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Fish Ontario’s Northwest For the Best!
Walleyes • Northern Pike • Lake Trout • Moose |
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Lake Savant-the fishery
Don't Just Fish! Catch Fish!
Our fishery is not over fished. It's a protected, remote, no drive-in, no outside access wilderness. You will catch fish! Our exceptional fishery offers a near-perfect balance for fishing equality of all species and provides unlimited opportunity to the trophy and recreational fisherman alike. The gene pool for North American and IGEA World Records is here!Wildewood's Ontario world-class fishing adventures have been featured many times on TNN and ESPN and showcased on the In-Fisherman television series more times on more networks than any other Canadian fishing destination. It has also been featured and endorsed by Angling Report Newsletter and In-Fisherman magazine, Walleye Annual, Walleye Insider, IGFA, and many other outdoor publications and radio talk shows. "This is one of our favorite camps." Dave Csanda, Matt Straw, and Jim Lindner Canadian Fishing Paradise- Lake trout in the 40-45" range have been caught and released- A 59 ½" northern pike was caught and released - Walleyes over 35" and whitefish exceeding 10 lbs. have been taken over the years. These are fish of a lifetime! It's not uncommon to catch 50 or even 100 walleye in one day, a northern pike in the 40-inch-plus range, or a trophy lake trout above 20 pounds. Plus, you'll enjoy our well-maintained camp with excellent boats, motors, and housekeeping cabins. Wildewood on Lake Savant in Northwest Ontario Canada is known for fantastic walleye fishing, northern pike fishing, and lake trout fishing. Fishing reports (link to FISHING REPORTS) are direct from our guests. Come catch the fish of a lifetime-many of our guests do. They come back year after year. Return To Top Best Time to Catch FishMay-June (early season) can literally produce a fish on every single cast. Walleye and northern pike will move into staging areas adjacent to spawning beds for several weeks after ice off. They can stack up in huge numbers, creating an absolute bonanza. Lake trout are shallow, scattered and easy to catch. That's spring!
September (late season) is the most beautiful time of all and offers outstanding fishing. Water temperatures start to drop and again this triggers a change in patterns. Large lake trout move shallow for pre-spawn and most often require only bait-casting strategies. Northern pike and walleye generally move shallow and become aggressive. In late September comes the lake trout bonanza in five to fifteen feet of water for fly-fishing or spin casting. That's fall! Not uncommon: 23-28 inch walleyes 40-48 inch northern 15-25 pound lake trout Return To Top Ontario Fishing RegulationsClick on link below FOR the Ministry of Natural Resources (MNR) Ontario fishing regulations:Bait Regulations www.mnr.gov.on.ca/en/ General Fish Handling Knowledge & TipsGood day, bad day:A typical good-fishing day: a warm front, light rain, and moderate winds causing a choppy surface. A typical poor-fishing day: a cold front, bright sun and/or a thunderstorm, calm water or an easterly wind. Remember the old saying: "When the wind is out of the east, the fishing is the least.
