Fishing Reports 2004

March 22, 2004...Two weekends ago, Neil with his sister and the kids, broke a trail to camp, getting stuck 8 or 9 times with the snowmachines on a trip in that took almost 5 hours. They found the camp in good shape with lots of snow and a few blow-down trees over the trail, but overall not too bad. The weekend before last, they returned to camp to check out the fishing and found their "breaking trail" efforts the week before was more than rewarded with the quality of Lake Trout fishing they encountered. Before it was over they had caught 18 lake trout, approximated at 8 to 18 lbs. They also caught several walleyes and northern pike. Neil says the lake has approximately 2 to 3 ft of snow with 18 inches of slush hidden below the snow.

After spending 3 days at camp, Neil and family headed back to Dryden in a snowstorm, and believe it or not, it has been snowing ever since. Richard is on the road to Canada again and should arrive on or about the 23rd of March. During the conversation with Richard, Neil committed to Richard that he would have the lodge toasty warm and a fresh batch of walleyes ready for the frying pan when he arrived. That's all for now, stay tuned for further news.

April 14, 2004...Jack Smythe of Park Rapids, MN and crew descended upon Wildewood April 5th for their annual 3-day ice fishing derby. A good fish boil with fresh walleyes was enjoyed the first day. After that, all fishing efforts were directed to lake trout. Jack and friend Tommy were in a heated fish measuring battle for the "big bucks" prize for largest lake trout. But on the last day of the trip, senior fisherman of the group, Charlie, aced the largest lake trout at 15+ lbs. and quickly settled that one. Things were a little quiet after that! Cash prizes were well divided this year. Even Neil and Richard cashed in on "the most fish in one day"...two days in a row. Estimates of 24-26 lake trout, most 30"+, caught and released, except for a few take-homes. Jack selected a new fishing location from Wildewood's new depth maps. And a wise choice it was. Richard is sure the location has never been fished before, winter or summer. The structure was 35' on top falling off to 90' withing 50 yards or so off each side. The reef was 500-600 yards long with depths exceeding 130' off the point. The "awards dinner" was lots of fun...of course a few stories about the big one that got away was expanded upon after a pint or so of Crown Royal. Tommy was the chef, the food was great as usual...no Kraft dinners or canned beans, and the weather was comfortable. Time to get back to work.

May 9, 2004...Camp Update...Ice is out in the bay at camp! The winds are whipping through today, so suspect the main part of the lake will be ice off in a few days...will keep you posted this week. Water levels appear to be normal. Extra leeches and worms will be on hand for anyone wanting more than the two dozen supplied daily as part of the fishing package. We'll also have live minnows, frozen ciscos, and the new Savant Spoon available in camp. Watch for weekly fishing reports...opening day will be May 15th, as scheduled. Everyone is looking forward to a super fishing season. The excitement has been building on beating the big trout catches of last year. And with the quantity of larger walleyes and northerns last year, we expect some pretty good large catches this year. Looking forward to seeing everyone! Have a safe trip up.

May 21, 2004...Opening Week...First we had a snowstorm (about a foot!), then came the sleet, then the rain, then came opening day. Needless to say, it was a bit slurpy around camp and the fish weren't hungry and biting the first couple days....bummer. Then things picked up a bit with Tuesday and Wednesday being the best two days for the fishermen. Biggest numbers for those delicious walleyes...42 caught in three hours, 5 fishermen. James Ruddle hauled in the largest at 25" just over 5 pounds with a floating jig, minnow, and 14# test line. Jason Shaum came in second with a 24" 4.34#er on 8# test line, same bait. Two 40" northerns were caught...Jason Shaum 18.5# on floating rapala and Marshall Ruddle 16.6# on floating jig and minnow, both on 20# test line. Josh Docusen used a file of diamonds and reeled in a 38", 13.5 #er. Rob Tolentino caught himself a 7.1#, 26" lake trout on a trolling rapala. Weather tapered off a bit the last few days, but we are expecting a short-term? cold front. Let's hope for some warmer stabler weather. See you next week! (FYI: Been having a hard time connecting to the internet over the radio phone...they are trying to find the problem...lots of intercepting noise. So if we don't get back to you right away...we will asap.)

