2004 Weekly Summaries
Here are some updates on the fishing and weather conditions
for passing weeks of the 2004 season. Feel free to check the
summaries from other years to compare with the same times from different
years.
October 23-30
Muskie action was pretty good during the week. Fall trolling is the
best time to take numbers and size. A good example is the fish that
your humble website author snagged while out trolling on October 25.
We had a few fisherman trolling all week and they did very well. If
you like to fish muskie, October is prime time. Justin also got fish that
were 31.5, 33, 37, 40 and 41.5 inches. Randy B. came back for one last
hurrah in the fall and put a 45"x20" fish in the boat midweek as well.
October 16 - 23
The weather turned a little nastier this week and we
thought it might bring the ducks on for our hunters. That wasn't the case
however, as duck hunting was a little slow. Fishing was pretty good overall
again. Walleyes were biting pretty fast and furious. One group had the
best luck in 22'-26' using jigs and minnows. Crappies were a bit harder to
get in both OB and Miles this week. Our groups saw them stacked up on their
graphs, but couldn't get them to bite. Muskie action was pretty good
during the week. One of our groups put over 30 fish in the boat during a
week that had a few days with enough wind to make it tough to fish.
October 9 -16
The weather was gorgeous until Wednesday, when the streak of perfect October
days finally came to an end. The walleyes bere biting like they might not
eat for months. The Bell/St Onge group spent more money on minnows than gas.
Well, almost!! Muskie action was excellent over the weekend and been good
for the groups fishing so far this week. Weather is supposed to be cold
the coming week so plan to bundle up if you are headed north. Ducks have
been a little scarce so far, but the cold weather should help bring some
down. More muskie hunters coming to finish out the year and one more group
of crappie and walleye fisherman as well.
St Onge/Bell Group Fishing Report (Oct 9-12)
Paul St. Onge was good enough to send a great report
of their fishing trip in October. We've gotten to know Paul pretty
well over the past few years and he is one of the best walleye fisherman
we have staying with us. He got to make 4 trip to Lake of the Woods
this year and put a lot of fish in the boat pretty much every day he went
out. Here's his summary from their October 2004 trip:
Six of us, in two boats, fished October 9th
through 12th. On day one we went West in to The Little Traverse, about
25 miles from Mylie's to fish mainly eyes. We found lots of them in
22' to 32'. On day two we went up in to Obabikan for crappies
and brought in a bucket from each of both boats and had a huge crappie
fry that night. Also trolled for an hour with big baits on the way
back. Mike Bell caught and released a 38" northern, a personal best for
him. Same story on the walleyes, deep and got them on every spot we
tried. Day three, we went west again but not near as far. Lots
of walleyes on every spot we tried. One was landed at 24" by Joel Bell.
Boy did their Dad, Dave Bell, and I put these boys on some good spots.
If a person didn’t know better, they'd think that they were out-fishing
us due to their own talents. They are lucky to have us around. Eventually
fished our way up to Thomson Creek in Miles Bay. In one and a half hours
we picked up 57 crappies between both boats. On day four we went West again.
Caught walleyes everywhere, again. On one spot, in less than two hours,
we boated two at 25" one at 24" and several over 20". Even us old boys
in my boat held our own on this spot, as far as the big fish were concerned. All
of the big ones ( 22" and up) were released. Of the four days, we came
in with no minnows on two of them, despite buying 10 to 12 dozen each day.
Deep water and 3/8 oz. to 1/2 oz. Lead head jigs tipped with minnows is
all we used for the walleyes. Narrows between islands and holes off
of points in 22' to 35' of water was the structure.
October 2-9 (and Oct 10 & 11 too)
Another great week of fall weather. Temps well
above normal and the fish were biting better than ever. Everyone
got plenty of walleyes and crappies and even some northerns to take home
too. OB was the most popular area for walleyes and crappies. Hay
Island started to produce crappies for some others as well.
I'm thinking of writing a little story entitled "Justin Goes Fishing"
because I went out with a couple buddies on Saturday (Oct 9) and well you
would have had to be here and see it to believe it. If I get a few
emails requesting it (jwgaudry@hotmail.com), I'll put it down and let everyone
read it. I'm sure it'll be good for a laugh or two and I even have
some pictures!
