The Golla report from early August.

Just back from an Aug. 6-13 trip. Curiously, my daughter, Julie, and I caught exactly the same number of trophies (over 41") as my first trip 2 years ago, which is/was 43. I must say that Julie did most of the heavy lifting, and at times I felt primarily like a camera man. The most remarkable thing, however, might be the bulky average size of the fish. If you chose a 4-inch bracket that would encompass our most typical-sized fish, it would probably be 35-39" or 36-40". There were A LOT of Big, heavy, burly fish, and when you spot them about 100 stalks of cabbage to dig into and slice through, they can kick your ass just fine, thank you.

The trip got off to an inauspicious start, however. On our first casts, we BOTH snapped the cork handles of our rods right in half. By the end of the first hour, all 3 of Julie's rods, and 2 of mine, had done this. "WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON?" No one at camp had ever seen or heard of this happening. My third "first string" rod went on day 3. Upon investigation, there was a subtle dent across my (standard Plano) rod tube, right at that same level, so apparently the tube took a very heavy and sharp blow, and then bounced back to almost normal shape, but the damage was done. Still pretty bizarre. With the crap that the TSA (inspects my rod tube most of the time, and likes to jam stuff back in) and baggage handlers dish out, I' m not buying any more rods without lifetime warranties. By the way, if this happens to you, here is the solution: get a Clorox-type jug, cut off the top and bottom, and slit open the remaining plastic cylinder. Cut in half, that will give you enough to wrap 2 handles stoutly enough to not bend. Then secure with Duck Tape (don't leave home without it!), and you're back in business.

The massive weed bed between camp and Tower Island was the biggest fish magnet, with some off the island itself. Just little ones at Thubin. Went upriver one half day, and caught 4 over 39" (incl. a 45). Biggest of the trip was a 46", by Julie. Some in the trolling channel, too. The other boat in camp, Tim and Bryan, did as well or better than we did, mostly using big, gaudy spinnerbaits (bigger than most of the stuff I had). We had a fair amount of wind, but topwater was fun when it was calmer. I usually drifted back to the old reliable Johnson spoon, and firetiger may have been superior to plain silver or gold. Julie has a favorite spoon, and that is no mean feat to have success in those weeds with a spoon-- has to be small, light, single hook (which is sure nice for the fish and fish handlers, too), and further buoyed by a trailer.

I never put on my rain pants, sweatshirt, or hooded sweatshirt, and I only used my rain jacket (as a windbreaker only) for 2 evenings and the ride upriver. Can't complain about that (but it was pretty windy 4-5 days).

Now, OK, guys. We have a definite lack of fishing reports this year. Don't be shy. Don't be modest. Let's hear from you! Like Jamie says, "There's no shame in talking about kicking ass, in the company of others who also kick ass!" And somebody can certainly post an "angler profile" (so I won't look like a tool being the only one besides Jamie).

Tight lines and solid hooksets, Jim Golla

P.S.Best story: I hooked a 14"-er on my first cast upriver, which was promptly slashed by a BIG fish. I tell Julie to "throw that rubber thing that looks like a pike". She (Julie) does, and she (the fish) also "does", all 43 1/2 of her. Many boatside ambushes, and many "companion" fish following in hooked fish, seemingly always bigger than the one you've got on! No other species can give me the rush these guys do.

And finally, I promised I would do this: I made a big mistake going to laker's unltd on Athabasca last year. I would urge you not to make the same mistake.

The first 2011 reports are in!!!

Here's the first report from Herb Guarascio:

Got back yesterday from the "arctic". Highlights from our fishing trip to Taltson Bay Big Pike Lodge on June 11 to 17, 2011 include:

Being joined this year by my sons James and Joe, as well as Matt. (Doug had to work.)

The Numbers:
Biggest fish was Joe's 48.5" northern pike out of "Beck's" or Hook Bay. It was just enough to edge out Matt's 48 last year which in turn had edged out Joe's prior Ontario record of 47.5, so the brotherly competition continued. Not sure what Joe's 48.5 weighed but all the fish were BIG and HEAVY. I bet the 43" fish were close to 30 pounds! So, go from there... Next year, we bring a scale and will use a cradle to weigh some.

My biggest was 46". As an added bonus, she came straight out of the water and "danced" vertically on her tail. We had more than one trophy completely clear the water by more than a foot! The fights were amazingly insane - better fights than even last year. One almost pulled Matt in on the strike, and that's saying a lot. There were many boat side strikes (including when you accidentally dropped your lure in the water) and many times I thought we'd break a rod against the side of the boat with "runs" under and around the boat. Tons of fun - literally!

Matt's biggest this year was 45 and James was 44 (though the guide lost one for James at the boat that looked like it might have been bigger while trying to hand land it).

Everyone of us caught 6 to 9 REALLY nice fish that were 42" long or longer.