Spring: When you see springtime trees and shrubs budding and flowering, know that some fish species are going through their reproductive/spawning cycle. If you're angling for trout or northern pike, spring is a good time, especially in the afternoon with sun-warmed water. Return To Top Summer: Fish feed more in summer than in winter because their metabolism slows in cold and increases in warmth. Understanding water temperature can help you find fish. During summertime, relatively shallow lakes will experience thermoclines. Less-dense warm water sits on top of colder, denser water that sinks to the bottom. A thermocline will separate them. The warm surface water is exposed to the sun during the day, and there is very little mixing of warm water and cold water. As summer wears on, there is less and less oxygen below the thermocline, because water below the thermocline never circulates to the surface. Fish tend to move into the thermocline during these months. For more information,Click on links below from the Ministry of Natural Resources (MNR) for Ontario's fishing regulations:http://www.mnr.gov.on.ca/MNR/fishing/care.html
Return To Top Be a True Sport - Catch and ReleaseCatch on to "Catch and Release"For conservation: No body of water has an infinite supply of fish. Even under the best conditions, only a few fish will grow to adulthood out of the hatching of eggs from one parent. Sometimes none survive. Do you want an abundant fishery for yourself and for those who follow you? The best way to protect and improve the fishery is to selectively harvest smaller fish for the table. In Ontario waters, sunfish, rock bass and yellow perch are far more abundant than bass or walleye. Keep some of these panfish rather than holding your limit of the less abundant game fish. The growing popularity of catch and release has proven in many studies to result in more and larger fish in Ontario lakes, in spite of a quarter-century of increasing numbers of anglers using advanced tackle and sophisticated electronics. It's a matter of learning how to quickly and carefully return large spawning-age fish to the water so they can spawn again and be caught again. For closed season and size limits: If you catch fish during closed season in Ontario, you must release them right away. In the case of size limits, fish of a certain size, which may not be kept legally, must be promptly released live. Steps to becoming proficient at catch and release: If you release fish carefully and promptly, they have the best chance of survival. Here's how…. Proper tackle & technique for a shorter fight time. A fish that struggles long builds up harmful waste products in its blood that may cause a longer recovery time after release. If you can land a fish quickly, it has the best chance for survival. The right gear and technique will limit fighting time. Tackle weight: Match your rod, reel and line to your fishing. If you're going for muskie or pike, you don't want an ultra-light outfit geared for brook trout. Return To Top
Lures: Select the best lures for fish survival after live release - usually, artificial lures. With artificial lures, fish are typically hooked in the mouth rather than throat or gills. You can easily remove a hook from a lip. That means less chance for fish injury due to handling, lack of oxygen, and swallowed hooks. Hooks: Consider replacing treble hooks with single hooks. Use barbless hooks, which cause less damage to the fish and are easy to remove. Try filing down the barbs or pinching them with pliers. Net: A good net to help you land fish will be made of coated or rubberized mesh, helping reduce injury to eyes, fins, and gills. Live bait technique: If you choose live bait, set the hook soon after the strike, making it less likely for the fish to swallow the bait which would make it hard for you to remove the hook quickly and safely. Jigging technique: When jigging, keep slight tension on the line; many strikes occur while the lure is being dropped to the bottom, not when it's being lifted. This technique will help prevent the fish from inhaling the jig. Pulling technique: If you're fighting a large fish, don't pull when it pulls - but do pull when it doesn't pull. Return To Top Handling fish with careFish need water for oxygen, so don't keep them out of water for too long. If you must remove a fish from the water, don't drop it. If it thrashes about in the boat or on shore, it can become injured and/or lose its slime coating that helps guard against disease.Don't hold fish by the eyes or gills - this can seriously hurt or kill the fish. If you must grab the body, make sure your hands are wet and you aren't squeezing. Try placing your wet hand firmly over the gill covers and top of the head. If you grip most panfish, as well as smallmouth and largemouth bass, by the lower jaw and then lift them vertically, you will temporarily paralyze them. If you catch a bigger bass, support it under the stomach so it won't become injured. You may hold small-to-medium sized walleye, northern pike and muskie behind the head with one hand and just in front of the tail with your other hand. If you've landed a very large fish, this may not be possible. Trophy fish need special handling techniques. To secure large walleye, pike, muskie, and most trout or salmon, hold them with one hand around the area just in front of their tail and your other hand under the belly. It may help you to use a custom landing glove or wet cotton glove to keep your grip near the tail.
Don't use a stringer or a live basket; they stress fish and threaten survival after release. For the same reason, it's not a good idea to keep all your fish in a live well and release them at the end of your fishing excursion. However, If you use a live well to hold fish for a while, you must maintain a good water level, aeration and temperature. A healthy temp is about ten degrees colder than the lake's surface temperature; you may add a little bit of ice. Fish stress may also be reduced if you add non-iodized salt in the ratio of 1/3 cup (78 ml) per 5 gallons (23 liters) of water in the live well. Return To Top Just a note: fish kept (on a stringer or in a live well, etc.) and not immediately released count toward your daily catch and retain or possession limit. Safely removing the hook.Be gentle and quick! There is an art to removing hooks. If you can, hold the fish in even a bit of water, using a net. Quickly twist the hook with a pair of long-nose fishing pliers or try using a surgical hemostat to minimize damage. Grasp the hook near its bend and apply pressure to back the hook point-out, opposite the direction it entered. You may have to use pliers with side cutters to snip a line or hook that's impossible to remove. Don't tear the hook out of the fish.In the case of a deeply-hooked fish, don't even try working the hook out. Just cut the hook shank or line. Trying to remove a deeply-imbedded hook can injure the fish even more. If you leave it in the fish, the hook will probably rust away or be decomposed by digestive juices, in time.
