Fishing Reports 2003

December 6, 2003, Sat...The annual newsletter should be arriving in your mailbox this week! If you don't get yours (maybe your address changed?), please let us know and we'll get one right out to you. We're working on updating the web site so if you have any suggestions, send them along. Check back for some great fishing trip photos we'll be adding. And it's that time to make your reservations for next season! If last year is any indication, there's lots of big fish to be had....come get yours....

September 16, 2003, Tues...Sorry, no fishing reports last couple weeks. Jeanie is back in the south, awaiting Richard's return after moose hunting. Richard and Neil reported the fishing has been maintaining itself and has been good for the last groups of the 2003 season. The weather has been up and down, with some chilly nights coming into the picture, along with some warm days. Last week, Tom Manning was up testing the revised Savant Spoon...much of which was based on feedback from you. He was there to pull the two lucky winners from the hat for the $100 prizes just for trying the Savant Spoon at Wildewood this summer (and filling out the questionnaire). And the winners are...Verena Straubhaar from Madison WI, and Guy Korpanai from Franksville WI! Congratulations!! And a big thanks to everyone from Tom! Watch for his new Savant Spoon web site later this fall...we'll keep you posted.

September 1, 2003, Mon...Guy Korpanai's group made their annual trek to Wildewood last week. Weather was not so kind...rain, thunderstorms, more rain, then a cold front late in the week. They did enjoy many shore lunches... onion rings, potatoes, baked beans, and lots of fresh walleyes, not to mention a cool Canadian beer, maybe two? Largest walleye was 27" caught by Ron Trabert. Many in the 20" - 26" class. Wally Haag took top honors in the northern pike department, though he forgot to fill out a fishing report (as they all did)...it was packaged for take home and mounting when he left. Guy, at last verbal report, was holding on to a slim margin in the lake trout contest. Good numbers for the avid trout fishermen but no monsters last week. Sunday evening, all quiet on the homefront, Richard and Neil headed out with the kids (the three dogs) around 5pm to catch dinner. Hour and a half and 31 fish later, the crew headed back to camp. Most fish were running 21" to Neil's 27"er. They did bring in their 6 fish under 18" for eating. Weather is starting to feel and look more like fall...trees are starting to change their color and temps are getting a bit cooler.

August 22, 2003, Fri...Weather was on and off this week...fronts, thunderstorms, rain, and best of all the northern lights! Bob and Sue Myers (her first time up) totally enjoyed their 10th anniversary celebration catching lots of walleyes in the favorite night spot. "Hitting them was great, reeling them in every night was fun, and reeling in 20"+ers was thrilling!" Bob even caught the big walleye of the week coming in at 26.5" 7#s jigging with a minnow. And his wife Sue, caught the next in line at 25.5" 6#s. Bob also caught a 35" northern trolling with a rapala. We'll see if Bob gets to come with the guys again...he may have created a fun fishing wife! David Vest, his dad Randy, and brother Hugh (his first time up with the boys) reported catching great walleye numbers every night, Randy caught the big one of the group coming in at 26" on a Lindy rig, Hugh a 23"er, and David a 22"er. Hugh had the longest cast of a crank bait ever recorded, but no line was attached to it! "Hey Randy, do you think those two walleyes are still swimming around on your stringer?" David tried the Savant Spoon out and reported catching lots of northerns one afternoon. John Foess caught the biggest walleye in the Bill Bailey group, coming in at 5#s 23.5", Eric Hanson (his frist time up with the group) a 4# 23"er, both on rapalas. Dennis Snook caught the big northern of the week on his favorite lure, a daredevil 5 of diamond coming in at 39", 15#s. Dennis also lost his favorite lure this week, along with Tom Wolfgram, casting and backlashing breakoffs...no one knows for sure if they have even landed yet! The group also reported catching (2) 7-8# and an 11# lake trout. Don't forget to check out the scrapbook for lots of great fishing photos!

August 16, 2003, Sat...Sorry for the delay...we snuck in a week of vacation last week. We'll have some good pics up tomorrow from past fishing trips we just received from guests...so check back for them! Remember the 7.9# walleye caught a few weeks ago? And we'll be posting a new fishing report next week from this week's guests...