Muskies were really moving over the weekend. One boat had two guys
and they boated 7 muskies and 10 northerns fishing 3 and a half days. Mike
Laird and Jordan Dahl put a 52 incher in the boat and started the weekend
with a 43 inch northern. Pictures are on the
October 2004 Fish Picture Page. They also
got muskies of 41 and 48 inches, but they ran out of polaroid film from
all the great northerns and will have to email or mail the rest of the photos.
I hope they will get them to me soon. (Note: I received them
and posted them on the October Page.) The best part is that all northerns
and muskies got released. Way to go guys.
Randy B had the family up trolling and they put 4 muskies and 6 northerns
in the boat on Saturday and Sunday morning (Oct 9 & 10.) Angee
B pulled in the big one; a 46.5" muskie. Her friend Julie got to
wrestle with a 38 inch northern. All fish were released out of the
Beaulieu boat as well. I should have photos of them next week.
The coming week is calling for a return to normal fall temps so it should
be great for the duck hunters and muskie fisherman coming through in the
next couple of weeks. Stay tuned, I'm sure there will be more to talk
about yet. There is still 3 weeks left in the season!
September 25 - October 2
The week started off gorgeous. The sun was out
so the temps were above normal and the fishing was steady, if not spectacular.
One of our groups got into some nicer size walleyes out in the area
of North Island and everyone caught more than enough crappies to take home
and eat like kings (or Queens) all week long. Friday (Oct 1) brought
some nasty wind and cooler temps and then it was more of the same on Saturday,
except the wind was slightly weaker. We've been real fortuante so
far this fall with all the winds being mainly westerly so that people can
get out and fish some of the areas to the east or get to OB through the back
door (Burrow Bay) when things get a little rougher.
Muskie action
has been good already this fall. One of our groups of crappie and
walleye fisherman boated a 47.5 incher up in Obabikon Lake on a jig while
a couple others fisherman got 3 muskies in 3 days of fishing (with some
time spent on walleye and crappie as well.) Their biggest was a 46.5"
fish caught their first day casting. They got the other 2 (35" and
38") on Friday trolling.
This is our busiest October ever so we're excited about finishing the
season strong. It's always a long year, but when you see improvements
in the numbers of people coming up to enjoy the lake, you always get a
boost of energy to make that final push through to November and close-up
time. I'll be blowing out a few cabins already this week to make sure the
water lines don't freeze up, but we still have some room for more bookings
so don't be shy. We're getting busy the week of Oct 15-22, but have
openings on both sides of that week and could even take another group or
two for Oct 15-22 if we get some calls for that time as well.
I've added some muskie pictures to the
July
Picture Page. I'll have the rest of the July photos I have on
file posted soon. Thanks for being patient with me. Some
October pictures coming soon!!! (Yes, I know I always say soon, but this
time I REALLY REALLY mean it!!)
Have a great fall everyone. Let all your fish be big ones!!
September 18 - 25
Well summer finally arrived, just as fall "officially"
began. The sun was shining most of the week and the wind wasn't
real difficult to manage, which made the fishing great and being on the
lake even more enjoyable. Crappies were bithing in both OB and Miles
again. Walleyes weren't a problem either, except for the smaller
average size, but that has been the norm the last few weeks. Perhaps
the deeper fishing coming up when the water temps drop will produce some
nicer walleyes. Muskie action was good for the week. A goup
of three guys boated 7 fish (all in the 30's,) but had a few 40 inch few
get away. They even saw a couple of monsters that they couldn't talk
into going for a bait. Weather look great to start the coming week
so hopefully the fish will be just as co-operative. Stay tuned, muskie
trolling season is come!! Hopefully, it will be Muskie Mania III in
a couple of weeks time!
September 11 - 18
Crappie season in in full force and the fishing has been
pretty good so far. Miles Bay and OB are producing well, but not much
is going on at Hay Island. The general consensus is that the crappies
are a little bigger in OB so far, but more walleyes are mixed in with the
crappies in Mile Bay. Walleyes have stayed steady, if not a little
on the small side, but everyone is loving them for eating so all is well.
