Full Swing...

    Summer is definitely in full swing up at Big Hook: The temps (both lake and air) are comfortably warm. The springtime insects have moderated – I can’t remember the last time I put on bug spray. Weed beds are developing and starting to reach the surface in areas. AND, the fish tallies are REALLY adding up.

South Lake Tank!

    Since our last report, guests have boated dozens of trophy fish, including many pike over 40” and our first walleye over 30” on the year.

    That tank, pictured here, was caught on a 2” rainbow colored Hot’n Tot trolled over a gentle rise at South Lake.

   First time guest, Sam, boated this beauty 42.5” pike on a Mepp’s Giant Killer at West Lake. The same group boated more than a half dozen other trophies with several walleye in the upper 20's and pike right at the 40" mark. 

    Guests across our locations have noted the mayfly hatch is already on the tail end of the event. It’s the earliest I’ve ever witnessed the phenomena. It apparently didn’t slow down fishing much. The outgoing group at Southwest, a couple from Minnesota, caught more than 3000 fish during their two week stay. For those that don’t want to get out their calculators, that’s an average of more than 100 fish / person every day for 14 days (and I know they enjoyed plenty of time off the water too)!

West Lake 42.5"

    With the mayflies having come and gone, the fish should be ravenous the next few weeks as they have expanded their bellies and need to refill. We’re sure to get into mid-summer patterns too, with walleye schooled up on deeper reefs and northern staking out their territory around the weed beds.

    I’ve gotten lots of questions about the wildfire smoke up here. We’re very fortunate to have had just 1 or 2 semi-smokey days. The smoke from the big fires out west gets swept down to the Great Lakes region and Midwest by the jet stream, so really doesn’t affect us. There are a few smaller fires closer to Red Lake and Sioux Lookout that has made for some hazy days further to our south but none of that has drifted up here yet. Unfortunately, all reports are that the situation is much worse for many of our guests back home, south of the border. Come up to Big Hook and get some fresh air!

    I can’t believe we’re staring down July already. Happy Canada Day to all the locals and happy 4^th of July for all our American friends. ALSO, a huge thanks to our guests that sent in photos from their trip!

Till next time,

Ryan

Central Lake Gator!

Off to the races for 2023...

    A fond hello to all from Big Hook Wilderness Camps in Opasquia Provincial Park for our inaugural update / post of the 2023 season. 

    While the calendar suggests summer just started a few days ago, it seems like we’ve had a season’s worth of fun and excitement in just the 4 short weeks since we arrived. 

Ryan, Ripp, and our 30th fish...

    

    Camp dog, Ripp, and I made Central Lake on May 14th – about two days after the ice out. Camp manager, Maria, and our new pilot, mechanic, jack of all trades, and finder of things that Maria and I have misplaced, Peter, arrived the next day. 

    

    We found all the camps in good repair and quickly got to the business of getting all the cabins open and boats rigged – our first guests arrived less than a week later on May 21. 

    Fortunately, these fishermen were targeting Northern Pike almost exclusively. The Walleye were still finishing their spawn, and as such, pretty finicky. At Central Lake, the Northern fishing was off the charts, however. Guests in that group boated every length of fish on the tape measure, they said, right on up through a 42”. Their only complaint was sore arms and shoulders from reeling in so many. We helped soothe these woes with the inaugural sauna / lake plunge combo. 

    Guests reported the Northern were going hard after top water baits and congregated wherever there was moving water. Their hottest lure was a blue and white Jitterbug. By the end of the week, the Walleye emerged from their post spawn lull and the Walleye fishing has been WHITE HOT ever since. Several groups reported catches of hundreds of fish per day – the type of fishing where you can’t even get your jig to the bottom before you’ve tied into another. 

All that was left of my jig...

    I got out for a short bit myself last night and boated 30 fish in 30 minutes. What was left of my 3/8 oz jig pictured here. 

 In addition to the standard jig and twister tail combo, guests were having great success with size 2 – 3 Mepps spinners and mid range Husky Jerks. 

    Guests and staff last week bore witness one other spectacle: a lightning strike started a small wildfire that quickly grew to nearly 30,000 acres smack dab in the middle of Opasquia Park. Fortunately, we got a moderate amount of rain just as the fire was transitioning from a wonder to a worry. It was tamped down almost entirely by the initial precip, and should be out completly now – the time to write this was afforded by the inch of rain we got overnight last night and is lingering into this morning, grounding our plane for the time being. 

