This is one of those blogs where the pictures will do all the talking. So many- its just been an astounding two weeks of Canadian fishing!
Fall is here, and with some weeds dying off, the shallow bite has come in as shallow as 7 to 8' now while the deep bite was in the 25'- 35'. The crawler bite is still going but the minnows bite is still really good. We had boats take out 4 dozen a day and still run out! Our Bear's Den group said one day they lost count after catching 250 fish- yes, one day.
Cooler outdoor temps (in the 60's most these past 2 weeks) and water temps also dropping. We've had some rain, but not enough to raise the water levels much. The narrows are pretty shallow right now (gotta go slow- trim up) , Keynote and Mud Lake are a no go, but otherwise, its been fine for accessibility.
Tim caught two 27" walleye in the same day:
'
Jim caught this dandy and his personal biggest walleye at 24.5":
Mike's purple life vest brought him good luck with so many walleye during his week:
And Dave crushed it as well with countless 20+ inchers:
Russ was right there with them just nailing walleye all week long:
Jeff and Jenn caught a 22" walleye among others while also on kid patrol:
And Chris caught and released this nice 21"er:
The northern were biting heavy too! Jake caught these guys:
Deanna caught this huge 34" northern:
Russ landed this thick pike:
Monique and Holly caught their fair share of northern among other species, and kept Earl busy in the fish house:
And here's Tim with yet another one...
The smallies that came out of the Wabby this week were impressive:
Schmitty makes the big fish page with this 19"er:
Lots of eater size walleye made it in for some tasty and amazing smelling fish fries:
Enjoyed watching these men be men and make good use of the Bear's Den:
And some guests took advantage of other camp activities:
Campers gravitated towards the firepit both in the mornings and the evenings when we got the opportunity:
As well as captured some stunning sunsets
One family did whatever it took to get back to Tall Pines:
Brayton and Bentley's first northerns they ever caught- and they reeled them in all by themselves. Brayton caught a 20" walleye:
It was all these two could do to hold this stringer up cause it was soooo heavy:
and Bentley caught a 25" northern that Mr. Earl filleted for him:
No wonder he didn't want to leave:
We had to add a kids category to the leaderboard after all the stories of fish caught they shared:
Scott returned to Tall Pines and managed to get some dandy smallies and northern:
He brought two buddies this time who knew how to navigate the lake, avoid hazards, and locate the fish. Without their help and guidance, Scott would have definitely struggled. Dave and Chuck just banged it out all week long and really completed the group:
Jon and Mallah, got here for grouse hunting opener, but also are getting some fishing in and found quite a few large northern:
And just look at Fred's pic of a 42" northern he landed:
Fred's sons caught on to the fall bite program and got quite a few walleye this week. Here's Joe with a 23"er:
and Steve with a 22"er:
Bob (standing off to the right in this pic) we dubbed the mayor of Tall Pines during his visit. Bob seemed to know everyone that he walked by on the docks, always having something positive to say, and also caught two 25" walleye, a 27" walleye, and countless more but since he was fishing solo, couldn't get pics.
On his last fishing day of their trip, Bob had a goal to get into some smallmouth; I managed to get this pic as he returned to camp:
He and his wife Joyce celebrated their 55th wedding anniversary here during their extended stay:
A lot of personal bests and movement on the board- the current leader board:
More to come in next blog as the pictures keep coming in.
Over the past several weeks, what fun it has been to observe how everyone not only mingled well together, but helped each other. Times when Earl was filleting and multiple boats would be coming in at the same time, guests helped land them. One guest needed super glue and another guest had some when we and Dutchies didn't. One guy made a bet with the kiddos on who could catch the most fish that day. One of the guys gave me a golf cart ride to deliver fish- it was a reverse concierge service! If a boat had a tough day finding fish, campers were willing to share some info to help them out. One time I looked out and counted seven guys launching a guest's boat! Guys packing up and offering their minnows to those on extended stay. Camp vibe has been great and the laughs and smiles are what its all about. The camaraderie at Tall Pines is not taken for granted. We have something special here and thank so many of you for being a part of it.