Trying again

Tom and his buddies are flying into Seseganaga Lake tomorrow to try and beat the Northern pike Tom caught there last June. 

Good luck Tom.  50 inchers is hard to beat anywhere.

Why sit at home?

In the US it is Memorial Day weekend.  In Canada our May holiday weekend was last weekend.  It is officially called Victoria Day in Canada celebrating the Queen’s birthday, I understand, but since falls on the third weekend in May and that usually is near May 24 and there are 24 beer in a case… it is now somehow referred to as May 2-4 weekend.  Any ways, I digress. 

This weekend, being Memorial Day weekend which was first recognized to memorialize the fallen in the American Civil War, brings many anglers to Canada.  Many stay home. 

I on the other hand, am working hard getting camps ready for soon to arrive anglers. 

With an airplane load to unload at the destination, and other staff doing other jobs, I am sometimes left to recruit new blood to help out.  Vern, a friend in Ignace, “volunteered” to assist.  Somehow our fishing rods got mixed up with the load on board.  I learned over the years, it is only right if the owner of the outposts occasionally fishes the outposts, if for no other reason than to know what he is talking about when describing fishing that most can not imagine.

Less than 30 seconds after dropping our lines Vern reeled in a nice walleye.  

Many many walleye later and with a few walleye in the boat for supper, Vern had to make one more catch.   As you can see in the picture, we never left sight of the cabin.  Both these fish were returned unharmed to the lake.  Total time to test the waters; about 1 hour. 

A few 15 – 16 inch walleye are now ready for the frying pan. 

Why sit at home?  Book your Ignace Outposts trip now for a later summer date with a few walleye and northern pike.

Reel ‘em in

I real life Dar is usually the boss.  On Metionga Lake, he takes the front seat and lets someone else drive.  It gives him more time to kick back and reel in the big ones. 

Sure beats working eh Dar!

A great memory

Marie managed to land a 45 inch northern on Metionga Lake  last week.  It appears as though she enjoyed the fight.  I think catching the biggest fish was also a thrill considering she was the only woman in the group. 

Hi Brad and Karen,
I have attached some pictures from our trip.
…the Northern I am holding was 45 inches…
Thank you for a great and very memorable trip!  Hope to see you again in the future.

Sincerely,
Marie

Who got the piece of tail?

“Hey Brad,

How big do you think the pike was that took the bite outta this guy’s tail??  Had a great time this year at Flindt, fishing was phenomenal.

Dave J

Bedford, Indiana”

Makes you wonder eh Dave

How would you measure success?

Metionga Lake offers some successful catching as well as great fishing.  Yes there is a difference. 

Dad can do it too

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.

50 incher - THE BIG ONES ARE STILL HERE!

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.

Not bad

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.

Great Seseganaga Trip

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.

Heads up

A little portrait photography from Pete E.  The guys came from “down south” for a little R&R.  Metionga Lake didn’t disappoint. 

Out of the park home run

Bill sent some photos of his brother's activities on Seseganaga Lake last week. 

Catching 3 species in a week is pretty much a grand slam but 4 is “out of the park”

Looks like the Lake Trout made it for supper and the Walleye, Northern and Whitefish are back in the lake waiting for another invite.

I’d say you were rather “busy” on vacation Ed.  Kept your brother busy too with the camera.

Flindt Lake Northern Pike

Dave works in an office all day in real life. When away from the office, Dave finds relaxation hauling in lunker Northern Pike. Dave and the guys, mostly family, spent a week at Flindt Lake earlier this month and now the fish stories are flowing in.

There is no need to enhance the story when pictures like this are the proof.

See you next year Dave. Am I ever glad there is no beer in this picture.

No Rookie

“Brad and Karen, just wanted to let you know that of the 3 trips I have been on this was the best on Flindt Lake.
I never was a big fisherman, but since I was talked into going with the group on your fly in's, I am hooked.
The 38 inch northern I caught on Wed 6/1, really has me hooked now. The group always called me the rookie but after this catch, they are looking for a new rookie.
Thanks again for the great time, the friendly service, and of course the FISH.”

Steven

Beats working

The Lehman Party from Iowa has been making an annual trip with us for many years.   Jim, the group kahuna, shows off how it is done.

Catching and releasing pike like this is all just part of the fun on Metionga Lake. 

I know too many guys who live to work.  Take a little time and turn it around.  Work to live.  And this is living.   A wise fellow once told me he works so he can play.  That makes a bunch of sense to me.

August on Seseganaga Lake

The Wagner crew from Wisc have been going to Seseganaga Lake in August for almost 20 years. 

Here are two of the reasons why.

Not bad!

“Hi Brad and Karen,
Just wanted to thank you for a great week and attach a picture of the northern I caught.  Thank you for your hospitality!!!!”
Mike Wilcox

See you on Seseganaga Lake again next year Mike!

Seseganaga Northern Action

Tom and his buddies – retired Chicago cops – make an annual trip to Seseganaga in mid July.  They love to eat walleye but fighting northern pike are high on the list of things to do. 

Bringing in a large northern must remind them of bringing in the bad guys when they were working. 

A “little” teaser from last summer

Who ever said fishing is slow in mid summer?  As we are beginning our 2010 season, I received this picture and note from a guest who visited Metionga Lake last July.

“Just wanted to pass along a picture of the 45" Northern I caught in July 2009 on Lake Metionga. We had a great week of fishing in spite of the cold and rainy weather. … Also the walleye fishing was great throughout the week. Thanks for the great time, and I cant wait to
try and make it up there again!
Sincerely,
Matt Z”

A change in the regs

Ontario has re-organized its fishing regulation areas from divisions to zones.  Metionga Lake falls within Zone 6.  It is the only one of our lakes to be in this new Zone.  The regulations for this zone have changed regarding Northern Pike.  The new regulation has done away with the slot size restriction.  The no-keep between 27 inches and 36 inches is no longer in effect.  The rule now is that anglers are allowed one northern over 70 cms.  For those who might be metrically changed, that is one over 27.6 inches.   So regardless whether one has a conservation or sportsman’s license, the limit is one northern over 70 cms.  Those who fish with us, know that our own camp policy regarding fish keeping is no trophies (northerns over 27 inches or walleye over 22 inches) are to be killed.  Therefore this is not a big change for us.  Please check out our Guest Planning Handbook , available on our web site, for details of our trophy fish catch and consume policy.

We have been leaders in our industry regarding service, equipment, facilities and conservation for many years.  Our theory on this is that we must either lead, follow or get out of the way.  We choose to lead.   Consider an Ignace Outposts fishing vacation for 2010.

We may not be the cheapest, but we are not the most expensive either.   And we do strive to give you the absolute best value for your dollar – whether is be a Canadian or US dollar. 

Please note, that as of now, none of the other zones we have camps in have changed any regulations.