Looking before releasing.Pay attention! Your fish will probably die if it is limp or listless, has cloudy eyes or faded gills (no longer bright red), or is bleeding from the gills or throat. Do not release severely-injured fish.Once you've removed the hook, be gentle when you release the fish. If you drop or throw it back, it may become more stunned and get trapped in vegetation or sinkto the bottom and die. Return To Top To make certain the fish can swim normally, be sure its gill covers are moving and that it can keep its balance before you let it go. In order for the fish to get oxygen, you may need to hold it upright in a swimming position and move it slowly back and forth so water runs through its gills. When the fish begins to move briskly, release it. Don't be in a hurry -- it may take a few minutes or more for the fish to fully recover and be able to swim away. A fish that cannot right itself and floats on the surface should not be released. Deeper water, deeper concerns.If you're fishing more than 30 ft. (10 meters), consider that a fish has to deal with "decompression" similar to a scuba diver. Some cold water species like lake trout can usually adjust to changes in water pressure easily, and can be released without damage after being pulled from any depth, in any season.However, some fish (including lake trout) caught from different depths may experience expansion of their air bladders that might cause death. And warm water species don't have the ability to equalize pressure. If you can, draw pike and walleye slowly to the surface so they may adjust to pressure changes, then release them immediately. To release a fish caught from deep water, slip it out of your wetted hands head-first into the water, while you stand. This technique heads the fish in the right direction and also puffs oxygen through its gills. Bragging rights - catching the perfect fish photo!Be ready! Have your camera handy so you can snap that photo immediately, in order to put that trophy right back into the lake. When posing for the picture, angler and fish face the sun; camera faces away from the sun. Best pose is holding the fish in a horizontal position, supporting its weight with both arms and hands. If you're planning to release a large fish, never hold it vertically.Return To Top Help protect our spectacular Wildewood walleye, northern pike and trophy lake trout fishing for generations to come. Wildewood strongly suggests catch and release and recommend having fish replicas made. We can arrange for your trophy mounting needs. Helpful Fishing LinksTAXIDERMY
TAXIDERMY Not interested in having taxidermy work done in Canada? Take a look at Todd Buchanan's (guest of Wildewood) site. All work done in the USA. www.buckspromounttaxidermy.com Return To Top BOATS, MOTORS, RECREATION Love the motors we use at Wildewood? Pinewood Sports and Marine is the place to go for Honda motors, boats, four-wheelers, snow machines, and more. We appreciate the way they stand behind their products with us, and yes, they will deliver to you in the U.S. Check out their great pricing! FISHING LURES Inspired by Wildewood at Lake Savant, the new Savant Spoon is now available online at www.savantspoon.com. Sutton Spoons are also available online. Catch lake trout, pike, salmon, etc. Tom Manning, president and owner of Savant Spoon, has been a long-time guest of Wildewood. FISH FINDERS GEAR Discount prices on Eagle, Lowrance, Garmin and Hummingbird fish finders and unique fishing gear. www.fish-finders-gear.com BRING 'EM TO THE TABLE Learn how to remove the "Y" bones from northern pike and start enjoying boneless fillets in no time! www.bringemtothetable.com. Our Fishing ReportsThis Northwest Ontario Fishing Report for Wildewood on Lake Savant is brought to you weekly by our guests during the fishing season (May - September).Return To Top Sept 2, 2007...A week of fall weather prevailed...with sunny days and cool nights. Wind and showers several days but overall a nice week. It's starting to feel and look like moose hunting's just around the corner. Speaking of moose, several were seen along the lake shore and we're still seeing tracks on the trail most days. Fishing was good this week with the priority on lake trout. Matt Neufeld's party from Boulder Junction, WI, along with guide Neil, boated 60 lakers plus for several mid-week days of fishing. No monsters, but 8 lbs to low teens was the norm coming out of 45' to 50'. The past two weeks' trend is they're moving up early this year. Best producing bait this week was Savant Spoon's new offering, the Humpy Spoon in glow green, neon green chart blending to yellow...the best producer without question. Some of the lures did catch fish but mainly in the green/chart variety. Numerous 24" to 28.5" walleyes in 45' to 55' were caught on the Humpy while trout fishing. The big sucker minnows were best overall for the larger eyes and the large trolling lures after dark. Regular minnows on jigs and little joe spinner rigs worked well for small and mid-size fish while leeches and crawlers were not the hot setup this week. Overall 23" to 28" eyes were plentiful with the right presentation. Several low 40" northerns topped the trophy pike list. Tim Bina's group sent in a fishing report from last week...see below.