We had well over 60 trophies between the 4 of us (over 40"). Frankly, we stopped counting and measuring for trophies after Wednesday unless they looked like they were 42" or more, just to go easier on the fish. Releasing them in the water had the added bonus of getting your lure back out there quicker during the famous "turn on" or feeding windows. Our guides appreciated it too since they both looked like they need half a dozen stitches in the hand after getting bit or hooked while releasing fish. (Good thing we brought first aid kits with fancy supplies and adhesive stitches.)

For our Ontario fishing buddies, where 38" is a trophy, I know we had well over 100. Honestly, just too many to count. Really.

We didn't usually do daily tallies but one day, James and I caught 150 pike and walleye between the two of us.

The walleyes were really "in thick" this year. For whatever reason, we hit those perfectly with our week. There were places you could catch them every cast. They were the hardest fighting walleyes I have seen anywhere. And like the Northerns, the walleyes were FAT. Without ever fishing for them, there were days when we caught several dozen just while fishing for Northerns. There was no need to target walleyes; they hit "Doctor Spoons" and musky bucktails. Most were 20" to 26". We kept a few stringers for the camp that were so heavy it took two of us to lift them.

Matt caught a 29" walleye that was 9 to probably even 10 pounds.

Everyone set a personal record of some sort....what else can you say? Great fishing, as always.

I will try to send a few pictures later.


The Wildlife and Outdoors

I have enjoyed wildlife since I was a kid, so it was a real treat to be surrounded by it for a week. And overall, we had nice weather, so in the "land of the midnight sun" where it never gets dark in mid-June, it was hard to come in off the water. Many a night we were still fishing after midnight.

We had a 500 to 600 pound black bear wander out to Beck's Bay while we were fishing. Our guide said it was a mature 5 year old, but "only average" in size. It was really an amazing creature. I thought the guide had been bluffing when he said he wouldn't let me skip lunch and leave me behind to shore fish "because of bears".

We had quite a few moose sightings. To our guides, its like having someone offer you a free black angus steer for your freezer, so for the rest of the week they were...."prepared". Fortunately for the mooses, they didn't make encore appearances.

It must have been mating season for the whooping cranes. They were dancing around in the marsh.

The eagles were everywhere. We saw 5 in on place at the same time. We got some great videos and photos of one from 15 feet away.

When we got off the plane in Yellowknife, NWT, James and Joe laughed in disbelief at how big the mosquitoes were. One night, James got 40 bites on his right arm that he left out of his sleeping bag. After that, no one cared about the warning labels against indoor use of mosquito coils. Our roomed looked like LA smog in the summer, but you could sleep without donating a pint of blood.

For the Taltson Bay regulars-
They claim the water is even lower this year. It didn't seem like it to me, but Don and others would know.

Becks was good to us, as always. Thubin didn't turn on until the very end of the week and even then didn't have the really big fish it held for us last year....probably a hand full of trophies at 41 or 42. But man, was it fun when it was "on" and you had a hit every cast.

In general, the fish seemed more scattered this year. They were outside Becks and at the same time way back in the shallow bay; and sometimes right down the middle. Though you would find the occasional "pot of gold" (say where the wind had pushed some to the back of one bay or on the wall), in general, it was one or two at a spot one day, and none there the next. You usually had to move around vs just camp out in Becks or Thubin.

The weeds grew a lot just during our week. The cabbage was still well below the surface, but you had to pull through it in spots by the end of the week. After Sunday, we had a week of warm sunny days so it grew a lot.

Lure size, shape, or color seemed irrelevant.

The diamond mines are in full swing and new ones are in the plans. Yellowknife hotels are booked solid.

It was great to fish with Rick and Steve again, and also a lot of fun to have Taltson first timers Mike and Tom (and James and Joe).

We had a great trip. I wish you the same!

~~ <*)########<

The next report comes from the team of Mike Podracky & Tom Driscoll. Mike writes:
I just returned from my trip to the Trophy Big Pike Camp with my long-time Lake Erie fishing partner, Tom Driscoll. Also in camp with us were Herb Guracio and three of his sons (Matt, James and Joe) along with Rick Sweeney and Steve Ciambros. First, it was a great group of hard core fisherman like Tom and I. It was a pleasure to be in camp with them, and I was amazed to find people who fished as hard as us. Rick and Steve took the prize, however, for staying out the longest each day. Very impressive they could pump out casts like that all day long.

The fishing more than lived up to our high expectations. The weather really cooperated as it drizzled the first hour or so we were in camp, and not a drop after that. The winds basically were cooperative too. Now on to the results.

Tom and I caught 25 pike over 41 inches between both of us. Our best day was ten trophies when the fish were suicidal hitting any lure that landed in the water. Conservatively, we caught about 110-115 pike between 38-40 inches. We fished Thubin two days: one day was good and the last day very good. The fish were smacking the Stalker in Thubin with abandon, although we missed more bites that we caught with the Stalker. We fished part of the other five days in and around Becks, and the main river channel. Tom and I both caught our largest fish at 45 inches at Becks. Everyone in the group caught as many if not more trophies than even we did. Herb's sons are quite the fishermen.

