The Lake Savant Fishery

Do more than FISH ... actually
CATCH FISH!

Lake Savant is not over fished, but is a remote, protected, no-outside-access wilderness. Fish are bountiful! Our extraordinary fishery offers an ideal balance for fishing of all species.  Trophy and recreational fishermen enjoy unlimited opportunities.  The gene pool for North American and IGEA World Records is at Lake Savant!

The world-class fishing adventure at the Wildewood on Lake Savant resort has been featured many times on TNN and ESPN, and on the In-Fisherman television series more times on more networks than any other Canadian fishing destination. It has also been featured and endorsed by Angling Report Newsletter and In-Fisherman magazine, Walleye Annual, Walleye Insider, IGFA, and many other outdoor publications and radio talk shows.

"This is one of our favorite camps."
Dave Csanda, Matt Straw, and Jim Lindner

Ontario's Fishing Paradise

- Lake trout in the 40-45 pound range have been caught and released
- A 59 ½" northern pike was caught and released
- Walleyes over 35" and whitefish exceeding 10 lbs. have been taken over the years. These are fish of a lifetime!

It's not uncommon to catch 50 or even 100 walleye in one day, a northern pike in the 40-inch-plus range, or a trophy lake trout above 20 pounds. Plus, you'll enjoy our well-maintained camp with excellent boats, motors, and housekeeping cabins.

Wildewood on Lake Savant in Northwest Ontario Canada is known for fantastic walleye fishing, northern pike fishing, and lake trout fishing. Fishing reports are direct from our guests. Come catch the fish of a lifetime-many of our guests do. They come back year after year.

Return To Top

When To Catch Fish

During the early season, May-June, producing a fish on every single cast is almost expected. Walleye and northern pike will move into staging areas bordering spawning beds for several weeks after the ice melts. The fish population can escalate quickly and create a bonanza! Lake trout are scattered, shallow and easy to catch.  

Trophy Pike - Click Photo To Enlarge

Mid season, July-August, brings in the reduced chance for cold fronts. Stable weather means good, quality fishing. Mid season locations, strategy and presentations will vary from spring patterns.  You will find lake trout at 50-100 feet depths, but they group in higher concentrations on structures with fast breaks holding bait fish (cisco). Walleye and northern pike will occupy slightly deeper water and will move to shallow cover areas for feeding. All species will have good numbers.  Mid season is the best time for large walleye.  

Late season September is the most picturesque time of the year and offers superior fishing. As water temperatures start to drop, a change in patterns is triggered. Large lake trout move to shallow water for pre-spawn and  often require only bait-casting approaches. Moving to shallow water, Northern pike and walleye generally become aggressive. Expect a lake trout bonanza in late September in 5-15 feet of water for fly-fishing or spin casting.  

Common:
23-28 inch walleyes
40-48 inch northern
15-25 pound lake trout

Return To Top

Ontario Fishing Regulations

Click on link below FOR the Ministry of Natural Resources (MNR) Ontario fishing regulations:
Bait Regulations
www.mnr.gov.on.ca/en/

Fish Handling Tips

Remember the old saying: "When the wind is out of the east, the fishing is the least.
A typical GOOD fishing day: a warm front, light rain, and moderate winds causing a choppy surface.
A typical POOR fishing day: a cold front, bright sun and/or a thunderstorm, calm water or an easterly wind.

Trophy Pike - Click Photo To Enlarge

Spring: When you see springtime trees and shrubs budding and flowering, know that some fish species are going through their reproductive/spawning cycle. If you're angling for trout or northern pike, spring is a good time, especially in the afternoon with sun-warmed water.

Return To Top

Summer: Fish feed more in summer than in winter because their metabolism slows in cold and increases in warmth. Understanding water temperature can help you find fish. During summertime, relatively shallow lakes will experience thermoclines. Less-dense warm water sits on top of colder, denser water that sinks to the bottom. A thermocline will separate them. The warm surface water is exposed to the sun during the day, and there is very little mixing of warm water and cold water. As summer wears on, there is less and less oxygen below the thermocline, because water below the thermocline never circulates to the surface. Fish tend to move into the thermocline during these months.

Lures: Select a lure with consistent vibration and/or action and a good imitation of live bait movement.

For more information,

Click on links below from the Ministry of Natural Resources (MNR) for Ontario's fishing regulations:
http://www.mnr.gov.on.ca/

Lake Trout - Click Photo To Enlarge

.

