Week one is in the books.

We can officially close out our first week of 2014. And what a week it was...we had a roller coaster of weather, crazy set backs, and a main lake that just did not want to let go of it's ice. Luckily we are tucked away in South Bay that happens to have 2 creeks that supplies plenty of running water. It is for this reason that our bay is open at least a week before Red Lake. So for those brave fisherman who are willing to get here early in the season, it means great fishing. And boy did the 5 guests this week prove that fact. They all made the 40 inch board for pike!! I believe the grand total for the week was 9 fish over 40 inches!!!! The biggest was Kurt's 46 incher. Jeff had a 43, 42, and 40. Rob had a 41 and a 40. Tom had a 40.5. Joe had a 41 and a 42. There were also many fish that just missed that magical mark, including a 39.5,  a 39, and a few in the 38 inch range. Plus, there were dozens of fish in the mid 30's. It was just a great week for pike fishing. The walleye fishing got better as the week progressed. A couple of nights ago we were catching lots of eaters right off the dock. The last 2 nights the boys were finding  some bigger fish out on Red Lake. I believe Joe is the early leader with his 26+ inch walleye. The other boys all caught a few "overs" as well, including some in the 24-25 inch range. Like I said, it was a great first week.

Rob's 41 inch pike

Tom with his 25 in walleye

A nice looking stringer!

The end of a "tough" week. 

And now, with the main lake free of ice, things can now proceed as "normal". I expect our next groups to continue to catch BIG pike, see an increase in walleyes, and even land a few lakers. With the warmer  weather in the forecast, I would also expect our back bay to warm quickly, and that means perch fishing trips for Josie and I.

Thanks again to all of our guests for starting the year off right!!

Shore lunch!

The gang decided to do a last minute shore lunch today. The walleyes were biting right off our main dock last night, so we had a couple on ice already. The rest of our feast came from the boys grinding it out today. We fried up some pike and walleye, onions and potatoes, Jillian made deep fried jelly donuts (yes, they are delicious!!), and I cooked up another cheezer. What a great meal!! Thanks boys.

Even the kids got in on the shore lunch.

I also wanted to include a picture of Rob's 40 inch pike. I don't want to leave anyone out. 

We have a new leader!!

Yep, the pike onslaught continues. The boys are keeping me busy with the Blog updates. Seem like at every meal I hear of a bunch more great fish stories.

Today's story will begin with our new pike leader. Kurt reeled in a monster 46" northern yesterday afternoon. He caught it on light line with a jig and minnow combo. The fish was hand landed, photos were taken, and back he went. Great job Kurt!!! That is going to be a tough fish to beat.

Kurt's 46" monster pike

Joe with his 42 incher

The other boys also had stories of their own, however. Kurt's boat partner, Joe, also landed another trophy pike. It was a 42 incher!

Tom, the lone guest who had not yet caught a 40+ this week, finally joined the club this morning. He and the boys were up at first light and headed out to their "honey hole". Tom's fish measured in at 40 inches and boy was it fat and healthy!!. Way to go Tom.

Tom with his first 40+ incher

There are more details to the last 24 hours, but I will wait until I get all of correct info from the boys. Besides, as the way these guys fish, I will probably have more pics to add.

No Shortage of big pike.

There may only be 5 guys in camp right now, but there is still quite a few fish stories being told. Here is the highlights from what the boys have told me about their pike fishing adventures so far...
Kurt - 35.5
Joe - 36, 38.5, 41.5
Rob - 36.5 (x 4), 38
Tom - 34, 36, 37
Jeff - 36, 37, 38.5, 40, 41, 43

The three 40 inchers that Jeff caught were all in the same day! Yep, he pulled off the 40 inch hat-trick. There have been only a handful guests that I know of that have pulled of that feat. way to go Jeff!!
I would also like to congratulate the boys on practicing catch and release. All of the pike are still in the lake waiting for someone else to experience a true trophy experience.

Rob with one of his four 36.5 inchers

Jeff with a 41 inch pike

Jeff with his 3rd 40+ pike of the day (43 inches)
(I would also like to point out that Jeff is 6ft 4in tall, and the fish still looks huge)

By the way, the ice on our end of the lake is going fast. The guys are seeing more and more open water every day. Hopefully Red Lake will be ice free by this weekend.

Our first 40 incher!!

Congratulations to Jeff Arch for landing our first Lunker of the year. He got up early this morning before breakfast and quietly worked his way down our little creek. After a few attempts with various artificial lures, he threw out a jig and minnow and was able to land his biggest pike to date. It was a nice healthy 40 inch pike! We took some pics and then released him back into the water. Way to go Arch!!!

There is still lots of ice on the main lake, so the boys in camp have been fishing exclusively in our bay. So far, everyone has been able to catch fish. Even I was able to find 10 minutes to jig up 2 little eater sized walleyes off our dock. Just enough to make a couple of "cheezers" for everyone to try at dinner. YUM!!

Jeff Arch -  40 inches