Muskie action has still been quite good. Jerk baits with a
chartreusse colour have been the ticket the last month or so. We're
hoping for a nice fall to reward everyone for a not so nice summer. October
bookings are strong so far so we're quite excited about that. As of
now, we're taking dates til October 31, so feel free to plan a trip until
that time. Give us a call. Fall is my favourite time of the
year. Walleyes move in closer to camp and muskie trolling will start
so I'll get to hear some good stories from Randy Beaulieu and his family
of musky nuts. Talk to you all soon. September pictures will
be coming very soon.
September 4 - 11
Labour Day weekend was a success, despite some threatening weather.
We met some great new guests, had a couple regular guests, and even had
some old guests return after taking missing a few years to have their first
child. It was fantastic to see everyone having a great time.
Fishing was pretty good as everyone caught enough fish to eat and even took
some home as well. Some crappies were caught, as well as walleyes
and a few muskies as well. Crappie fishing picked up a little in OB
mid week and some were caught in Miles on the weekend (9/10-9/12.) A
couple of guys fished muskies for 4 days (9/11-9/14) and caught 7 total.
Their biggest was 44", 43" and 40". Another one of our regular dock
customers reported a 48" and 49" in the last week. Both big fish were
caught on a suick.
Labour Day Weekend
Things are shaping up for a nice weekend. We'll
have a full camp and the fishing has been steady. Two guys caught
6 muskies last week between them (Aug 23 - Aug 29) with a couple of them
being in the 40 inch class. This week saw a couple of guys boat
10 muskies (Aug 28 - Sept 2.) The biggest was in the mid 30's, but
action is still action, right? If the weather holds through the
weekend, the fishing should be great again. The latter part of the
week has given us 3 stable and warm days so we'll hope for the best.
Walleyes have been biting in great numbers, if not great size. Four
guys fishing in camp boats put close to 100 walleyes in the boat Aug
31. The biggest were in the 15-16 inch range, but they sure had
a couple of nice feeds of fish.
Gone Fishin!! (August 7 to Labour Day Weekend)
More slacking off. I got caught up in Muskie Madness so I've
been unable to update the fishing resport as much as I should. I
even bought a rod and reel. Special thanks to Mike McCullen of
Fudally Tackle (muskie lures and
more) for advice and helping me pick a rod and Randy Beaulieu for finding
me a reel down at
Thorne Bros
(the ultimate muskie store in Minneapolis.) I've gone out muskie
fishing about 4 times in the last month and managed to get my first muskie
on my new rod and reel while out on my own (go figure.) I was close
to camp and on a spot Randy showed me so I can't take much credit. It
was a 36 incher and not too bright to find it's way on to my bait. No
picture though as I didn't want to kill the first fish I caught while
out fishing by myself!! Ok, ok. Back to reality. I'm
supposed to work, not play. I'll buckle down, I promise!
July 31 - August 7
Wow! This was one of the most memorable weeks in 13 years. The
muskie fishing reached "legendary" status. I asked for a couple of 50
inchers and boy did I get them. Our guests caught and released 7 muskies
in the 50 inch class this week. They measured 54.5, 53, 52, 52, 51,
50, and 50. I have picture of 5 of them so far and they are all on the August 2004 Picture Page so be sure to check
them out. Five or six anglers had personal best muskies these week.
The First Wisconsin Muskies Inc. group boated over 40 fish that were 30
inches or better. The totals for everyone staying at the resort would
be well over 50 muskies. Read all about the week on the picture page and
make sure you tell anyone that says you can't catch 50 inch fish in Sabaskong
Bay a damn liar!!
The walleyes were still biting. Deeper reefs were the
most productive. Mostly minnows and jigs or spinners. The weather
was out of this world too. One of the nicest weeks ever. Not too hot,
not too cold at night. Just the right amount of wind most days.
July 24 - 31
Weather and fishing were good again. Walleyes still biting
on the deeper reefs that don't get fished as much. Smalls hit out
on the boulder type structure again. Muskies were hot with more
than 20 being caught just over the weekend. People were fishing off
the dock like crazy and caught more fish than I can ever remember. The
big prize was a 38" muskie caught right off the gas dock, which we
got a picture that I'll post in a couple of days. Biggest were 45.5 and 43"
for those out in the boats. I have some of Randy B's muskie pictures
from July and will get them up soon. Anyone else promising to send
me pictures better get a move on or I'll find ways to harass you and remind
you. It's so great when people throw those big fish back! The
only bad thing is trying to get people to remember to send the photos they
took out in the boat!