August 8, 2003, Fri...A bit of rain this week off and on with a few good downpours thrown in...good fishing too! Larry Crea (his second trip up this year) was estatic when he reeled in a big lake trout on a Sutton spoon. Measured out at a whopping 42", figured it was in the 35-40# range, as he released it back into the waters of Lake Savant. Steve Brewer came in on the other end with a 9"er. Being a stream & brook trout fisherman, he had never seen a trout over 19" til Lake Savant. He ended up turning his 9"er into a 9#er (30") and used a rattle trap to bring in the largest northern in the group, coming in at 14#, 38", plus a 13# 37"er. Fishing trout at 65' he caught a walleye and northern too. A great first time up for Steve. Mark Wesley caught 13 northern one day, largest 9.5#s, Larry used #2 mepps tipped with minnow to bring in a 13#, 37.5"er. The Lefebvre family hit the walleyes big, Jordan (remember his big trout last year) hauled in a 29" 7.3# walleye, Kris a 28" 6.5#er, and Richard 27.5" 6#er! Way to go guys! The group reported lots and lots of nice sized walleyes. Spending lots of time trout fishing, Bob and son, Rob MacGregor were quite happy with their results on their annual trip up. Another big one was caught by Bob on a Sutton spoon...measured up at 41.5" before he released it. And the Savant spoon brought pretty good results too...3 in the 10-11 lb. range, and 14 various sizes on both Sutton and Savant spoons. Fishing for walleyes they caught about 30 a day, and were "lucky" (no one told Jeanie til next day) to experience a spectacular northern lights display that filled the sky for hours on Tuesday evening. Mars was also on vivid display most evenings this week. The Myer's group reported nailing walleyes the first two days..."We think it was our best year yet for large size, best year yet for large numbers." Casey Schoenebeck caught the largest of the group, coming in at 27.5"s, Bob Meyer followed with a 26.75"er, both on jigs. Casey reeled in 29" and 31" lake trout on 6# test line while fishing the favorite night spot for walleyes. Bob also caught a 38" northern, Steve Meyer a 33" lake trout and Ely Sprenkle topped that by 1/2 an inch, reeling in a 33.5'er. Ed Cunningham was on his first trip up to Canada with his son Gabe...brought in a smile and his biggest fish ever caught, a 9# 31" lake trout.

Tom Manning would like to bring everyone up to speed on the Savant Spoon this week..."I thought everyone who has visited Wildewood this year or maybe is about to arrive at camp would be interested in the progress of the Savant Spoon development this fishing season. It's a bit ironic that both Richard and I have suffered back problems at the same time this summer. Richard's successful back surgery has kept him from schlepting 400 lb outboard motors around at 4 in the morning but those of you who know Richard know it's impossible for this man to sit still regardless of a little thing like back surgery. The camps' loss has been the Savant Spoons gain. Not to be one to sit and look out the window Richard has helped immeasurably in shaping the final prototype based on actually fishing it, retiring to his shop for alterations, fishing, bending, fishing, more adjustments - you get the idea. I'm indebted to him since I have been disabled since opening day with my own back and shoulder pain and have been limited in actually reshaping it myself. We now have a final prototype that is significantly different than the original version. My final adjustments based on research at Wood's Hole on Cape Cod on Ciscoe and Herring movement in open water have also been applied to Richard's changes to my original prototype. Based on the recent results - catching Trout at Wildewood and Stripers off Plum Island here in my backyard on a regular basis over the last month I am now satisfied the Savant Spoon is nearly ready for production. All of these changes reflect the input everyone has provided in emails to me and the questionnaires that you filled out and I can't thank everyone enough for your input. While I am confident we are close to a final product I encourage you to contact me via email, letter, or phone, if you have further comments about what you think of the Savant Spoon and even your opinions on how you catch Trout that might help as we apply the final touches to the Savant Spoon. The next step is give a final version to the die cutter in September. If all goes well the final product will be available for sale by the end of this year via the Savant Spoon web site (watch for the web site link here) and retailers during the 2004 season. We are just about a month away from the drawing for the American Express gift certificates so I want to wish everyone good luck and again thank you for your input".

