Mid June Report

We are about a month into the 2015 fishing

Timber Wolf spotted at South Lake 

season and it has been great visiting with all the fishermen and women that have visited us thus far.  Some exciting fishing stories have already been exchanged ranging from giant northern smashing walleye at the boat to the BIG one that got away. "I swear that pike was 50+!" shouted one electrified fisherman.

However, out of all the big fish stories that have entertained me this season, it has been the little species that has truly surprised me.  2015 has been the season of the perch, thus far.  Southwest, West, Burnt, and Lemonade/Favourable Lakes have strung together some impressive perch totals.

Just this past Tuesday (June 16th), I flew to Favourable for a camp check and the guests were just raving about the fishing.

I commented "So you guys are catching some impressive walleye and pike?"

"Not at all, the PERCH are biting like crazy!" Replied the guest.

Perchin at Lemonade/Favourable Lake Outpost

After another camp check that day at SW Lake, I received a eerily similar report.  "What is making the perch so active this year?" I asked myself.  Truthfully, I don't have an answer. Perhaps several years ago a record hatch occurred throughout the area, or maybe the early ice out has something to do with it.  All I know is I am excited to see a healthy perch population exploding.  Various lures are enticing this species; from a simple hook and worm to 1/8" jigs with 2" tails to tiny silver rattle traps.  Just about all the perch have been boated in 4-6 foot muddy/weedy flats.  For those of you that are planning your trip for this summer, don't count out a couple perch baits for the ole tackle box.

Weather 

The past several days have been cooler that average.  Day time highs have crept to the mid 60's with nightly lows into the high 40's.  A massive low pressure spinning over Hudson Bay is the direct cause of the cooler weather.  Water temperatures have slipped to about 60 degrees on the surface.  The lake levels have come up a tad after receiving some decent rain showers last Saturday, Monday and Wednesday.  Weed growth has begun in the shallower bays, with some small amounts of cabbage being seen in the deeper beds.

Outposts 

Burnt 
Great numbers of perch were found in the far SW section of the lake along with walleye and pike.  Some larger pike have been boated on the beach of the north end.  Hotspot #5 should be a must when fishing this lake.

Central 
The south and west rapids have been the place for big walleye.  No Fish Bay, despite the name. has been another productive place for both walleye and pike. The West portage has been giving up numerous active trophy pike. 6-8 ft and mud should be a starting focus for anglers.

Cocos  

Dandy 27" South Lake Walleye

The rapids is active for walleye all year round and should be one of your first stops.  The creeks near Duckling Island will hold big pike for another week or so.  A dandy of a 37" northern was boated off the dock last week along with a 40" from the north rapids.

Lemonade/Favourable
Lemonade fishing reports are rather repetitive,  fish near the west side of the island and enjoy.  Plenty of other shorelines will produce walleye. The west shoreline has been the magic spot for perch.  Favourable's top pike spot has been Pike Alley.

South 
The guests yesterday showed me a pic of a dandy 28.5" walleye caught and released from a secret location.  I was told the north end of the lake was holding large schools of walleye.  The bigger fish seemed to have moved a tad deeper into 10-12' of water.  Trolling #5 Shad raps along mud flats were productive.

SW Lake perch dinner. 

SW
Perchin has been great just about 1/2 mile from the cabin on the north shore.  Shallow muddy/weedy flats are areas to focus on.  Walleye are hammering 1/4 oz jigs with 3" yellow tails.  Yellow has been the hot color.  A dandy 40" pike was boated in Hotspot #4.

West
The horseshoe has begun to turn on, bot pike and walleye are beginning to congregate where the deep cabbage grows.  The narrows towards the fish bowl has been holding several large northern.  Hotspot #6 is a go too area this time of year.

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

Northwoods creativity

About a month has passed since I arrived at Big Hook Camps Central Lake.  Mom, Dad and myself were incredibly thankful for an early opening this year.  The early season scramble is always a tense and busy time.  Flying freight until dark is a common scenario for me as we have over 15000 pounds of goods to transport from Sandy to the main camp and outposts.