We've got a lot of guys casting this week with some of the First
Wis Muskies, Inc members here for their annual trip as well as a few
others fishing in the M.I. Chapter Challunge. Also hosted a couple
of guys from Bemidji/Cass Lake this weekend and discussed some promotional
ideas to help raise funds during the Fall Board meeting they will be
hosting this October. Good luck to all our fisherman. We want
a couple more 50 inchers this week to brag about. We've got the
best muskie fisherman on the lake. I'm trying to get overall numbers
for the season so we can compare with those "other guys" who brag about
the muskie fishing so much!!
July 17 - 24
Fishing great again. Walleyes (big ones on deeper reefs),
smallies (on and around basketball sized boulders as structure) and muskies
were hot. Waiting for a picture of the second 50" muskie caught this
year so I hope it arrives soon. Weather was a little windy and choppy
mid week, but most people got out parts of those days anyway and got some
fish.
July 10 - 17
Fishing was great and the weather was almost as good. Busy
as always and neglecting my site again. Bad boy!!
July 3 - 10
Muskies were the main attraction for the week as the Jim Drees
group from IA returned with 15 strong and casted all week. I
don't have their numbers yet, but I know there were two fish boated
that measured 48 inches and at least two around 50 inches that didn't
get into the boat. I'll try to get their numbers from one of the
guys and post it for everyone.
Randy Beaulieu of Coon Rapids, MN had a pretty good week throwing
for muskies. After fishing for walleyes for a couple days (which
is unheard of for Randy during muskie season) and actually having a couple
of good fries of fish, he concentrated on muskies from the Monday through
the following Sunday (July 11.) They got 13 in his boat with the
biggest being 45 inches. Here is a short muskie report from Randy.
He's been fishing LOW hard for muskies for a lot of years now and
is one of the better fisherman that hangs out with us at Mylie's:
"Fished walleyes the first 2 days so the muskies were all caught
from Monday to Sunday. The big fish moved early in the week. Monday
with the heavy overcast and warm weather with the over cast. Had
1 day of no movement (Tuesday) and after that we saw fish basically everywhere
we went. Saw many many fish the rest of the week , but a lot of
small fish as in 36 to 40 inchers. We found the fish on main lake
points all rock and classic island structure with rock and weeds. Like
I said though the fish were moving everywhere we went. If there
were weeds they were there, if no weeds just rocks they were there also.
The big fish should start to move with the warmer water any time
now." Thanks for the report, Randy. I'll find a dockhand
for next year so I can go out with you a couple times again.
Four guys (Terry, Mike, Ed and Paul) from the Bemidji/Cass Lake
chapter of Muskies, Inc had a great weekend as well. They fish
Thursday afternoon til Sunday afternoon and boated 11 fish (I'll check
those numbers, that was the total Sunday morning before they went out) out
of their two boats. Terry's 47 incher was the biggest of the bunch.
I'm hoping to get some pictures from all three of these groups because
they will be great fish.
The walleye bite was pretty good as well. As I said, the
muskie man (Randy) got some nice fish for a couple of feeds for his
big group and the other walleye fisherman did pretty well too. A
lot of peopel are heading way out west to get away from some of the local
pressure and being rewarding with big numbers of walleyes. Still a lot
of smaller fish, but the eyes are heading out to the reefs in earnest
now so the big hogs won't be too far behind. Jigs and minnows still
seem to be the top rigs for fishing walleyes.
Northerns have been pretty active as well the last couple of
weeks. They seem to be a little bigger in size this year. More
slot northerns and above. People throwing the bigger baits are catching
more nice northerns than those with smaller stuff. My good buddies
Bo-bo and Yo Yo finally found some keeper northers in Sabaskong towards
the end of the week trolling and casting smaller lures.
Weather was pretty darn good and summer finally broke through
for a few days. Was a little windy here and there, but not too
bad. The week ahead is looking good so hopefully I'll make myself
keep up the more detailed reports.