Return To Top

Catch and Release

No body of water has an infinite supply of fish. Even under the best conditions, only a few fish will grow to adulthood out of the hatching of eggs from one parent. Sometimes none survive.

The best way to protect a fishery, and to provide an abundant fishery for the future, is to selectively harvest smaller fish. For instance, in northeastern Ontario, rock bass, sunfish, and yellow perch are more abundant than walleye or bass. Make it a practice to keep some of these panfish, instead of holding your limit of the less abundant game fish. Catch and release is growing in popularity, and many studies have proven that this philosophy results in more and larger fish in lakes, in spite of 25 years of the advanced fishing technologies now used by anglers.  The catch and release concept is simple.  You can learn how to quickly and carefully return large, mature fish to the water so they can spawn again, and be caught again.

Closed season and size limits:

If you catch fish during closed season in Ontario, you must release them right away. Fish of a certain size, which may not be kept legally, must be released promptly and alive.

Developing proficiency at catch and release:
If you release fish promptly and carefully, you insure the best chance of survival. Read on:

Reduce Fight Time:
If you can land a fish quickly, it has the best chance for survival because a fish that struggles long builds up harmful waste products in its blood that may cause a longer recovery time after release. The right gear and technique will limit fighting time.

Tackle weight:
If you're going for muskie or pike, you don't want an ultra-light outfit geared for brook trout, so match your rod, reel and line accordingly.

Return To Top

Northern Pike - Click Photo To Enlarge

Lures:
Reduce the chance for fish injury by carefully selecting your lures. The best lures for fish survival after live release are usually artificial lures, which typically hook in the mouth rather than throat or gills.  Less injury means greater chance for survival upon release.

Hooks:
Consider replacing treble hooks with single hooks. Try filing down the barbs or pinching them closed with pliers, or just use barbless hooks.  These techniques cause less damage to the fish and make hook removal easier.

Net:
Use a good net made of coated or rubberized mesh to reduce injury to eyes, fins, and gills.

Live bait technique:
If the fish swallows the bait, it will be more difficult to remove the hook quickly and safely.  By setting the hook soon after the strike, it will be less likely that the fish will swallow the bait.

Jigging technique:
Keep a slight tension on the line when jigging.  Often times a strike will occur while the lure is being dropped to the bottom, not when it's being lifted. This jigging technique will help prevent the fish from swallowing the jig.

Pulling technique:
When fighting a large fish, pull when it DOESN’T pull, not when it is pulling against you.

Return To Top

Always Handle Fish With Care

Return fish to the water as soon as possible so they can get the oxygen they need.  If a fish must be removed from the water, don’t drop it, but place it gently back into the water.  The delicate slime coating on the fish helps protect it from disease, and allowing a fish to thrash about in a boat or on shore could seriously injury the fish.  Never hold fish by the eyes or gills to avoid serious or fatal injury.  If you must grab the body, make sure your hands are wet and you hold it without squeezing.  By placing your wet hand firmly over the gill covers and the top of the head, you should get a good grip.  Gripping most panfish, smallmouth bass and largemouth bass by the lower jaw and lifting them vertically will temporarily paralyze the fish.   Support bigger bass under the stomach when holding them so they won’t become injured.

Hold small-to-medium sized walleye, northern pike and muskie behind the head with one hand and slightly front of the tail with your other hand.  Trophy fish (large fish) need special handling techniques to secure them properly.  For large walleye, pike, muskie and most trout or salmon, a wet cotton glove or custom landing glove may be helpful as you hold near the tail.  Hold the fish with one hand around the area in front of their tail, and place your other hand under the belly. 

Lake Trout - Click Photo To Enlarge

A stringer or live basket will stress fish and compromises their survival after release.  It is best to release fish as soon as possible.  Note that fish kept on a stringer or in a live well which are not immediately released will count toward your daily catch and possession limit. If you must use a live well to hold fish for a short while, be careful to maintain a good water level, aeration and temperature.  A healthy temperature can be achieved with a bit of ice and should be about 10 degrees colder than the lake’s surface temperature.  Fish stress may also be reduced by adding non-iodized salt to the live well at a mix of 1/3 cup (78 ml) per five gallons (23 liters) of water. 

Return To Top

Remove the hook safely.

There is an effective technique for removing hooks.  If possible, hold the fish in a bit of water, using a net.  Using a pair of long-nose fishing pliers or a surgical hemostat, grab and twist the hook quickly.  Grasp the hook near its bend and apply pressure to back the hook out, opposite the direction it entered.  When necessary, you may have to snip a line or hook that is impossible to remove—but never tear the hook out of the fish.  If a fish is deeply hooked, don’t even try working the hook out.  Just cut the hook or line to avoid injuring the fish even more.  A hook left in a fish will, over time, rust away or decompose by digestive juices.