Shadow inspecting the East Portage on Central Lake

Diagnosing the winter damage every spring opening can be a bit overwhelming.  Two significant mishaps occurred this past winter, both at Central Lake.  First, two windmills were inoperable as a major windstorm fried the internal electronics.  Having two of our three out of service is a huge deal since solar and wind are our primary sources of power. After many phone calls we were able to track down some parts....in Oklahoma. Turns out we purchased the last remaining parts that exist for our particular windmills, at least we lucked out on that! Now, ponder this, take a guess how long it takes to receive a shipment from the Oklahoma to the Opasquia Provincial Park.  I'll let you stew on that and will answer at the very end of this blog.

The second major issue we faced from winter damage was, no internet.  A shift in the cabin from  ground frost and an ice sheet from the roof caused the dish alignment to point awry.  Now calling a technician to come and tune in a dish is no small matter, as only TWO exist in NW Ontario.  An area almost the size of Texas and only two people are able to assist thousands of customers.  Needless to say Dad and I took it upon ourselves to solve the problem and after dozens of hours on the roof we managed to snag a signal from the sky.  It was an enjoyable moment to say the least.

Blue filter shot while having lunch.

Just yesterday (June 6th) after an excellent Saturday change over.  Dad and I stopped at our Cocos Lake outpost for a camp check and a chat with the customers.  After some friendly bantering we all decided to go our separate ways; the guests drove off in search of trophy pike while myself and Dad hopped into the plane...which did not start.  After a crank or two, the battery was dead.  Uh oh! First diagnosis, we have a faulty alternator on our hands. Hmmm now what? Our McGuyver instincts kicked into full swing.  After a sweep through the outpost Dad and I determined we had enough materials to jump start the airplane.  With my Leatherman pocket tool, I disconnected a line of 14/2 wire from the solar system while Dad removed the two 6 Volt batteries from our solar water pump.  After a couple brief minutes of stripping wire and combining the two batteries to make 12 volts we had our jumper system ready.

Those of you unfamiliar with 185 Cessna airplanes may find it interesting that the battery is located in the tail.  So, for our jump to work, one person (Dad)  had to sit in the tail of the aircraft and touch the wires to the old dead battery while the pilot (myself) starts the plane.  Well, sounds easy right?  Mother Nature decided to challenge us by suddenly notching the winds up to 20 mph right in our direction. After several different dock tethering scenario's we successfully started the plane and were able to make it home for a late dinner.  Sometimes it just takes a little creativity in the northwoods to solve a problem.

Numerous other fix-this and repair-thats have been performed in the last month and progress is being made.  All the camps are fully operational and customers have been enjoying the beauty of the north woods for a couple weeks now. The weather for our season opener was interesting to say the least;  32 degrees was the high for our first Saturday of the year.  Flying through ice pellets and snow showers left everyone longing for warmer weather.  Fortunately, warmer weather has settled upon us and the winter coats were shed in exchange for t-shirts.  The bugs have started to pop at bit and are no where near as bad as last year during this time.  During the evening they can be feisty so bring your spray if you intend to be out late.

A beautiful Burnt Lake CPR 

Fishing  

Fishing the week of May 30th-June 6th started rather slow after a wicked cold front.  Water temperatures fell 17 degrees from May 28th-May 30th after snow, ice pellets and sleet bombarded us.  However, the week ended on an uptrend after stable warm weather moved into NW Ontario.  Water temperatures are now back around 60 degrees on most lakes and the fishing has been excellent.  Walleye are holding in shallow mud flats or areas with rapids or current.  Pike have invaded sun struck shallow bays chasing bait and can also be found close to schools of walleye.

Most lakes reported several 40+" pike being boated and released; with hot lures varying from bucktails to delong eels.  Baits with slower presentations seemed to have the best success for trophy fish.  Largest pike reported to me was a 43.5" from West Lake on a jig.

