Once again for my 10th season I made it out to Ontario for my annual guide/workation. Managed to make it out for 2 weeks this year which was great as the weather was warming up and the fishing was really starting to turn on in the few days before I got into camp. Unlike last year where I only guided 6 days, I was on the lake guiding 13 of the 15 days I was in camp, which didn't leave nearly as much time to fish for myself as I wanted, but I was out every night and the 3 days that I wasn't with guests.
My first fish of the trip caught in the first minute of fishing happened to be the biggest eye that i would personally put int he boat for 2 weeks.. I may have peaked alittle to early!!
No matter what the weather, we are out fishing, some times its raining sometimes its sunny, sometimes its both at the same time. Its guide life!
After the first night I got out with a bunch of the other guys I haven't seen since last year. Was good to be out with the boys again, trying some new spots and tactics.
Managed to put a few decent fish in the boat for some of the paying customers as well including this beautiful 45" that hit a tiny Red Rraw Rattle Trap while fishing for smallies off some sunken wood on a rock point.
And this 42" while trolling a walleye pattern Bulldawg through a narrows with lots of current in the river, and a crap load of walleyes stacked up in it!
The last 2 seasons I have had the biggest walleye caught at the lodge all summer in my boat. Unfortunately this year I was relegated to second as this beauty 30.5" got beat by half .5" the day before I left. Its still currently in second place with only a few weeks left in the season.
The evening fish was phenominal some nights with some good numbers of big walleyes caught. One night I got 2-24",25, 25.5, 2-26" and a 27.5" this was the 27.5"
One morning it was only 5 degrees which made the morning commutes a little chilly some mornings
This is what happens when you are a canoer in the middle of knowhere northern Ontario, and I come around the corner in my boat. I KIDNAP YOU AND TAKE YOU FISHING! This is Ben and Diane, 2 school teachers from Denver Colorado. They had already been canoeing from Red Lake Ontario for 3 days on there way to Lake Winnipeg. They figured the trip was going to take them 3 weeks pending good weather. They both caught quite a few fish but I couldn't find anything big for them this night. Naturally she outfished him and I by about 3 to 1.
This brought me to the last few days in camp. Having guided all the guests that I needed to, it was time for some fishing on my own. Being from Alberta with our lack of opportunity for bass, this meant it was going to be all smallies all the time for the next 2 days and I was not disappointed.
I learned a very valuable lesson on this one.. never lip a smallie with a lure still in its mouth!
This was one of the more odd fish we got..
Fished for pike for about a half hour before heading in for dinner on my last day. Landed 3 good sized ones including this 38"
Walleye fishing on my last night was decent but not exceptional. Last fish of the trip was a nice 26" but never got a photo of it. At any rate, the bottle was empty, ITS TIME FOR HOME!!!
Some of you may remember hearing about a forest fire the end of May in Manitoba in the Whiteshell and Wallace Lake area. From the plane flying in you can see the path that it burned going straight east and then all of a sudden it just starts going straight north. One day there was a 70km/h south wind and it burned almost 50 kms straight north in a day putting this fire within 15kms of the lodge. The MNR forest fire crew was supposed to be in the next day to set up fire suppression on the lodge and buildings and sutting fire breaks. Luckily it rained and snowed for 3 days after the big wind and pretty much put the fire out. The fire ended up burning 80000 hectars or 800 square kms. The flight into the lodge is 40 minutes from Lac Du Bonnet with 30 minutes of that to fly over this fire. It got way closer than I would have been comfortable with, with no place to escape to!
That concluded this years workation. Tons of fish, some great weather and some awesome guys and guests to share it with. I will say it before and I will say it again, Ontario is awesome!
Awesome pics Wes, thanks for posting! You are pretty good photographer I must say, love the rainbow pic and the pic of that first Walleye! No Muskies at that lake to target? Couple of great smallies there too, I love fishing for them whenever I get a chance as well.
Awesome pics Wes, thanks for posting! You are pretty good photographer I must say, love the rainbow pic and the pic of that first Walleye! No Muskies at that lake to target? Couple of great smallies there too, I love fishing for them whenever I get a chance as well.
No muskies unfortunately, as they are on my bucket list. We are to far north, even though there is still a tonne of northern Ontario above us! Just Walleye, Pike, Small Mouth and Lakers.
Annual Ontario workation photo epic.
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