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Wildewood Weekly Fishing Report

This Northwest Ontario Fishing Report for Wildewood on Lake Savant is brought to you weekly by our guests during the fishing season (May - September).

Sept 2, 2007...a week fo fall weather prevailed...with sunny days and cool nights. Windy 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 plus 60 lakers 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 their 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 buy 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" notrherns 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 years trip it was "wind". The wind blew all week right up to the we came off the lake on the last night when it when the wind laided down and the lake became like a huge mirror. The good thing about the wind is it was 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 Wildewood. Find 14 ft water where the wind was hitting the shore lower a jig and minnow and the odds were going to catch a Walleye. As a matter of fact it was hard to catch them below the 18 inch limit. Bottom bouncing crawler harnesses in 25 to 33 ft. of water produced Walleyes in the 26 to 28 inch range and at night trolling Rapalas produced Walleyes from 20 to 25 inches. See attached picture of a stringer of Walleyes that represented some of our catch during about 90 minutes of fishing. The Northern Pike fishing was a different story. While we did catch some nice fish - largest for the week was a 41.5 inch Northern we normally have multiple Northerns over 40 inches 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 vary 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 - while still very sunny it started to lighting and thunder so we headed for a small inland 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 failing from the sky with the sun light hitting them) - it was a very "cool" sight. Well naturally as we stood there and looked at natures beauty it started to pour rain and hail on us. (We probably should have been putting on our rain suits and looking for some cover). Within about 3 minutes it was all over. Never seen anything like it before.

August 26, 2007...another mixed bag of weather...The week started and ended with sunny skies but rain and high winds prevailed mid week plus one day it hailed! Temps ranged between 38 and 45 degrees mornings and 60s to mid 70s during the day. The walleye fishing was awesome as reported by the IL group...Neil Quinn from Bloomington, Tim Bina and Eric Mickels from Washington, and Steve Bina from Mt. Prospect. Big numbers of 22" to 28" everyday. Minnows, crawlers, and leeches were about equal producers during the day. The week started out with 38 to 41 inch northerns, but the trophy size fish slowed early in the week. No trout fishermen this week, although Neil and Richard boated four lakers trolling for two hours one evening, two got away. Neil did have a nice trophy on, but it broke his line at the boat. He didn't care so much about the fish, it was the $20 lure he kept "whining" about. Think big fish!

August 17, 2007...Cold, windy, and rain...sums up the week. Most days winds exceeded 20 knots with higher guests at times from the north/northwest. Rain every day but one and temps ranged between 42 and 48 overnight and 65 to 70 during the day. You can tell fall is on the way as the hardwoods are starting to turn shades of yellow and the weatherman is talking snow soon to the north. Camp was shut down for the week for some catch up maintenance. Neil hadn't been out of camp all spring and summer so he spent a few days in Dryden with family, while Richard went on several appointments in Sioux Lookout. They did manage to get some outside work done in the rain, including cutting up some blown down trees. Both decided the weather was so miserable for fishing, so they kept a fire burning and stayed in camp for the most part. Cross your fingers for better weather next week as fishermen arrive this weekend.

August 11, 2007...Weather mostly stable...hot with thunder storms one day. Lots of nice fish, all species. 25 to 30 feet on calm days and 7 to 16 feet on windy days for walleyes. Gary Pullen's (pooch on walleye central) group from Dunlap, IL second week, was again productive for large eyes. 22 to plus 27 inch fish in large numbers with 25 to 26 inch fish being the norm. The Dunlap group used leeches and crawlers on spinner baits (Little Joe's) behind bait walkers. Again, the big Rapalas fast trolling after dark. The Casey Schoenbeck from Arlington SD group of 8 had a good week of fishing with walleyes to mid 27 inch range, northerns to 39 inches, and a good number of 30 inch plus lakers. Dennis Schoenbeck and son Dexter from Wichita, KS seemed to like the number 40...40 inch lake trout and 40 inch northern pike were their best fish of the week. 28 year guest Robert Meyer from Ripon WI caught his fair share of fish again this week. Robert and Richard spent several hours reflecting back over the 28 years of fishing on Lake Savant. Fishing is better than ever and you don't even have to go fishing every day to appreciate how special this place is.