… August 31, 2007...from the Bina group...The Bina group enjoyed their 20th trip to Wildewood this year. If there was a theme to this year's trip, it was "wind." The wind blew all week right up to the time when we came off the lake on the last night, when it laid down and the water became like a huge mirror. The good thing about the wind was that it blew consistently out of the South for the entire week and this seemed to have a positive impact on the walleye fishing as it was some of the best walleye fishing we have experienced since coming to
While we did catch some nice fish - largest for the week was a 41.5" northern - we normally have multiple northerns over 40" and this year had only one. Also at some of our traditional "hot spots," we came up empty. So we never really figured out the northern pattern for the week. All the fish this year (walleyes and northerns) were eating very well as they all were very fat with large bellies. One day moose were spotted outside of Whitefish Bay and had a very interesting weather experience. On Wednesday it was a beautiful (windy) day, with partly sunny skies. In Half Moon Bay, one large very dark cloud formed and while still very sunny it started lightning and thundering, so we headed for a small island in Half Moon Bay to let it pass. As we got up on the island and looked out at the lake, we started to see splashes of water in the distance and watched them come our way - obviously it was hailing - we then looked up at the sky - (the sun was still shining brightly). We saw what looked like diamonds falling from the sky. (Actually it was the rain and hail falling from the sky with the
July 27, 2007...Weather started out stable...the first two days with light winds, sunny, and 90 degrees. Tuesday and Wednesday, dead calm and 99 to 101 degrees. Thunderstorms and heavy rain Thursday morning clearing by mid- afternoon with temps dropping to the mid 70s. Fishing had a similar pattern with good fishing the first few days, slowed mid-weekend and turned back on late in the week. 22" to 25" walleyes were plentiful for some fishermen with 26" to 28.5" in the top range. 37" to 38" northerns were the largest for the week with lots of slot size fish. Richard Lefebvre and Larry Crea group of six were the best at numbers of mid-size lakers. Overall the best walleye and northern fishermen for the week was Jeff Plazak from Canal Fulton OH and Berry Martin from Smyrna TN. Berry and Jeff had several 100-plus walleye days with many in the 24" to 26" range. Mid- week was also slow for the OH/TN fishermen but they still managed to catch and release four to six times their limits. Thursday they were back to good numbers again, using jigs and walleye spinner rigs. Leeches were the bait of choice. The skill of catching this week was in tracking down the depths where the fish were feeding from day to day. One day it was 4' to 8' while several days it was 18' to 25'. The Calloways from Tomahawk WI had a relaxing week. The days were so hot, most did very little fishing until late evening. Everyone was happy we installed the 2300' PM ceiling fans in all the cabins. Wildewood has been testing some new F series model 4-stroke Yamaha outboards this year. Test results will be included in our December newsletter. Return To Top July 20, 2007...Several sunny days for a change this week with a few showers mixed in at times. The week started out with a cold front and ended with the same. Highs in the 80s with several mornings in the low 40s. Overall the catch and release numbers slowed after both fronts. But first-timers Aaron Van Briesen, brother Nathan, and dad Roger caught more fish and bigger fish than all their previous Canadian fishing trips combined! Their larger walleyes were in the mid 20s, northern in the 30" class, and lake trout ranging up to Aaron's 13 pounder. Matt Neufeld and wife Kim from Boulder Junction WI had a relaxing week with catches of walleyes exceeding 25". Matt enjoyed his lake fishing with days of six plus fish, up to 10 lbs, with several mid-size northerns at 60-plus feet. Ron Delbridge's group from Princeville IL area recorded eyes in the 24" to 27" range on crawlers and bottom bouncers. Best overall walleye producer was still the 1/8 oz. jig with leeches and minnows, and extra-large