“Found out this AM that my son never did send pictures to you.
Here is a typical size whitefish caught by Andy - we caught several whitefish during that first week of June 2011.” Mike
Catching multiple species of fish is an attraction on Irene Lake. These lake whitefish fight very hard and taste good too.
Metionga Lake offers some successful catching as well as great fishing. Yes there is a difference.
“Larry S is holding a lake trout caught minutes after arrival from in front of Irene 2. He was the first person to get a pole ready and the trout was caught from shore on the second cast.”
Not a bad way to start a trip but I think it would require a lot of effort to maintain top dog status. I wouldn’t want the pressure.
Our life is one big adventure. There are some adventures that we can do without but when they turn out great like yesterday, we’ll take them as part of the job.
Monday morning at his regular morning check in, Joe at Seseganaga Lake had already spoken with our 11 man group at main camp and was about to head to our West Bay camp to check up on a 3 generation family of 4 staying there. When he arrived at the cabin, Joe’s “trapper sense” (similar to a “Spidey sense” but better) started to stir. Something didn’t seem right. It appeared no one had been in the cabin overnight. Joe let me know and he began what ultimately was a 6 hour boat search of all the lake’s known and best hiding spots. Our other guests pitched in and began looking too – we hated to give up our best hiding spots but given our concern...
Normally this type of situation is quickly resolved. (Yes it’s happened before.)
By mid afternoon, with no luck searching by the guys on the water, Randy (on his day off) took our Beaver and flew to Ses to begin an aerial search. Joe and some of our other guests joined him as spotters and they covered the lake more than once. They found no sign of the missing family. It was as if they had picked up the boats and moved on.
When Randy returned before dark, I called our Provincial Police. An officer attended and put some amazing wheels in motion. Early on Tues morning, less than 8 hours after the police where notified, we had 10 specially trained officers from the OPP Emergency Rescue Team in our yard. We loaded the Otter and Beaver with 8 officers since with max fuel we couldn’t take them all, and flew to Seseganaga for another search.
Within an hour after arriving at Ses, with the officers as spotters and two aircraft flying, a weary, hungry and cold but otherwise well preserved family were spotted sitting on a rock at the very wrong end of the lake. We will make note of this new hiding spot.
Turns out the lake really is bigger than the gas tank.
All is well as ended well. We thank the OPP for their quick and competent action. And I thank Joe and Randy for their extra effort in making sure our guests were safe. Our other guests at camp also deserve thanks for the time they put in searching.
A successful search.
Diesel the OPP K9 searcher was probably the only one disappointed in the success of the search. This was his first official call out but he never got to fly in since his talents are best on the ground.
After two nights stranded in the Canadian wilderness the found fishermen had only one request… more minnows on the Wednesday check flight… they have lots of fishing to make up for.
One more little upgrade to keep ahead of the pack.
It’s hard to believe this is an outpost camp 100 miles from Ignace.
The counter top at Flindt Lake had a swell near the taps from the sink being improperly installed. We’ve had a little time to do some “camp maintenance” and have installed a new counter top. Now the a sink and counter function well and look great too.
Now lets see how long it takes before someone puts a hot pan from the stove onto the counter top and leaves a mark.
I am sure some of the rods and reels Jeff and Jeff (father and son) brought to Metionga Lake a few weeks ago needed a little maintenance when they got home. Nothing like field testing the equipment in the real world.
With fish like these being cranked in you’d almost think axel grease would hold up better than light reel oil.
Yesterday I posted about Jeff’s 50 inch northern pike at Metionga Lake.
They caught lots of walleye too!
The weather wasn’t too shabby either.
Jeff wrote on his facebook page
“1 of about 600 walleyes caught by me and my dad in six days. No exaggeration.”
No wonder they rebooked same week same lake, same cabin as soon as they returned to Ignace.
No need to photoshop or stretch this one. There is nothing worse than seeing a 30 incher described as a 40 incher.
For those who think you need to go to Northern Saskatchewan for lunkers, here is a 50 inch Northern caught and live released on Dove Lake a portage lake off Metionga Lake.
