2018 Wilderness Report #11

Another big storm tracked through the Opasquia Provincial Park last Monday (August 13th).  In an eight hour span we received roughly 4" of rain here at Central Lake coupled with constant lightening and howling winds.  The rest of the outposts reported similar amounts of precipitation from the system. However, Burnt and Central Lake seemed to take the brunt of the storm, which is interesting considering they are on opposite sides of the park.  The massive amount of rain has caused the water levels to shoot up.  Central alone is up over a foot since Monday, with the water almost up to the front lawn.  The water at Burnt is just about to the edge of the dock.  The rain was welcomed and greatly needed as water levels had dropped to the lowest point of the season prior.   

Monday's front caused a big shift in the fish, as to be expected. Water temperatures Sunday night were a warm 73 degrees and by Monday morning the water temperatures chilled to 64.  That big swing caused the fishing to damper down considerably.  The rise in water have the rapids gushing and drawing lots of baitfish to the moving water.  I expect a good amount of fish to be holding in or around the current over the next couple of weeks. 

The walleye bite has been light, so smaller baits have been more effective the past couple days.  1/4 oz jigs with 3" tails was boating more fish vs 1/2 oz jigs with 4" tails. Trolling perch colored mini reef runners worked great also.  Fish are holding in their typical late summer patterns, 15-25 ft of water on windy points or mid lake humps.  However, with the increase in water flow many fish are migrating to moving water.  

While guiding Central on Wednesday, the hottest spot on the lake was the West rapids.  Quality 18-22" walleye were holding tight to the current and in big numbers.  We had most success pitching crankbaits down current and slowly reeling back to the boat. South Lake reported 13 walleye between 25-28.5" thus far, with the 28.5" being caught the very first cast of the trip.  Southwest Lake was catching the majority of their fish just east of the camp and around the big area to the SW end of the lake that we call Spain.  Burnt Lake reported great numbers of walleye on wind blown points, however they were finding the perch scattered. 

Red sun mornings from the smoke out west 

The pike habitat changed with the rise in water levels.  Weed beds got more difficult to locate, as the majority are now a foot under the surface.  On a good note, running baits over the top of the weeds got a lot easier.  Silver spoons (Johnson Silver Minnows, Williams Wobblers) seemed to work better than most baits last week.  Some top water baits were still drawing attention.  Mini Medussa's by Chaos Tackle activiated some hard strikes.  I've shied away from big plastics recently due to the fact little pike chomp off tails quickly. However Medussa's are great since they have three tails and are still useful after one goes missing to a pike bite off (unlike a bulldawg). 

Most of the camps have been focusing on walleye this week thus the pike report is a bit thin.  The big girls have been timid here at Central, we had some good follows in the north narrows but couldn't hook up.  South Lake boated a couple of 38" fish trolling for walleye.  SW managed a 37".  Attached right is a 42" pike boated at Burnt Lake the previous week (8/10). 

The Red Lake district implemented a total fire ban for the area.  They didn't receive any rain from the Monday front, all the precipitation fell north of Sandy Lake. Red Lake and south towards the border has been hampered from lack of rain for over a month now.  NW Ontario has been blanketed in smoke the past week from the fires out west in British Columbia, we have had numerous hazy red sun mornings and evenings as a result. 

Good luck on the water everyone. 

-Nathan

www.bighookcamps.com

2018 Wilderness Report #10

It's a heat wave here in the Opasquia Provincial Park. It's 94 degrees here today at Big Hook Camps and warmer weather is on the way for tomorrow. The forecast for Saturday is a sweltering 100 degrees here in the park. That's the warmest weather we have had in almost 10 years!  Fortunately, the heat wave is only supposed to last until Sunday afternoon.  Thankfully, a cold front is forecast to bring some cooler weather and rain late Sunday into Monday. 

A West Lake trophy from earlier this
season. 

The fish have been responding to the heat in an odd fashion.  Yesterday the weather was 80+ degrees with not a breath of wind here at Central. The surface temperature was a brisk 67, cool considering the temperatures of late. I figured walleye would be harboring in deeper waters considering the elements.  After two hours of jigging and only about 6 fish to show for it, we altered our strategy and began jigging and tossing crankbaits on top of 6 ft reefs. We were quickly rewarded with dozens of quality walleye.  Apparently, walleye at Central Lake like to buck the stereotype.