minnows on 1/4 oz. jigs in 18-25'. Windy days 8-12' was best overall. The gulp leech and 3" shad were also good producers. The large suckers and ciscos produced the larger lakers, but trolling the yellow/green Savant Spoon produced the numbers between 62' and 70'. JD Hartshorn, Todd Buchanan and their sons from Indianapolis caught fish in the trophy range and took several home for mounting. Todd is a taxidermist (see favorite links page). Everyone had lots of walleyes to eat and the Weber grills were busy most evenings. Even though fishing slowed from past weeks, some fishermen reported 30-plus fish days. Two groups saw several caribou swimming, lots of eagles sighted, and fresh moose tracks on the trail everyday. The early spring fires south of Lake Savant seemed to push additional moose into our hunting area. Think big fish! Return To Top
Return To Top July 6, 2007...The high northerly jetstream brought warm weather, a few sunny-windy days and thunder showers by mid-week. All guests reported very large numbers of trophy size fish for all species. John Schillinger and grandson Grant from Cumming IA had days of non-stop walleye catch and release. The Schillingers said, "Our best fishing ever and Neil's shore lunch was great!" The Temple family (group of seven) invaded camp over the Canadian holiday weekend. Not only did they take top honors for largest walleye at 28 ½" and lake trout at 42", their fireworks display was professional grade. Chef Neil did his thing with the frying pan for the Temples while the kids went swimming (64 degree water temp). The Tom Barrix group from Baraboo, WI caught and released up to 14 lakers per day and reported good northern and walleye fishing. Keith Helmut from Oregon WI had a laker strip all his line off and kept on trucking. The Baraboo/Oregon group decided to follow Neil's suggestion for big walleyes (big live sucker minnows). All they could say was "I can't believe it!" As Neil headed back to camp from the narrows Wednesday night, everyone was catching mid-20" eyes. The same is deadly for lakers and northerns. Best baits for the week were jigs and live bait. Walleyes were in 14' to 20' and lakers 58'-65'. The 6" storm wildeye swim shad produced some plus-40" northerns and a few lakers. The ciscos are starting to surface early this summer so we may need to think big magnum Rapalas soon and maybe the wildeye shad (silver/black). The 42" laker was caught on a live sucker at 62' and released. Not sure on the weight, but a 41-incher weighed in at 27 pounds 10 oz. earlier this season. July 4, 2007...Happy 4th of July as we remember and give thanks to so many for our freedoms! June 29, 2007...Fishing the past... Two weeks have been awesome, as John and Linda Danforth from Odessa FL stated. "We've never caught and released so many 22" to 25" walleyes in our lives!" John's largest was just over 28", and the trophy northerns plus-40" just keep feeding too. The Danforths' 44" plus-25 pounder was also released. John and Linda are former Bass Masters winners. 1/8 and 1/4 oz. jigs with a gulp leech worked well most days with slow presentation and the big "eyes" are feeding on 4"-6" ciscos. Huge mayfly hatch again this week but they didn't slow the fishing. Good numbers of lakers but nothing over 13 lbs. in the 50' depth range. By the way, did I mention it's still raining!? The temps have been in the 80-90 degree range although Thursday it dropped to 39 as a cold front moved in late night. Think big fish! Return To Top June 16, 2007...Two week catch up... as our webmaster, Jeanie, and her uncle Jim were in camp for part of the last two weeks. June 3rd week was more of the same...rain, rain, and more rain. The lake is now higher than normal spring levels. The driving rains kept most fishermen in camp many days. The few that did go fishing left the docks around noon. Fishing was good considering the time spent on the water. Walleyes to 24" and lots of slot northern pike with only a few plus-35", lake trout fishermen were rewarded with numbers, with the larger fish in the 9-12 lb. range. June 9th week weather much improved with a few isolated showers and temps in the 90s most days. 1/8 oz. jigs with live bait was the best producer early in the week for walleyes, while Rapalas were the big producer for numbers of 24"-28" fish by mid-week. 81-year-old Curt Claus from Milwaukee took top honors for the week. Most of the larger walleyes were caught within sight of camp and several 20 lb.-plus northern were also boated in the bay. Northern fishing was very good for numbers of 35"-plus fish. Most were released but several plus-42's were going on the wall. Best laker of the week went to Guy Korpanai of Franksville, WI at 21 lbs. on a Sutton Spoon at 55'. Lots of happy fishermen this week!
