Oh my goodness have I got a lot of pics to share with you!
Well Father's Day came and went and it was so nice to see the many Dads, Granddads, and sons out there fishing together. We also love seeing the love, and knowledge, of fishing passing from one generation to another. Whether its a grown up kid or a little kid going on the boat with Dad, we know the experience is one both will never forget.
Johnny loves to fish just like Dad Karl, and they had their most memorable fishing year of many in terms of numbers and size of smallmouth bass this year:
Skip, famous for his bib overalls, has son Will following in his footsetps. And some of his gang were back. He also brought a couple newbies who enjoyed themselves and Kane even did the "initiation" of jumping off the dock. They usually focus on walleye but also explored smallies, crappie, and pike this year:
Buddies A.G. and Kevin were back this year with more shenanigans on the water; this time they brought A.G.'s son Andrew for his first Canadian trip- you can see that raw smile in Andrew catching his personal biggest pike- a little different than the large mouth bass fishing he was used to back home.
And Dad Mike brought his boys back again- this time celebrating Hunter's (next to Dad)high school graduation- their first day here and memories were made:
They were often first and last on the docks each day- taking full advantage of their week up here. As one observant guest commented to Mom, Amy, "They're obsessed". Uncle Doug and Mom may need a vacation from this vacation:
Brothers Dylan, Hunter, and Jordan are a triple threat:
Not only did Hunter's 25.5" walleye above take me off the leaderboard, then youngest brother Jordan broke the 20 incher for smallouth!
Newbie Dean had a thrilling catch, taking Hunter's top walleye position for a short time (26.5"):
And Muskie opener is here- Dave caught and released this nice one:
And Troy found this one near the falls:
We met Ken in Illinois networking in 2019 and discovered the Canadian waters are his playground. Back for his 4th year to Tall Pines, he always combos it up between fishing Wabaskang and nearby lakes and has great animated stories to share each day he comes off the water- he scored big in multiple species:
And here Ken is practicing CPR (catch-photo-release) - he had a good reminder of how when holding the back end of that larger fish in the water waiting for it to re-acclimate, you never want to pull it back, but rather hold and very gently sway side to side.
Shannon had patience in finding where this fat 24.5" walleye was hiding:
Jake, staying in the Bear's Den, caught and released his big pike:
While Den-mate Al was not to be outdone:
And a lot of couples here in June too:
Jerry is a veteran on the water, but every year wants to learn and asks questions to seek out a variety of fish. Well Seek and you shall find- he and wife Anne made some great memories again this year:
Jerry and Anne had some friends join them, Matt returning, and Karo's first time:
Karo was all about the swag:
And the fishing wasn't too bad either:
Jerry also referred friends Mike and Kathy, and friends Bill and Jeanette, who loved the scenery and beauty of being up North. And it didn't hurt that Kathy caught and released a walleye almost as big as her (28.75"!)
Tom and Carol were back and this year did a couples trip with some friends of theirs. They observed they personally had more over 18" walleye than any previous trip:
Way to go Carol Pearson! Joining Tom and Carol again this year, Carol needed the help of her husband Mark in landing this bad boy as it seemed to weight as much as her. 42" northern took the leader board:
Mark and Sandy were back and shared a few of their fish and moose pics as well as Mark's 30lb catch on an 8lb line (he made sure to say he released it and its still "swimming":
Ryan and I were able to sneak out and caught and released a handful of overs, including a 25.25" walleye that made my day! I was so thrilled to be on the leaderboard for 2 days til Hunter stole my thunder :) Ryan also caught a nice 33" pike off the dock as Ken was demonstrating his St. Croix Muskie rods.
Had a bluegrass "jam session" around a campfire one night recently, and the potluck get togethers are starting to get bigger:
Bruce and Dave spotted this moose and calf last week, and wife Debbie swears she saw the same moose in the same spot last August:
A sunset view from cabin 4:
Recent Leaderboards:
Holy cow- we've had some big fish caught this past week- the leaderboard was constantly changing in all the categories. While I started the week off with the biggest walleye (25.25"), Hunter quickly took me off (25.5"), only to be beaten by Dean (26.5"), and then by Kathy (28.75"). And similar trumping one another happened for pike and smallies too. Multiple groups saying the fish have been more scattered, but when you find some- they're bigger and sure get that adrenaline going. Numerous have also had epic fish on their line- only to get bitten off or escape during the netting process- but even seeing them at the boat got their hearts racing. More pics still coming in, but you'll have to wait another 2 weeks til the next blog to see them.
We're definitely in transition now from the spring to summer bite where the weeds are starting to emerge and the water temps are pushing 70's. The dragonflies are finally here to help with the early mosquito population. And we're loving that the weather is finally tapering off from cold/wind/rain, and hoping for more pleasant summer days. Happy June :)
Comments