Pictures are coming I hope!! I will keep you all posted. Thank
you for your patience.
June 26 - July 3
Overload alert!! Too much work, not enough time!! Fishing
and weather was pretty decent. Some walleyes headed out towards
the rocks. Northerns a little harder to find. A 36" muskie
was caught off the dock. Check the June
2004 Picture Page for proof.
June 19-26
The week was cold and windy, but the fish were biting
for people that went out and paid their dues. Rory, Bill, Duane
and Gene fished walleyes hard all week and were rewarded with 70 on Monday,
40 on Tuesday, 50 on Wednesday, 60 on Thursday, and 75 om Friday. The
biggest was a 25 incher that Bill pulled in. It must have been
a hell of a fight because you can see what it did to him, if you check
out the June pictures. Duane also caught a real nice smallie, which
is on the picture page for June as well. Other groups struggled with
the wind, but fish were caught the few times during the week it was calmer.
Weather is looking good for the next week so the fish should turn
right on.
June 12 - 19
Well so much for keeping updates current the last couple
of weeks. I've been up to my earballs trying to keep things
caught up and looking decent around the resort so the website has suffered
a little. I'm not real sure how the fishing was the weekend of
June 4, 5, 6 because I was on what I called "Shania Summer Fest 2004".
I got done to St Paul to see her June 4 and then Fargo on June 5 and
then because you can never get enough of Shania. I drove to Winnipeg
for afternoon on June 8 and
saw her at home too!!
Ok, Ok. Back to the fishing and weather. The week
of June 12 has seen a little better weather, although it has still been
cool. It only rained a little bit a couple of times and we saw
the sun for a few extended periods as well. People have been catching
some walleyes, but most have to work hard for them. The most popular
area has been Miles Bay. Minnows have been working the best with
jigs or spinners. Depths I heard most frequently were the 10-12
foot range on the shorelines and even shallower on a few rocks.
It's hard to believe the walleyes are out on the reefs already, but
you can't argue with success. Water temps have still been hovering
in the low 60's, but that hasn't stoppped many of the kids here this week
from doing some
swimming and tubing. Fishing patterns appear to be about
2 weeks behind "normal" so far. Northers have been providing
some action in the weed beds. Muskie opener is June 19 and a lot
of people are itching to throw those big lures out there, looking for
that big 50 incher.
Please hang in with me. I vow to make my updates weekly,
even if they have to be short and sweet. I have added some
June 2004 Pictures as well as more
May 2004 Pictures so check out some of the action.
May 22-29 (and Memorial Weekend)
The season is moving along quickly already. I'm backed up
on the updates and it's only the first part of June. The water is
way up and the weather finally warmed a little. Fishing has been decent
to good at times so far and tough at others. I promise to do more
updates next week and keep them current as much as possible. For now,
check out some of the
May 2004 Pictures.
Fishing was tough overall with the cold weather (temps
around mid 50's with cloud cover.) Water temps were in the 41-43
degree range. Even catching minnows in the ponds has been a challenge
so far. Some of the best fisherman (the Hildebrandt group from
Redwood Falls, MN) in camp for the weekend caught some walleyes in 22
feet of water on Saturday. Tom Stough caught and released a 38"
northern on day one of the season. I'm hoping to get a picture
after they return home and get them developed. Some nice bass
were caught by the same group, ranging from 17-19.5 inches. Great
sizes for smallmouth. Also some crappies were found in Miles Bay.
One group of 5 was able to get about 2 dozen crappies. Obabikon
lake produced a lot of notherns for another group of 8. Ashley
Muenier, from Thief River Falls, caught a 41+ inch northern
up in Whitefish Bay as well as a nice big lake trout to go with
it. I'm hoping for pictures of those great catches as well. A
couple of muskies were caught while people were wallye fishing.
One was a nice 48" fish that I've been promised a photo
of as well. Temps are supposed to warm up slightly and reach the
middle 60's for the rest of the week. This is help raise the water
temp and get the walleyes biting. Weather has been mostly clear and
calm since Sunday. Camp is about half full and it's not all bad to
be able to ease back into the swing of things. There will be a full
house next weekend. See you all soon.
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