June 2, 2007...From a drought and a near-record fire season to a rain forest. Well over 20 inches fell this week with rain every day. Temps ranged from 38 to 84 on Friday. The good news was that fishing remained excellent. One group of two fishermen from Eagle River, WI reported catching and releasing 30 walleyes per hour before noon, then fishing picked up and they stopped counting! The gulp baits were still the bait of choice for most fishermen. 2" and 3" gulp minnow grub and smelt chartreuse was the hot color on 1/8 oz. jigs. Most fishermen reported 27" walleyes largest for the week with plenty of 20 to 24 inchers. Most of the 37" to 40"-plus northern pike were caught on the same. Several of the 38" northern pike were 20 lbs, not far behind the plus-40 inchers. Not much time spent on lake trout fishing this week, but the few that did caught them to 10 lbs. Several larger ones were on, but never boated. Several caribou were seen swimming and our two "resident" geese are still feeding in the front yard. Think big fish! See you soon.... Return To Top May 25, 2007...Weather unstable to say the least... From 24°F and snow to 80°F and rain. By week's end, another cold front on the way. First two days, walleye numbers were down slightly for most fishermen. Light line, floating jigs direct to the line, split shot or slip sinker, minnows or 3" gulp minnow grub in pink. By mid-week, the gulp black shad was a good producer. Anglers reported good numbers of 17" to 24" walleyes by week's end in 6' to 9' depth range. The larger northern pike, however, had the feed bag on right from the start. Lots of 36" to low 40" class fish were reported. The week ended with Robert Apple's 40", 27 lb. 10 oz. lake trout taking top honors for the week. The laker was caught at the 30' level on a large jointed black-silver Rapala. Most of the other lakers were also in the 25'-20' range trolling. Water temps ranged from 54°F over deep water to 63°F in the shallow bays. Lots of wildlife spotted...seven moose, two caribou, five bears, and a timberwolf! May 21, 2007...Season Opening Weekend May 15th... After a hot dry spring and forest fires out of control, an arctic cold front invades NW Ontario with temps dropping to 24°F overnight Friday with freezing rain and snow. Most fishermen didn't leave the docks until around noon Saturday, while several kept their cabin woodstoves burning. The cold front didn't seem to slow down the northern pike fishing with 36" to 42" fish in good supply. However, the walleyes were playing hard to get at first. By late afternoon the presentation was....4 to 6 lbs. test line, floating jigs w/split shot or slip sinker 24+ "es ahead of the jig, tipped with a minnow, and boat control being the key. By Sunday the gulp power baits, same presentation, out-produced minnows about four to one. Hot pink 3" minnow chub was the color of choice both days. The fishermen using this presentation were now reporting 40-50 walleyes per boat from 17-24 inches. Most of the lake trout were under 10 lbs., so far, on cut bait. One group did limit out on lake trout by trolling spoons. Weather report calls for a warming trend and rain most of the week. Think big fish! Return To Top May 15, 2007...Savant Lake fire update... The fire that started last Wednesday in the town of Savant Lake from a train derailment is south of the railroad tracks. MNR was working with three fire bombers and 150 personnel to get it under control as of yesterday. Late yesterday brought some good news...it started raining and continued into the night. They are expecting it to rain off and on for a few days, so that should wet things down a bit while the fire is brought under control. Right now all the roads are open. Myers road is open only to guests flying from their float base. It is about 12 miles from Wildewood and if the fire did travel north of the tracks, the cuts in the bush that took place last winter should keep it from getting anywhere close...there is good in everything. No smoke reported at camp this morning. As a reminder, don't throw anything lit out the window on the way up...too many fires start on the side of the road as many have probably seen near their own homes. So get your fishing gear ready, the fish start jumping this Saturday on walleye opening day!