August 6, 2007...Weather warm...stable with showers for two days last week. Fishing remained stable as well. The Gary Pullen group from Dunlap, IL nailed many nice walleyes in the mid 20 inch range with spinner rigs, leeches, and crawlers behind bait walkers. Deep rocky structures on calm days held most of the larger eyes during the day while 7 to 10 feet was best on windy days. Late evenings 8 to 18 feet were the best producing depths. The large fast rolling Rapalas at and after dark were producing lots of big walleyese. Little Joe spinner rigs and jigs with spinners and live bait was best overall but the Gulp baits produced as many fish most days. Gary and his crew are here for two weeks again this yesr...more next week. JJ Hill from Princeton IL tried his hand at lake trout fishing for the first ever catching and releasing more than his limit first time out on jigs and ciscos, Needless to say he was excited. The Steve Spritzer family from Burlington WI had some of the best large walleye catching ever according to Steve. Their vacation got cut short by an illness in the family. Everett Charlier, son and grandaughters had a super family vacation. Everett's twin 10 year old grandaughters kept dad and grandad busy baiting hooks and netting fish. The girls caught some nice eyes to 24 inches. Natalie also landed her largest northern in front of camp at just under 37 inches. Natalie and Michael took a few time outs for swimming, catching frogs, and reading the latest Harry Potter book. Lots of caribou, moose, and bear have been seen on the lake the last two weeks. Lots of nice wildlife photos. Matter of fact, the girls had a large caribou pose for pics, although they thought it was a moose until they showed it to Neil. Check out the new walleye recipe from Richard.

July 27, 2007...Weather started out stable...the first two days with light winds, sunny, and 90 degrees. Tues and Wed dead calm and 99 to 101 degrees. Thunder storms and heavy rain Thurs 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 weekand and turned back on late in the week. 22 to 25 inch walleyes were plentful for some fishermen with 26 to 28.5 inchers in the top range. 37 to 38 inch northerns were the largest for the week with lots of slot size fish. Richard Lefebvre, 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 inch range. Mid week was also slow for the OH/TN fishermen but still managed to catch and release 4 to 6 times their limits. Thursday they were back to good numbers again. Jigs and walleye spinner rigs with leeches was 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 feet while several days it was 18 to 25 feet. The Calloway's from Tomahawk WI had a relaxing week if you call Dave and Richard watching the stock market plunge 8 hours a day on CNBC. The days it was so hot, most did very little fishing until late evening. Everyone was happy we installed the 2300 ft. p.m. 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.

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 40's. 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 20's, 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 inches. Matt enjoyed his laker fishing with days of 6+ fish, up to 10#s, 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 1/8 oz. jigs with leeches and minnows, and extra large minnows on 1/4 oz. jigs in 18-25 feet. Windy days 8-12 feet 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 feet. 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+ 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!

July 14, 2007...Fishing was outstanding...even though the weather was unstable again this week with several rain days, up to the violent thunderstorm late Wednesday followed by a cold front. First time guests Howard Wendland from Plymouth MN and Tony Matthias from Kiel WI both agree Lake Savant's walleye fishing was their best ever Canadian fishing trip. Both reported days with 100 fish per boat until the cold front Thursday. Most of the walleyes were in the 19-26.5 inch range as reported by anglers. As Dan Centracchio from Lansing IL stated, "It just makes you cry to release all those big fish!" I know Dab, but that's why they are here to be caught. Philip Lytle's group from Mt Prospect IL also had days with 75 plus walleyes per boar caught and released. Mike Centracchio from Chicago took a nice northern home for mounting. Most of the larger northerns this week ranged between 36 and 39 inches. Guests this week were not into trout fishing, too busy with walleyes. Neil and Richard however boasted several mid teen lakers and one plus 20 pounder on an ultra lite walleye rod at 60 feet on live suckers. Neil did have a 5 laker evening trolling a new spoon from Tom Manning's Savant Spoon collection. FYI: Tony Matthias and Gary Pullen are often on Walleye Central website chat room from time to time and I'm sure they would respond to your questions about Wildewood on Lake Savant and the fishing if you're thinking of coming up.