August 1, 2003, Fri...Can you believe it's August already? Summer 2003 has been flying by...and we've had lots of Florida like weather. A few thunderstorms and rain showers this week, but that didn't stop the fishermen (and fisherwoman Cindy) from fishing hard everyday. Lots of heavy walleye fishing, with some trout fishing thrown in...Tim Buehler hauled in another 25# 38" lake trout! (See that photo on the front page.) Walleyes are being caught in large numbers and big sizes by everyone this season. Richard attributes it to the good spawning back in the early nineties, lots of catch and release, and of course, the good fisherpeople! Dick Feller was surprised when he even caught one (16") in 55'-60' feet of water this week. Cindy Charlier reeled in a 26"er, released it, then disappointedly remembered she had her camera in the boat. She, and dad Everett, reported "many in the 20"-24" range. Dad caught two 5.5# lake trout and a 38" northern. Both had a relaxing week on their annual father/daughter fishing trip. Gary Pullen's heavy duty walleye fishermen group reported catching more walleyes over 4#s than they could count. "My worst day I only caught 20 over 4#'s," was heard in conversation. Jim Withers caught the largest coming in at 7.9#s, 28" (photo to come). Richard commented,"Over the years, Gary Pullen's group, along with several other groups, share the same common results fishing deep in mid-summer...baitwalkers with Lindy walleye spinner rigs, crawlers and leeches in 25-35 feet of water bouncing over the bottom. While guiding, Neil has been having similar results with live 5"-8" sucker minnows fishing deep with large floating jig heads, stringer hooks, slip sinkers 2' to 3' ahead, slow drifter or still fishing. 1 oz. bait walkers with the spinner rigs are being slow trolled. The whistler spinner jigs with stringer hooks work well with crawlers and leeches." And we had family in for a long weekend visit and they sure had a blast...Steve, his wife Amy, sis-in-law Lisa, and the three fisherkids, Kimberly, Anna, and Lauren, all excitedly and proudly caught lots of walleyes, ate lots, chowed down a shore lunch, hiked a bit, swam at the beach, and captured frogs and snakes in the downtime. Couldn't even get some of them to come in one evening from the night spot, they were catching too many fish. Eveyone this week reported losing count of walleye numbers caught.

July 25, 2003, Fri...Good weather this week after a few showers over the weekend. Beautiful double rainbow out in the bay...a real clear bright one! The Crea group reported a great week of fishing..."Walleyes get bigger every year. We caught lots of 4-5#ers." Leeches were the bait of choice, working better than minnows. Dad Rocco, a young 81 years, fished 10-12 hours everyday, just three weeks after back surgery! Way to go Rocco!! His big catch of the week was a 37" 12# northern caught with a red eye. Mark Crea came in with the largest of the group, 38.5" 13#s on a cyclop right near camp in the bay. Larry Crea reeled in his own 38" 13#er too. Mark also caught a 37" 12#er on a Dr. Spoon. And T.J. Reynolds used a bucktail out in the bay and brought in a 37.5" 12.5#er plus a 6.2# walleye on a jake (plug bait). The group reported limiting out on walleye and lake trout (3-9#s). Eagles were seen every day plus a moose was spotted one afternoon too. Neil's family came for a weekend visit via the trail on 4-wheelers (nephew Mitchell on a 50hp mini-4-wheeler with a bit of help from mom...a real trooper), mom and dad on a 5-wheeler. It was a true adventure to say the least. "The relatives were in camp, a real zoo," smiles Neil. Snoopy rods in hand, Neil with nephew Mitchell and niece Elisa, headed out to try and catch a fish with mom, dad, sis, and brother-in-law. And who do you think caught all the big ones? You guessed it! Mitchell and Elisa with the Snoopy rods! Catching dozens of walleyes in the 20"-24" range, Mitchell brought in a 26.5"er, a 5# trout was caught, and some northerns to boot. First time catching fish without help from the "elders." Video-taped a big grey owl just after dark hooting away in front of their cabin. Had their first fish boil. But mostly, they all had a blast and lots of laughs. And Neil's new rod of choice? The Snoopy rod! And big caribou pics are in...check out the scrapbook page. See little 4-wheeling Mitchell there too.