The photo op
The release
It happens that this is my 600th blog post. I can’t think of a better topic than catching a releasing such a fish. Jeff and his dad have been making the trek to Metionga Lake from Minnesota for several years. No doubt this trip will provide dinner table talk for many years to come.
I would never tell anyone that they are guaranteed to catch a fish like this but it is great to positively say great fish are still in these lakes. And you can have a chance to catch it or one similar yourself.
My personal advice; skinny dip (or chunky dunk) at your own risk in an Ignace Outposts Lake.
This pair of eagles certainly have a room with a view. I suspect a condo with this type of 360 degree unobstructed view could command some significant coin in the right neighbourhood. Of course, these eagles consider the Ignace area the right neighbourhood.
Having a camera ready while on an Ignace Outposts trip often provides some great opportunities to take wildlife shots.
We did not take these photos from our aircraft. If we are 3,600 feet we are liable to get nosebleeds since we are not used to even that extreme height.
Our son and his family recently flew from Winnipeg to Toronto on West Jet. About an hour into the flight Mike thought he might be close to Ignace and looked out the window at just the right time to see Ignace pass underneath the aircraft.
He snapped a a couple of pictures with his iphone and voila, here is Ignace from 36,000 feet. (you can even see our seaplane base)
Sitting on the beach at Irene Lake provides some of the best sunsets I’ve ever seen. Of course you could be here yourself “checking out” the view from the beach. Add a few friends or family members and life time memories are made.
I suppose if a day on the lake is not enough, the view is just as good from the boat but you might be a little too busy to really enjoy it.
There is always something to marvel at when on an Ignace Outposts vacation.
ps. cellphones, internet, email, tv, blackberries, and the like don’t work here. We actually planned it that way.
Last week a friend in Ignace found an old newspaper in their cottage. The paper was dated July 18, 1968. It was the News - Chronicle from Port Arthur, Ontario. For those who keep up with world events, Port Arthur and Fort William amalgamated in 1970 to become Thunder Bay.
When this paper was published, my grandfather was the head printer of this newspaper. On pg. 12 was a small article about Ignace Airways. Since 1985 our other company, Ignace Outposts, has run the Ignace Airways’ fly-in camps.
Here is the article.
We still cater to the tourist trade however the $99.00 for a 5 day fly-in trip is long gone - so don’t ask. Add a zero and we are close to our Irene Lake 7 day trips.
The front page of this paper has articles about postal workers being on strike looking for an increase in their $2.63 per hour wage. These guys were just on strike again last month and I think adding a zero here is also very close to what they wanted to increase.
Everything is relative. All things considered, our fly-in fishing adventures are a great deal.
June on Seseganaga Lake offers exciting lake trout fishing. When the trout are in shallow water they make for a nice surprise when fishing walleye. Nothing like the fight these strong fish provide on light tackle. They are good eats too.
Brad,
I am a little late and maybe Steve already sent you some pics but here are two lakers that were very similar in size 34”. Nothing like fishing for walleye and having one of these guys crawl on to your jig! Very exciting and very tasty on the grill!!
Phil
“Brad/Karen,
Attached is a picture of a moth that visited the screen door in fish camp. (Irene Lake)
It's beauty was astonishing! After 40 years of Canada/Ontario fish camps there is always a surprise. Another great trip.” Stan
Turns out this is a Rosy Maple Moth (Dryocampa rubicunda). They have reddish-to-pink legs and antennae, yellow bodies and hindwings, and pink forewings with a triangular yellow band across the middle. Males have bushier antennae than females. As the name implies, rosy maple moths mainly feed on Maple trees.
Irene Lake may be a fair haul from Eastern Tennessee, but when the boys get together, it is the smallmouth bass attack that keeps them busy.
We flew into Irene Lake to light the fridges and double check everything was ready for guests this weekend. We’ve had no one on the lake for a week.
I brought Karen, my cousin and her husband for the ride with the idea we could “wet a line” for a few hours after the work was done.
Flying to the lake I saw some fresh blow down areas at the north end of the lake. Flying over the cabin I could see our day’s plans would be changing.
I flew back to Ignace to get a chainsaw and other equipment and then the day’s efforts went into a clean up.
The cabin is now ready to go and we’ll fish another day.