The best pike baits were the Stalker in firetiger, a Mepps Musky Maribou bucktail, gold doctor spoon and silver/gold Williams Wabbler. I loaned Tom my only Williams Wabbler that I brought along, and hadn't fished with in ten years. He caught most of his trophies on it and refused to give it back even hiding it from me at night.

It was also amazing how many walleyes we caught and their size. We landed about 125-130 walleyes during the week "accidentally" while fishing for pike. Probably 25% of them were 24-25 inches with the biggest at 26 1/2. Those walleye hit so hard sometimes you thought it was a pike. Tom caught one 14-15 inch walleye that a large pike attached while reeling it in. As usual, the pike released the walleye before it was landed, but that was exciting.

A large number of hawks hung around Becks most of the week. A few times we fed one particular hawk a small walleye, and it was awesome to see the hawk swoop down and snatch the fish with those huge talons. The talons looked as big as my hand. We also saw about a 500 lb black bear near Ray Beck's old cabin that lumbered away after sniffing us. The bear must not have liked the smell of pike slime.

Tom and I never fished so hard in one week, and hit the wall around day five. We rallied later that night, and finished the week strong not wanting to go home. Bruce ran a good camp and our overall experience was terrific. The great group of guys we fished with made it even more so, and we thank them for their friendship during the week. The best testimonial I can give the Trophy Big Pike Camp is we will be back in 2012 ready to do battle as the lodge lived up to its name. Also, we will be much more educated on how to catch those huge fish.

Mike Podracky & Tom Driscoll.

Profile of Jim Golla aka "Pikeman"

Name: Jim Golla
Age: 56
Occupation: Gastroenterologist (you know, the one with the flexible 5 foot lighted tube that has an a-hole on each end of it).
Background: I live in OK, but grew up in the only county in Minn. without a natural lake. As a boy, I fished Green Lake in central Minn., a clear lake with extraordinary structure. ( Roland Martin just did a smallmouth show from there on today's episode.) My depth finder was a heavy sinker on clothesline cord, wrapped on a rolling pin. Northern pike were the biggest fish available to me, and we just sort of hit it off, I guess. I love the sneer, the attitude, the teeth, the slime, the gorgeous spots, etc., etc. I can't believe my parents let me take out our old steel pontoon and 9 1/2 Johnson by myself when I was only 9-10 years old. Often I'd dunk perch for them, since every pike I ever cleaned had perch in its belly. While catching the perch for bait (with worms), I'd get excited when the perch all of a sudden would turn off. That meant Mr. Big was back in town - a pretty cool system for a kid. Then, my Dad took me to Canada when I was 16. The biggest fish was 14 lbs., and I couldn't believe how unbelievably great it was! Second trip - same thing. Funny how those "fabulous" trips that gut hooked me for life would now be considered a total disaster.
My wife and I took our 3 kids to a flyout numerous times, until increased fishing pressure caused the fishing to crash (with a stunningly rapid thud). Since then, we've sampled Manitoba, Saskatchewan, NWT, and Alaska, with some hits and some misses along the way. I'm not a guy who likes to "play the field". I like to find a place that I can "get married to". Laugh if you must, but my license plate and e-mail address are both "Pikeman". I'm done trying to explain it. I just love Northern Pike!

What brought me to Taltson? I'm afraid that's another long-winded story. It was on my "short list" from magazine articles, I guess, Then, 2 years ago, I'm packed for a trip to Lac La Martre, and the scumbag owner calls me 5 DAYS BEFORE I LEAVE that "he is financially unable to open the lodge this year" (after he has all my money, of course). REALLY? ARE YOU SERIOUS? Well, thanks to John and Don, we hurriedly made some lemonade out of that lemon, and I was made welcome at Taltson. Here's hoping that that unhappy story winds up being a blessing in disguise, long term. [By the way, LLM is under new ownership, so don't hold the other jerk's sins against the new guy.]

Biggest at Taltson: 46" (hey' I've only been there once).

Favorite Lures: Really? you guys don't mind spilling all your "secrets"? Oh, all right. Bucktails, Vibraxes, Spinnerbaits, Johnson spoon, Kamlooper spoon (another long story, should you ever have the misfortune of sharing the lodge with me), bunny flies, and assorted "big rubber fish".

Stories: Only been there once, but it did show me the biggest walleye I've ever seen (32+, by my wife). Got chased into a hut by a T-storm one day, then caught a 43" on the first cast afterward. On an umpteenth pass at Thubin, it seemed time to try something different, so I went with a spinnerbait, and asked my son (2000 miles away, at home), who is the spinnerbaitmeister, to send me some psychic energy. First cast=43 1/2". My wife made Don a blueberry pie during another T-storm break.

2011: I'm taking my daughter up the 2nd week of Aug. She won't like me saying, but she (despite being an excellent fisherwoman) has the family's "smallest lifetime biggest" at 47". We'll see what we can do about that!