July 18, 2003, Fri...Nice week weather wise, rained some, but lots of sunshine, although a good thunderstorm brought everyone back in one afternoon. A bit quiet this week, but the Lenick group didn't mind "owning" the lake. Even Richard and Neil found time to get in some fishing time...yes, that's right, Richard is doing better, though he paid the price a few evenings. But we did eat some pretty good fish dinners. Don Lenick and John Hamilton consumed 43 walleyes in just 5 days! The footnote here is Phil Lytle ate 5. The group reported catching 400 walleyes for the week, with Don catching 35 in two hours on shad darters and leeches Sunday morning, with two coming in at 25.5". Phil and John each reported 28"ers on jigs and worms! Most of their time was spent out on the lake (aside from the time it took eating those walleyes), had lots of good conversation, John even imagined there may be a ski area nearby so Phil and Don looked around and responded, "Do you see anything flat around here?" Sorry guys, no ski area...just lots of rocks and hills. Neil reports fish were hitting hard on large suckers minnows one evening, but when he ran out his floating rapalla reeled in about 30 walleyes in a half hour with 4 of those over 26"! "Best fishing I ever had!" One such walleye on the line jumped into his boat, spit out a pink jig head (is it yours?), maybe liked the rapalla better? On yet another day of fishing, Neil and Richard had a superb caribou experience...they idled over for a closer look and photos (not yet developed) at a large bull standing on shore of a small island. The caribou decided to swim to the mainland, while the guys followed just a few feet behind. Neil suggested Richard grab his tail and take the ride to shore with it, but after a brief moment of actually thinking about it, the idea was nixed (great back therapy, eh?). The caribou looked much happier once it arrived to its destination. Off to discover some new fishing spots they never fished before, they reported catching walleyes in the 20" - 24" range within minutes. Each new stop produced more of the same, with enough in the under 18" range to bring some back for dinner. In all spots, fish were in 14' to 20' of water, just off rock reefs with winds pushing waves onto the structures. Both used little joe spinners with worms (Neil) and leeches (Richard). Richard commented that the short supply of minnows this year forcing the use of leeches and minnows for live bait seems to be paying off. They've been the bait of choice and have produced bigger fish being caught this year. The shortage is stemmed from many of the smaller lakes freezing solid this past winter, killing off the minnows, which may affect supplies for the next year or two also. p.s. The Lenick group wanted to say hello to the Straubauer group, "Sorry we missed you...maybe next year."

July 10, 2003, Thur...Thunderstorms continued earlier in the week, some overcast days, rain today, but overall the weather wasn't too bad. Earl Brockmeier's group enjoyed their annual big shore lunch and reported catching and releasing big walleyes everyday. The largest in the group was caught by Earl's wife, Muriel, coming in at 5.4#s, 24.5" on a leech. Marvin McIntyre reeled in the most trout, 13, catch and release on the new prototype Savant Spoon, Earl caught the largest, a 16#, 35"er on a Sutton Spoon. Marvin used his Savant Spoon to catch a 35.5" northern pike too. The group reported leeches catching more fish than the night crawlers this time around. They spotted two moose and a black bear. First-timers to Canada and fishing trip winners of the Indiana Organ Procurement Organization (IOPO) Foundation's "Treasure Hunt for Life" benefit auction earlier this year (actually Dirk Schrontz' sister won and gave to her brother, what a nice sister, eh?), found themselves having a ball and lots of laughs. It was reported by Dirk's two fishing (work) buddies that he "squealed like a girl" when a walleye in the boat jumped as he was pointing to it! Way to go fisherman Dirk! He did catch the big walleye of the group, coming in at 23" just under five #s and a 7.2# 30" northern pike on white/yellow jighead. Dave Robbins topped him with a 7.7# 32"er with a white/yellow twistertail and a 6.2# lake trout on berkely iron silk and jig tipped minnow. Enjoying the evening spot, Roger Simpson & Dirk brought in their 8 walleyes and a northern to bring home and share (with sis we hope). Neil provided the group with lots of fishing info and a great shore lunch. "We're looking forward to coming back!" Watch for their "fun" photos later this week. (Fishing trips sponsored by Clarian Health Network and Arnett Clinic, thanks to Roger Utters' hard work with the organization!) Speaking of Roger, "Hey J. D., what does green-eyes have to do with Canadian fishing????"

