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 Winter 2008
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May 19th was opening day for the 2007 walleye season. With early ice-out and airplanes up and running, there was plenty of time to set up the cabins. The water levels on the smaller lakes were a lot higher than on the larger bodies of water. Last fall it was a tossup on where the water levels would be at freeze up, but there was enough rain to bring lake levels back to normal.
There was only a short period of time that our district had the fire ban on (in late July). We had above average winds during the early weeks of the season. With rough water on the bigger lakes, it didn’t stop the Wapikaimaski boys from exploring different parts of this body of water. When the word was out for good fishing, all boats went to the north end where walleye fishing was exceptional! Groups were catching 5lb – 7lb fish in 60’ of water.
The Gridiron/Sassafras chain surprised fisherman this season with great numbers of fish during the midday hours. With dark stained water and a good walleye chop, it made for a good combination.
The artificial lures worked better than live bait for the big pike in Loganberry. Every group had a 40 inch northern pike up to the boat or successfully landed one. Minnows, leeches or crawlers always work well for those finicky walleyes!
All lakes produced plenty of walleye. Then when the cold fronts came through, it was tough to catch enough fish for dinner. I guess that is why they call it “fishing” and not “catching”!
With little rain fall throughout the summer, the MNR kept the dam closed on Lac Des Milles Lac, just above the Firesteel River. Water levels dropped, but made for better fishing on Mosher Lake. Thirty – forty inch northern were always a part of the daily catch. Although for those of you that are familiar with the water fluctuation on Mosher, it was at the highest we have ever seen it this fall! The water level was up past the ramp onto the second step on the stairs!
The Bemar chain of lakes never let anybody down. When the weather was rough, those football sized bass kept on biting. The walleye fishing may at times get finicky mid-summer, but Bitchu produced quality size fish all season.
In late summer, a work crew flew up to Kershaw to fix the roof on the cabin for the up-coming archery hunt. After a couple hours of work, they tried a little walleye fishing. It didn’t matter where you went, 2 – 3lbs fish were jumping in the boat! Plans are to completely remodel this cabin to be ready for June 2008.
So all in all, the fishing for the 2007 season was a success. We want to thank all of you that have been our quests over the years and we certainly appreciate the loyalty of so many of you that return year after year.
We are blessed to live in this little piece of heaven year round and can't wait to share it with you each season. We have seen the youngster's in the group with their little snoopy fishing rods grow up to be the finest of people, many of them at this time serving their country in these trying times.
2007 Biggest Fish Contest Winners!
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Haven't sent in your Fly in Fishing Trip Pictures? This is YOUR chance to show your friends that you are a World-Famous Angler! We know some of our guests from 2007 captured some fantastic smallmouth bass pictures - but the photos of the big ones haven't been sent in - so we're holding the contest open for a short while longer! Send your highest quality images to info@kashabowieoutposts.com We would be happy to include your photos in our galleries! |
Tommyhow Lake was first on our list this spring. After five flights in the deHavilland beaver, we had all the material at Tommyhow for the pre-fab dock and cabin deck. Two early pike fisherman and a couple of carpenters flew in to build the new cabin deck just before the walleye opener. The Kashabowie Outposts crew followed up later to replace the cribs and stringers for the dock. With high water levels in the spring, it made the rebuilding a lot tougher. The next day the new 8’ x 12’ floater was attached to the main dock.
Another all day job was the floating dock at Bemar. With constant docking with loaded deHavilland Beavers, the dock finally pulled apart. With three of us working steady, the dock was put back together solidly. A new fridge was installed at the Loganberry camp. New bunk beds were installed at Grew and Gridiron cabins. There were a few extra days spent at Gridiron during the first week of August. The dock was levelled and repaired. A new sauna was built near the lake shore. The sauna will be up and running for spring 2008. This fall, the boats were repaired at Wapikaimaski and there will be new motors on them this season. The ice should last a lot longer at Mountairy. Just before freeze up, we flew up and added more insulation to the walls and also insulated the roof of the ice house.