The Opasquia Wildfire.

    I haven’t received any guest fish photos yet – perhaps another result of the sore muscles noted above. If you’re fresh off a trip to Big Hook, please email your photos to info@bighookcamps.com or post them to our blog, Facebook, or Instagram account (#bighookcamps). 

    It’s been a great start to the season and we’re looking forward to the rest of the summer – it’s going too fast already. 

    If you’re still on the fence about a last minute trip in 2023, we have a few sporadic openings and are now starting to take reservations for early season 2024.

A memorial gathering for Tom Brotherston in 
Sandy Lake, complete with fish fry. 

 Best to all and thanks for reading, 

 Ryan 

My favorite time at Big Hook...

    People often as what is my favorite time to be at Big Hook. While each month has its charm, the simple answer for me is late August / early September.

    The weather the past few weeks has been ideal. Comfortably warm days with just the slightest nip in the air at night that makes pulling over a blanket feel oh’ so good. The mosquitos have gone from the worst I ever remember in June to practically nonexistent. The longer nights often lead to some fantastic northern lights displays (as captured by last week’s guests at Burnt Lake). And, the fishing is outstanding!

Northern Lights at Burnt Lake

    Walleyes seem to be everywhere with several camps reporting numerous trophy catches. West lake’s largest for the week topped out at 28” and their catch count was in the “hundreds”. Interestingly West was finding them shallower than other reports, in about 8 feet of water. They hauled in several big pike too with 45 breaching the 30” mark and 3 north of 40”.

    South had a remarkable week also. Strict walleye fishermen, focused on big fish, they found them - with 31 fish over 25”! Pictures are suspiciously absent, but I do believe them. They know the lake well and were fishing hard. Checking out the brag sheet at South there have been a

Central Lake 42.5"

few other 28-29” fish caught and released since my last report. The reputation there for BIG walleye is well deserved.

    Most reports, save last week’s at West, has the walleye in the 15-20’ depths. I verified this myself yesterday, sneaking in a few hours on the water at Central before our fish fry. 18’ was the magic depth for me. Most folks are employing the standard jigs and crank baits, although a few fisherfolk did very well using crawler harnesses also.

    Some BIG pike are being caught too with top water action still in full swing. This dandy 42” was caught and released at Central Lake by a first-time visitor. Her dad claims some credit, though, “guiding” her to it.

  There’s another new employee at Big Hook. “Ripp” has gotten his sea legs under him and should prove to be an excellent fishing companion for years to come. He is training to be an avalanche rescue dog in the wintertime and will be on bear and swim patrol at Big Hook all summer. Lucky dog. Lucky Ryan.

"Ripp"

   It’s hard to believe there’s only a few more weeks left in our season up here. Late season guests should continue to enjoy great weather and great fishing. We have a good number of openings for August 2023. Give us a call or email if you’d like to do the same next year! In the meantime, we’ll savor this magical time of year up here. Fall will be here before we know it.

Happy fishing everyone,

Ryan

Opasquia Alligators...

Greetings all, 

 A rainy day in Opasquia Provincial Park has left me with a few minutes to post an update on all things Big Hook. 

There has certainly been a hint of fall in the air with some cool temps, darker nights, and a few yellow leaves starting to appear. Football on TV last night added to the aura. 

The fish seem to still be all about summer, however. Northern Pike action has been fast and furious with LOTS of trophy pike being boated – occasionally at the same time! 

The pair below was caught by a father / son duo at Central Lake. Apparently, there was some discussion about who needed the net more urgently. Both fish were boated, photo’d, and released to be caught again. 

Various top-water presentations continue to be favored although many lunkers are also being picked up trolling for walleye. Big fish seem to be everywhere. 

The walleye bite has been great too. Reportedly the fish have been a bit scattered but very willing biters. I expect they will school up soon and continue to dive a little deeper as it seems one more bout of summer is inevitable (and welcome) before fall really takes root. 

The Big Hook team has been busy with projects, the water has finally receded enough for us to make some dock crib repairs from damage leftover from ice out. Dan and Maria have also perfected their outhouse hole technique – churning out excavations in record time. 

We added one more employee in July. Maria’s dog Luna came in with her father for a visit and is taking to her summer home quite well. We’ve got to do something about her sleeping on the job, however. 

For those who have never been to Big Hook in the late summer, it’s a must do at some point. We’re really looking forward to those deep, schooled walleye feeding heavily before the turnover and ravenous pike who’s metabolism is at its peak. Add to it some crackling woodstoves, star gazing, and maybe even a glimpse of the northern lights, it is a magical time to be up here. 

