Miwapanee Lodge Outpost July 29 - Aug 5

[Hodgey1]

Oh boy where to start. I guess the place to start is at the beginning right, lol. This July my group included my son in laws and both of my grandsons, one 11 and the other 6. We left our home which is just South of Erie PA around 5:00 AM on Friday and had smooth sailing the entire way. There were no cars at the border when we arrived around 7:00 AM. We were in North Bay by 11:30 having lunch. We checked into our hotel in Temiscaming around 2:00 and I decided to take a quick nap to recover from the 4:00 AM alarm clock. Maybe 5 minutes into my shut-eye, I heard a car horn honking outside my room, it's T-bone and his sidekick Mattie. It was great to see them as always and we caught up while having a beer together. They then were off to meet the boat to head out to Awlaki yet that day. That evening we did a small bit of beer shopping along with dinner at the Tem Rose and then off to bed early.



This was our first year staying anywhere other than Alwaki, which made me a bit apprehensive since we've had so many successful trips there. The good news is, our stay this year at Miwapanee Lodges Outpost cabin couldn't have been much better. The accommodations were next level, which included a invaluable screened in porch and solar power. You never know how much you need a screened in porch until you've tried to sit outside in the evening, in the Bush of the Canadian Outback, Lol. That porch became my best friend. One night I wasn't sure I had turned the gas grill off and went outside to check. I got to the grill and turned on my flashlight and witnessed the most mosquitoes I'd ever seen in my entire life, ever. Apparently, the remaining warmth of the grill had attracted 8 billion mosquitoes. I Then screamed like a girl and ran for the safety of the screened in porch.



Part of what I enjoy most of these trips is being  in one of the most beautiful places on earth and enjoying peace and solitude with family and friends. On the friends note, Greg had invited anyone from the forum on the lake to stop by on Sunday, we had a very nice gathering with the group numbering around 20 people. We shared some awesome food, drinks and lots of good visiting. Greg & his group turned us on to Rye & Ginger, what a great drink.



The fishing, I think this was my 10th or so trip to Kipawa and the fishing could not have been much worse this year. Had this been my first trip, I may have had to rethink ever coming back. It was really tough, I went to every known spot I had, which is numerous. I then checked every new spot I possibly could think of. The fish appeared to have been abducted by aliens. I have good electronics on board and couldn't find fish anywhere besides very deep ?40? +?. I was at a complete loss as to what was occurring, since I?ve never experienced multiple days like that. Maybe some more seasoned veterans could comment. Was it the continued low pressure weather system? I?m uncertain but, having young kids not catch much, multiple days in a row makes it tough on captain Grandpa.



I know that area of the lake pretty well and new that at some point the fishing would turn around and very fortunately it did our last day. By that final day, every one of the crew was to say the least dejected, so I decided to use our last day to go visit and do some sightseeing. I packed some bait just in case something crazy happened and we headed out to Hunters lake to go visit our friends Ozzy and les. It was a beautiful morning and a nice boat ride over to Hunters. When we motor into Hunters, we see Ozzy & Les anchored and fishing in an area where the water was roiling with bait fish. Oz took the time to put us in a good spot and we spent the next couple of hours catching our share of nice walleye. What a relief to say the least, since the previous 5-6 days we did not catch many fish at all. Later on we stopped in at Ozzy and Les?s for a visit and ended up having a nice lunch together, what great people.



That evening we went out to one of our favorite spots and proceeded to catch many fish again, just as if the aliens had returned all the fish to the water. We were seeing Walleye again, where I would always expect them to be. There?s always next year, right?



The week went by in a blur as it always does, and it is always disappointing to have to pack up and leave. Saturday morning was a near picture perfect morning to motor back into town. We were up at 5:00, completely loaded by 6:00 AM and then back into town at 7:00 and on the road by 8 heading South. On that note, I do not believe I will ever take the QEW back to Niagara ever again. I have notes from previous trips telling me that and yet I still continued down the path to the QEW. Ugh does not cover it. Once we exited the 407 ETR onto the QEW, we were in near complete standstill traffic the entire way to the border. I'm pretty certain, that added at least an additional hour to our trip not to mention the added stress and aggravation.



As a whole this was another great trip, though of course the fishing could have been better. We ate extremely well, drank well and had great times visiting my Kipawa Friends whom have become an important part of my life. Just a few short weeks I'll be back up for another week with my wife, can hardly wait.

[Ozzy30]

Good report Hodgey, we will have to get together again in September.

[RHYBAK]

Great report as always Chris

[Erin]

Great report!
I always enjoy reading your trip reports.
We are sorry that we missed your group and Greg's, especially since Greg was so close to us.


We haven't jigged much or at all this year and have found running flat lines has worked the best for us: Correction - our guests, as per usual Stu and I are always working away at the camp. 

[Jay Thomas]

Great trip report Chris! Thanks for sharing.

I've too have endured fishing trips where the walleye didn't seem interested in any of my offerings. The worst year was when my first walleye came on a Wednesday, 5 days after my arrival. In the end, it all evens out. It'll take more than slow fishing to stop us from going.