The archery hunt started earlier this year. Saturday, Sept. 15th was opening day. The mornings and evenings were perfect; calm and cold. We all thought the moose rut was going to get off to a good start. On the evening of the 19th, Jim had 3 different bulls and 2 cows vocalizing with each other. The next morning proved to be fatal for a 48 1/2” bull. The Black Widow strikes again!
The same day, Fern passed up a 2 ½ year old and captured some great footage. It didn’t take long for the Turrie Lake boys to get into some action. Rick Fletcher took a young bull second day into the hunt.
As the peak of the rut approached, the weather started to change to warm and windy. All the guests were having action, but just could not finalize a kill. The Mosher crew were successful the next calm evening. With not a lot of sign to follow, they left the tracking till morning. Half hour later, they found their wide-palmed 50” trophy.
The 26th was here; calm, cold and frosty. By 9:30am the radio phones were ringing. Fern had called 2 bulls into bow range. With measuring tapes out, Fern's bull measured ¼” wider than Jim’s bull.
I think there is going to be a re-measure!! On the same morning, one of Dave Maynard’s hunters, John Loberg, had some great action. With one arrow in the quiver and no release in hand, an aggressive 45” bull lay on the ground moments later. The weather did not change, it stayed fairly mild and there was always a little wind at the wrong time.
Guide, Rob White, and two archery hunters had action at Kershaw Lake, but the bulls would not come all the way in for a bow shot.
On the first day of their archery hunt, the boys at Loganberry passed up a 2 ½ year old bull. By the end of the week, they wished they hadn’t. I guess that’s hunting!
As the rifle hunt approached, the weather went from bad to worse. Two of the groups were lucky enough to fly out, but others had to portage into their camps. Guides Fern Duquette and Rob White paddled into Bemar.
On the first day out, they ran into 2 bulls with only 1 tag on hand, so 1 bull walked away! A few days later, a bedded down bull stood up to see two pumpkins paddling by in a canoe. Before he knew what was going on, the 53 incher laid back down for good.
The Ross Lake father & son crew, along with guide Paul Duquette, shot a respectable 45” animal on the first calm morning. With record amount of rainfall and high water levels at Mosher, the hunters were able to bag a mature bull & cow.
One hundred miles north of the Kashabowie Outposts base, the weather was worse yet. Wapikaimaski’s 2 hunters, guide and deHavilland Beaver pilot, Jim Hrynuk, only made it as far as Kershaw Lake due to the low level flying. During the 4 day wait for the flying weather to improve at Kershaw, a 3 year old bull was spotted, but no shots were fired. The Gridiron boys were also cabin bound for the first part of their hunt. With moose running in different directions, it was tough to put their sites on a bull.
The big group of hunters at Mountairy were facing the same difficulties, heavy winds and rough water. By the end of the week, they had seen cows and ended up bagging a 45” bull. Over all, the 2007 hunting season was tough. Mother Nature had the upper hand on who went home with their moose steaks.
Every year we have given away a free fly-in trip in our annual Best Picture contest. It is not easy to pick the best all around picture; whether it is nature, fish or just a good cabin shot.
This year we were reminding guests that the contest winner would be selected from the best Outpost Cabin picture. The new deck on Tommyhow Lake is beautifully featured in this unique photo. The photographer climbed onto the roof of the storage shed in order to get the best view of the deck! Well done!
As we send this Newsletter out on January 20, we are reminded of how bitterly cold Northwestern Ontario can be. With recent daily highs only reaching
-20F and last nights low down to
-36F, we have been enjoying our visits South on the Sport Shows!
Come out and visit us!
View our 2008 Sport Show Schedule
Fern, Don, Jim, Carol, and the rest of the Kashabowie Outposts Crew would like to wish everyone a Happy and Healthy New Year in 2008.
See you at the Shows!
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