Happy August everyone, Ryan

 

Summer is in Full Swing!

 

It’s prime time summer at Big Hook right now. Warm, sunny summer days have been busy churning out biomass on the land and in the lake. Our lawn mower (Pilot Dan) has been busy taming the lawns and keeping the bush from over taking. In the water, weed beds and cabbage are fully developed and the Pike have been staking their claim in this habitat. They have been downright territorial defending this turf smacking anything that makes a splash.

Moonrise over Central

Last week’s group at Cocos went hard after them and boated more than a dozen trophy sized fish including several that were north of the 40” mark. Their lure of choice were red and white or silver spoons tipped with a 3” tail.

 The mayfly hatch has come and gone, although it was a good 7-10 days later than usual up here. The hatch at Central was not as sudden and prolific as most years, more of a tapered, gradual affair. The walleye fishing here didn’t slow down a bit. A few of the outposts reported bigger hatches that did impact the walleye fishing some. More current reports are that the walleye bite is back in full swing as the fish try to refill their bellies once again.

37.5" While Working on Dinner

 South and West Lake fishermen were able to boat several trophy Walleye this week. Including a 29” on a top water lure and a few in the mid 20’s with Rat-L-Traps.

 Water temps are in the low 70’s and the water levels are coming down substantially (3’ or more) which should finally allow us to get in the water and make some crib repairs from ice out damage this spring.

 With all that water flowing out, Central Lake fishermen have reported great fishing above Central’s outlet. I’d expect the same at the inlets and outlets of all our locations.

It’s hard to believe how short the summer season is up here, already staring down the second half of July. Like the fish, animals, and plants, we’ll enjoy it while it lasts!

 Good fishing everyone,

R

 
Better Late Than Never… 

Big Hook, 2022 is underway! While not the easiest of openings, all the camps are now bustling with guests. The purr of outboards and bent rods are now taking the place opening paraphernalia like hammers, vacuums, and chainsaws.  

A brutal winter in the north carried on into a stubborn spring. Big snowfall accumulations through the winter along with heavy, wet snows this spring led to an extremely late ice out and all-time high water levels. Currently the water at Central is about 2 feet above normal – and that is down a good foot and a half from when we arrived on May 21.

Our first flight into camp revealed a great deal of ice lingering on all the bigger water, fortunately the narrower passageways closer to camp were free and clear – of ice at least; all the highwater has led to numerous floating obstructions like logs, sometimes whole trees, and even a dock or two.

With the historically high water and an east wind as the ice went out several of our docks were mangled messes. They have since been cobbled together, but we are awaiting a few more degrees of water temps before we begin swim season / crib repair.

The weather since our opener has been variable to say the least. Our first week’s guests faced a brutal nor’easter that lingered for most of the week. There was more than 3 inches of rain, even snow and sleet at times. Oh, and plenty of wind just for good measure. A LOT of firewood was consumed. People were all still grins, however, and the fishing really seemed to turn on the second half of their week. Predictable given the late Walleye spawn in relation to the cold spring.

Guests were nailing hungry, post-coital Walleye in 4-7’ of water. Small and slow presentations were definitely the ticket. Casting light jigs with smaller tails, letting them sink, and then a quick jerk or two seemed a surefire way to elicit a strike.

 We weren’t able to do much flying in the weather described and when the weather proved nice enough to fly, it was also nice enough to be out fishing – we found mostly empty camps on our visits, so I don’t have too much more in the way of fish tales from week one.

On to week two… what proved to be one of the most idyllic early summer weeks you could imagine. Pleasant sunny days and comfortable temps abounded. Instead of burning firewood, guests were burning boat gas, and a lot of it, traveling to the far reaches of each camp. I missed the groups at Cocos, Burnt, and West on our mid-week camp checks, but did run into the guys at South Lake who reported numerous trophy catches, including a half dozen walleye over 25”, and two of which almost breached the 30” mark – all at a small, windblown inlet they found towards the north end of the lake.

In weeks 3-4 the fishing has continued to be phenomenal. A group at West really got after ‘em, with a father and son boating a 42.5” pike and a 31’ walleye! A couple at Burnt Lake averaged more than 200 fish / day with their total catch count of 1439. The guys at Southwest’s description of the fishing was “Out of this world.”

We are starting to see more and more fly rods up here – and maybe for good reason. The 31” walleye was caught on a top-water frog imitation.