May 28, 2004...Br-r-r and wet, wet, wet most of the week. But despite the nasty weather, the fish were biting and progressively got better towards the end of the week. And when did the sunshine...Thursday afternoon it peeked out and this morning not a cloud in the sky! Largest walleye this week was caught by Kent Reece from Georgia on a minnow coming in at 28". Robert Cochran and Donnie Weaver each reeled in a 40+" northern pike. Lots of pike in the 35" to 40" size caught with jigs and minnows were reported. Rex Jones had the biggest pike he's seen on the line, brought it up next to the boat, then as he looked at it in awe, it flipped over, came loose, and swam away...estimated it had to be better than 50". Lake trout are still running very slow...in 12' to 45', a bit deeper than normal...largest one caught was 37" by Tom Manning, catching a couple pike in the 40+" range in the process. Brad Cowan reeled in a 9#, 31"er on a redeye, Rex Jones a 31"er. and Don Ladig a 7#, 28"er. Lots of nice walleye (average 19"-24") were reported with the Jones group from Georgia reporting 250 caught Saturday, 200 Monday, and 310 Wednesday despite the cold weather. Charlie and Andy Vosburgh reported their largest catch, coming in at 24", 3-4#s on floating jigs and minnows. And the unusual story of the week...Russell Reece hooked a seagull in the foot around a small island in the north part of the lake...the line got caught up in the top of a tree, then turned the island over! If you don't believe this one, go check out the island and see it for yourself. "No seagulls were harmed in the making of this story." (The guys actually couldn't belive what they were seeing when they saw that the island was turned over...it most likely was pushed up when the ice was going out.) A moose and calf were seen swimming across the bay out in front of camp mid-week.

June 4, 2004...Weather was bit warmer this week...yippee! And it's looking pretty good for the coming week. Fishing continued to get better...most number of walleyes caught was 175+ in 2 days by Matt Koenke's group, saying "leeches were working excellent" for them. Dennis Morrissey's group reeled in 50-60 walleye Tuesday afternoon saying they didn't catch huge numbers this year, but the" quality was sure there!" Denny Bedish caught the largest walleye coming in at 29" on a floating jig. Bob Melloway came in 2nd with a 27 3/4"er on minnow and jig, and Jim and Tom Mohr reeled in (3) 27"ers. Denny Bedish also caught the large northern pike of the week at 40" on crank bait, Brandon Yoder reported a 39 1/2"er (12# 11oz.), and Ed Zagorac a 36" pike. Dennis Strader get the Berkley-Phazer Award in the Mohr group for fishing his rod and reel out of the water after losing it to a rather small pike, reported his "buddies." Eric Weinman caught a 12" walleye along with a 36" pike...walleye took the jig....pike took the walleye. One broken rod by Brandon Yoder and one seagull bite to Denny Bedish...while eating shore lunch had a line out with a bobber, seagull got caught in the line...all survived! Lake trout caught this week...an 11#er by the Mohr "party limited" trolling, 32" by Bob Melloway on daredevil, and 29" 8#, 5 oz. on shad rap by Matt Koenke. Everyone reported a good time and look forward to their next trip. (FYI...still having a hard time connecting to internet so be patient if you send an email...thanks!)

June 11, 2004...Weather was bit better this week, sunshine most of the week, aside from Tuesday's gloom. Today is very windy with white caps in the bay, but blue sky and sunshine prevails. The Apple group reported their best day (Thursday)...produced 100+ walleyes caught and released. They also released a good number in the mid-to-low 20" range all week. Needless to say, the big one got away...as Gus Erdmann saw the big fish get closer to the boat, he thought "this one's for the wall"...but a mishandling of the net made it an unintentional release! (No name will be given to protect the fishing partner.) He also caught an white (albino?) walleye. The group also had lots of lake trout action with most coming in at 7-12#s. Charlie Apple had the best luck with a Bagley Top Gun, and the Savant and Sutton Spoons produced as well. The Waskow group reported lots of walleyes, several over 20" returned to the lake on floating jigs and minnows. In the trout arena, Bill Waskow reeled in a 10#er on a red eye and Jim Maasen reported a 8#er on the Savant spoon. Baranowski's group had many good numbers of walleyes, many ranging in the 22"+ range. The group also reported good numbers of lake trout and northern pike with Joe Drosdeck catching the largest pike at 43" 20#s on a minnow and jig, Phil Rouse a 42" 16#er on a sucker. "Had a great time catching all species and had excellent service by Neil!" The trout were being caught in 12' - 45' of water. Surface temps did warm this week to 52°/54° over deep water...shallow bays warmed to 59°/62°...up 10° in one week. Water still at record high levels. Best walleye baits were floating jigs and split shots with slow presentation, tipped with minnows or leeches.