Three of us depart 28 Aug for a week of fishing in ZEC Kipawa.

Jay

[limacharley]

Great report Hodgey.

There are certainly periods where the fish just can't bother to bite....must be the moon or something.
Dead Bear Bay did not treat you well but you'll slay them next year.
Sorry I missed our group get together. Boat was in the shop and I was in Alaska.

Trust me...no one likes the QEW!

Hope to catch you and the Mrs. when you visit in Sept.

[Jig and drift]

Looks like a great time, minus the fishing. We struggled for the first few days this year then magic they are back.   Would love to know why.

[fishtildark]

nice report Hodgey. thanks for sharing. Sorry to hear the fishing wasnt up to the expectations but it looks like you had a good time anyway. Hopefully the next trip will show better fishing.

[smitty55]

Good report Chris, shame about the fishing though. Here's my theory on what happened to you. I for one never believe that fish stop eating, sure they can slow down and become less aggressive after a cold front for instance but they still eat. In the case of Kipawa I think a lot of people fail to realize how high crayfish can be on the forage list at certain times. What I believe happened is that the younger crayfish were going through a molting stage, this can happen every 20 days or so, less often for mature ones. Once they shed their exoskeletons they are very soft and vulnerable for a few days and tend to try and hide in the rocks a lot. But this is also the time that predators like Bass and Walleye take advantage of their vulnerability and key on them for a few days. They may have been focusing on shallow waters too.  It's similar to other fish like trout taking advantage of major insect hatches where they'll focus on shallow mud flats instead of their normal haunts for a few days.
So that's my theory and I'm sticking to it. The fact that even the bass weren't biting much just reinforces that point. I do have one question for you though, did you try fishing at night, I've always had my best success at dusk or after dark? Cheers

[Fort Wisers]

Great report and pics Chris!

[fishtildark]

Smitty55, I totally believe your theory on the crayfish. Couple of years ago I cleaned a couple walleyes that were stuffed with small crayfish. I then recalled a time many years ago that I made an errant cast that landed on a rock, dragged the grub into the water and Wham. We repeated that process for an hour and had fish nearly every cast. I now have a supply of crayfish colored fuzzy grubs in the box.

[Hodgey1]

Great insight & discussion. I wish I could know for certain, but I have at least 6-8 great spots to jig for eyes in the area I stay and each & everyone of them not showing fish on the fish finder last week, as well as us not catching many as proof. The only place I saw them in any quantity at all was in 40' of water & even there the numbers looked sparse. On that 40' note, my SIL caught a Ling/Burbot while we where attempting to jig eyes in that depth. Stunk to high heaven & we tossed it back. Read later they're excellent eating?

Also, I did a little reading on Walleye Central Forum and read post, after post bagging on Walleye fishing in Kipawa. I hope that helps keep the rif raff out! LOL! 

[Oarin]

Hodgey, Jon and I had the same thing at Taggarts. We tried all our go to spots, different depths, different jigs and virtually nothing to show for it. It was the worst fishing I've had in all my 27 years going there. Pretty much nobody was doing much of anything. Even the big boats with all the toys on board struggled. Lise told me that they had an exceptionally hot late Spring, early Summer with temps in the 90's. Maybe that drove the fish deeper than usual. On our last day(Thursday) we began marking at our spots and I did get a 25"er. Figures, it was our last day!! Like you, Jon and I still had a good time too.Thanks for your report and I guess I just gave mine too!   

[TBIRD]

Hi Chris:
Thanks for another Great Report - Sorry to hear the Catching was slow - as we all know it happens (fortunately not often on Kipawa). I'm sure it will be Catching as usual on your next trip with the Mrs. Glad you enjoyed the cabin.
Cheers, Ray.

[CaptainCrappie]

Hodgey, reading this year's report, almost restores my faith in mankind being that no one catches em all the time. I too had a less than memorial trip one year.  In fact, a group of Kipawa veterans in an adjacent cabin, with most having 35 years plus experience, had their worst trip ever as well. Buddy Larry (Commander Bluegill) and I did not eat fish at camp nor did we take a limit home. Had one heck of a pot luck feast at weeks end though, where all that semi-partial frustration was all but forgotten.

I usually have an under water camera with me and I spend a good deal of time just looking at it. Slip bobbering can be at times, boring, and that's when the camera comes out. Fortunately, it has remained out of that area where the sun does not shine although that predicament has been foretold many times.. To be honest, I have never seen a large school of walleyes with that camera.  Maybe a group of 2-3 and usually, they're moving. But, and a big butt here....  This is what I discovered.  On those days when the locator is void of fishies, it does not mean they're not there.  When they are inactive and hugging the bottom, the locator does not see em.  They blend in to the bottom. Might see a couple with the camera but the locator sure doesn't. And.... even though they're there, doesn't mean they are going to bite anyways. Trying to get those fish to bite is fruitless!  I've come close to dropping a jig on their heads with no results.

Still, reading your report was thoroughly enjoyable.  These trip reports are the next best thing to being there! Thanks for posting.

  C.C.