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 Schillinger's "Our best fishing ever and Neil's shore lunch was great!" The Temple family (group of 7) invaded camp over the Canadian holiday weekend. Not only did they take top honors for largest walleye at 28 1/2 inches and lake trout at 42", their fireworks display was professional grade. Chef Neil did his thing with the frying pan for the Temple's while the kids went swimming (64 degree water temp). The Tom Barrix group from Barabou, 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 Barabou/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 Wed 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 feet 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 feet 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 has been awesome, as John and Linbda Danforth from Odessa FL stated. "We've never caught and released so many 22" to 25" walleyes in our life!" John's largest was just over 28" and the trophy northerns plus 40 inches just keep feeding too. The Danforth's 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 May fly hatch again this week but they didn't slow the fishing. Good numbers of lakers but nothing over 13 pounds in the 50 foot 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!

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 inches and lots of slot northern pike with only a few plus 35 inches, 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 inch 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 feet. 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 everyday. Temps ranged from 38 to 84 on Friday. The good news was 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 inch Gulp minnow grub and smelt chartreuse was the hot color on 1/8 oz. jigs. Most fishermen reported 27 inch walleyes largest for the week with plenty if 20 to 24 inchers. Most of the 37 to 40 inch plus northern pike were caught on the same. Several of the 38 inch 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 2 "resident" geese are still feeding in the front yard. Think Big Fish! See you soon....

May 25, 2007...Weather unstable to say the least... From 24°F and snow to 80°F and rain. By weeks 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 inch walleyes by weeks end in 6 to 9 foot depth range. The larger Northern Pike however had the feed bag on right from the start. Lots of 36 to low 40 inche class fish were reported. The week ended wuth Robert Apple's 40" 27# 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 foot range trolling. Water temps ranged from 54°F over deep water to 63°F in the shallow bays. Lots of wildelife spotted...7 moose, 2 caribou, 5 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+ inches ahead of the jig, tipped with a minnow, and boat control being the key. By Subday the Gulp power baits, same presentation, out-produced minnows about 4 to 1. 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!

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 is working with 3 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 it 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 it 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 eveything. 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 feet so far. Lake Savant is 3 feet below normal spring levels. Not a lot of run-off expected and MNR is predicting a high fire season if we don't get some rain soon. Neil and Richard have been working outside from daylight to dark most days. Fuel haul is the nexct big project on the schedule. If you need to call camp it's best to call before 7:30qm or after 7:30pm. You can always send email and Jeanie will get info to camp usually the same day and will get back to you asap. See you soon...think big fish and lots of them!

April 14, 2007...Group needs 4th person... Dennis Morrissey's group needs a 4th person to come up with their fishing group...May 24th at noon leaving Missouri (Route 63, 163, I-35) arriving Savant Friday 2pm. Get your fishing poles ready, they'll pick you up along the way! Email for more info.

April 8, 2007...GREAT FISHING REGS & GST REBATE NEWS from Northern Ontario Outfitters (NOTO)...The Minister of Natural Resources announced yesterday that the changes to the Ontario Fishing Regulations as being proposed through the ministry's new ecological framework for recreational fisheries management in Ontario will come into effect January 1, 2008. Until that time anglers should continue to follow the 2005-2006 Fishing Regulations. We now have confirmation the GST rebate program that was used by most businesses in our industry is back in place as part of the recent federal budget. It is part of the Foreign Convention and Tour Incentive Program. The program that allowed half of the GST amount to be rebated to those travelers who purchased a vacation package (ie. accommodations, meals,...) has been reintroduced in the new budget. All of the information we have received so far indicates that this program is essentially unchanged from the previous rebate program. We have confirmed that as before guests can have the rebate applied directly to their bill (deposits must be received 60 days prior to vacation), apply through the Canada Revenue Agency rebate center, or obtain the rebate through a participating duty free shop.