As the water warms, the fish are now going a little deeper. Slightly larger jig head sizes have been taking favor. Little Cleo’s and Lazy Ike’s have also been producing.

For those with upcoming trips, it won’t be long before the top water season really takes root.

While the excitement of opening and anticipation of peak summer months is heartening, on a more somber note, I must share the news of Tom Brotherston’s passing. Tom, who for all purposes was the founder of Big Hook, passed away last month, when the single engine plane he was piloting collided with a communications tower in Sandy Lake. So sudden and unexpected, I think many in the Big Hook and Sandy Lake communities are still in disbelief – I know I am. Having spoken to him by radio minutes before, I can say he was his own special brand of happy, jovial, yet ornery right up till the end. He will be missed by many and his legacy at Big Hook will live on.  

 

Godspeed, Tom.

Back In Business!

Greetings from the great, wet north!

A long overdue wilderness blog from Big Hook, September, 2021. 

First and foremost: a huge thank you to all of our customers that have gone to amazing lengths to string together a 2021 trip. Things at the border are reportedly going smoothly now… wait times are typical for any year, the pre-travel tests have been going well, and the required ArriveCan app has taught a few folks about Canadian postal code customs (P0V 2M0 =’s PzeroV 2Mzero not P ‘oh V…). Save one group of southern gentlemen who affectionately called a female border officer “Honey,” there has been little in the way of excitement in the travel department. Apparently the officer preferred “Ma’am.”

The weather… the weather has been weathery. As most are aware, Northwestern Ontario had been facing one of the worst wildfire seasons in history. My flight in with 2021 Big Hook pilot, Dan, had us squinting to find land marks through the smoke and left us with scratchy eyes and dry throats our first few days around camp in early August.

Within a few days, however, the monsoons began. And continued right up through our closing week with 3-4 day drenchers at a time. I have never seen such a wet August (or any month) at Big Hook. The lake levels came up more than two feet! 

The deep, deep low pressure system that kicked off the rains seemed to have the fish in a little funk for our first customer who came to Canada on the border reopening day of August 8^th. He caught (and cleaned) fish for he, Dan, and I every night which was much appreciated as we were working long days getting the other camps open. The fishing just wasn’t up to Big Hook standards, however. Then, on day four, the skies parted and the fishing has been gangbusters ever since. As he described it, “the fish are everywhere.”

Now amassing a (short) season’s worth or reports, I can relay stories of ravenous walleyes and voracious pike (not to mention BIG). Large catch numbers in the 100’s per day were reported by several groups. A mid-August group at West boated more than forty northerns over 30” – with five in the 35”-40” class and a half dozen that were 40”+. Their largest stretched the width of the boat at 44”. Their hot bait was a red and white Kastmaster.

There were several big pike sightings at Central, including one that “had to be 40+” but wiggled off due a fraternity brother’s suboptimal netting. We were told it may have been intentional.

Several big pike were caught and released at Burnt Lake also. A September group there tied into a pair of 40”ers on black and white Rapalas (7”).

Hot baits for walleye included perch colored Hot N’ Tots and 3/8oz jigs – any and all colors were reportedly working well.

There were several breaks in the otherwise wet weather that allowed Big Hook staff to get out and complete a number of projects including an exterior facelift at West, a new dock and porch flooring at South, a power grid upgrade at Central, and a new outhouse location at Cocos.

Apologies for anyone that may have tried to contact us during our operational season this year but was unable. Our old internet satellite was decommissioned and the new Starlink system we have installed and waiting has yet to be activated at our latitude. To add to the frustration, it is currently operational as far north at 53°, which includes Sandy Lake (Big Hook is 53.3°). Somewhere in the 40 miles in between, however, the signal drops off. SpaceX and Elon Musk himself suggested it was to go live up to the polar regions in August. Alas, it still hasn't as of writing, but is expected soon. We will be certain to have a fallback in place for 2022 and I, now out of the bush, am available by phone and email anytime.

It was so wonderful to see the camps open and busy again. I think everyone agreed outpost fishing with close family and friends was about the best thing to happen in the last 18 months. We’ve already begun our countdown to 2022 for those who weren’t able to join us this year. I, for one, can’t wait!

With the camps buttoned up and the plane in dry dock, I’ll sign off for the season. Looking forward to being in contact with many of you through the fall, winter, and spring.

                                                                    Happy Fall everyone,

                                                                    Ryan