Lake Trout - Click Photo To Enlarge

Pay attention to the condition of the fish.

Do not release severely-injured fish.  Pay attention to the condition of the fish because your fish will probably die if you return it to the water if it is limp or listless, has cloudy eyes, faded gills, or is bleeding from the gills or throat. Be gentle and return it to the water carefully to avoid further injury.
Return To Top
A fish must be able to swim normally before returning it to the water.  Make sure its gill covers are moving and that it can hold itself upright.  You may need to hold the fish upright in a swimming position and move it slowly back and forth so water runs through its gills and the fish gets oxygen.  Don’t rush, and release the fish when it recovers and begins to move briskly, even if it takes a few minutes.

Deeper water is of concern.

Decompression, similar to a scuba diver, can be an issue if you are fishing more than 30 ft. or 10 meters.  Some cold-water species like lake trout can usually adjust to changes in water pressure when pulled from any depth, in any season.  However, sometimes these fish will experience expansion of their air bladders that could cause death.   Warm-water species do not have the ability to equalize pressure, so pike and walleye should be brought to the surface slowly to adjust to pressure changes, then released immediately.  A technique to release fish caught in deep water is to slip it out of your wet hands, head first into the water, which will push oxygen through its gills on re-entry to the water.

Have your camera ready!

The goal is to get that trophy fish back in to the water as soon as possible, so have your camera ready.  The best pose is to hold the fish horizontally, supporting its weight with both hands.  Angler and fish should face the sun so the camera can face away from the sun.  Never hold a fish vertically if you are planning to release it.

Wildewood strongly suggests catch and release.  We recommend having fish replicas made to memorialize your trophy catch, and we can also arrange for your trophy mounting needs. We thank you for protecting our trophy walleye, lake trout and northern pike for future generations.

Return To Top

Ontario trophy management policy:
Only one trophy fish per species (walleye, northern pike, trophy lake trout) permitted (all lakes). However, there are different limits of smaller fish allowed for eating and taking home. For Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources (MNR) regulations, click on http://www.mnr.gov.on.ca

Helpful Fishing Links

TAXIDERMY

Lake Trout - Click Photo To Enlarge

For years, Wildewood guests have had their trophy fish mounted at Hawkins by dropping it as they leave camp, and having it shipped directly to their home.  Replicas are also available and can be viewed at www.mytaxidermy.com. 

If you’d prefer not to have your taxidermy work done in Canada, consider using the services of one of Wildewood’s guests, Todd Buchanan. All work done in the USA. www.buckspromounttaxidermy.com

Return To Top

BOATS, MOTORS, RECREATION
Pinewood Sports and Marine supplies the fine motors we use at Wildewood.  Pinewood carries Honda motors, boats, four-wheelers, snow machines, and more. They stand behind their products!  Pinewood Sports and Marine has great pricing and will deliver to you in the United States. www.pinewoodsports.com

SAVANT SPOON FISHING LURES
The Savant Spoon has been inspired by Wildewood at Lake Savant Resort and is available online at www.savantspoon.com. Sutton Spoons are also available online. Tom Manning, president and owner of Savant Spoon, has been a long-time guest of Wildewood.

sBRING 'EM TO THE TABLE
Enjoy boneless fillets when you learn how to remove the “Y” bones from northern pike. 
www.bringemtothetable.com.

Fishing Performance Reports from our Guests

This Northwest Ontario Fishing Report for Wildewood on Lake Savant is brought to you weekly by our guests during the fishing season (May - September). Here are a few reports from year's past. Check back this season for 2009 reports.

Return To Top

Sept 2, ...A week of fall weather prevailed...with sunny days and cool nights. Wind and showers several days but overall a nice week. It's starting to feel and look like moose hunting's just around the corner. Speaking of moose, several were seen along the lake shore and we're still seeing tracks on the trail most days. Fishing was good this week with the priority on lake trout. Matt Neufeld's party from Boulder Junction, WI, along with guide Neil, boated 60 lakers plus for several mid-week days of fishing. No monsters, but 8 lbs to low teens was the norm coming out of 45' to 50'. The past two weeks' trend is they're moving up early this year. Best producing bait this week was Savant Spoon's new offering, the Humpy Spoon in glow green, neon green chart blending to yellow...the best producer without question. Some of the lures did catch fish but mainly in the green/chart variety. Numerous 24" to 28.5" walleyes in 45' to 55' were caught on the Humpy while trout fishing. The big sucker minnows were best overall for the larger eyes and the large trolling lures after dark. Regular minnows on jigs and little joe spinner rigs worked well for small and mid-size fish while leeches and crawlers were not the hot setup this week. Overall 23" to 28" eyes were plentiful with the right presentation. Several low 40" northerns topped the trophy pike list. Tim Bina's group sent in a fishing report from last week...see below.…