March 26, 2007...Richard has arrived in camp and is happy to report there was no damage over the winter months. Weather has been mild for this time of year so far. There's about a foot of snow and it has been foggy. Lake is still frozen. The radio phone is on and the number is the same. You can give Richard a call...best time is mornings and evenings. Check out the new aerial shot of Lake Savant compliments of google.

January 18, 2007...Passport update as of this week from the US State Dept.

December 11, 2006...Newsletters have been mailed out! Anyone that doesn't receive one, please email your address and we'll get one out to you right away. Every year we get some returned with no forwarding address. Best wishes for the holiday season from Richard, Neil, Snowball, and Jeanie. We hope all your wishes for that new fishing gear comes true.

September 15, 2006...Northwest Ontario on fire! Driest August & September on record as of the 15th. More than 400 forest fires are ongoing. MNR is reporting 30 to 50 new fires starting daily. Although we've had no rain, lightning strikes are given as the main cause. So far Lake Savant and Wildewood are not in immediate danger. However, heavy smoke is restricting visibility to 1/4 to 1/2 mile most days. Temps are back into the 80's most days with light to moderate winds. Water levels are dropping and lake surface temps are running low to mid 60's. fishing has remained excellent in September. Lakers are feeding in the 40' to 45' depths. Northerns and walleyes are aggressive in the 8' to 15' rocky structures. The black/silver gulp shads are back in favor on 1/8 to 1/4 oz. jigs. Moose and grouse hunting opened this weekend...there seems to be no shortage of both.

September 3, 2006...Fall is here! Lots of yellow birch, red moose maple, and a few leaves are starting to fall. Fishing remained stable for walleyes and northerns with evenings producing the larger eyes (22" to 28") and some nice pike (34" to 41"). The best baits for the larger fish were ciscos and 4"-6" sucker minnows. These baits out-produced regular minnows and leeches about 4 to 1. When they're naturally feeding on these larger baits as they most often do in late summer and fall, why not give them what they want. 25-30 feet was best early evening and after dark trolling the 7" to 10" mag crank baits in 6-12 feet of water. Lake trout fishing was no different! Ciscos and sucker minnows were the bait of choice for numbers and size again this week. Sutton spoon was the trolling bait of choice for several anglers that caught and released some nice trout in the low 30" class. Neil Temple (guide) reinged king again this week! Three lakers in the 20 lb. class, largest at 25. Seven in the mid-upper teens and more than a dozen from 6-12 lbs...all on ciscos and sucker minnows in 55' to 65' just at the edge of drop offs from 45' to 170'. Richard added another 8 to 10 fish but none that matched Neil's big one. The prime feeding time was 5pm to 7:30pm. A lot of the larger fish showing up on the locator, just under the schools of ciscos, were large feeding northerns suspended over very deep water. The boys nailed many large pike in the 10 to 30 foot range as their baits were falling to deep water. Several moose were seen again this week. A lightning strike at the end of our bay kept Neil and Richard busy one morning hauling water until a fire crew flew in by chopper and finished the job with fire pumps...a very small area about 100 yards in from the shoreline. Stop back for the last of this year's fishing and hunting report sometime in early-mid October.

Here's a few reports from fishermen after returning home: From Tom Manning...The Manning boys had a terrific trip to Wildewood. 9yr old Jake out-fished the other 3 of us easily, scoring a 10, two 8's, a 6, and three 5lb and numerous little Lakers. Dad did catch a 24lb Lake Trout too for his second biggest Laker in 27 years on the Lake. Of course the big one came on the all Chartreuse new Savant Spoon. All of Jake's Lakers came on his namesake spoon the Jake 45 Savant Spoon - rainbow smelt and glow worked the best. Jake and his 10yr old brother Cam both caught their first Walleyes both exceeding 25"s! Cam's first ever walleye came on his brother's spoon so he was non-pulsed in-spite it was 23"s. Jack Manning's second trip to Wildewood lead the way on Pike with the most including a 37"er trolling for Trout. Dad was happy no one ended up in the hospital and they didn't burn the camp down.