Walleye have been hot after 1/4 oz jigs with smaller 2 or 3" tails.  Color hasn't been much of a factor as they seem to be striking just about everything.  I always have white, yellow, pumkinseed and flouro orange tails stashed in my tackle box.  Slow trolling #5 shad raps has been effective along 5-8 ft flats.  Fish should continue to hang in the shallower water for the next several weeks until the may flies hatch.

Good luck on the water everyone and make sure to send us your best fishing pictures.
_Nathan
www.bighookcamps.com

Oh yeah....it takes 22 days to receive windmill parts from Oklahoma to the Opasquia Provincial Park, the windmills are now in full operation.

Ice is Out

Yesterday we received the much anticipated phone call from Sandy Lake Seaplane that the majority of Central Lake is free and clear of ice.  According to the pilot report, some ice still remains on the north end of the lake.  As many of you know, last year was a late late ice out.  I taxi'd the plane around icebergs on the 24th of May and some lakes were not free and clear of ice until the 28th of May.  Our all time latest ice out was June 1st roughly 10 years ago.

My plan was to travel northbound today, however snow and wind has decided to grace it's presence as winter refuses to relinquish it's grip on NW Ontario.   Currently, Sandy Lake is basking in sunshine and warmer temperatures.  Unfortunately, visibility and ceilings are holding it far from flyable here on Eagle Lake.   But, warmer weather is on the way and the season will get steam rolling before we know it.

Food Restrictions 

Do your research before heading northbound.  Just recently, Canada has banned transporting numerous foods into the country in an effort to combat the spread of the Bird Flu.  The majority of the restrictions are related to poultry products such as: eggs, uncooked chicken and turkey. Attached is a link to an extremely helpful article on the details of the restrictions. 

Click HERE for the article.  

Customers have the option to purchase chicken products in Canada.  Grocery stores on your way north of the border are: 

Safeway in Fort Frances

Dryden Walmart

 

Safeway in Dryden

IGA in Red Lake

I hope to arrive at Big Hook tomorrow, weather permitting, and am excited to get the 2015 season rolling.
Good luck on the water everyone!
-Nathan
www.bighookcamps.com

Major warm up

Things are beginning to heat up in the north country.  An incredible warming trend has caused the snow and the majority of ice to vanish in the Eagle Lake area.  I arrived to Vermilion Bay two days ago with my travel companion Shadow the wonder dog. On my travels north from the States I didn't witness any ice on the lakes adjacent to Hwy 502.  Needless to say, if the future forecasts hold true, we should be experiencing an early ice out this year.

Sunset view on Eagle Lake 4/30

Preparing 

Mom, Dad and myself are beginning the early season scramble; gathering last minute supplies and staging goods to head northbound.  I am hoping to retrieve the airplane from Selkirk as early as Tuesday.  Word from Sandy Lake is that a fair amount of ice remains in the area but is melting quickly.  Temperatures the next several nights will remain above freezing and Saturday's forecasted high is a toasty 73 degrees.  Several days like that and open water throughout the Opasquia Provincial Park will appear in no time.  Rain is also in the forecast for Sunday and will only aid in the erosion of ice. 

  

Another positive to consider, is the majority of our lakes throughout the park have a considerable amount of flow. Both Cocos and Central lead the charge, having numerous rapids pushing water and are typically the first two bodies of water to open.  We will keep in touch with Sandy Lake Seaplane often for current ice reports. 

I expect fishing patterns to be well ahead of last year.  Official ice out for 2014 was May 24th.  The late ice and cool weather last year caused a delayed spawn for both species.  I remember catching walleye full of eggs into the first part of June.  The earlier ice out this season should have both species shaking off their post spawn laziness by the time guests arrive. 

Good luck on the water everyone, we are excited to get the ball rolling for the 2015 season. 

-Nathan 

www.bighookcamps.com