August 31, ...from the Bina group...The Bina group enjoyed their 20th trip to Wildewood this year. If there was a theme to this year's trip, it was "wind." The wind blew all week right up to the time when we came off the lake on the last night, when it laid down and the water became like a huge mirror. The good thing about the wind was that it blew consistently out of the South for the entire week and this seemed to have a positive impact on the walleye fishing as it was some of the best walleye fishing we have experienced since coming to

Lake Trout - Click Photo To Enlarge

Wildewood. Find 14' water where the wind's hitting the shore, lower a jig and minnow and the odds are we're going to catch a walleye. As a matter of fact, it was hard to catch them below the 18" limit. Bottom-bouncing crawler harnesses in 25' to 33' of water produced walleyes in the 26" to 28" range, and at night, trolling Rapalas produced walleyes from 20" to 25". See attached picture of a stringer of walleyes that represented some of our catch during about 90 minutes of fishing. The northern pike fishing was a different story.

Return To Top
While we did catch some nice fish - largest for the week was a 41.5" northern - we normally have multiple northerns over 40" and this year had only one. Also at some of our traditional "hot spots," we came up empty. So we never really figured out the northern pattern for the week. All the fish this year (walleyes and northerns) were eating very well as they all were very fat with large bellies. One day moose were spotted outside of Whitefish Bay and had a very interesting weather experience. On Wednesday it was a beautiful (windy) day, with partly sunny skies. In Half Moon Bay, one large very dark cloud formed and while still very sunny it started lightning and thundering, so we headed for a small island in Half Moon Bay to let it pass. As we got up on the island and looked out at the lake, we started to see splashes of water in the distance and watched them come our way - obviously it was hailing - we then looked up at the sky - (the sun was still shining brightly). We saw what looked like diamonds falling from the sky. (Actually it was the rain and hail falling from the sky with the
sunlight hitting them.) It was a very "cool" sight. Well naturally as we stood there and looked at nature's beauty, it started to pour rain and hail on us. (We probably should have been putting on our rainsuits and looking for some cover.) Within about three minutes it was all over. Never seen anything like it before.

August 26, ...Another mixed bag of weather...The week started and ended with sunny skies but rain and high winds prevailed mid-week plus one day it hailed! Temps ranged between 38 and 45 degrees mornings and 60s to mid-70s during the day. The walleye fishing was awesome as reported by the Illinois group...Neil Quinn from Bloomington, Tim Bina and Eric Mickels from Washington, and Steve Bina from Mt. Prospect. Big numbers of 22" to 28" everyday. Minnows, crawlers, and leeches were about equal producers during the day. The week started out with 38" to 41" northerns, but the trophy size fish slowed early in the week. No trout fishermen this week, although Neil and Richard boated four lakers trolling for two hours one evening; two got away. Neil did have a nice trophy on, but it broke his line at the boat. He didn't care so much about the fish -- it was the $20 lure he kept "whining" about. Think big fish!

Return To Top

August 11, ...Weather mostly stable...hot with thunderstorms one day. Lots of nice fish, all species. 25' to 30' on calm days and 7' to 16' on windy days for walleyes. Gary Pullen's (pooch on walleye central) group from Dunlap, IL second week, was again productive for large eyes. 22" to plus 27" fish in large numbers with 25" to 26" fish being the norm. The Dunlap group used leeches and crawlers on spinner baits (Little Joe's) behind bait walkers. Again, the big Rapalas fast trolling after dark. The Casey Schoenbeck from Arlington SD group of eight had a good week of fishing with walleyes to mid-27" range, northerns to 39", and a good number of 30"-plus lakers. Dennis Schoenbeck and son Dexter from Wichita, KS seemed to like the number 40...40" lake trout and 40" northern pike were their best fish of the week. 28-year guest Robert Meyer from Ripon WI caught his fair share of fish again this week. Robert and Richard spent several hours reflecting back over the 28 years of fishing on Lake Savant. Fishing is better than ever and you don't even have to go fishing every day to appreciate how special this place is.