April 22, 2007..."Why go fishing when you can go catching?" The snow is gone except for a few patches in the shade that drifted. This past week we saw temps in the mid 50's and 60's. For a while it didn't look good for opening day ice off, but things are looking up. The ice is dark and we see some open water along the southern shorelines. Water levels are very low throughout NW Ontario this spring. Many lakes are down 5'-15' so far. Wildewood Fish RecipesDue to popular demand for our fish recipes, here they are! Ingredient amounts are approximate (we are pinch- hitting here) as we do not exactly measure things when we cook. You can vary to your tastebuds. Be creative, adjust recipes from time to time.Return To Top And if you like chili...Richard entered his infamous recipe in a chili cook-off, came in 4th...not bad for the first time. Walleye Casserole from Richard's Kitchen Fillet lake trout with skin on. Make sure you remove all the bones. Arrange on platter or cookie sheet with skin side down. Pat dry. Generously sprinkle with: walleye fillets sour cream (or cream of mushroom soup) sliced mushrooms thin lemon slices (lemon pepper optional) Lawry's seasoned salt pepper basil shredded cheese In casserole dish cover bottom with sour cream or soup, add fillets, season, add thin layer of sour cream (or soup), sliced fresh mushrooms, lemon slices, then cover with cheese. Repeat the process until dish is about 1/2" from top. Bake 45 minutes at 350° covered, then uncover and bake 15 minutes at 400°. Remove from oven, let stand 15 - 20 minutes before serving, if you can wait that long. Garnish with fresh parsley and serve over wide noodles or wild rice. Wildewood Smoked Lake Trout (no brine cure method) Fillet lake trout with skin on. Make sure you remove all the bones. Arrange on platter or cookie sheet with skin side down. Pat dry. Generously sprinkle with: course ground pepper kosher or sea salt garlic powder parsley flakes dill paprika Lawrys or similar Return To Top Entire surface should be coated evenly like a thin crust. You may refrigerate up to overnight if you're not ready to smoke it yet. As far as spices, the above list is not set in stone, you can add or delete as your tastebuds like. For example, add cayenne pepper if you like it hot! You will probably need a few whirls at smoking it to get it just the way you like. It took Richard almost 15 years to find just the right smoking technique. You can work on your own tastebuds for the flavor.