Comment: Like I said, Im not a guy who likes to try a different place every year, so I'm hoping to commence a long relationship with Taltson (seeing that many of you are thusly "married" to her already). When asked, I will say that if you have a place where you can consistently get 2 trophies per person per day, you are usually going to be wasting time (and money) looking for a better place. From what I know so far, that bar seems too low, when it comes to Taltson, however. To be continued.............

Jim Golla with a monster caught from The Thubin Trench

Angler Profiles

( to get on the Taltson Bay E-mail list for updates, please drop me a line at jamie@customfish.com and Ill add you to the list. Thanks)


We're going to be starting a new feature here on the blog: ANGLER PROFILES! As an elite group of 60ish of the best anglers on the planet, it's nice to be able to know who is who when the stories are told.

Please copy the questions, put them in an email and send them to me jamie@customfish.com and I'll put them up on the site. Feel free to send me a great picture too!
Thanks all!!!

Name:
Age:
Occupation:
Fishing background:
What brought you to Taltson Bay? :
What's your biggest pike at Taltson? :
What's your favorite lure(s)? :
What are your best Taltson Stories? :
When are you going back this year? :
Comments?:


_____________________________________________________________________

Name: Jamie Riani ( webmaster for Taltsonbaypike.com and the facebook page)

Age: 41

Occupation: Large Format Digital printing / owner of Customfish.com


Fishing background: I started fishing during family trips to Tomahawk WI when I was a little kid. As a teenager I honed my skills on some of the toughest waters to succesfully fish; Salt Creek in Addison, Il and it's chain of retention ponds catching carp, green sunfish, and largemouth.
I graduated to Lake Geneva where I fished for a decade and then Delevan where I have fished for the last 10 years. We chase pike, bass, walleyes and musky.
I'm an avid smallmouth angler, lucky to have a home within blocks of the DuPage River where I often wade or kayak. I also fish The Fox River as well as several area lakes for smallmouth and largemouth. My biggest smallie is a 23". Biggest largemouth a 22.5"
I also have a nicely stocked 2 acre bass pond outside my back door which keeps me and my son busy with bass and crappies.
I fish Pipestone in NW Ontario every year as well since 2005 targeting huge Smallmouth and bonus muskies & pike.

What brought you to Taltson Bay? : It was a dream trip for me. Much like most of us, I had heard about it from a couple friends who have been there multiple times. I have a love for pike fishing due to my years fishing Tomahawk.

How long have you been going to Taltson? : 4 years so far. 2007 partnered with John Mich. 2008-present partnered with Bill Kallenberg.

What's your biggest pike at Taltson? : 47"

What's your favorite lure(s)? : I go with the Savage Gear 4-Play ( 8"), The Storm Kickin' Minnow, Bulldawg, Mepp's Muskie Killer, Dick Pearson's Grinder.


What are your best Taltson Stories? : Oh man..there's alot of them! From dressing up in luau surfer hawiian clothes with Kallenberg, blasting Beach Boys tunes and decorating our boat with tiki gear, a skull, and a dancing hula girl to wearing a cowboy hat for most of the 2009 trip. I've done a couple "lodge surgeries" on crewmembers with Krazy Glue and hockey tape..those were all fun. I took a leak down by the burn pile in 2007 and didn't realize there was a bear 20' away ( that was a mess!).
But I think the best was a 2 hour span in 2008 when Billy and I sat in one spot in Beck's Channel and caught one huge trophy after another! It was no more than 30something degrees with a 20mph wind from the north ( June 3rd I think). We've NEVER been so cold in our lives but we couldnt leave the bite. It was the most unreal and painfully awesome fishing I've ever seen at Taltson!! INSANE!

When are you going back this year? : August 20th. That's our week now. I thought June was cool, but with 3 Augusts under my belt, I dig August more.

Comments?: I'd just like to say that I am very very proud to do what I do for the camp as the web guy and I'm proud to be an alumni member with a group of roughly 60 of the most hardcore anglers on the planet. I think it's pretty cool that we are a rather elite and exclusive group And even though we may not know each other personally we know the photos, faces and names of our fellow great pike anglers. Basically I think that we fish the best pike waters on Earth and we all kick ass doing it!

Jamie with a nice mid 40's pike from the trolling trough. August 2010.

2011..The year of the beast!!

Welcome to the 2011 fishing season at Taltson Bay Big Pike Lodge. We look forward to seeing the regular alumni as well as reading their upcoming reports. And we really look forward to seeing the freshmen of 2011 have that first eye opening "HOT DAMN!" experience.
Ahhh..remember the first time you landed on The Taltson?? It was like the first time you.....um...nevermind...

So... We have a few months to go. I've archived all of the previous reports and photos ( look on the right and click thru 'em.) . BUT..I GOT TIME ON MY HANDS!!! So, if ya got anything you want to share about 2010, send it on over to jamie@customfish.com and I'll get it on here. If you have ONE super-memorable fish and a story, please share it with us. We all love hearing about each others triumphs up there. After all...we ARE the best of the best, and a very elite group. There's no need to be shy about kicking ass in the company of others that kick ass :)

John, Steve and I would like to take the time to say THANKS to all the alumni who stopped at the All Canada Show booth. It's always great to see our fellow pike fighters.