Return To Top

Lake Trout - Click Photo To Enlarge

August 6, ...Weather warm... stable with showers for two days last week. Fishing remained stable as well. The Gary Pullen group from Dunlap, IL nailed many nice walleyes in the mid 20" range with spinner rigs, leeches, and crawlers behind bait walkers. Deep rocky structures on calm days held most of the larger eyes during the day while 7' to 10' was best on windy days. Late evenings 8' to 18' were the best-producing depths. The large fast-rolling Rapalas at and after dark were producing lots of big walleyes. Little Joe spinner rigs and jigs with spinners and live bait were best overall, but the Gulp baits produced as many fish most days. Gary and his crew are here for two weeks again this year...more next week. JJ Hill from Princeton IL tried his hand at lake trout fishing for the first ever, catching and releasing more than his limit first time out on jigs and ciscos, Needless to say he was excited. The Steve Spritzer family from Burlington WI had some of the best large walleye catching ever according to Steve. Their vacation got cut short by an illness in the family. Everett Charlier, son and granddaughters had a super family vacation. Everett's twin 10-year-old granddaughters kept dad and granddad busy baiting hooks and netting fish. The girls caught some nice eyes to 24". Natalie also landed her largest northern in front of camp at just under 37". Natalie and Michael took a few time-outs for swimming, catching frogs, and reading the latest Harry Potter book. Lots of caribou, moose, and bear have been seen on the lake the last two weeks. Lots of nice wildlife photos. Matter of fact, the girls had a large caribou pose for pics, although they thought it was a moose until they showed it to Neil. Check out the new walleye recipe from Richard.

July 27, ...Weather started out stable...the first two days with light winds, sunny, and 90 degrees. Tuesday and Wednesday, dead calm and 99 to 101 degrees. Thunderstorms and heavy rain Thursday morning clearing by mid- afternoon with temps dropping to the mid 70s. Fishing had a similar pattern with good fishing the first few days, slowed mid-weekend and turned back on late in the week. 22" to 25" walleyes were plentiful for some fishermen with 26" to 28.5" in the top range. 37" to 38" northerns were the largest for the week with lots of slot size fish. Richard Lefebvre and Larry Crea group of six were the best at numbers of mid-size lakers. Overall the best walleye and northern fishermen for the week was Jeff Plazak from Canal Fulton OH and Berry Martin from Smyrna TN. Berry and Jeff had several 100-plus walleye days with many in the 24" to 26" range. Mid- week was also slow for the OH/TN fishermen but they still managed to catch and release four to six times their limits. Thursday they were back to good numbers again, using jigs and walleye spinner rigs. Leeches were the bait of choice. The skill of catching this week was in tracking down the depths where the fish were feeding from day to day. One day it was 4' to 8' while several days it was 18' to 25'. The Calloways from Tomahawk WI had a relaxing week. The days were so hot, most did very little fishing until late evening. Everyone was happy we installed the 2300' PM ceiling fans in all the cabins. Wildewood has been testing some new F series model 4-stroke Yamaha outboards this year. Test results will be included in our December newsletter.

Return To Top

July 20, ...Several sunny days for a change this week with a few showers mixed in at times. The week started out with a cold front and ended with the same. Highs in the 80s with several mornings in the low 40s. Overall the catch and release numbers slowed after both fronts. But first-timers Aaron Van Briesen, brother Nathan, and dad Roger caught more fish and bigger fish than all their previous Canadian fishing trips combined! Their larger walleyes were in the mid 20s, northern in the 30" class, and lake trout ranging up to Aaron's 13 pounder. Matt Neufeld and wife Kim from Boulder Junction WI had a relaxing week with catches of walleyes exceeding 25". Matt enjoyed his lake fishing with days of six plus fish, up to 10 lbs, with several mid-size northerns at 60-plus feet. Ron Delbridge's group from Princeville IL area recorded eyes in the 24" to 27" range on crawlers and bottom bouncers. Best overall walleye producer was still the 1/8 oz. jig with leeches and minnows, and extra-large minnows on 1/4 oz. jigs in 18-25'. Windy days 8-12' was best overall. The gulp leech and 3" shad were also good producers. The large suckers and ciscos produced the larger lakers, but trolling the yellow/green Savant Spoon produced the numbers between 62' and 70'. JD Hartshorn, Todd Buchanan and their sons from Indianapolis caught fish in the trophy range and took several home for mounting. Todd is a taxidermist (see favorite links page). Everyone had lots of walleyes to eat and the Weber grills were busy most evenings. Even though fishing slowed from past weeks, some fishermen reported 30-plus fish days. Two groups saw several caribou swimming, lots of eagles sighted, and fresh moose tracks on the trail everyday. The early spring fires south of Lake Savant seemed to push additional moose into our hunting area. Think big fish!