June 18, 2004...Walleyes were on a feeding binge this week with lots caught/released in the 22" to 28" range, many reporting "lots of action." 8.5#s was the largest reported. The Peters group caught and released an estimated 400+ walleyes in the bay right in front of camp with many running 23"+. Others were reporting catches of 25 to 40 pp/per day. Floating jigs with 1/8 oz. to 1/4 oz. split shot (slow presentation) tipped with minnow or leech was best. The walleye spinner rigs tipped with power bait was also good. Worms were not as productive as the other two live bait choices. Windy days found the eyes in 6' to 8' of water and 10' to 15' on calmer days. Lots of northerns with a fair number of 12#-15#s caught on walleye jigs. As usual several "big" ones got away as the results of bite offs at the boat or "nettor" error. For those who spent some time lake trout fishing limits were filled with low to mid range fish. Many trout were caught on ciscos this week with little time spent trolling. Weather was stable for the most part with many days of sunshine. Ron Chmill gets high marks for navigating the entire lake without getting lost...reporter "buddy" to remain nameless. We're hoping to get a few pics sent up for the scrapbook this week and last.

June 25, 2004...The good...and the bad. The bad was the weather. Rain and wind, rain and wind, early on...calming a bit the last few days. Highs in the 60s, lows 38-42. The good news...it didn't stop the fishermen and the fishing was outstanding! Walleyes, walleyes, and more walleyes was the norm... most reported 60-70 per day/boat, averaging in the 22" to 28" range. Again this week, the bay in front of camp produced large numbers, many in the 20" - 27" range. 7-year old Sam Marti, with dad Kevin Marti, and father-in-law Jerry Hildebrand spent lots of time there catching walleyes and northerns (30" - 36")...Sam caught the largest walleye in the group at 27". Richard and Neil fished one afternoon in the bay for dinner. After releasing many fish over 20", they headed for the dock with several in the 16" - 17" range. Sam met them with a big smile at the dock to see their catch..."I don't keep fish that small!" They laughed, but did comment, "Sam might be the best seven-year old fisherman I've seen in quite some time." He and his dad fished a day with Neil and he outfished dad. It was rumored he did that on several occasions.

The best bait was still floating jighead tipped with minnow or leech and 1/8 oz. splitshot about 12" to 15" up the line. Slow presentation was best. Fish were found on shorelines with the wind pushing onto rockey structures, still in 6' - 14' water. Largest northern pike this week was 44" caught by the Lois group. They reported many in the 30" - 39" range. fisherman of the the week has to go to 7-year old and Most of the fishermen overlooked the lake trout this week...too much action on the walleyes. Richard and Jerry went out one morning and both caught their limit in 3 hours...the new Savant spoon caught the larger two, the smaller two were caught on Sutton spoons. They were found in 45' to 60' of water with temps at 54° on the surface. Water levels are at an all time high.