From Gary Pullen...We just got home and I was anxious to look at our pictures. This was my
30th fishing trip to Canada and without a doubt my best. Enclosed are three pictures of fish I caught, two pictures of the 29" walleye and one of the 28" walleye. The picture of the 29" in the net really shows how heavy that fish was. (see scrapbook) Fish like these are a big reason we return to Wildewood each year. We had several northern just over 40" and the one Richard mentioned of Joe Hughes was lost at the boat and would have been the big northern of the trip. All the northerns were caught while fishing for walleye. As a note, we don't target northern at all since we seem to catch plenty of them trolling for walleye. Not all big fish came out of deep water this year. I was also able to catch a photo of Richard and his plane as it took off with it's new owner...it seemed a solemn moment (see scarpbook).

August 27, 2006...Yet another good week of weather with a mild cold front on Wednesday. Fishing was considered excellent by everyone, although it did slow slightly after the front. Again good numbers of walleyes from 20"-29" early to mid week. Numbers dropped slightly on Thursday. Lots of northerns in the 36"-42" range and all were released. Lake trout from 6#s to Neil's 18#er caught on an 8" sucker. Dr. John Malone from Hartland, WI fought a monster laker for 20 minutes only to get away. "I never did get line back on the reel, it just kept taking it!" Mick Warren and son Cody from Burlinton WI had a good week of fishing and a caribou decided to join them for shore lunch one afternoon. (It must have been downwind of that 19# raisin cake.) Steve Bina's group from Mt. Prospect, IL landed some nice northerns and walleyes to 27". Fast trolling mag. black/silver Rapala's just at dark produced most of the larger eyes. Matt Kohnke's group from Bordentown, NJ and Union, MI reported good catches for the week. Jim and Sarah Mohr from Eagle River, WI caught some nice walleyes and lake trout. Rumor has it Sarah outfished Jim 5 to 1...sorry Jim! The boys at the coffeeshop will be glad to hear about that. Jeanie came up with the Mohr's and spent several days in camp before heading back to Naples. She did get to see the northern lights one evening (thanks to Mick who knocked on the door to say they were out). Email from Barry Martin, Smyma, TN "Had a wonderful time at your camp in July, all I can say is what a lake (gold mine)! Thanks Barry, we think it's special too. Richard.

August 24, 2006...Fishing report for last week...cool nights and warm days prevailed. Fishing remained stable again this week with good numbers and sizes. Jigs and little joes tipped with leeches and minows was the best bet for the eyes in 20 to 25 feet. Late night trolling the large crank baits produced some really nice walleyes. Most of the fishermen reported many ranging from 20-29 inches. Several groups did very well for numbers of northerns to 39". Lake trout started the week on the slow side but picked up by mid week. Trolling spoons (Redeyes and Savant) were best producers in 60 to 70 feet. Large sucker minnows worked best drifting the 40' to 50' reefs with deep water close by (70'-100'). Most of the large lakers to 18 lbs. came off the shallow reefs. Best day for two fishermen was 13 lakers to 16 lbs. Our resident 8 point deer was seen again feeding along the shoreline. Several more moose and caribou were seen as well. Black jigs and spinner blades are again the most productive colors for fall, at least on Lake Savant. That pattern has been constant year after year. The ciscos are on the surface in huge nu,mbers on calm days and evenings. Mag floating rapalas are a wise choice in silver/black. (Jeanie will be putting up some pics this weekend...check out those out on the scrapbook page. A few fishing reports came in via email after fishermen returned home, so we'll add those too. And Jeanie's trip up was great too.arrived back in FL last evening after enjoying superb walleye dinners cooked by the Richard and Neil! Plus the infamous trout lasagna!)