Return To Top

Northern Pike - Click Photo To Enlarge

July 14, ...Fishing was outstanding even though the weather was unstable again this week with several rain days, up to the violent thunderstorm late Wednesday followed by a cold front. First-time guests Howard Wendland from Plymouth MN and Tony Matthias from Kiel WI both agree Lake Savant's walleye fishing was their best ever Canadian fishing trip. Both reported days with 100 fish per boat until the cold front Thursday. Most of the walleyes were in the 19" - 26.5" range as reported by anglers. As Dan Centracchio from Lansing IL stated, "It just makes you cry to release all those big fish!" I know Dab, but that's why they are here to be caught. Philip Lytle's group from Mt Prospect IL also had days with 75-plus walleyes per boat caught and released. Mike Centracchio from Chicago took a nice northern home for mounting. Most of the larger northerns this week ranged between 36" and 39". Guests this week were not into trout fishing, too busy with walleyes. Neil and Richard however boasted several mid-teen lakers and one plus-20 pounder on an ultra lite walleye rod at 60' on live suckers. Neil did have a five-laker evening trolling a new spoon from Tom Manning's Savant Spoon collection. FYI: Tony Matthias and Gary Pullen are often on the Walleye Central website chat room from time to time and I'm sure they would respond to your questions about Wildewood on Lake Savant and the fishing if you're thinking of coming up.

Return To Top

July 6, ...The high northerly jetstream brought warm weather, a few sunny-windy days and thunder showers by mid-week. All guests reported very large numbers of trophy size fish for all species. John Schillinger and grandson Grant from Cumming IA had days of non-stop walleye catch and release. The Schillingers said, "Our best fishing ever and Neil's shore lunch was great!" The Temple family (group of seven) invaded camp over the Canadian holiday weekend. Not only did they take top honors for largest walleye at 28 ½" and lake trout at 42", their fireworks display was professional grade. Chef Neil did his thing with the frying pan for the Temples while the kids went swimming (64 degree water temp). The Tom Barrix group from Baraboo, WI caught and released up to 14 lakers per day and reported good northern and walleye fishing. Keith Helmut from Oregon WI had a laker strip all his line off and kept on trucking. The Baraboo/Oregon group decided to follow Neil's suggestion for big walleyes (big live sucker minnows). All they could say was "I can't believe it!" As Neil headed back to camp from the narrows Wednesday night, everyone was catching mid-20" eyes. The same is deadly for lakers and northerns. Best baits for the week were jigs and live bait. Walleyes were in 14' to 20' and lakers 58'-65'. The 6" storm wildeye swim shad produced some plus-40" northerns and a few lakers. The ciscos are starting to surface early this summer so we may need to think big magnum Rapalas soon and maybe the wildeye shad (silver/black). The 42" laker was caught on a live sucker at 62' and released. Not sure on the weight, but a 41-incher weighed in at 27 pounds 10 oz. earlier this season.

Lake Trout - Click Photo To Enlarge

June 2, ...From a drought and a near-record fire season to a rain forest. Well over 20 inches fell this week with rain every day. Temps ranged from 38 to 84 on Friday. The good news was that fishing remained excellent. One group of two fishermen from Eagle River, WI reported catching and releasing 30 walleyes per hour before noon, then fishing picked up and they stopped counting! The gulp baits were still the bait of choice for most fishermen. 2" and 3" gulp minnow grub and smelt chartreuse was the hot color on 1/8 oz. jigs. Most fishermen reported 27" walleyes largest for the week with plenty of 20 to 24 inchers. Most of the 37" to 40"-plus northern pike were caught on the same. Several of the 38" northern pike were 20 lbs, not far behind the plus-40 inchers. Not much time spent on lake trout fishing this week, but the few that did caught them to 10 lbs. Several larger ones were on, but never boated. Several caribou were seen swimming and our two "resident" geese are still feeding in the front yard. Think big fish! See you soon....