July 2, 2004...Weather was a mixed bag this week...a few days of sun, cool, windy, rain, and several fronts. Cool mornings and evenings with a high one day of 80°. Overall though the fishing was good with slow days mixed in. The Barrix group caught and released 21 six to ten pound lake trout in a 3 and 2 hour period, "Best lake trout fishing we ever had." Walleyes were a bit on the slow side for two days, but they made up for that the rest of the week, with largest caught by Keith Helmer at 5#s 25.5". Many northerns caught at 30' in 60' of water while lake trout fishing, . Diamond King and Northern King was their lure of choice for lakers this year. Jason Much and Cody Helmer both reeled in 12# lake trouts. "74 hours of fishing, 12 hours in the cabin, 33 hours of sleep...time to go back to work and rest!" More good fishing in the bay in front of camp this week and the walleyes are showing up in the favorite night spot. Richard Lefebvre caught an 8# lake trout while fishing for walleye there. His group limited out on lake trout with many in the 8-15# range. Reports of having trouble catching walleyes in the under 18" size...but with a few helpful hints from Richard 17 were caught in 45 minutes with five trophies 25" to 27". Leeches and minnows were working equally well for live bait. Grant Hendrickson reeled in the largest lake trout of the week at 18.5#s on a Sutton spoon. Largest walleye reported this week was caught by Steve Brewer on a jig/minnow coming in at 6.5#s 27". Largest northern caught by Cody Helmer at 11#s 38.5". Long time guest Larry Crea commented, "High water and cooler than average temps made the fishing a bit more of a challenge this year...but as usual, Lake Savant always comes through." Fishing tip: We loved Neil's idea of putting a small piece of twister tail to secure the minnow or leech to make them stay on/last longer. Only complaint this week was from 6'6" Grant Hendrickson...doorways put a few lumps in his head and feet stuck out beyond the bed causing a bit of an obstacle after lights went out in the cabin...and as Richard likes to please everyone he thought king size beds and doors...but he was last seen looking at the "do-it-yourself" surgeon's medical journal. (p.s. We now have a 6-card reader for those digital camera pics...so bring your digital camera up!)

July 9, 2004...Hope everyone enjoyed the 4th of July holiday...it was a bit quiet up here in the bush, as is usual this week. Scott McIntire's group from Missouri had a great time fishing, reported Saturday and Wednesday their best days for northerns and walleyes...both in the favorite night spot (about 75-100 walleyes) and during the day. Largest walleyes caught by each...Scott 24", Dwayne McIntire 26.5", Ron McIntire 25", and Gary Pierce at 26"...caught on leeches with ultralites and minnows with floating jigs. Strange bait of the week was some cooked bacon...turns out he caught the most fish on that trip. Dwayne and Gary took lots of photos when they came face-to-face with a bull moose. Lance and Carol Beehler had to cut their week short when Lance's hand swelled up quite large after slamming it on a northern and he could no longer fish...they're looking forward to coming back next year for their 20th visit! A deer was spotted swimming across the lake. Weather somewhat stabilized with some good warm sunny days mixed in.

July 16, 2004...The weather seems to have stabilized a bit...a bit of summer this week. Lots of good numbers of walleyes reported by Randy Vest's group...their biggest complaint was too many big ones! "We had a problem catching walleyes small enough to eat." But it didn't stop them from enjoying shore lunches. Largest northerns caught by each in the group....Bob Skelton two 35"ers and Randy Vest a 31" on Savant Spoons plus Glen Greene a 34" and 31" on road runner and jig/spinner, Art Main a 33" on jig/spinner, and Loren Miller a 31" on jig/spinner. Randy reported the gold Savant Spoon accounted for multiple northerns in the slot and larger. Don Lenick's group reported walleyes were a bit harder to fish this year...but despite their challenges they enjoyed lots of good fish meals all week. Don caught the largest in the group coming in at 27" on a leech. Mickey Centracchio caught many northerns in the mid 30s and a 6# plus lake trout all on minnows. Don's Savant Spoon prototype from last year landed him a few lake trout...chewed it up a bit, so he purchased the real thing for his close to home fishing. John Hamilton lost his rod and reel, but pulled up a 16' pine tree! And John Barnham caught a northern on one side of the boat as another rammed the other side of the boat. John Danforth and his wife Linda reported lots of big walleyes and suggested back trolling for the most bites. The largest ones were 26"-27" 5.5#-6#s. John reeled in a 12# lake trout on gold and silver sutton spoon and each caught an 8#er on gold Savant Spoon. Linda had a big walleye on the stringer while fishing for pike when about a 25#er hit the side of the boat...Linda won the walleye! John wanted the northern! Moose and caribou were seen on the lake. Everyone reported having a great time and look forward to next year!

July 24, 2004...Weather was a bit unstable this week...thunderstorms, wind, and temps rangin from 80° down to 37° several mornings. Major May fly hatch most days slowed the walleye fishing by mid-day...early mornings were the most productive. Some areas of the lake did not experience as large a hatch as others; these areas produced steady fishing. Leeches out-produced minnows and crawlers by about 2 to 1 on walleye spinner baits. Floating jigs were still a good bet. White fish were feeding on May flys by mid-day in the calmer bays. Larger northern pike just under 40" reported by Darin Buhlmann & Marvin McIntyre. Good numbers of lake trout 6-12# class. Bob and Rob MacGregor caught 17 trout for the week with Bob's being the largest at 17#s. Kay Shenmake had a 9#er, Earl Brockmeier and 8#er, and Marvin McIntyre reported a 7#er for their group; Dick Feller a 9#er for their group; Bob Myer a 9#er with wife Sue reeling in a 7#er...her first trout ever (She outfished her husband the first day...which got them off to a great start! [smile] ). Good numbers of walleye caught and released 22"-27"...largest taken by Craig Buhlmann at 29.5".

Darin Buhlman lightened his tackle box...losing an estimated 40-50 jigs fishing for lake trout. And shame on the cook...Earl Brockmeier's group hauled all kinds of stuff down to their boats for a their annual big shore lunch with all the goodies you could think of. Frying pans going full bore and ready for the fish...Who has the fish? Did you bring the fish? Where's the fish? Marvin rushed back to camp where they sat waiting in the fridge! "Lunch was great, just a bit late!

July 30, 2004...The Baldwin group from Virginia made their bi-annual trip up to camp...celebrating his 12th birthday, Dustin Baldwin joined the group this year, catching several walleye in the 18"-21" range! Barry Echols reported the largest in the group coming in at 29.5", Richard Baldwin 28", Dale Arrington 27.5", all on sucker minnows. Dale also reeled in a 25"er on a leech, along with 20+ in the 21"-23" range. The group reported 75% of walleyes caught were over 18", most between 21" - 23", about 150 in this range. They were sold on sucker minnows for the big walleyes. Barry Echols used a rapala to reel in a 41" northern. The Crea family and friends...Rocco is 82 years young this year! Way to go Rocco...he's a real trooper spending about 10 hours a day fishing with his sons and says he's looking forward to next year too. The group reported eating walleyes almost every night, even though their fishing was a bit slower than last year...biting on minnows and leeches. Larry Crea reported the largest in the group, coming in at 6#s. "Northern pike fishing was a bit unusual this year. Best luck along shore near and under overhanding logs." Two 15#ers caught by Mark Crea on Dr. Spoons. And Larry used a jim's flashback to bring in a 16# lake trout, not quite as large as his 40#er from last year. Phil Burr came back after a being away for a few years...after losing his brother and fishing partner, Dave, last year. We will all miss Dave, he loved coming to Wildewood. Getting back in the saddle, this time with his nephew, Don Schutz and and his 11 year old son, Codi ..."Codi fished hard all day every day and had a super time, I think they'll be back!" His largest fish was a 6#, 29" northern with a big one getting away under trees. Largest walleye in their group was caught by Phil, coming in at 8#s and 4#s on leeches. They both reeled in lake trout...Codi two 6#ers, Phil 8# and 7# on sutton spoons. All in all, a great week...even the weather wasn't too bad. A few overcast days, a few sunny days, and a good rain the last day, colling off in the evenings.

Cousin Trace Reynolds in the Crea group tried to catch fish with a minnow spoon having no luck. After 2 days of trying he gave the spoon to buddy Paul. "Here...this bait is no good, you can have it." First cast, Paul nailed a slot-sized northern, then spent the rest of the day hauling in seven more! Trace is going back to the bait shop for another!

August 5, 2004...Weather was off and on all week...but some pretty big fish were still caught. A few groups got away without leaving the fishing report behind...so here's what we have. Nyc Houghan (13 years old) caught his biggest fish ever...a 23.5# walleye, while dad, Kyle, hauled in his largest at 25.5" 5.5#s. Dad says they had a great time, loved fishing, and did really well! Their first day out, "We caught more fish in six hours than we ever caught all the times we've been to Canada." Gary Pullen's group reported many, many really nice walleye in the 4# - 6# range. Always good numbers and size in the evenings, days were a bit slower than years past. Caught one northern coming in at 40" while trolling for walleye. "Several 7#-8#ers were lost at the boat...a few were never even seen!" The group tried lake trout for the first time...brought up a 5#er, 60' on the bottom. Heard around camp...70-80 fish in the boat some days.

