Well on this Labor Day weekend, we hope everyone at home may get a restful day. Working can be hard. Whether you have a physically demanding job, or a mentally stressful job, or are enjoying the retired life but can recall those exhausting days on the job, we can all appreciate a hard worker. Passion is so powerful though. Working when you are passionate about something may not seem like work. And fishing can be the same way. Fishermen have been having to work for those walleye and it truly is a labor of love. Our passionate fishermen appreciate the challenges of adapting to the ever changing elements. This labor of love adds to the relishing of a good fish day when one humbly accepts that they're not all high fives and butterflies kinds of days.
Air temps have finally started cooling off and we are finally seeing water temps back in the 60's. As Neal Franzen reported, early last week they were still showing 74 degrees, and now is about 67 degrees. After numerous still days, the wind has finally picked up and produced some wind blown shore lines, and the now pronounced weed edges have helped as well. After a slower walleye stretch, the silent treatment is over and walleye are finally getting hungry for our lures and minnows again. Lots of tiny walleye around 10" caught (the "covid walleye"???) and numerous just too big to keep; those targeting smallies and perch have still been smashing it, and some personal bests have been achieved.
Labor Day is also a reminder to employers to appreciate your staff, and so Ryan recently gave Earl a break from camp chores to do some fishing of his own. Yes- Earl topped the leaderboard with this beautiful 29" walleye- his personal best! Ryan will now be deferring all fishing related questions to him:
And when Earl got back in his "office", it was time to sharpen that knife. Perch time! He and Ryan knocked out 80+perch in about 40 minutes:
Mark and Cindy were back. They were great examples of having to work for those walleye, but their persistence paid off with numerous small and eater walleye as well as some overs:
Their son Jim also had his patience tested, but he and Chrissy also got into some real beauties over the course of the week:
First timer on the Wabby Nancy caught and released this 26.5" beauty:
She and hubby Larry enjoyed the camp and grounds and also the wildlife- her camera does an incredible job of capturing all the little details!
If you are a Facebook person, you may want to like/follow the Tight Lines Canadian Fishing Adventures group. Tall Pines guests Howie and Breezie Liskey fished at Tall Pines in 2021 and since then his love for Canadian fishing inspired him to start this group. He collaborates with tackle companies, other fishing outfitters, fishermen, and Veterans to provide this online central hub. His passion is evident, his patient wife Breezie is along side of him every step of the way, and we are so glad they could join us again this year for more multi-species fishing. They targeted pike a couple days:
Team Howie and Breezie also showed how Wabaskang is stacked with smallies, and with the right equipment (you can never have enough) you might just get into some of em:
Their friends Jody and Robert (one of the honeymoon couples) also joined them all the way from Utah and Jody landed this fat pike:
Look at Ed's smile! Ed and Jim have been on many fishing trips over the years- they got into countless pike on their first time on the Wabaskang and hunted down all the other species as well:
Veteran Tom returned from opener week for a much hotter week and had fun reeling in this guy:
Crappie are baaaaaccckkk...
3 years ago about this time, Ryan and I were fishing and had wrapped it up for the day, only to have Ryan say "Just one more cast". So I began looking at my phone. Ryan claimed to have a 20+" smallie on his line and I had just discovered portrait mode on the camera feature and so I was taking selfies while he lost the fish at the boat. That's the selfie pic on the left.
Picture on right: Well, this past week he had a more focused fishing mate, and Scott was able to help Ryan land this 21 incher! I'm so relieved that he can now put that behind him and relish in his new personal best smallmouth:
Red Hat Gang vs. Walleye Hat Gang... competitive, pranksters, and good ole fashion fun. Props to Jim's wife on this year's shirt design:
Tim (Team Walleye Hats) shared a couple fish pics including his nice pike and a perch fest with buddy Paul:
Each boat brought in a bucket full that kept the boys busy for a while:
Just as a wood worker may be proud of a finished piece of furniture he carved himself, