More from Irene Lake

I am always looking for more photos to post on my blog but it seems only Irene Lake guys carry their cameras. 

Here are some more from Irene Lake

Extra Large Walleye Lake with RD

A few years ago RD from Officially Rugged TV visited with us at Irene Lake.

The show is now posted on My Outdoor TV.

Here is a direct link to the show.

Officially Rugged Show at Irene Lake.

“NorthEye”

“Brad,

This week was quite possibly the best of the 25 we’ve had.  Five minutes into the trip we started with a doubleheader (both 20+” Walleye), and later that evening I caught the same 36” Northern (on ultralight gear) twice in about 15 minutes - seemed just as fierce the second time around!  Two of the days we fished ourselves out of minnows.

We appreciate the continual upkeep of the facilities.  Ted was more than happy to break in the new stove.

Here are some shots of Dan’s 54” Northeye (40” Northern / 14” Walleye).  While we managed to get both into the bass net, the minnow was lost in the battle. 

Can’t wait for next year,

Bill”

Seseganaga Lake comes through again!

Daniel Boone/Davey Crockett syndrome

Some guys just enjoy the challenge. I don’t understand it myself – I fly them into the wilderness, set them up on some of the best lakes in the country and yet there is a desire to go and see what is over the hill or down the stream so to speak. I certainly don’t encourage this “exploration” but as long as my equipment isn’t damaged – I don’t mind them doing their thing.

I trust it was worth it. And they did take great care of the equipment. They told me they wouldn’t do that difficult of a portage again - something about age and ideas, not being as compatible as they once were.

Ironically, I did have two boats and motors already for them on the portage lake.

She did it again

Dave and Dee drive from Colorado each summer for a little R & R and some big walleye at Ignace Outposts. Every year Dee seems for get the big one during their trip.

No doubt this is a big part of the anticipation while driving to Ignace.

To quote someone smarter than me “Which is better: a time of promise with the sense of anticipation, or the time of fulfillment, and satisfaction?”

What do you think Dee?

Taking a break

Fishing for smallies can wear a guy out.  On Irene Lake you can always take a break and finesse a northern pike or two.

Bass fishing on Irene Lake

The Setser party drives from Arkansas to Ignace for an annual pilgrimage to Irene Lake.  Looking on a map that seems to me like a rather long ride.  Their target is small mouth bass.  They tell me they don’t mind a walleye for supper once or twice, nor a northern pike to change up the pace, but smallies are the the gold. 

These smallies look like footballs.  I do believe success like this is a function of time on the water, skill, and lots of luck multiplied by the right lake.

Well done guys, see you next June.

Float Plane Safety

At Ignace Outposts and Ignace Airways, our first priority is your safety when flying you to and from our camps.  Our pilots are experienced and well trained and our maintenance standards are high.  We sometimes  wait on weather not to inconvenience you but be sure our flights can be done safely to completion, which means the aircraft can return home safely too.

Even though we operate in the bush, we are not a “bush league” operation.

Recently our government department in charge of air transportation (Transport Canada) published a web page dealing with float plane safety.  Here is the link:  Float Plane Safety

Take a few minutes to browse this site.  It has some good info on it relating to being a passenger in a float plane.

If you are preparing to ride on one of our aircraft and you don’t understand any safety aspect of your flight, please don’t hesitate to ask us.  We want nothing more than for your trip to enjoyable, safe and memorable.

Catch photo and release

Andy Filer had  boat partners on Seseganaga Lake last week during a family trip that kept him busy with the net and camera.

“Brad,

Not sure if Dad or Phil sent these yet, so here’s a few …the big walleye was 27 ½” and the northern was 37” (caught on a jig)…both were released back, obviously!

Thanks again for a great trip….

Looking forward to next year already!

Sincerely,

Andy”

Team jersey?

Some would say the Yankees win because the pin stripes on their jerseys distract the other team.  The Philadelphia Flyers certainly didn’t make the Stanley cup finals because of their attractive jerseys. 

I am glad that this team’s jerseys has little to do with success of catching fish.  Thankfully their success fishing is primarily to do with being on one of the best walleye/northern lakes in the country – Metionga Lake. 

I suspect the young fella without the jersey is either on the farm team or even more likely, one of the “bigger” guys stole his jersey.  It would be hard to identify who however as it seems he had 10 jerseys that fit him and they all went missing.

Tough being the new guy

All newbies get a camp name when they head off to the bush.  The most common newbie name is “Running Water” however other popular names include “Filleting Fish”, Doing Dishes”, Fetching Beer” and “Standing in Rain”.  Here we see “Sweeping Floor” in action.

Welcome to Ignace Outposts

Must be a weekend

Yesterday we had a relatively busy day - lots of ins and outs with a busy Saturday the next day too.

Well, we manage to fly in some pretty extreme conditions but safety is our biggest concern. The extremly high winds on Friday made it a “hurry up and wait” day. Of course these winds were not forecast.

Once again the old adage “you’re better off down here wishing you were flying than flying and wishing you were down here” held true. Lots of card playing, and chatting in the office passed the time. I think a few guests even managed to stimulate the local economy as well.

We finally began to fly at around 5PM. We flew a couple of trips with each aircraft. Most groups were moved however a couple of groups were left in Ignace for the night and one group left in the bush. Our hopes were high to clear the backlog and start on Saturday's flying this morning. The forecast last night was good for this morning. Then we awoke to fog and mist.