July 4, 2003, Fri...Lots of rain this week, much via evening thunderstorms, which ran off most of the fishermen some nights. The non-stormy evenings produced lots of fish though, hard to catch eaters, averaged size - 21" inches! Last evening was great for JD Hartshorn when he reeled in a 28" walleye, putting a big smile on his face, and he reported everyone catching them one after another. Reported most walleyes caught during the week were in 12' of water and leeches worked best. J.D. also reeled in a 13# lake trout on jig head, minnow, 6# test line. Todd Buchanan used the same, but with 8# test line and caught a 13#er and a 21#er. Earlier in the week Roger Utter and son Keith (22) also reported one after another evening fishing, with several 24"-25"ers, catching several walleyes in the 23"-25" range. Keith brought in their largest walleye on a pink/white jig/minnow at 27", 6-7#s, plus a 26"er. Roger matched him on that one with a prescott lure and leech right near camp. Heading north one day to seek out more walleye, instead loaded up with northerns...again Keith with the largest coming in at 35", Roger 34" (prescotts and leech). Lots of northerns all week, stout 33"-35"ers. (JD and Todd want to know the Utter's recipe for catching "Honda's" too, noticed they kept catching theirs all week.) Keith commented best trip ever! Tried catching a really small fish (annual event) for younger brother Kameron who couldn't make it up (back home hitting home runs in all-star practice), but that was caught by first-timer Grant Schillinger (7), who came up with grandpa John Schillinger. Grandpa reported baiting 137 lures, catching 63 fish, the largest a 4.5#er by Grant. Biggest walleye in the group goes to Andy Hunt at 26" 6+#s and northern pike to Steve Rhodes at 35" 8#s. The group decided to take on lake trout fishing after a few pointers from Richard and Neil, found a new love, and had a ball. Caleb Hunt (16) reeled in a 25#, 39" trophy laker plus an 18#er, Steve a 13#er, and Tristan Wilhelm an 8#er, all on sucker minnows. A knock on the back door one evening, Tyler Hunt (10) and Tristen holding their "strange" catch? 2 limcods. The younger set also reported catching about 40 perch (bobber and worm) off the docks (while the older set rested?) along with "Mr. Neil's resident dead-minnow-eating" northern, not once, but twice. We're happy to say, he's still there every morning. Lance and Carol Beehler reported slow, but big fishing on their annual fishing trip up, their best last evening, catching walleyes one after another. Mostly coming up for relaxation and reading while hubby fishes, Carol caught the big walleyes, two at 27"s (rapala/grandma) and a 9# lake trout (jig/minnow). Not to be totally left out, Lance caught the big northern at 41"s. They just celebrated 25 years of marriage! Way to go, Lance and Carol. (Next anniversary, maybe he'll take her on that sailing cruise she yearns for?) Ron and Matt Campbell, first time up (and first to call from a road trip (annual outing) to Canada, finding us on a map last minute), reported excellent fishing and hard to find fish under 20 inches! Both reeled in lots of walleyes and lake trout. They expect to plan their trip up to Wildewood next round. And we are happy to say, Richard had his staples removed in Thunder Bay yesterday (reason for late report, sorry) and the doc says he's doing great but will still have to take it easy for another month...no 4-wheeling the trail! Happy 4th of July to everyone! And let us not forget our freedoms and troops still overseas. Have a great holiday!

June 26, 2003, Thu...Started out pretty warm this week...highs in and near the 90s. Last two days we had lots of rain...very needed. Calmed some of the fires north and south of us down. Still expecting more rain over the next day or two. On the fishing side...lots of happy fishermen this week. Everyone reporting a great time, lots of fish, and "love the new maps!" Mike Sanders and Joe Shapiro started the week out on Saturday catching 75+ walleyes. John Wirtz and Joe Shapiro ran neck and neck with the big walleye in the group, John's was 27" and Joe's 27.005"! Hmmm. John's weighed in at 8#'s, Joe's 7#14oz. Larry Gifford reeled in the big northern at 42" on a spoon, Bill Knowlton (spoon) and Gregg Gullo (mapps) each caught 36"ers. Bill Knowlton captured four species of fish (all but a lake trout) in one spot with a gold redeye within 2 hours...first was a pike, then a whitefish and a walleye. He then commented, "All I need now is a perch." Next cast...a perch! The group reported an easy 500 walleye for the week caught by their group of eight, drifting and back trolling leeches and crawler harnesses. And they discovered they could catch whitefish on floating jigs, thanks to Neil's tip of the week. The mayflies are in full hatch and the whitefish were boiling. They enjoyed a rainy day whitefish lunch today back in camp. And a funny thing happened to JW (we won't mention his name, though the group thought we should :-) JW cast his line out, set the pole in the holder, had to relieve himself, a walleye grabbed his line, not thinking he grabbed for it...needless to say and using your imagination, it was an embarrasing moment for JW. Rich Lois caught the big walleye of the week coming in at 28" 8#s on a night crawler. Barry Gertschen came in second of his group with a 27" 7#er on a rapala and Norm Gertschen reeled in a 26" 6#er on a leech. The group reported catching 30-40 over 20" with an average of three a day in the 25" - 28" range. Tuesday they all came in early afternoon for a lake trout barbecue, stopped in the bay on the way into camp and caught 7 walleyes over 20" in five minutes.."boom, boom, boom!" Then they headed out that evening to the favorite night spot, "We couldn't catch any more walleyes than we did that night. It was really fantastic fishing and really made our week!" Dale Ketterhagen even caught a 9# 30" lake trout. Speaking of lake trout in strange places...Neil fished for walleyes there one night and happily reeled in a 38" 25#er....watch later this week for the photo. Lots of wildlife spotted this week too. A caribou with huge "shovel" rack (the guys are still talking about it), a moose crossed the bay in front of camp this morning, and a moose with her calf was caught on film just 20 feet away from the photogs. Then there was the caribou "mother" spotted swimming to shore with her fawn about 30 yards behind. She climbed up on shore and quickly headed into the bush, fawn crying and squealing trying to catch up. The Lois group thanks the Wirtz group for coming to the rescue one afternoon out on the lake...they kindly let them borrow some oil for their fishfry, of which the "cook" forgot to bring, but remembered where he had seen the guys a bit earlier so jumped in the boat catching them just as they were leaving that spot.