I managed to get on the water just about every day this week at Central.  As mentioned before walleye were caught at just about every depth, from 6 ft to 30 ft.  Vertical jigging with 1/4 and 3/8 oz jigs tipped with 3" Ripple Shad or Fluke Gulp tails worked best. A black1/4 oz echotail boated several fish in the 22-25" range. The high sun afternoons did cause walleye fishing to slow but would pick right back up in the afternoon/evening.  Forward trolling a Hot N Tot or Reef Runners in roughly 15 ft are a great way to break up the monotony.

The pike bite has remained more productive in the

Big walleye on a medusa?! Maybe it's a new trend. 

 late afternoon. We tried hard on Central for daytime production but the big girls remained dormant in the morning hours.  Topwater (top raiders, whopper ploppers, zara spooks) and blade baits (mepps musky killers, essox assault duel blades) remain the go-to lures.  Silver minnows tipped with a twister tail are great for finding fish located in heavy foliage.  We have had really good luck trolling deep diving crank baits along shorelines for big pike as of late.  Trolling has been outproducing casting truth be told. 

Lots of people have been asking me to post Mom's famous jalapeno corn recipe, so here it is.
Super easy to make and it is for a serving size of 6. 

Ryan and Gunner out for a paddle on the new
paddle board at Central. 

Jalapeno Corn

3 cans kernel corn (drained)
1- 8 oz tub of soft Herb and Garlic cream cheese
1 chopped fresh jalapeno (seeds removed) or bottled jalapeno to taste
Sprinkle with fresh chives and parsley
Mix well and bake at 350 degrees for 30 min in an oven safe dish.

Enjoy, it's a favorite among our customers. 

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

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

2018 Wilderness Report #8

Wow, what a storm! We finally received some much needed rain here in the Opasquia Provincial Park.   According to our rain gauge, around two inches of rain fell overnight last night (7/23), and it came down in buckets.  The rain on the metal roof, usually hypnotizing, was actually quite deafening.  The rain is continuing to fall as I write this blog.  Water levels should start to rise after this deluge.  Levels on most lakes were approaching lows I have never witnessed.  A cold north wind has tagged along with the rain and today's high is going to be a mild 50 degrees.  The welcomed rain will help the fire situation as conditions in the area were labeled as extremely high fire danger.

The planes are ready for a Saturday change over

This cold snap may cause the fish to dive into deeper waters. Yesterday, the surface temperature at Central was 70 degrees.  This morning it had already sunk to 66 degrees.  Smaller baits may be more effective as fish can be less aggressive after a cold front.   A short-lived guide trip this morning supports the previous statement.  We found walleye just tapping our baits, barely hanging on the ends of the jig tails.  However, some good schools were located in about 20 ft.  To combat the short strikes, I switched from a jig and twister to a 1/4 oz Kastmaster jigging spoon and was hooking up on more fish.  

The walleye bite before today was active and steady.  Fish are holding anywhere from 8-25' with the majority hanging in 12-16' range.  Vertical jigging 1/4 oz or 3/8 oz jigs with 3" Ripple Shad tail while slowly backtrolling is a favorite technique of mine.  Light colors produce on sunny days while darker colors on cloudy days are preferred.  Trolling crankbaits along windblown shorelines in 12-20' is a great alternative to jigging. 

A northern pike selfie. 

The northern bite continues to be most active along weeds in the late afternoon and early into the evening.  Bucktails, like musky killers and Mepps Agilas, have been outproducing the larger baits.  Bright blades and skirts seem to be the favorites.  Casting the heavy weeds still requires the old faithful, Johnson silver minnow.  The 3/4 oz or 1 1/4 oz is a must have spoon in everyone's tackle box for pike.  The top water bite will stall for a few days until the water begins to warm back up.  

West Lake topped the 40" mark for pike several times over the past couple days, while South Lake has a couple 28"+ walleye under their belts so far.  Southwest is catching lots of fish on any rock reefs in 12 ft of water.  Reefs just north of camp at Central Lake are holding quality walleye.  Big boy bay at Burnt Lake still holds the crown for top northern spot on the lake. The deep pools in the Sagawitchewan river on Cocos Lake are holding lots of fish. 

Good luck on the water everyone! 

-Nathan

www.bighookcamps.com