August 12, 2006...Good weather prevailed with several days feeling like fall. Cool nights and warm days and a few leaves starting to turn yellow. A few moose and caribou were seen this week and a bear crossed the trail in front of the 4-wheeler, plus a wolf was seen swimming the bay in front of camp. Looks like a good fall for grouse hunting. We're seeing lots on the trails and portages. All fishermen (and women) this week agreed it was a fantastic one. Tom Manning sons recorded the most and largest lake trout weighing in at just over 25#s and the kids caught lots of nice walleyes to 27". David and Pam Callaway with 10-year old grandson Mitchell Parker from Tomahawk WI had a great time...Mitchell estimated he caught and released 25-40 fish some days with his largest eye at just over 26, with some 30"+ northerns too. Gary Pullen's group from Dunlap, IL caught the largest numbers of walleyes and the largest of the week at 29". Joe Hughes 48"+ northern held up as the largest fish for the group. Everett and Cindy Charlier from Palatine, IL caught and released hundereds of walleyes over 20". They also recorded many 30" plus northerns and few nice lakers. "One of our best trips ever." Peter Dillon from Virden, Manitoba spent an evening in camp fishing with Richard...walleyes were non-stop with many 20" plus eyes. "I haven't seen fishing like this in many years!" Peter owns a cottage on Lake of the Woods and a remote camp in northern Manitoba near Red Lake, Ontario. He purchased Richard's 185 Cessna and flew it back home on the 11th. His last words departing..."I'll be back with friends in the fall." P.S. Jeanie will be camp next week so fishing report may be late if internet not working..

August 2, 2006...Mid week update...Big numbers of walleyes Tuesday and Wednesday after a cold front on the weekend. Many 24" to Gary Pullen's 29" 8# eye topping the list! Bait of the week so far (leeches) Gulp baits producing well too. Just at dark the big Rapala's were nailing some nice eyes as well reported Frank Gecan from Oregon, IL. Another good week for 40" and over northerns with Joe Hughes from Dunlap, IL recording his largest ever northern exceeding 48"s. Joe thought his little joe spinner tipped with a leech behind a bottom bouncer was snagged at first. Joe's fish came out of 20'. Gary's big eye was also caught on little joe and leech. Temps back into the 90s with fire restrictions in most districts.

July 30, 2006...Weather remained hot with thunder storms and high winds Tuesday night. Overall fishing remained stable for the week. Good numbers of Northern Pike including many ranging from 36 to Richard Baldwin's 47 incher. Lake Trout had the feed bag on most days in the 40 to 60 foot depths. Cisco's holding on top of the shallow structures with deep water close by held the lakers tightly grouped. Green/yellow remains the color of choice and live suckers produced best overall. Walleyes were steady in good numbers ranging from 31 inches, with lots of 24"-28"s. 30 to 60 fish were not uncommon many days per boat. 84 year-young Rocco Crea from St. Paul, MN boated another mid 40 inch northern. Seems to be a normal thing with Rocco every year. His largest walleye was 28" and he added some nice lakers to his catch. First-timers Richard Groose's group from Olean, MO were happy with their Wildewood experience and were planning their 2007 return trip. Several reports of the big one that got away again this week. Live 5" to 8" sucker minnows produced most of the over 29" eyes. Leeches were slightly better than minnows. The Gulp/power baits were back in favor again this week with the 4" black shad best overall. Humor of the week supplied by the Baldwin group from Roanoke, VA..."When asked how long you've been married...what's the point in counting when you're doing life!" Enjoy your week and happy fishing!

July 25, 2006...This last week's fishing remained stable with many fish in the trophy range! Seven year old Mitchell, Neil's nephew, spent the week with Richard and Neil in camp...they all had fun! You may remember Mitchell best from a few years ago when he outfished most guests one weekend on his yard sale Snoopy rod! On his departure this year, he left a one page fishing report..."Thanks for letting me come to camp and go fishing with Uncle Neil. I caught 6 big trout and too many walleyes to count. 6 lbs. was the largest. Several big pike and one broke my line while fishing off the dock and one trophy rock and bog, both keepers." Weather was hot with several thunderstorms, which started two forest fires below Dryden and 60 miles to the east. MNR has restricted fires to in camp only in bbq grills and portable camp stoves. Moose have been seen on the trail and two were seen swimming the bay in front of camp. Now we have a deer in camp feeding on the clover in the front yard.

