Wednesday
August 18-25 report!
Rick Sweeney and Steve Schmitt were in camp the week of August 18-25, 2012. We were joined by Claire and Tom Bressler who were first timeers up to Great Slave Lake and each caught their biggest pike of their lives!
Although both water level and temperatures were above normal we still had a very good trip. Early in the week the weed beds held both quantity and quality of big pike and the beds extended much further than normal. As the week went in the fish seemed to turn on and off at various times of the day. My biggest disappointment was that the after dinner trolling bite was not as good as normal. Several nights Rick and I stayed out until 11:00 and still the night trolling bite had not been what we had expected from past trips.
During the week our boat caught 30 pike 41" and above with the largest being a 46" which was caught early in the week. We caught a total of 217 pike during the week with a large number in the 38-41" range that were great fighters.
After several days of wind Eagle Point turned on and we caught several trophies and had a huge pike follow to the boat (48"+) but would not eat our baits.
All in all we had a good trip which easily would have surpassed any pike trips to other destinations throughout Canada.
Steve Schmitt
*Pics to follow*
Although both water level and temperatures were above normal we still had a very good trip. Early in the week the weed beds held both quantity and quality of big pike and the beds extended much further than normal. As the week went in the fish seemed to turn on and off at various times of the day. My biggest disappointment was that the after dinner trolling bite was not as good as normal. Several nights Rick and I stayed out until 11:00 and still the night trolling bite had not been what we had expected from past trips.
During the week our boat caught 30 pike 41" and above with the largest being a 46" which was caught early in the week. We caught a total of 217 pike during the week with a large number in the 38-41" range that were great fighters.
After several days of wind Eagle Point turned on and we caught several trophies and had a huge pike follow to the boat (48"+) but would not eat our baits.
All in all we had a good trip which easily would have surpassed any pike trips to other destinations throughout Canada.
Steve Schmitt
*Pics to follow*
Tuesday
Thursday
The Guarascio report!!
From Herb Guarascio!!
Great trip as always! My son Matt and I really enjoyed fishing with the other guys in camp; just a great group! I was excited to see Tracy cooking and she spoiled us with her great meals and desserts once again. Don, Bruce, Garret and team took great care of us as always and it's simply great to see them and catch up. I liked the new addition of mosquito nets for the bunk beds too.
As for fishing, here's my stats:
My longest was 49.5". I also had a fat 48". Matt caught 42 trophies (41" or more) and I caught 31. What else is new? He always out fishes me. For those who measure trophies differently, between the two of us we had a total of 98 pike that were 40"+; and well over 150 pike that were 38" or more. I counted over 1000 fish for the week. Many of those were walleye - and nice ones at that.
All fish were HEAVY. We weighed a 45" just to get a sense and it was 24.5 pounds!
They were stacked up in Becks, but only little guys showed up when we tried Thubin. Weeds weren't up yet. Doctor spoons were our lure of choice. Very slow on the bottom. Superstalkers and buck tails didn't work well for us.
We each caught an incanu! Very neat. They fight like crazy.
I always enjoy Taltson Bay Big Pike Lodge and this year was even better.
Great trip as always! My son Matt and I really enjoyed fishing with the other guys in camp; just a great group! I was excited to see Tracy cooking and she spoiled us with her great meals and desserts once again. Don, Bruce, Garret and team took great care of us as always and it's simply great to see them and catch up. I liked the new addition of mosquito nets for the bunk beds too.
As for fishing, here's my stats:
My longest was 49.5". I also had a fat 48". Matt caught 42 trophies (41" or more) and I caught 31. What else is new? He always out fishes me. For those who measure trophies differently, between the two of us we had a total of 98 pike that were 40"+; and well over 150 pike that were 38" or more. I counted over 1000 fish for the week. Many of those were walleye - and nice ones at that.
All fish were HEAVY. We weighed a 45" just to get a sense and it was 24.5 pounds!
They were stacked up in Becks, but only little guys showed up when we tried Thubin. Weeds weren't up yet. Doctor spoons were our lure of choice. Very slow on the bottom. Superstalkers and buck tails didn't work well for us.
We each caught an incanu! Very neat. They fight like crazy.
I always enjoy Taltson Bay Big Pike Lodge and this year was even better.
Monday
THE FIRST REPORT OF 2012 IS IN !!!
This was on the twitter page courtesy of Brett Hendricks:
" Warm and windy. Fished shirtless two afternoons. Becks was on fire, Tower Island inflow kicked out some monsters. Caught two 49s, a 49.5, a 48, three 47s and a bunch of 46 and 45s. Doctor spoons, Williams Wobblers and Johnson Minnows dominated."
OUTSTANDING!!! Thanks Brett!!
" Warm and windy. Fished shirtless two afternoons. Becks was on fire, Tower Island inflow kicked out some monsters. Caught two 49s, a 49.5, a 48, three 47s and a bunch of 46 and 45s. Doctor spoons, Williams Wobblers and Johnson Minnows dominated."
OUTSTANDING!!! Thanks Brett!!
Thursday
MoneyPike.....
So..if we had a contest of sorts would you be interested?