Start sharpening hooks, people!! It's almost time to drive some metal thru some teeth!
This year is gonna be epic!!

And dont forget to join the FACEBOOK PAGE!!

August 21 - 28 2010 report

Well the Aug 21-28 numbers weren’t what we’ve experienced in the past…we still have all our fingers and nobody drowned.  Now that’s not to say both of those points weren’t in jeopardy during the stay however.
 
With water down a conservative estimate of 2 to 2.5 feet, the normal weed bite was a tuff one to have.  Low water and increased water temps made finding active fish always a challenge.  However perseverance, some luck and a lot of water coverage produced very good numbers for those involved.
 
The weed thing still had its high points, and the rock bite was there when the wind cooperated.  The trolling bite, though slowed, still kicked out some fatties.  It continues to amaze me that we can troll these big fish up well after dark, and with this years full moon in full swing, fishing these pigs took us to 11:15pm some nights.
 
Our weather was really too nice for the NWT in late August, with temps in the high 50’s to low 60’s each day and plenty of sunshine to boot.  I truly believe that we could’ve benefited from a cold snap during our stay.  Even some beach wear made an appearance during our week…but then those clowns would wear kilts to a black tie affair.
 
Hats off to Candace and Tim for an outstanding job taking great care of our every need during the stay.  The meals were incredible; the coordination of everything in camp was smooth as silk due to their attention to detail and always going above and beyond. 
 
So I’m sure you’re asking yourself where are the fish numbers……..well I can say that 47” was touched three times during the week.  As far as the other fish are concerned, six anglers accounted for 1167 pike during the stay, with 97 fish measuring 41” or greater.  We’ll have a better break down of who caught what once photos arrive for submission.  Again the shear number of fish in that 37” to 40” class is mind boggling.  It only serves as a reminder that this is truly the greatest pike factory on North America, and after 18 trips to this pike Mecca myself, this spot hasn’t missed a beat.
 
John Mich
LOOK Kids! It's the John Mich Show
(with special guest Rick Sweeney)

And then there's the rest of us.

<*))))))))>< ~~~~~~~~~~ Week of August 28 to September 4th

This was my 10th trip to Taltson and it was another great one. First the weather – the best I have seen
with temps in the mid-50s to low 60s the whole week. A couple of very breezy days and about an hour
of light rain during the entire week. The group included only 2 guys that had been to Taltson before.
The biggest lifetime pike caught prior to our trip by the 6 newbies was 40”. Several of the group had
never pike fished before and one member had almost no fishing experience. So with this band, anything
could happen - and it did. Biggest fish - 48” caught by Bob Lefebve who had never gotten even a 41”
trophy prior. Largest 3 fish (47, 45, 45) – Darren Huelsman, non-fisherman prior to this trip. We even
broke the pike only in the fall code and figured out where to catch walleyes (12-15). I was worried about
having a bunch of new guys handling all these big pike, but there were no mishaps. No one got a serious
hook in them, no broken rods and no one took a swim!

Now the details. As mentioned by previous groups, there was low water and it changed the fishing.
The weed bed was a couple of feet shallower and I believe held fewer daytime fish. The lakeside rocks,
islands and points produced well when wind was coming in from any westerly direction. Anything else
caused mud to flow in from the back bay and no big fish. Going upriver was a little hazardous due to
low water and the rocks, but produced surprisingly well. We should have gone upriver more often.
Fish were caught sporting big whitefish tails sticking out into their throat. And the evening bite was
excellent. A conservative estimate is that at least half of the trophies were caught after dinner (730PM
to 1030PM).The overall numbers were very good considering the experience level of the group – 115
41”+ trophies and over 500 between 36” and 40”. These new guys realized they were in for a big time
when 5 nice fish including a trophy were caught off the dock before we even got in a boat on day one.
Boat trophy counts –

Bob Lefebve – Bill Lefebve – 25
Bill Huelsman –Darren Huelsman – 24
Tim Weiss – Homero Garcia – 30
Dale Shinavar – Steve Billmyer - 36
Another excellent Great Slave trip.

--Dale Shinavar

<*))))))))>< ~~~~~~~~~~ September 4 - 11 Report from Dale Horton.