July 15, 2006...The week began with thunder storms followed by 38°cold front on Sunday morning. By Tuesday temps reached mid 90's with a high of 104 by week's end! Everyone was happy we installed the new ceiling fans in all the cottages. And no, the weather didn't slow down the fishing as one might think. In fact, it was a very productive week for all species. The lake trout fishermen were rewarded with over 100 lakers landed with many in the low to mid teens. Lance Beehler from Indiana was happy with his best week of fishing in Canada for more than 20 years. Lots of lakers to 14 lbs., walleyes 22" to 28" in large numbers, most northerns in the low to mid 30 inch range. Jeff Glenn from California also reported having a great trip with his all time best for walleyes and lake trout. Dick Feller's group from Wisconsin caught a lot of 20" to 27" walleyes and thier limit of nice lakers to take home. Guy Korpanai, Curt Klaus, and Leroy Nelson all reported a great week of fishing with 33 lakers boated and a few more that got away, including the one that broker Curt's rod. The threesome caught and released many 24" to 27" eyes, northerns to 35". Green/chartreuse was the color of choice and the Savant Spoon was the ticket for size and numbers for lake trout. Jigs and Little Joes with leeches and minnows produced most of the 25" to 28" walleyes, late evening and well after dark. When the ciscos are up the walleyes are also on the surface big time. The Gulp black shad and leech was not as hot as past weeks.

June 30, 2006...Weather remained stable with thunderstorms one night, Florida-like weather with temps mid to upper 80s. This week we enjoyed country and western recording artist, Mitchell Oglesby from Nashville Tennessee on his first trip to Wildewood. It was heard he wouldn't stop singing in the boat all day, even changing some famous songs to the tune of "walleye, walleye." On fishing, "Awesome..I've never had fishing like this before!" His only disappointments, he couldn't find grits at the grocery store and catfish in the lake! If you like country and western music, Richard says you'll really like his cd. Check out his website at mitchelloglesby.net. Also a first timer to Wildewood, Verne Buehler "never caught so many big walleyes in such a short time." Verne was landing them in the 24" to 28" range, with some 30"ers! ...float jigs and leeches with slip sinkers. Overall, guests reported similar results with minnows, but by most accounts, leeches outnumbered the minnows. Again good numbers of 27 1/2" to 35 1/2" northerns. No trout fishermen this week...too busy with the walleyes.

Week of June 17, 2006...Fishing remained excellent this week. Most reports indicated 15 to 20 eyes per hour per boat...common most days with the majority in the 20"+ range. Best week so far for numbers of Northerns...plus 30" with many in the 34" to 36" range. Even Richard and Neil boated 17 pike to 35" in 2 hours while walleye fishing jigs and Gulp baits. Best locations were in the (wood) where many trees have blown down the past several years along shorelines. Major May Fly hatch in progress, but it hasn't slowed fishing "yet." If it does slow down, floating jigs best bet in the muddy bottom bays 6' to 10'. The most interesting news still remains the Berkley Gulp 3 black shad. Best set up was 1/8 to 1/4 oz. jigs with a small spinner blade. Whistler or Roadrunner were good, slow and on the bottom. The Gulp black leach and natural crawler also outproduced the standard power baits. Will keep you posted on how long this trend lasts.

June 11, 2006...Stable weather all week with daytime highs in low 70s to 80 by weekend. Night temps 38-40 degrees early am. Fishing continued much the same as the week before. Slight breezes each day kept the northerns and walleyes feeding off the rocky points and shorelines in 8' to 14' of water. Weed beds are starting to show up on the electronics. The season so far is about two weeks ahead of schedule.