Let's say..a Biggest Fish of 2012 at Taltson contest.
And let's say that IF we were to do this, a..um.."donation" of $50 per entry would be "appreciated".
And then let's say that the "donations" would be given to whoever worked the hardest to bring in the biggest fish...ya know..a "donation" for all the BenGay the winner is going to need.
Are we understanding each other?
The way we'd judge it? Photo proof. 2 shots. one on the stick and one against a pre-printed ruler decal that I'll have in the boats. Straight on shots.
The stick: a STRAIGHT FORWARD NON-ANGLED shot.
The ruler shot: a STRAIGHT DOWN OVER-THE-FISH non-angled shot showing the fish and the ruler. ANY ANGLED SHOTS WILL BE DISQUALIFIED. ANY FISH SHOT WITHOUT BOTH SHOTS WILL BE DISQUALIFIED.
No fish under 47 shall be entered....don't even bother putting it on the bump decal after your vertical measurement if it doesn't hit 47+ !!! A 46 is NOT going to win this. We all know that.
We are going to be honest and honorable about this. None of us are hurting for the $50...so we don't expect anyone to try to cheat.
If we get enough people involved ( starts at 10 people) in this " donation", we can call it a game and start the process.
Do the math... if we theoretically have 60 gueats all kick in a "donation" of $50 for the pool, someone walks out with a 3k "donation" for their BenGay.
Now are ya interested?
There's a 3k fish out there. Do you think you've got the guts to bring her in????? Contact me: Jamie@customfish.com to enter.
Let's say..a Biggest Fish of 2012 at Taltson contest.
And let's say that IF we were to do this, a..um.."donation" of $50 per entry would be "appreciated".
And then let's say that the "donations" would be given to whoever worked the hardest to bring in the biggest fish...ya know..a "donation" for all the BenGay the winner is going to need.
Are we understanding each other?
The way we'd judge it? Photo proof. 2 shots. one on the stick and one against a pre-printed ruler decal that I'll have in the boats. Straight on shots.
The stick: a STRAIGHT FORWARD NON-ANGLED shot.
The ruler shot: a STRAIGHT DOWN OVER-THE-FISH non-angled shot showing the fish and the ruler. ANY ANGLED SHOTS WILL BE DISQUALIFIED. ANY FISH SHOT WITHOUT BOTH SHOTS WILL BE DISQUALIFIED.
No fish under 47 shall be entered....don't even bother putting it on the bump decal after your vertical measurement if it doesn't hit 47+ !!! A 46 is NOT going to win this. We all know that.
We are going to be honest and honorable about this. None of us are hurting for the $50...so we don't expect anyone to try to cheat.
If we get enough people involved ( starts at 10 people) in this " donation", we can call it a game and start the process.
Do the math... if we theoretically have 60 gueats all kick in a "donation" of $50 for the pool, someone walks out with a 3k "donation" for their BenGay.
Now are ya interested?
There's a 3k fish out there. Do you think you've got the guts to bring her in????? Contact me: Jamie@customfish.com to enter.
Wednesday
Put your money where your toothy mouth is....
Does anyone feel like participating in a Largest Fish of 2012 ..um.."Competition"? I'm ju$t $ayin. Contact me jamie@customfish.com . If we get enough people interested then this may be worth the effort.
Tuesday
May 1st is here!!!
May 1st is here!!!!!
Final payments are due today for those fishing in 2012. Please make checks out to Taltson Bay Big Pike lodge and send them to:
John Mich
312 Hancock Ave
South Elgin IL 60177
Good luck on all your trips, but a special thumbs up to those coming to see us up here in the NWT!!!!
Vic Karlson's report from July.
An update from our trip w/e 7/23/11. Another year with anxiety after our gear (rods this time) did not arrive on a direct flight from Chicago. We celebrated near midnight under the sunny sky in Yellowknife as the cabbie delivered our misplaced musky sticks. We arrived in camp to find just Don and his wife there, the staff would be boating in from Fort Resolution later in the day. After a quick breakfast we headed out and found the pike to be just as hungry as they were last year. Gene Somenek, Mark Shiels, and myself landed 140 pike over 40" during the week. Our biggest fish was 47" and we all caught at least one 46. Sharing the lodge with us were two excellent fisherman from Minnesota, Craig and his 12 year old son Jake. They bettered our totals by landing 105 trophies with Jake taking a 47 inch beauty to edge out his Dad for big fish honors. They also caught many nice walleyes up to 26" trolling the river and off the island rocks. Best baits were Johnson Silver Minnows, Grinders, Bulldawgs, and assorted spinnerbaits. Fish were spread out around the islands and throughout the Taltson river itself. The fish were brutal on tackle and people, I broke one extra heavy rod landing a trophy and blew up a new Shimano reel. Also felt the pleasure of a treble pushed into my shin past the hook bend with the brute still attached to it. Maybe next year I'll try full body armor to protect myself better. Had fun trading stories with the young guides and spent a great night in Calgary on the way home. We will return again next year in persuit of the elusive 50" that Gene swears he had on until he didn't. Vic Karlson
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