt started hitting the fish fast and furious on Wednesday.  The current guests were almost able to land a 40+" fish on an ultra light rod.  Cocos was enjoying better luck towards the burnt lake rapids with several big walleye over 24+".

1/4 oz jigs with either orange, pumpkinseed, pink or white bodies have been out fishing every other lure.  Vertical jigging while back trolling over structure has been most effective.  There has been some action casting onto reef tops for walleye.  Walleye have also been schooling adjacent to wind blown weed beds the past several days.

The pike top water bite was amazing yesterday.  High flying action was abound during the afternoon hours. Buzz baits and zara spooks with propellers were the hot baits.  Sunny skies and calmer waters typically result with lots of follows.  Switching to top water will often bring about more aggression  from lazy fish.  Bucktails and silver minnows are other hot lures to toss.  Jigging larger shad type plastic baits have caught lots of northern off of deep reefs.



Good luck on the water everyone.  It is a hot day out so I am off to jump in the lake to cool down.
-Nathan
www.bighookcamps.com

The Sounds of Summer

This morning I awoke early and wandered down to the dock at Central Lake.  The sun was making its daily journey over the tree line while faint wisps of fog danced over the water.  I took a moment to just sit and listen; the sounds of summer were overwhelming.  Well, just after the mosquito buzzing in my ear was quickly silenced, the forest came alive.  Fish splashed at the surface trying to gather the last remaining may fly; a loons hypnotic cry broke out in the distance while our local Merlin falcons screeched out hunting early morning prey.  All of these sounds intertwine to create a unique boreal forest here in the Opasquia Provinical Park.

Small jigs work great for full
bellied walleye

My favorite sound of summer however, is rain falling on the metal roof of my cabin.  As odd as it may sound, the soothing noise of rainfall puts me in a trance and I can fall asleep in a heartbeat. Today, is the first true good rain we have received in the month of July.  Warm weather and several days of wind have cause conditions to become rather dry here in the north country.  Our water levels have fallen about a foot since the beginning of July.  Water levels though, are at about normal for this time of year.  Water temperatures are a bit cool, ranging in the mid to high 60's through most lakes.  The cooler water and a gloomy June hampered the weed growth this year.  There are mature weed beds but they are somewhat sparse compared to last year.    

Just when I thought the mayfly hatch would end last week, another batch would arise.  All in all, the hatch this year was sparse and in stages.  After cleaning several walleye today I noticed no signs of fresh mayfly, however most of the fish had full bellies. Walleye will digest mayflies rather quickly and become aggressive feeders within a couple days.

After the mayfly hatch walleye will traditionally migrate away from the mudflats and weed beds in search of bait fish.  Typically this time of year, they hold off of rock reefs and wind blown points in about 10-15 ft of water.  Vertical jigging 1/4 to 3/8 oz jigs right over the side of the boat is the most effective technique to catch fish.  Dragging crawler harnesses and trolling bigger lipped crank baits like Reef Runners or Shad Raps work great also.

A dandy Cocos Lake pike 

Pike are now holding tight to weed beds and wind blown points.  Bucktails, johnson silver minnows and top water baits are my favorite three lures to toss for those toothy critters.  Low light times have been better than mid day with a high sun.  Five to eight pm has been a good feeding period for bigger northern.

The Cocos Lake crib going
in. 

I chatted with most outposts today. West Lake was experiencing a little mayfly slow down for walleye but had boated several dandy pike.  South Lake was the front runner for walleye numbers and quality.  Monday evening alone, they boated and released a 26.5, 28, 28.25 and a 29.5" walleye.  That is a fantastic evening indeed, hopefully some great pics to come.  SW Lake was catching lots of fish just trolling cranks around an island east of the cabin.  Cocos Lake had a 40" boated yesterday evening along with a 26" walleye.  Burnt was having no problem locating walleye and perch with plenty of pike in the mix, however nothing huge....yet.  Central has been catching lots of walleye over the East portage and finding lots of schools around the north narrows and shorelunch island.

We have been getting some projects accomplished over the course of the summer.  A new crib at Cocos Lake a couple weeks ago; framed and trimmed in the windows at South Lake and replaced the entry way door with a more modern steel door with a sliding window; all the boardwalk at Central is now completely pressure treated.  New windows are coming to Cabin #1 at Central along with a new floating dock for Cabin #1 very soon.

Good luck on the water everyone!
-Nathan
www.bighookcamps.com
Remember to keep those pics from your last Big Hook trip coming.