June 4, 2006...Mixed bag of weather but overall, most days were sunny and 70s. One morning the mercury dropped to 34°. By all guest reports it was a banner week of fishing...even the bear and moose were on the move. Largest lake trout was Don Ackley's 15 pounder with help from Tom Taylor, so says Tom! Walleye and northern fishing was "hot" most days so most didn't take time away from that. Many northerns in the mid/upper 30" range and several over 40". Largest of the week (45") caught by Justin Stanley from New Jersey. Justin released his trophy but got pictures. Big, big numbers of walleyes ranging from 20" to 28" many days. One angler stated it was by far their best Canadian fishing experience and the equipment and service was top notch! Best baits of the week...lake trout...ciscos on a slow drift or back troll 40' to 45', Savant Spoon (green/silver) and Savant Jake 45 (green/yellow) were best for trolling 40' to 50'. Northern pike...spinner baits such as Mepps #5, jig and the power baits/Gulp were just as good. Walleyes...jig and minnow was good but the power baits/Gulp outproduced all others most days. The gulp black shad and the leech power bait on 1/8 to 1/4 oz. jigs was the bait of the week.

June 1, 2006...Phones are back working! The second week of the season started out with a major thunderstorm dumping 4 inches of rain in 6 hours with lightning taking out the radio phones in the area until Wednesday. Fishing was slow the first two days (enough to eat though) but as the weather improved so did the fishing. By Monday, good numbers of northerns including several 40" pluses were reported. Walleyes also improved each day and by Tuesday everyone was catching large numbers and many in the 24" to 27" range. Best lake trout day was 13 lakers boated in 2 hours...of course the "big one got away"...where have we heard that before? Daytime temps ranging between 72 and 85 degrees. Several moose have been spotted swimming the bay in front of camp again this week.

May 31, 2006...In case anyone is trying to call Wildewood, the phones are down. They had a big rain storm (4") and they haven't worked since, but they are working on it. You can call Jeanie at 239-389-7643 and leave a message if not here and I will get it to Richard asap...when he gets out to call me or maybe they'll have the phone up and running today sometime. Also, on the passport issue and needing one to cross any borders...they put that off for a couple years...yippee. And they are working on public relations at the border too!

May 25, 2006...Opening day of fishing, May 20th, started out with mid 30° range, freezing rain, 35 mph winds and top that off with a snowstorm by mid-afternoon! Sunday's low was 27°, showers and winds 15-20mph out of the north. Fishing was slow during all this "weather" but enough "eaters" were caught for that first taste of spring fish! Then on Monday...72° calm and sunny plus the good fishing started to pick up. Good numbers of walleyes up to 14.5# and northern pike to 17#s. Tuesday 75° was the high, Wednesday it hit a whopping 92° with overcast and light winds. Fishing got better and better each day. Several caribou and one moose was seen. By the way...don't forget the bug spray...black flies have arrived for their frenzy. See you soon and if you haven't booked your trip up, now is the time.

April 27, 2006...Just when you think Spring is here (upper 70s for 10 days), its back to 0 and flurries. But ice was off the bay yesterday, one of the earliest ice offs in a long time. Most of the outside work and updates are nearly completed except for hauling fuel and cabin cleaning. We did manage a few days of ice fishing late March...Lots of nice walleyes, a baked lake trout lasagna, and a northern fish fry for shore lunch on a "take a break" lazy afternoon. Hard to beat a fresh meal of fish, potatoes, and beans over an open fire, the smell of the wood smoke and fresh pines with your feet up! Watch for some fishing reports beginning late May. We still have some open dates and a few new options to save a few bucks...give Richard a call in camp before 8am or after 8pm at 715-385-3754 (disconnected in Winter)...we are outside most of the day but you can give us a try...or during the day you can leave a message at 239-389-7643 and we'll give you holler back in the evening. "Keep a tight line!" from the crew at Wildewood.

April 11, 2006...Richard and Neil are in camp! Lots of snow still on the ground, with a snowstorm or two since they arrived. They reported a few trees down but all that has been taken care of. They reported a couple good ice fishing days, one with Richard taking a nap on the lake after shore lunch. Snowball is happy to back too! You can call the camp to make reservations, best time is early mornings (yes, the old guy still gets up early!) or evenings. See everyone soon!

February 6, 2006...Looks like ice will be off for spring! Neil has reported not much ice this year...mostly snow and slush and warmer than usual. Make your reservations now...we look forward to seeing everyone again this year!

Check out these season's fishing reports:
2005 | 2004 | 2003 | 2002

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