Smoker: It is recommended to use the type of smoker that has a separate firebox from the smoker. Richard uses a Brinkman (horizontal) which is available at Wal-Mart, Home Depot, etc. (about $150-$175). It will last forever and can be used as a regular BBQ grill too. Getting the smoker ready: You can get the fire started with charcoal...then add the wood chunks/chips. Never add more charcoal during the smoking process; this is to get it started only. Use any hardwood and soak for several hours before using. (If you cut the wood yourself, you can save the sawdust to add during the smoking process.) Smoking: Lay fillets flat on grill section skin side down and smoke at 165° for 1/2 hour. Then cold-smoke at 80°-100° for four to six hours. Add chips/chunks or sawdust as needed. Fish is done when you begin to see cracks in the meat and it is non-transparent. Do not overcook or it will dry up and be cardboard-like in texture. Return To Top We like to serve it with sour cream and crackers (Ritz is best) and capers (optional). Shore Lunch Fried Walleye Fillet walleye being sure to remove all bones. In a large plastic bag (ziplock, etc.) mix together: Aunt Jemima pancake mix (the just-add-water variety) Then season to your tastebuds with: Course ground pepper Garlic powder (or garlic salt) Salt (only if you used garlic powder) You can also add onion powder, Lawry's, parsley, cayenne, etc. You can deep-fry or use frying pan with about one inch vegetable or corn oil. Either way, be sure the oil is 380°-400° BEFORE adding any fish. Add fish to dry mixture and coat generously. Remove each piece and place in hot oil. Cook about two to three minutes on each side, until just golden. Do not overcook or fish will be dry. (Note: Neil says "you gotta have Hellman's" on the side.) Richard's Easy Shore Lunch Fried Potatoes Peel and cut into slices or 1"-2" chunks. Boil until almost done. On a good-sized piece of heavy-duty aluminum foil, add: butter or margarine (somewhat generous) almost cooked potatoes sliced or chunky chopped onion course ground pepper salt (if none in other ingredients) Optional: Lawry's or similar, garlic powder (or garlic salt), parsley, etc. Optional: Add some Monterey Jack or cheddar cheese on top! Return To Top Fold foil so no juices (butter/cheese) will escape when cooking. While you are getting your fish ready, just put the foiled package on grate over fire. (At the very least, you probably do not want to put it directly on main part of fire if you do not have a grate...just put it off to the side on a few twigs that are hot.) Richard's Walleye Seviche
Fillet walleye and cut into 1/3"-1/2" (approx.) pieces/chunks. Be sure you remove all the bones. Place in plastic bag or bowl and cover with lemon (or lime) juice. You can use bottle or fresh. Marinate in the refrigerator overnight. This process actually cooks the fish! (It will turn opaque white.) Drain off the juices, do not rinse. Add a little bit of olive oil to coat very lightly. Chop the following into small cube-like pieces (1/8" approx.) and add to the marinated cooked walleye. peppers (green, red, yellow, etc.) green onions (or any other onion) fresh tomatoes (from the garden is super!) fresh cilantro (be careful here, some like lots, some not) garlic (finely chopped) or minced dry celery green olives (sliced) parsley (fresh or dried) Giardiniera garden mix* You can also add things like broccoli, cauliflower, zucchini, etc. Refrigerate for a few hours. Before serving, drain off any extra liquids so you can serve it on Ritz crackers. (Don't drain what you are not going to eat. Treat it like pickles. It will continue to marinate and take on flavor. It will keep about a week, maybe a tad longer.) Return To Top *This can be found in the pickle section [usually in small jars] of your grocery store and usually comes in hot, medium, or mild. If you can't find it, don't worry, your seviche will be fine...it's like a salad...you can put in whatever you like. You may find something similar. The above is mostly made up of hot peppers and tiny pieces of raw veggies. Richard's Canadian Road Kill Chili 1 lb. ground chuck or lean ground beef (moose optional) 1/2 lb. hot or regular Italian sausage (optional) casing removed diced into small chunks 2 -15.5 oz cans of dark red kidney beans 2- 14.5 oz cans of diced tomatoes or stewed seasoned tomatoes (optional) 2 large sweet onions diced 1 each red and green bell pepper diced 6 stocks of celery diced 4 to 6 cloves of fresh garlic diced Package of Brooks chili mix is best (other brands optional) 1 can of beef broth 1/8 teaspoon of fresh ground cumin Tomato or V8 juice to increase stock as needed (never water) 2 to 4 Tbs. brown sugar or to taste (reduces harsh chili power & tomato acid flavors) Pepper and/or hot sauce and salt to taste after all ingredients are blended In a large pot: Add olive oil as needed to sauté the following: chopped onions, peppers, celery, garlic, chili mix and cumin. The flavors will be enhanced by adding the chili mix and cumin now, rather than later. Do not drain. In a large frying pan: Brown meat and drain. Blend all ingredients together in the large pot and simmer for two hours with lid on or reduce liquid with lid off. Adjust salt, pepper or hot sauce and thicken with tomato sauce if needed. Ladle chili into bowls and garnish with shredded cheese of choice. Serve with cornbread or other crisp breads. Return To Top |
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