Cobham River Giant Pike!!

Here are some more pictures from another group of happy fishermen. This time it is from the Cobham River. Randy D. and his group caught 6 northern pike that week over 40 inches and 30 over 30 inches. They worked hard for these trophies, working the bays numerous times and hundreds of casts later they were rewarded and the giant pike are back in the water and growing bigger!

A hook in the hand is not the end of the world!

I recently received the pictures from the Pfeiffer party when Todd had a bit of a mishap. A small northern on one hook of a lure and your hand attached to the other. When grabbing ANY fish you have to be careful, remember you are on a flyin trip miles away from the emergency room. This has happened a few times throughout the years, most of the time if the hook cannot be removed at the camp buy the fishermen and depending on how long they have left on their stay, the hook can sometimes stay in there until you fly out. It is a good reminder to look online for instructions on removing a hook in the wilderness. All I can suggest is that you do not think about it for long, just get it out! Tie a line to the J of the hook and hold down on the front. Then with a fast jerk, pull the line while holding down on the hook and it should come right out with minimal tearing from the barb.

Here they are!



Ouch! And the culprit is there to watch!


I think I know who got the last laugh though!


And there you go, out with minor damage. I saw Todd's hand on the way out and you could barely see where the hook had been!

This video shows how you should do it. They don't mess around, they don't even cut the hook off!

Findlay, Cherrington and Loree.

It has been very windy up here for a couple of days which makes it hard to hold the boat in the spot you want to be but fishing has been good enough that it didn't matter. Findlay lake continues to produce huge walleyes! Here are big ones that speak for themselves. These guys just came out this morning.




This sure looks familiar.....Here is last years post. They catch these quality of fish each year!




Cherrington had the Halepeska boys there for 8 days and they saw many types of weather and caught a lot of fish. The biggest northern were caught in a short period of time. In 4 hours Mark and Don caught a 39, 2-37's, a 36 and 30 inch northern pike. The walleyes had to be hunted with the ever-changing weather but they caught mostly 20-22 inch walleye.

Loree has the widest variety of visitors from around the globe! Austrians, British, Danish, Canadian and American fishermen have come to fish the waters of Loree lake this season and last week we had some more Danes from Toronto. Never had they been on a flyin before but were prepared and ready for their adventure. They learned plenty and said they caught lots of fish during the last week. Smiles from ear to ear! It is great to see someone who was not sure what they were getting themselves into on the way in to the bush and then so happy when they return.

Hockey players love to fish too!

My old buddy Dick Hoene was back last week and brought some friends with him. A bunch of old and young hockey players. Dick is a great fishermen and had his work cut out for him with a few novice fishermen in the group. When the first fish was caught one of the new guys pulled a pair of channel lock pliers out of his pocket to remove the hook. Not exactly your ideal tool to remove a deep lodged hook from a fish. But by the end of the week that same fishermen caught the biggest fish of the trip! Is it the guide or is it the fishermen?

Here are some pictures of the great time they had:

How would you like to face off against these 2 monsters?



A couple of young wingers from Minnesota were in the group and were pretty excited to start catching fish. They caught a lot! Here is a nice walleye!



It was very hot at times last week and the best way to cool off is just like this! Please make sure the water is deep enough before attempting the cliff jump though!

There were hundreds of fish caught this size. Dick alone caught 850 fish for 7 days of fishing!


A giant pike is the sure way to ensure a return customer. This is a very healthy fish. Head the size of a shovel!


With the young guys along there was lots of exploring to do! This is up in the old burn from 4 years ago.


The rookie with a beautiful golden walleye. A fat 26 incher! Great fish.


There continues to be thunderstorms every few days. This one in the distance is almost done. You can see the anvil shape at the top as it blows out with a nice "red sky at night, sailors delight!"

Good times had by all, and good for the boys to spend some time in the bush.

People are happy, weather is great...most of the time.

It has been quite warm up here in the north, but not too warm. Temperatures have been in the 80's at times but most nights have been cool and good for sleeping. Every morning the weather has been picture perfect but by the afternoon the clouds build and we have had showers and crazy thunderstorms. The Langeland group got hailed on as they were racing back to camp one day on Blackbirch. Water levels are staying at a good height and I saw the first leaves beginning to change yesterday at Vee Lake and Cherrington. You know what that means....Moose Hunting is getting closer!!

Here are some pictures from the Birdsong party who fished Shearstone last week. They had a great time, mostly stable weather and caught quite a few fish. Their first flyin trip so they learned a lot and got the hang of catching fish up here. They are already looking forward to their next trip! The largest walleye was 26 inches and the largest northern was 39 inches with many in the mid 30's. They had many northerns attacking their stringers attached to the boat and even had a 48-50 inch monster pike come right out of the water and totally rip a fish off the line just as it got to the boat! And not seen again! These guys fished hard. Although in this first picture Randy and Cody seem pretty relaxed.




Back at'er after the rain. It is great to get back out fishing in the evening after a storm. The air smells so fresh.

Get the net!


I love these pictures when the fish did not want their picture taken!


Randy with a nice walleye.


And Randy with a future trophy! Unless someone eats him first!

It seems that I see the same face holding the biggest fish! Ryan caught some nice ones.



Here is another trophy northern pike from Blackbirch lake last week. Jack W. is 17 years old and showed the old guys how it is done with this 41 inch Pike! The Patnode party tries a new lake every year and this year they were quite happy on Blackbirch! Young Bob caught a 27 inch walleye and numbers of fish were nuts!