June 20, 2003, Fri...A hot one this week...aside from the big rain storm that blew in on Tuesday, which dropped a "bit" of rain into the boats and on the fishermen...but they kept on casting. Started out a bit slow on the fishing but picked up as the week progressed. Devin Roach (14 years old, first time up!) and Don Sheehy both hauled in 27" walleyes on jig/minnow and thunderstick. Mark Eimmerman came in a close second with a 26.75"er on a leech/ 8# pink jig. David (minnow) and John (leech and 8# orange jig) Eimmerman reeled in 26.5"ers. Bob Weyers used a golden jig & minnow to get his 26" walleye, and Dave Weyers 25 1/4", Mike Eimmerman 24", Thomas Pranica 20" all on leeches. Ron Hayes hauled in the big ones in his group from Ohio, catching (3) 25" 4#ers on jigs and minnows. On the northern pike scene, no giants this week, but 36"ers were caught by David Eimmerman (10.6#s on minnow), and Jeff Bennett (12#s on ruby red eye). Don Sheehy reeled in his 35.5"er on a thunderstick, Joe Bellin 33.75" on orange shad, Mike Eimmerman 32" on leech, and Bob Weyers 27" on thunderstick. Not too many trout fishermen this week, but that was okay with 11 year old Brett Weyers. He hauled in a 24.5"er on a minnow and whistler jig. Matter of fact, Brett outfished his dad, Larry, 2 to 1! (Wonder who the real fisherman is in that family?) Way to go Brett! The Vavra group reported catching 175 walleyes on Tuesday and 196 Wednesday. Justin Triplett smiled as he netted his 12# pike holding onto a 24" pike in its mouth. The Eimmerman group reported catching lots of walleyes in the over 22" range. Suggested cisco with bobber for northerns. Speaking of northerns, they're still at it...many hitting walleye stringers and ends of lines. p.s. Sorry we were a bit later with the report this week...Richard had lower back surgery on Tuesday in Thunder Bay, arrived home last evening (they just don't keep you in the hospital these days). It was a long ride back after reaching "bumpy" Rt. 599. He is taking it very slow and getting some rest for a change (like we have never seen before). Doc says he should be able to get back to his normal life in three months. He knows not what "normal" means to Richard...All in all, he doing okay. The good new is...we were able to get that big trout photo developed...and a big one it is!!

June 12, 2003, Thurs...Another good weather week, aside from today...much needed rain moved in, but looks like it will pass by this evening sometime. On the fishing side...Matt Jones was happy to reel in a 27.5" walleye on a minnow this week! Robert Cochran landed himself a 36" northern on a jig before he was called back to Atlanta for a family emergency (we sure hope everything is okay for him and his family...our thoughts are with them). Tuesday was a good walleye day for the Jones' group reporting 150 walleyes and they spotted three caribou during the week too. But after a reported somewhat slower week of fishing, Neil, Richard, and the three dogs headed for the boat with rods and reels in hand. First stop, 5 minutes from camp, with lake trout first on the list. First pass produced 2 small trout, second pass the same. After about an hour of searching in slightly deeper water, no results. Thinking they should have kept the small trout for dinner, they continued exploring a 40' reef nearby. Baits started bouncing over the rock pile, Richard got a snag, and Neil landed a 10#er! Now excited, they trolled along the structure line and caught a couple more small ones...then Richard announced another snag, "no I think it's a fish." 20 to 30 minutes later Neil netted Richard's 38-40# lake trout!!"Made the one at the lodge look rather small," he said. A few photos (evidence) later, they released the lake trout (have to get pics developed, will post in a week or two, watch for them). It wasn't over...a few minutes later Neil brought in a low 20#er! All in all 13 trout were caught and released in 4 hours. They were off to the favorite night spot to see if the walleye were biting. Slow start for first 15-20 minutes...wham...19" to 24" walleyes in 14'-18' of water. By the time they decided to head back to camp 'for and with' dinner, the action was non-stop. An hour or so later, in comes Donnie Weaver with a 36" 18# lake trout! All in all, everyone ended up having a fun week!