This being my third trip to Taltson, this was the best weather yet. Many of the days were in the 60 and low at night was in the 40. We had six in our group. Like everyone knows who have been to Taltson, it is hard to explain to people how good this place is. I had a couple of friends in camp the week before us for their first trip so it was going to be fun to meet them at the dock. I know they would have a great trip but I was still worried " what if". I could tell by their faces as I got of the float plane they had a great trip. First thing said "it was a trip of a life time". The father had the big fish of the week, a monster 48". You can read the rest of their trip when they post.
Back to our week. We ended up with 127 trophy pike over 41". The biggest was a 30 plus pound 47". Most were caught of the wind blown side of the islands. When the wind wasn't blowing the guy's would move out and troll the sand flats with pretty good luck. The 47" was taken there. The weed bed was very slow compared to normal. Like groups before us have said the weed bed was thinner than normal , with more grass than cabbage. A few trophies were caught there but not like in the past. The river bite was hot and heavy at times. It seem that early in the week it all happen in the first hour. As the week went on the bite lasted longer into the night. At the end of the week we were catching big fish the whole while we were out there.
Two of our guys went after walleyes and did very well. If I had to guess they caught well over 100. The biggest being 28". Thanks to them we had some very good walleye dinners.
Hot baits for pike were bucktails, bulldogs, spoons and grinders. Walleye baits used were small bucktails and jig with twisters. The guys said they caught a number of trophy Pike while fishing for the walleye on the jig. Also lost many trophies on the jig!
One day we did take a trip to the end of the islands toward the east arm for trout. Only one trout caught. Many small pike in the bays that were fished. One very heavy 44" pike out far when fishing for trout. If had to do again we would not take that trip again.One interesting thing we found on the way was some very large weed beds about half way down located out in the middle. Could be worth a future trip to fish. I would guess about 45 minute boat ride.
We never did make it up the river this year. With the water low we didn't want to take a chance of damaging motors.
The food! What can you say except the food was fantastic. I'm sure everyone went home with a few extra pounds added.
Photo's will come as soon as I get them from the guys.
Thanks to Don, John Mich and everyone else at Taltson for another great trip. We look forward to our next trip to the best Pike Waters anywhere! Dale Horton

 
 

The Taltson News for July 29,2010! REPORTS!!!!

Hi Taltson Members! Jamie here again with more reports, photos and news!!
First we have to start this entry with a reminder taken directly from the main site's "What to Pack" section" PLEASE READ IT:

" Food, drink, and snacks
Taltson Bay Big Pike Lodge is a full service American Plan destination. All 3 meals are served daily in our main lodge dining room.

Optional extras to bring:
Individual instant drink mixes
Jerky, trail mix, sunflower seeds, etc...
Any additional alcohol, tobacco, and provisions can be purchased in Yellowknife. (All beverages are available at camp, i.e. water, beer, soda.)

*** Maximum weight allowed is 50lbs. Any additional fees based on weight assessed by the float plane service will be passed onto the anglers. Please consult your airline for updated restrictions.***"

Just to be 100% clear; Beer, pop, coffee and water are ALL available in camp. Please feel free to inquire about current pricing of beer and pop in camp. If you decide to bring in your own cases of beer or pop you WILL personally be tagged for the overweight float plane charge. Taltson Bay Big Pike Lodge is NOT responsible for this charge. ( as a guest myself I strongly suggest staying away from any additional fees incurred by the float plane airlines. As you can imagine, the prices/fees near the arctic circle is substantially steeper due to a premium set on fuel).

Ok...so we got THAT elephant out of the room. ON TO THE FUN!
I got some kick ass reports in! Check this out!!!!

The Adams group was at camp July 3rd thru the 10th. High winds, cold and rain made fishing difficult the first few days.
Here's a few pics of some beautiful fish that we got. Jim Adams, pictured with Bruce Balsillie, got the biggest of the trip, a beautiful 47", 45" and many others. Clarence Jass got a 44", 43" and several 42's. Other members of the group caught 46's, 45's, etc

And we have MORE Pics and a report!!!:

Andy Shiels writes,

We have an absolutely outstanding trip. First off, compared to Beck's, it felt like my dad and I were staying at the Ritz. The food was excellent and the hospitality was great. Onto the fishing... Between my dad and I we caught 49 northerns 40" or better and 40 that were 41" or better. I caught the largest fish of the trip at 48". I started off the trip with my 2 fish being back-to-back 45". Here is the breakdown of our trophies:

40" - 9
41" - 10
42" - 13
43" - 4
44" - 7
45" - 4
46" - 1
48" - 1

Although we did not catch nearly as many fish as we did our previous time during the month of June, the average fish was bigger this time. We were extremely fortunate with the weather the entire week. It was basically 70-75 degrees every day with a mix of sun and clouds. As a matter of fact, we only had to pull out the rain gear for a short period of time one day. I think the consistent weather was the main factor in our success. Also, we had very little wind to contend with which also made the fishing easier. The two guys (Vick and Gene) who were also up there at the same time as my dad and I could not have been more of a joy to be around. We all got a long so great that they are coming to Rockford this Tuesday for a 36 hole golf match with my dad and I to reflect on how outstanding the fishing was.

We had a couple of overcast days on the weed bed just south of Tower Island (where the taltson comes through) where nearly every fish we hooked was a trophy. Like I previously mentioned, the fishing was much different than what we experienced before, but equally as good. Some mornings my dad and I would would only catch 15 fish, but 9 were trophies. The hot lures were a gold johnson spoon with a white double mister twister tail along with black/orange grinders and pink bucktails. Although, the Johnson spoon outperformed both of those baits by at least 3:1. Something about the spoon being pulled through the weeds 6 inches below the surface with the white twister tail fluttering that was driving the big pike nuts.