The Pfeiffer party made their bi-annual trip with us and had their first experience on the Cobham River system. It was a great success! Tommy caught a 43 inch monster pike just outside of a nice weedy bay in some deeper water. It is nice to hear that for his graduation present next summer, Tommy wants to come fishing with us! Spending time in the north is something that has to be experienced to appreciate. There was a fish hook incident during their stay involving a fiesty northern pike and alarge treble hook! I never heard about it until we were back in Red Lake but the hand that was hooked looked very good and only had a small wound! I will post those pictures when I get them. Make sure you have pliers that can cut a hook!

The Toft Party fished Cherrington again recently and caught lots of trophy fish. Fishing on the big lake was very good. Jim was the walleye master catching 6-24 inch walleyes ans Sam was the northern pike King, catching and releasing a 41, 40.5, 36.5 and a 33 inch northern. They will be back next year to see if they can better those numbers!

The Cleave party came out of Vee lake and had some Big fish stories! Jane who is a tiny woman caught a 42 inch huge pike! Her husband Frank said it was comical to see her trying to hold such a big fish for the picture, I will post that one when I get it. Jane was holding onto the big walleye title too until the last night, last fish...Frank`s last fish of the entire trip on the last night was fat 29 inch walleye!! What a way to end the trip.

The Haldrup party fished Findlay last week and had a great time and great fishing. They commented on how many walleyes they caught between 20 and 23 inches. It was an awesome trip with some unbelievable walleye fishing. Findlay is a very easy lake to fish with not very many rocks. The largest was 26 inches.

It is nice to see the next generation having a good time

The Tupy/Novotny party came out of Cobham Morley recently and as always it was a great time. 4 young guys, younger than me anyways, maybe I am getting older, and a couple of the Dads as chaperone's. They made their second trip to the Cobham and had another good time. Nothing extraordinarily big this year, 24 inches on the walleye and a 39 inch northern I think was the largest last week, but the number were of fish they caught was totally nuts!! They commented on the large number of 20-22 inch walleye. They saw a moose and got some great scenic pictures in addition to the fish pictures.


Andrew, who had a 31 inch walleye on Findlay a few years ago had the biggest walleye and biggest northern this trip.



Mmmmmmmm


Doug, the smallest guy, is always the last one into the Otter, pictured here with a nice one.


These guys love beer so there is no room on the Otter for bringing in bottled water. There is no need for it if you buy a filter and go get it from the lake. We have never had an issue with people drinking lake water.

There has been plenty of great weather this summer, it is nice to get back closer to a normal summer.



And then the dreaded last day.....until next year!

Things are pretty normal in the North.

Here is a video from the Berg family who fished Shearstone recently. 4 brothers and their sons spending some time in the bush. They had a great time and are looking forward to the next one!


We continue to give our guests memorable vacations as the summer seems to be flying by. The end of July is fast approaching and it is Norseman Days this weekend. Hopefully the weather will cooperate and Rena and I will be able to go to town for a few hours Saturday night to enjoy the festivities. :)

Fishing has been great lately, numbers have been as good as ever with a few big northerns being caught on all of the lakes. The trophy northerns have been caught on light tackle mainly, when walleye fishing, of course. It makes for a better story when you land a 40 plus inch northern on 8 pound test, no leader, on a jig!

Here are some pictures from the Parke party, from California. 3 years ago they made a once in a lifetime trip for Alex`s graduation.... They loved it so much, they have been back every year since then and hope to return in 2011. This year they drove to Calgary Alberta and flew to Winnipeg, then rented a car and drove the rest of the way to Red Lake. There are many ways to get yourself to Amik Outposts for your "once in a lifetime" trip!






Fishing Report

There has been a lot of happy people as always fishing our lakes, here are a few highlights:

Weber party, Findlay Lake. These guys try a new lake each season and had some good luck on the walleye factory called Findlay Lake. Gary, the leader, schooled all of his buddies... one day alone he caught lots of big fish! 22, 23, 23.5, and a 24.5 inch walleye. He also had the largest walleye of the trip a 27.5 inch fat walleye.
Hundreds of walleyes were caught by everyone in the 20 24 inch range. They were really impressed by the fishing on Findlay.

Rizzo party, Cobham River. These guys are very easy going and love the peaceful serenity the north has to offer. They never elaborate in much detail how many big fish they catch but this year they reported catching at least 5 fish in the 40 plus inch range. This group has fished all over Canada but have been our customers since the very beginning, since Rena and I were at the original Amik Lodge on Deer Lake.

Van Houweling Family, Cherrington Lake. Don from Iowa is another customer whom we have gotten to be close to since he has been with us since the Deer Lake Amik days as well. Fishing a number of our lakes but falling in love with Cherrington and those big walleyes it has to offer. Don always brought up a company trip for years but has begun bringing his sons and more recently his wife and his daughter in-laws as well. Last year was the first time for the girls and as many of our customers know, last season was cold and wet. I hoped they would have better luck with Mother Nature in 2010! I was thinking a lot about these guys and girls this week as it rained off and on for 3 out of their 4 day trip this year. The saving grace this time around was that the temperature was a lot warmer and the rain was not so hard that they could not fish out in it. So many things play a factor in a vacation in the outdoors, the weather being the biggest, but Don and his family experienced some of the best fishing they had ever had. Walleyes were BIG, at least 50 walleyes were 4 pounds or better and the numbers were awesome! I was happy to hear that! Hopefully the weather will be nicer to them in 2011!!

Springpole Lake continues to be one of our Hidden Gems. Fishing has been awesome there. The Rigalto party came out recently and like every other group that fishes there commented on how round and fat the walleyes are! The fishing was the best they had ever seen and hope to be back in 2 years. The biggest walleye was 26 inches but they had at least 30 that were 20 to 24 inches. The largest northern was 38 inches and they had 3 lake trout on the line but were not able to land any after getting them to the surface.

I always enjoy my early morning flights and get to see some awesome sights. Here is the view from a few days ago.