I again ponder the question, "How can these experts determine it will be 1 degree warmer in 50 years when they can not be even close in their guess for the next day's weather?"

Father and Son time

Why not take your son fishing?  Beside the opportunity to catch a “Metionga Lake monster” just imagine the quality time and the great memories of this time together.  He’ll learn more  than just fishing. 

Keep in mind he’ll likely be the one picking your retirement home. 

Getting together

 

Planning the day on the lake.  This involves a strategic approach and a well thought out plan.  At least this I am told. 

Recapping the day on the lake.  This involves a some strategic boasting and some well thought out embellishments.  

Met Walleye

Fishing has been great this summer.  Metionga has kicked out more than normal quantities and quality.  And that says a lot since Metionga  Lake is without a doubt one of the best walleye lakes in the area.  The famous Brightsand River runs through the lake and we have fishing opportunities from our camp on Little Metionga (itself about 6 miles long), Metionga Lake, Brightsand Lake and Dove lake.

Tom and his group from Wisconsin Dells make an annual pilgrimage to Metionga Lake and tackle some of our fine walleyes.  Fish like these are retuned to the lake to fight another day.

On the way to Ignace

Many of our guests drive to Ignace like a horse to the barn.  The blinders are on and visions of walleye dance in their heads.  I suggest you take your time.  Supposedly, you are on vacation.    There is much to see on the way from the USA to Ignace.  A worth while leg-stretch and pause from the highway is Kakabeka Falls.  This water falls is referred to the Niagara of the north and is only a few miles west of Thunder Bay. 

not a bad evening

A note from a happy guest who returned from Flindt on the weekend.

...on Wednesday evening at Flindt at about 6:00 pm, I got into a bunch of walleyes that included countless fish over 17 inches (not to mention a few less than 10 inches), and a 27” and 28 1/2” fish caught about 15 minutes and 10 feet apart. Best two hours of fishing of my life. Thanks again. Mike L

my thoughts

“Nothing makes a Metionga walleye bigger than almost being caught.”

New doc’ buggy

This past winter one of my buddies apparently had some extra time on his hands.  Since he is rather handy with “making things” he put together a new doc’ buggy for our base. 

This is a older Harley Davidson golf cart, cut in half, extended, and modified to to carry fishing gear – lots of gear. 

I think most of us had a few ideas for Francis to consider and he was able to incorporate the best ideas including a side rod tube holder and a comfy padded seat among the amenities. 

Not quite 0 to 60 in a week but able to carry large loads and almost able to leap small puddles in a single bound. 

Yes, there are small ones too

Irene lake also has normal sized fish for those who don’t like to brag too much. 

Of course if you need to fulfil that need to “own the water cooler” Irene can provide that opportunity too.

The next generation

This cow and calf moose where oblivious to the fact our cabin on Irene had 8 people in it as they walked out of the bush and meandered through the shallow water only yards from our dock.

I can’t emphasis enough the joy of having a camera ready at all time while on an Ignace Outposts vacation.  There is definitely more to the wilderness than fishing.

Skill or just plain luck

Jacob Patterson retuned from Irene Lake  with a story of catching a 27 inch, a 28 inch and a 31 1/2 inch walleye with in a 2 hour span.

 

That is definitely something to write home about.

Now I want to go fishing. 

What a trip!

Mike and Darla Huigens returned on their annual spring trip to Irene Lake with their boys and Mike’s brother and his family. Mike reports that in the week they were there they caught 25 walleye over 28 inches, 5 over 30 inches, 3 northern over 40 inches and several bass over 18 inches.

I don’t care how you measure it, that makes a great trip. Especially when you add in some great family time, some good cooking and relaxation.

Latest technology

We have finished installing a composting toilet at our beach camp on Irene Lake. This new toilet is imported from Finland. In some ways those Finns are way ahead of the curve when it comes to environmentally friendly technology. This toilet will be a hit for those who don’t like the trek to the outhouse in the middle of the night. If it works as promised, we’ll be installing them at more camps.

We added a room in the porch to keep everything under one roof.

A little attention

The “garage” at Seseganaga Lake received a small face lift last week as we put a new roof on the building.  Even the outbuildings get attention around here. 

It is the little things that we are constantly working on that sets us apart from other outfitters.  I know that fishing is the main check list item when you are shopping for a fly in vacation, but there is so much more involved in providing a memorable fishing trip. And we do have the fishing.   Check us out.  Ignace Outposts 

The jobs seems endless… so back to real work.

Lying down on the job

No we did not lay these guys down, they are lying down on the job.  (Lay or lie, my grammatical nightmare) 

The tools lay down the guys lie down.

At Seseganaga Lake Joe and a few helpers replaced some of the foundation posts on cabins 2 and 3.  Joe tells me that he’ll about 90 years old when the job is due to be redone.  (he hopes)

Just like character, a good foundation is of primary importance.

Nice Fish 2010

Irene Lake is known as “Extra Large Walleye Lake” for a reason.  We don’t see lots of Walleye on Irene Lake but the ones you do get are extra large. 

Nice fish, nice scenery but I’m not sure sure about the rest of the photo.  Thanks for the picture Joe.  See you again soon.

No urban sprawl here

Metionga Lake sunset. Why not just kick back on the deck and enjoy a good glass of wine or other beverage as the sun goes does.

Tomorrow will be another great fishing day. Besides, it sure beats working.