Great reports guys!!!


And just for fun I'm gonna put up the official Taltson Bay video.
Fish on O' Taltsoners!!

Newsflash! 1st round draft pick Sweeney gets signed!

Our August 20 group would like to welcome the 2010 1st round draft pick for Taltson U to the team. Filling in a last minute roster change that puts him in the lineup with Mich, Riani, Kallenberg, Rothblatt, Schmitt, and Jimmy "The Pope"..... We are proud to announce the two time pike champion. Returning for a encore fall appearance ! The master of disaster! RICK SWEENEY!! 
  Welcome aboard, Rick!
 -Jamie- 

The Hendrick's Report!

Last year our biggest problem was ice. If you read my account of last year’s trip you will quickly see how much the main lake ice affected our trip ( it didn’t affect the fishing at all as we simple crushed ‘em).  So we booked this year’s trip one week later in an attempt to avoid any more hard water problems.  While we didn’t find any ice this year, what we did find was wind- and lots of it. Basically the wind blew from a different direction everyday anywhere from 25-50 MPH.  When your 7 a.m. alarm clock is the main lodge flag ripping and snapping 200 feet away, you know the wind is humming.

Basically we fished most days in 1-4 foot rollers regardless of the spot. Not a big deal but it really begins to wear you out from a boat control and casting perspective. It affected the fishing as well, anytime we got periods of calm we simply hammered them. One calm afternoon Bill Smith and I caught 22 fish over 38 inches, about 10 forty inchers and 6 trophies.  On one calm night my brother and Bill did about the same numbers from an anchored position in the mouth of Beck’s.  I also watched one of the Italian boats catch what looked like about 30 trophies one evening. When we got back to camp I asked what they caught;  they measured 24 fish that evening- only four of them were under 40 inches giving them 20 trophies in about 3 hours.

When the wind blew the fishing was tough, when the wind laid down it was business as usual. While we didn’t rack up the huge trophy count we did last year, we did catch an insane amount of 38 and 39 inch fish. Probably close 200 between the four of us and about 60-70 Forty inch fish that just missed being trophies.

The fish were also all built like footballs this year.  Must have been the water temp because the  amount of fight in all them was not what you usually find in the spring. Multiple 10- 20 foot runs out of almost every fish over 36 inches was very common. 

Our trophy count for the week came in at 37 pike over 41 inches for the four of us.  John once again had the most with 15.   Everybody in our group caught two or more fish 44 inches or bigger.  John and I each caught three 45’s.  My poor brother had two nights where he literally caught 10 or more forty  inch fish. He deemed himself the “40 inch World Champ” with probably about 35 of them for the trip.

The best lures were Johnson Silver Minnows with a white trailer, gold Doctor Spoons ( which was weird because the best color for Johnsons was silver), Williams Trophy Spoon ( silver with green prism tape), Bulldawgs in bright colors in the smaller spring size, and Mepps Musky killers  ( best color was all green/blade/ green body or orange blade/ black body).

Also did pretty well on brightly colored Double Showgirls and bass sized fat shallow running crankbaits.

I had a full report from the Rick Sweeney and their best lures were by far Super Stalkers, a bigger crank bait with a curly tail. I knew the wind had killed the bite because we could hardly sniff a fish on the prior week’s best lures or anything bigger than what I listed above. I also want to note that the Italians had a lot of luck on homemade swim baits that were pretty close to Sebile Magic Swimmers.  I will definitely have a few those in my box next year.

Brett Hendricks



















Brett Hendricks

Report time! The first groups of the 2010 season!

The first is from Herb Guarascio and his son Matt:

Far exceeded expectations at all levels.

Some people say they "caught a ton". Matt and I caught 3.25 tons during the week. Really.

Matt had 40 trophies (40" or more inches). His first fish caught was 47". Second fish caught was 45". His biggest of the trip was 48". I had back to back 45.5"s for my two biggest pike ever. I had 19 trophies of 40+" (For those of us used to Ontario trophies of 38", Matt and I caught 90 of them! - that's a lot of hats).

Matt caught his 12 personal best pike. I caught my 7 personal best. All of them 43" or more. All FAT fish, most with another fish (walleye or small pike) visible in their gut; some with the tail still visible in their throat.

We caught 777 fish. (I had a counter.) Almost all northerns, but of course some walleye snuck in. Matt caught a 26" walleye.

On 4 of 7 days we averaged a fish every 3.5 to 5 minutes (which included fighting the fish, removing hooks, some photos of trophies, etc). Ie, many spells of non-stop catching. You expected a fish almost every cast. On those 4 days we caught over 120 fish (167 was best day).

First and last day were in the 70s. Other days were cold and 30+mph winds. Cold enough to wear long underwear, 2 sweat shirts, rain gear, and more including wool socks. Matt wore winter gloves a few days. Ice was on main lake as we flew in, but far from shore where we fished.