August 13, 2004...Cold evenings, warm days, one big rain day, cold front Monday...for weather this week, . Got down to 38° one morning...b-r-r, into the 70-80°s during the day. The Bell group reported enough walleye to eat but it got slower after the front in their usual hot spots. Nathan Bell caught his first lake trout, "small but he likes it now!" Bob Bell caught the largest lake trout in the group coming in at 13#s 33.5" on a perch color 1 oz.spoon. Dave used the same bait and brought in an 8# 30"er. Dave also hauled in 2 northern in the 30"-31" range on daredevil, Mike a 29"er on Johnson silver minnow. The Meyer group reported 15 walleye over 25" and lots of trout over 30". Casey Schoenebeck caught the largest lake trout at 37" on jigging spoon. Steve Meyer also used jigging spoon to bring in 4 in the 32"-34" range. Bob Meyer caught the largest walleye in the group...just under 27", Steve a 26.5", Dave Scamehorn 26"+ all on jigs. First-timers, Leo and Zach Kelly came up without their fearless leader, Everett Charlier (who unfortunately fell off a roof breaking many bones, including his arms...he is home healing but was heard telling the emergency room doc..."whatever you do, you have to get me fixed me up in 12 days because I'm going fishing in Canada.") Everyone wishes Everett a speedy recovery! "We missed Everett and Cindy, wish they were with us, but we did pretty good anyways." Zach hauled in the largest northern reported this week coming in at 38" on jig/minnow. Both caught 32" lake trout on blue/silver spoon & perch spoon. Leo also reported a 23" walleye and says they both did well all week...all jigging.

August 20, 2004...Last few days got a bit nippy up here in the north, down in the 30s in the morning hours. But it didn't stop the fishermen...aside from the downpour on Wednesday. Leland Christian hauled in the biggest walleye this week, coming in at 26.5" 5.5#s on pink jig. He and Barry Christian (largest just under 23") caught 50+ walleye into the boat their first day out. Barry also pulled in 8 lake trout...most are back in the lake...his largest was 32" 5.5#s. John Elsa and Harvey Buske both used orange jigs to bring in their largest walleye at 22" each. Neil spent an afternoon out in the bay and reeled in a 28" walleye. They're out there! (oops...last week forgot to change the date on the report...it's fixed now...so if you read last week's report you may have thought there were two reports for the 5th.)

September 5, 2004...Weather was a mixed bag again this week. Birch trees are starting to turn color...Fall is here! Nancy, Cheryl, Jack, and Tom Rife caught and released a substantial number of fish this past week. The group estimated 80% of the walleyes caught exceeded 20" and most came out of 20' to 52' of water. Ciscos and large suckers were the most productive baits for the larger fish. Nancy's 14# lake trout, Cheryl's 28.5" walleye and Jack's 40"+ northern pike took top honors for the group. Jack and Betty Bent did well also. Good numbers of 20"+ eyes. Jack said it was hard to release so many 24"+ walleyes. Guy Korpanai and Frank Trevelline had some great fishing. Lots of walleyes in the mid 20" range. Frank's largest northern was 41". Frank and Neil caught 6 lake trout in two hours over 12#s...largest weighing in at 16#s.

September 18, 2004...The last week of fishing at Wildewood for the season...a big thank you to everyone!! The largest lake trout of the week weighed in at just over 24 lbs. Largest northern reported was 22#s 44". Mick Warren's group reported good numbers of walleyes in 24" to 50" of water...largest coming in at 26.5". Some groups found fishing slower than normal in the typical 10' to 15' depths. Cold front, rain, and wind seemed to push the fish deeper than normal. Tim Bina's group reported their largest northern pike was 40"+...and enjoyed many walleye shore lunches. The moose were on the move this week...lots of sitings including three in the bay out in front of camp. And Richard and Frank Trevelline spotted two bulls neat the Albany River moose camp site. Lake level continues to be high and is still rising. Frost was seen several mornings with temps dipping to 32° one night. For the next few weeks, it's off to the rivers for moose hunting...good luck hunters!

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