June 5, 2003, Thur...It must be summer in Savant...70's everyday this week. Many guests reported seeing caribou roaming about. The Apple group spotted a cow, calf, and yearling on Big Pine. Dennis Morrisey and Bob Melloway started off their week with some big numbers of walleyes reporting 100 on Saturday and 100++ on Sunday, 2 different favorite spots! Largest caught was 26" by Bob on a floating jig while Dennis caught himself a 25"er. Didn't catch any northerns over 40", but did catch an 8" perch. Bob tried the Savant Spoon prototype and reeled in a 5# lake trout the first time it hit the water, but lost the spoon on the second drop. "When the walleyes are hitting...use anything - trout worms, power dough bait, crappie nibbles." Jim Kjendalen and son Eric reported their best action of the trip was a 3-hour walleye bite of non-stop action, eating minnows as fast as you could put your jig down, even biting empty hooks! "We caught hundreds of walleyes in the 16" - 24" range on jigs and minnows...location? Heaven." They also reeled in about a dozen northern pike in the 36" -40" range. "Two ferocious meal-size northerns on opposite ends of a new quality stringer managed to pull apart a split ring, releasing themselves and several walleye. An APB has been issued for the two culprits who can be identified by the stringer clip still in their mouths." Tom Taylor and Don Ackley each caught a 26" 5# walleye on minnows and floating jigs/split shot. Lowell "Mac" McClain (who just celebrated his 85th birthday...way to go Mac!) caught a 25" 4.5#er. Fishing for lake trout, Mac reeled in a 7 and 8#er on Canadian wiggler and herring/jig, while Tom and Don caught 5#ers. All enjoyed a fish boil while up at the Northeast Arm with Richard and Neil. And Don stayed in the boat this year! The Apple group, their ninth year up, reported great fishing this week. Lots of walleye (20"-24" range), super shore lunches, and no bugs. Largest walleye in the group came in at 25.5" caught by Jim Richards with a minnow. Bob Apple and grandson Casey with Bernie and Peter Zwiefelhofer caught 150+ walleyes in 2 hours! Bernie and Peter used zip lures and crocodile jig to nail lake trout in 100 feet of water! The group reported 10 lake trout in the 6-9# range and 4 "big" northerns (no size reported). Casey's dad Robert was bringing in the biggest northern he's ever seen, but Uncle Charlie decided not to net it just yet when he got it up to the boat...he didn't think it was tired enough and he wouldn't be able to net it. Maybe it wasn't, because it pulled on the line, broke it, and off swam Robert's trophy. Casey says no cards played this year...everyone too tired. (Maybe it was the newly discovered Seagrams 83?) But the cooking was good! Al Sarnowski's group reports big walleyes (fished slow with leeches and minnows) caught all week long between 22" and 25" in good numbers. "It was hard to get the guys off the lake." Adam Zierer, Chris Konecke, and Jim Jzewski each caught 7# 26"ers on jigs/minnows and a strike king on 15# line. Largest northern caught was 10#s 37.5" on jig and minnow by Adam , with Rod Knapp coming in with a 9# 36"er on a cleo. Al Sarnowski reeled in a 31" 11# lake trout on a sutton spoon. Adam was casting when he lost his reel and lure, but retrieved it the next day with a GPS and aqua view camera! Lenny Chmill was disappointed big time...had a walleye on well over 30", but forgot to set the hook and lost the fish. Jon Magnusson headed to his favorite honey hole...but says it "dried up." So he was off to find a new one! In come the boys...Ron Chmill's son Ryan and his cousin Christian O'Connor had a great fishing trip their first time in Canada...Ryan caught the big walleye of the week at Wildewood...27" 7#s on a jig and minnow (young first timers do it every time). Christian did good too, catching a 24" 5#er with a rattling roge. Both also caught good sized northerns, Ryan a 36.5" fat 15#er and Christian 36" 8#er. A good week had by all...and a busy one at that.