We fished in a small stream and caught a trophy northern. We also caught a bunch of trophies the last night fishing from "shore" on an rock reef in the middle of a bay where you could see trophies explode on your surface lure literally at your feet. That was really fun. It was like seeing what happened at the other end of your line .

Sun set about midnight but never went far enough below the horizon to ever get dark. You could read the paper at 1 a.m. By 3 a.m., it was bright as midday.

With cold and wind, mosquitoes and bugs weren't bad on the water, and ok on shore.
An amazing experience. Tons of big fish, and the hardest fighting pike I have experienced to boot. The big one that got away - there has to be one - pulled our three man boat around and even turned it. (Needless to say, I loosened my drag after that brain freeze.)

Almost caught a hook in the face, but no casualties. Some sore muscles (that's good news.) Matt had to get out and push the boat at one point when we were beached trying to get back into a shallow bay. Lots of fun "side stories".

We go all that way and the other 2 guys in camp are from Naperville.

No, I didn't fish around the clock. Too tired from catching for 8 or 9 hours.

Lots of photos. Even more memories.










<*)))))))<~~~~ The next report is from Rick Sweeney: It was a fantastic trip again. I'm guessing that with early ice out we really got into some post spawn pigs ready to forage. Weather and food excellent like last year. For a cheap rate we upgraded our flight to first class on the way to Edmonton. Four hours of lots of leg room was worth it especially when the aircraft was only a 70 seater. Fished Beck's and Thubin (nothing back in Snuff Channel) for 7 days and nights. Saturday when we got there Beck's was on fire: 25 38"- 40" and better 12 41" and better (largest 47") 38 walleyes Sunday and most of Monday slowed due to rain and a front. By Monday evening things picked up again and we alternated between Beck's and Thubin The rest of the week. W-Th-F in Beck's was crazy. Two things different from 1st week last year ; 1. No Coneys (early ice out sent 'em up the rivers early) 2. The weight size of the 37" - 40" fish. I have never seen fish that fat and they probably looked a lot like your August fish. Totals for the week for Steve and Rick: 71 40" or larger 53 41" or larger (Steve 27 Rick 26) 73 Walleyes Trophy Pike breakdown: 13 41" 12 42" 8 43" 6 44" 5 45" 4 46" 3 47" Lures: Super Stalker worked best. Magnum Bulldawg so-so compared to last year. Johnson silver minnows, single hook Doctor spoons, single hook 3/4 oz. Cleos, and any size Bucktail depending on wind, water depth, or fish location. Thanks for your help and let me know if for some reason you need a substitute in August. Regards, Rick <*))))))<~~~~~ Be sure to check out the FACEBOOK page for Taltson Bay as well! And also check out Customfish.com and the fishing report there too! Taltson Bay IS the worldwide leader in World Class Pike Fishing!
If you would like updates on when reports get posted, please send your email address to webmaster Jamie Riani at jamie@customfish.com ! Thanks!!

( HINT*** The facebook page has even MORE stuff on it! Become a fan today!)

Urgent note about flights!!!

It appears that First Air has cancelled its afternoon flights from Edmonton to Yellowknife without notifying passengers. In additional, all the major online flight booking sites will still allow the flight to be booked. I've heard from several guests that they has stumbled upon this on there own and have begun the process of changing flights.
Please check your flight info.

Guess where we are now!

Taltson Bay Big Pike Lodge

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2010 booking dates

Thanks to all of the Taltson Bay Alumni Members who have booked for the 2010 season.
If you would like to reserve any of the open spots, please remit your deposit of $500 per person ASAP; Balance due May 1, 2010.

The bookings so far are:

June 5-12: Sweeney group / Herb Guarascio and his son Matt.
4 open spots are available for this week

June 12-19: Hendricks group / Group of 4 from Italy.
0 open spots are available for this week

June 19-26 Kesler / Switzer
0 open spots available for this week

June 26- July 3: Lentz group / Group From Italy
0 open spots available for this week

July 3-10: Adams group
0 open spots available for this week

July 10-17: Victor Kalson and guest
6 open spots available for this week

July 17-24: OPEN FOR BOOKING

July 24-31: OPEN FOR BOOKING

July 31-August 7: John Simus group, 0 spots available for this week.

August 7-August 14: Rudy group*
*5 DAY TRIP 4 Open spots available for this 5 day week

August 14-21: Newell group
0 Open spots for this week

August 21-28: Kallenberg/Riani/Mich/Brenton/Rothblatt/Schmitt
0 Open spots available for this week

August 28-September 4: Schinivar group / Bill Huelsman and guest
0 Open spots available for this week

September 4-September 11: Horton group
0 Open spots available for this week

September 11-September 18: OPEN FOR BOOKING

September 18-September 25: OPEN FOR BOOKING











It's gonna be a great year!!

And don't forget to get some alumni gear at our online shop! http://www.cafepress.com/monsterpike