3 Seasons Lodge June24 -30

[ziggy6]

       So after what seemed like a longer year than previous ones we finally started our journey on June 23 from Albany NY. Nine of us hit the road with another of our group coming a day later due to a wedding obligation ( thankfully not his own or his honeymoon would have been delayed). The border crossing went smooth and quick and we made Temiscaming with enough time to hit the IGA and the Tem Rose for a few cocktails and dinner. Saturday we met up with Reggie from the 3 season lodge at the Laniel landing. Overall everything went smoothly.
  This being our first trip to the northern waters of Kipawa we figured there would be a learning curve and that would be the case. We did have the opportunity to meet Rybak who was very helpful in providing us some tips about what was working .
    Throughout the week we experienced a variety of weather/Smoke conditions...along with rain , sun, wind, calm , heat, and chilly temps. We did notice the wind was a big factor in helping turn the fish on.  Quite a few bass were caught, more so than in any year prior, we would switch over from walleye to bass when the walleyes were playing hard to get. Two members of our party caught a 20" bass followed by a 19 1/2 immediately after. We tossed everything at the bass including senko's , nedi rigs but the 1/8 jig with a leech proved to be the equal to any lure we had for bass. 
   When it came to Walleye we didn't catch a ton but we did have enough to have 2 fish fries and take a few home as well. Our largest was a 32 1/2" monster .... several guys used the slip bobber method and others stayed with the jig and leech ( as we learned in Ogascanan). It seemed our best range was the 10' - 15' foot .  By the end of the week we had been able to establish several places that were productive but there are so many more places to explore. 
     For the first time one of our party targeted Lake Trout using leadcore line... he worked the 30 - 35' range and had some success with his largest being in the upper 20 inch range.   We also had some success with Northern pike with several being caught with the largest being 38 inches.
     As a group we couldn't be happier with the staff and accommodations of the 3 Seasons.  We felt right at home with John and Mary , they were extremely helpful and kind. Reggie provided us with a great deal of info that helped us get going in a new area. We were very happy with our accommodations.. two refrigerators for ten guys was a great surprise , Also not having to mess with our own generators made it a bit easier. I hope we're not getting soft. Oh yes we did book for next year June 15 -21 already .
It was a pleasure meeting up with Rybak and putting a face to someone that was helpful to our group prior to the trip concerning the about closures due to the fire. He also knows the lake very well and our guys were sure to listen to him and Reggie when they were providing info.
So now its another year of planning and anticipating... 

[Jay Thomas]

Thanks for your trip report. I did 17 trips to 3 Seasons Camp over 14 years - lots of fond memories. Reggie and RHYBAK are both great sources of fishing information. With 10 guys in your group, meal times had to be great times.

Jay

[ziggy6]

No question feeding ten guys was a big part of the trip. We use a late lunch as our big meal which included Fish fry's, Steak, stroganoff , etc. We used the late evening for easier to cook items and a bit lighter fare.  Part of our whole process is planning the meals and trying to have enough but not going overboard, not always an easy task.

[RHYBAK]

Glad you had a good time and it was a pleasure meeting you and your group.
You won't see me next year as I am booked for the week after you.

[NortonJoe]

Great report! We are 16 days out from departure and its dragging by!

[BH]

Thanks for sharing and glad to hear that the group caught a little it of everything during the trip.  Sure is funny hooking into the lake trout on occasion!  Ten days and counting.

[limacharley]

Ziggy6,

Nice trip report. 10 guys to please is not an easy task.
Do you guys eat any bass?
Help yourselves to all of them Lol!

That Rhybak fella is very knowledgeable about fishing.

Did not having a campfire put a dimmer on the stay at all?

[RHYBAK]

Luc

We didn't need any fires.
The taste was in our throats most of the week

[Ira]

Nice report, Ziggy6. Couldn't have written it better if I was there. Oh wait ... I was there.

Agree w/ Rhybak - no fires needed. By the time we got back in, no one wanted to spend time outside w/ the bugs. We ate, laughed, and maybe had a cocktail or two.

Nice drive home, talking about our plans for 2024.

[limacharley]

Geez
We were there from Friday morning of the 30th until Monday the 3rd....didn't smell smoke at all. Rain fell a couple of times for like 5 minutes and the only bugs we saw were when we were swimming. darn horse and deer flies.

It's always better at our end of Kipawa LoL

[CaptainCrappie]

Wow!  A 32 1/2 incher?  Did ya weigh it?  Trip reports always help scratch the itch of not being there.  Being familiar with 3 Seasons, I always am more concentrated reading reports from there. In your opinion, how does that area compare fishing wise, with the more southern locations? Thanks for posting Lima!

C.C.

[ziggy6]

The area around 3 seasons seemed to have more bass and pike than further south. I think though the walleye are there but we had to learn a bit more about the area. The same could be said about fishing by Alwaki, our first year was the toughest and then we started to pick up the patterns with more experience. The entire lake is amazing, everywhere you look it seems there are good places to try.

[Oarin]

Thanks for the report! One week from this Saturday and we're off to TBL Outpost. Can not wait!