Return To Top

May 25, ...Weather unstable to say the least... From 24°F and snow to 80°F and rain. By week's end, another cold front on the way. First two days, walleye numbers were down slightly for most fishermen. Light line, floating jigs direct to the line, split shot or slip sinker, minnows or 3" gulp minnow grub in pink. By mid-week, the gulp black shad was a good producer. Anglers reported good numbers of 17" to 24" walleyes by week's end in 6' to 9' depth range. The larger northern pike, however, had the feed bag on right from the start. Lots of 36" to low 40" class fish were reported. The week ended with Robert Apple's 40", 27 lb. 10 oz. lake trout taking top honors for the week. The laker was caught at the 30' level on a large jointed black-silver Rapala. Most of the other lakers were also in the 25'-20' range trolling. Water temps ranged from 54°F over deep water to 63°F in the shallow bays. Lots of wildlife spotted...seven moose, two caribou, five bears, and a timberwolf!

May 21, ...Season Opening Weekend May 15th... After a hot dry spring and forest fires out of control, an arctic cold front invades NW Ontario with temps dropping to 24°F overnight Friday with freezing rain and snow. Most fishermen didn't leave the docks until around noon Saturday, while several kept their cabin woodstoves burning. The cold front didn't seem to slow down the northern pike fishing with 36" to 42" fish in good supply. However, the walleyes were playing hard to get at first. By late afternoon the presentation was....4 to 6 lbs. test line, floating jigs w/split shot or slip sinker 24+ "es ahead of the jig, tipped with a minnow, and boat control being the key. By Sunday the gulp power baits, same presentation, out-produced minnows about four to one. Hot pink 3" minnow chub was the color of choice both days. The fishermen using this presentation were now reporting 40-50 walleyes per boat from 17-24 inches. Most of the lake trout were under 10 lbs., so far, on cut bait. One group did limit out on lake trout by trolling spoons. Weather report calls for a warming trend and rain most of the week. Think big fish!

Return To Top

Lake Trout - Click Photo To Enlarge

April 22, ..."Why go fishing when you can go catching?" The snow is gone except for a few patches in the shade that drifted. This past week we saw temps in the mid 50's and 60's. For a while it didn't look good for opening day ice off, but things are looking up. The ice is dark and we see some open water along the southern shorelines. Water levels are very low throughout NW Ontario this spring. Many lakes are down 5'-15' so far.

 

Wildewood Fish Recipes

Here are some of the popular Wildewood recipes. Ingredient amounts are approximate (we are pinch-hitting here) as we do not exactly measure things when we cook. You can vary to your tastebuds.

Return To Top

Walleye Casserole
Scale then fillet walleye with skin on. Make sure you remove all the bones. Arrange on platter or cookie sheet with skin side down. Pat dry. Generously sprinkle with:

-sour cream (or cream of mushroom soup)
-sliced mushrooms
-thin lemon slices (lemon pepper optional)
-Lawry's seasoned salt
-pepper
-basil
-shredded cheese

In casserole dish cover bottom with sour cream or soup, add fillets, season, add thin layer of sour cream (or soup), sliced fresh mushrooms, lemon slices, then cover with cheese. Repeat the process until dish is about 1/2" from top. Bake 45 minutes at 350° covered, then uncover and bake 15 minutes at 400°. Remove from oven, let stand 15 - 20 minutes before serving, if you can wait that long. Garnish with fresh parsley and serve over wide noodles or wild rice.

Wildewood Smoked Lake Trout (no brine cure method)
Fillet lake trout with skin on. Make sure you remove all the bones. Arrange on platter or cookie sheet with skin side down. Pat dry. Generously sprinkle with:
-course ground pepper
-kosher or sea salt
-garlic powder
-parsley flakes
-dill
-paprika
-Lawry's seasoned salt

Entire surface should be coated evenly like a thin crust. You may refrigerate up to overnight if you're not ready to smoke it yet. As far as spices, the above list is not set in stone, you can add or delete as your tastebuds like. For example, add cayenne pepper if you like it hot! You will probably need a few whirls at smoking it to get it just the way you like. You can work on your own tastebuds for the flavor.

Lake Trout - Click Photo To Enlarge

Getting the smoker ready: You can get the fire started with charcoal...then add the wood chunks/chips. Never add more charcoal during the smoking process; this is to get it started only. Use any hardwood and soak for several hours before using. (If you cut the wood yourself, you can save the sawdust to add during the smoking process.)

Smoking: Lay fillets flat on grill section skin side down and smoke at 165° for 1/2 hour. Then cold-smoke at 80°-100° for four to six hours. Add chips/chunks or sawdust as needed. Fish is done when you begin to see cracks in the meat and it is non-transparent. Do not overcook or it will dry up and be cardboard-like in texture.