May 30, 2003, Fri...Sorry we're a bit late this week. Weather brought in quite a bit of warm weather...lots of suntans returning from the north. As you can see from the feature photo on the front page, young William Pevytoe (12) caught the big northern this week. He was quite happy to reel in his 44" 22.5#er (6# test line, ultralight, jig and minnow)! William also caught himself a walleye that a northern grabbed...dad Rodney to the rescue...netted both. Using dead bait, both caught a 9# and 12# lake trout too. A great week for father and son. Jim Mohr reeled in a 40" northern on a jig and minnow. When asked where, he replied...his upper lip! Dennis Beaish lost seven floating jigs - all on fish, none on the bottom. The group reported catching 75+ walleye days, best catch on same minnow on successive casts - 37" northern, 27" walleye, plus spotted moose, caribou, and bear. Speaking of bear...Jim Murray had the fasted 100 yard run of his life...at the same time he was looking over deadfall for suckers he noticed something else also came for a look...a bear! Long time guests, Lloyd Frederickson, Jim Maasen, Jim and Bill Waskow, had a good week too. Reported catching more fish with jigs and minnows this year, lots of nice northerns (majority in the slot size), walleyes...caught and ate lots (nice eater size)! Reeled in six lake trout, largest 7#, with spoons. Reported better fishing than two years ago. Up at Redman, Jim Kutella's group reported some excellent fishing this week...lots of northerns in the mid to upper 30" range, largest 45" low 20#s. High number of walleyes running 20" - 23", largest 25". Floating jig heads seem to be the most productive. Last week Tim Beck and Greg Seymour reported lots of northern in the slot size range (around 30"), largest about 42", large numbers of walleyes. Richard comments...seems overall floating jig heads, split shots or slip sinkers, with slow presentation producing most of the fish.

May 22, 2003, Thurs...Some not so bad weather for opening week! Did have a snow flurry and a day of rain early in the week, but overall it's been pretty nice. Should reach 70°+ today. Phil Jacobson came in with the largest lake trout of the week at 32", caught with a sutton spoon. Andy Vosburgh and Jan Brandewie came in a close second at 31", 12#'s each, caught with a rapala and yozuri mag. Reported lots of trout in the 4#-10# range, not in the usual spots, had to work for them. Greg Radtke used a minnow and caught a 45" northern pike. Tom Manning used a tsanami smelt to land a 43-44", 15-17#er. Pike were running in the 8#-15# range. Sucker spawn reportedly over. The Savant Spoon made its debut catching both pike and trout...Tom says some fine tuning and it will be up there with the lures of choice. Phil had an unusual experience while fishing for northern with a minnow on the line...suddenly the rod shot out of the boat, they watched it take off across the water, then tried catching up with it. As luck would have it, a minute later the bobber appeared and they managed to snag the line with another lure, then reeled in the slack line and retrieve the whole thing! What was it they caught? To their disappointment, only a large piece of bark remained! On the brighter side, they did spot three bears.

May 10, 2003, Sat...Richard flew over the lake yesterday (the floatplane is now in camp) afternoon and found there was still some ice on the main part of the lake. Today's rain will probably take care of that. We've had lots of warm days, up in the 70's this past week. A bit cooler today. Just days away to opening..first guests arrive next Friday afternoon, the 16th. We're looking forward to another great season. Stay tuned for the first of this season's fishing reports.

May 5, 2003, Mon...All good news today! Ice went off in the bay at camp today! Not sure about the main part of the lake yet, we'll keep you posted. Looks like opening week is a go! And we have more good news...through October 1, 2003 the Ontario government has waivered the 5% PST tax on the accommodations portion of your invoice. That's a savings of $19.12 for the housekeeping rate per person. Add that to the GST rebate of $26.77 for a total savings of $45.89pp! See everyone soon...only 11 days to opening.

March 24, 2003, Mon...Richard and Neil have arrived in camp! About 2-3 feet of snow on the ground, everything looking good. They'll be hauling fuel and new dockboards in over the next couple weeks. There was no snow on the ground in Dryden, so they are anxious to get things in before the snow melts.

Richard wanted to let everyone know..."When I returned to Canada this year, I interviewed Customs and Immigrations as to any changes at the border crossings. On the Canadian side it will be business as usual or as in the past - photo ID, i.e. passport, driver license, and/or birth certificate. Any parent with under age child must bring a letter from the other parent giving approval for travel. Much the same on the US side but security will be somewhat tighter than in the past. Expect longer delays on the US side, same documents required."

E-News seems to have been successful. If you didn't receive them over the winter months, let us know and we'll get them out to you. (Quite a few email addresses changed.) They'll be one more issue mid-April, so stay tuned for that.

We'll keep you posted on ice out...and see everyone soon. Just a few weeks away to some super walleye, northern, and trout fishing. Ooh, can you taste them already? Maybe the guys will have some time to get a few...ice fishing. I'm sure they'll put it on the list with their things to do.

May we all have peace and our men and women defending freedom stay safe and come home soon. Our hearts go out to those who have already lost loved ones. There is no easy answers in this great world of ours, but there is hope among the sadness.

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Fly-In Fishing & Hunting on World Class Lake Savant in Northwest Ontario Canada