Brad,
Here are some pictures from our trip last week on Seseganaga Lake. The northern was 39", caught by my brother Jack. The big walleye was 29". Look carefully at the picture of the smaller walleye--caught it on a pink-and-blue sour gummy worm on a jighead. Those Canadian walleyes will eat just about anything!
Mike
This is not something you want to see while on the lake. And it really is not something you want to be responsible for. And particularly it is not something you want to pay for.
A small fire on an island can quickly become a forest fire with the wrong winds and a little inattentiveness. Fortunately, the provincial firefighters responded quickly and managed to get this fire out.
Thankfully it was not started by a shore lunch but by lightening.
It seems that Seseganaga Lake just keeps on giving up lunker northern pike.
Hang on to your rod when fishing this lake. These fish fight like they would rather not visit with you. They will attack most anything that looks like a meal. And that seems to be anything smaller than themselves.
Reel them in, carefully remove them from the water, quickly photograph and release.
We are often asked what the “orange net” is for when folks look into our airplane. It is a cargo net. We use it to secure the loads onboard to prevent shifting and to keep the exits clear.
Everything onboard must be secure. Inevitably even after I ask that everything is put on the scales to be weighed and to allow the staff to load the aircraft, guys show up with pack sacks and briefcases telling me that they will hold these items. I get strange looks when I tell passengers that we do not allow carry on bags. We have no over-head baggage compartments, and even the major airlines don’t let you hold a packsack or computer on your lap during take off and landing. There are requirements that prevent this. Rest assured, your bags are safe packed behind the net, and we do it for your safety.
You can hand our crew your valuables and they will carefully stow them as required.
In fact we actually encourage you to help load and unload the airplanes. It is your stuff and we do not have a gorilla in a back room waiting to jump on your bags like the big airlines seem to have.
From Indiana, the trip to Ignace Outposts may seem like a lengthy drive. To Leigh and the crew, the annual trip flies by as fishing stories are rehashed and anticipation grows.
Leigh had a great trip on Seseganaga Lake with more than one fish that would make a trip. Great to see the pictures and even better knowing that the fish were live released to fish another day.
Dee and Dave have been fishing with us for years on Metionga Lake.
It seems from the pictures and reports, Dee consistently out fishes Dave. Either it is pure skill, or Dave is smart enough to know how to make this an annual trip. I am just speculating, but either way, it is always great to see you Dave and Dee, and we look forward to seeing you again in2012.
Flying off the water provides an experience slightly different to flying jets off paved runways. I have flown many times in jets and notice that very few passengers pay any attention to the passenger safety briefings provided by the cabin crew.
On board our aircraft we give passenger briefings outlining emergency exits and procedures and it is hard not to pay attention when the captain is talking directly to you. Especially if he asks a question or two expecting an answer. Even so, much of what is said goes in one ear and out the other sometimes picking up speed in between.
Similar to the big guys, we also have passenger briefing cards available in the aircraft with the idea passengers would actually look at them.
I took my 15 month old granddaughter for a flight and even she enjoyed the briefing cards. Nice pictures for her and if you are flying with us, great safety info for you.
The 4th of July is known for fireworks in the USA. Being a little north of the border in Ignace, we had had to settle for a different type of fireworks.
Karen captured a rainbow and a spark show in the same frame.
“… and it was this wide between the eyes!”
Even retired lawyers still come up with some good ones. Nothing like getting back to camp and expounding on the activities of the day. The best part of catch and release is the the telling part.
ps. John, in grade school I learned that during show and tell you actually needed something to show.
The Fourth of July, is a federal holiday in the United States commemorating the adoption of the Declaration of Independence on July 4, 1776, declaring independence from Great Britain. Independence Day is commonly associated with fireworks, parades, barbecues, carnivals, fairs, picnics, concerts, baseball games, family reunions, political speeches and ceremonies, and of course, fishing at Ignace Outposts.
Have a great 4th of July!
To us it is another working day. It seems vacationers don’t take time off so we have to work to ensure their Ignace Outposts fishing adventures are as good as can be.
To those who celebrate Canada Day… Happy Canada Day! To those who wait until July 4th, you’ll have to wait a few days for your day.