We like to serve it with sour cream and crackers (Ritz is best) and capers (optional).

Shore Lunch Fried Walleye
Fillet walleye being sure to remove all bones. In a large plastic bag (ziplock, etc.) mix together:

-Aunt Jemima pancake mix (the just-add-water variety)
Then season to your tastebuds with:
-Course ground pepper
-Garlic powder
-Salt
-You can also add onion powder, Lawry's, parsley, cayenne, etc.

You can deep-fry or use frying pan with about one inch vegetable or corn oil. Either way, be sure the oil is 380°-400° BEFORE adding any fish. Add fish to dry mixture and coat generously. Remove each piece and place in hot oil. Cook about two to three minutes on each side, until just golden. Do not overcook or fish will be dry.

Easy Shore Lunch Fried Potatoes
Peel and cut into slices or 1"-2" chunks. Boil until almost done. On a good-sized piece of heavy-duty aluminum foil, add:

-butter or margarine (somewhat generous)
-almost cooked potatoes
-sliced or chunky chopped onion
-course ground pepper
-salt (if none in other ingredients)
-Optional: Lawry's or similar, garlic powder (or garlic salt), parsley, etc.
-Optional: Add some Monterey Jack or cheddar cheese on top!

Fold foil so no juices (butter/cheese) will escape when cooking. While you are getting your fish ready, just put the foiled package on grate over fire. (At the very least, you probably do not want to put it directly on main part of fire if you do not have a grate...just put it off to the side on a few twigs that are hot.)

Wildewood Walleye

Lake Trout - Click Photo To Enlarge

You'll want to end up with about 1/3 fish and 2/3 other ingredients when this is done.

Fillet walleye and cut into 1/3"-1/2" (approx.) pieces/chunks. Be sure you remove all the bones. Place in plastic bag or bowl and cover with lemon (or lime) juice. You can use bottle or fresh. Marinate in the refrigerator overnight. This process actually cooks the fish! (It will turn opaque white.) Drain off the juices, do not rinse. Add a little bit of olive oil to coat very lightly. Chop the following into small cube-like pieces (1/8" approx.) and add to the marinated cooked walleye.
- peppers (green, red, yellow, etc.)
-green onions (or any other onion)
-fresh tomatoes (from the garden is super!)
-fresh cilantro (be careful here, some like lots, some not)
-garlic (finely chopped) or minced dry
-celery
-green olives (sliced)
-parsley (fresh or dried)
-Giardiniera garden mix*
-You can also add things like broccoli, cauliflower, zucchini, etc.

Refrigerate for a few hours. Before serving, drain off any extra liquids so you can serve it on Ritz crackers. (Don't drain what you are not going to eat. Treat it like pickles. It will continue to marinate and take on flavor. It will keep about a week, maybe a tad longer.)

*This can be found in the pickle section [usually in small jars] of your grocery store and usually comes in hot, medium, or mild. If you can't find it, don't worry, your seviche will be fine...it's like a salad...you can put in whatever you like. You may find something similar.

Wildewood's Canadian Road Kill Chili

-1 lb. ground chuck or lean ground beef (moose optional)
-1/2 lb. hot or regular Italian sausage (optional) casing removed diced into small chunks
-2 -15.5 oz cans of dark red kidney beans
-2- 14.5 oz cans of diced tomatoes or stewed seasoned tomatoes (optional)
-2 large sweet onions diced
-1 each red and green bell pepper diced
-6 stocks of celery diced
-4 to 6 cloves of fresh garlic diced
-Package of Brooks Chili Mix is best (other brands optional)
-1 can of beef broth
-1/8 teaspoon of fresh ground cumin
-Tomato or V8 juice to increase stock as needed (never water)
-2 to 4 Tbs. brown sugar or to taste (reduces harsh chili power & tomato acid flavors)
-Pepper and/or hot sauce and salt to taste after all ingredients are blended

In a large pot: Add olive oil as needed to sauté the following: chopped onions, peppers, celery, garlic, chili mix and cumin. The flavors will be enhanced by adding the chili mix and cumin now, rather than later. Do not drain.
In a large frying pan: Brown meat and drain. Blend all ingredients together in the large pot and simmer for two hours with lid on or reduce liquid with lid off. Adjust salt, pepper or hot sauce and thicken with tomato sauce if needed. Ladle chili into bowls and garnish with shredded cheese of choice. Serve with cornbread or other crisp breads.

Return To Top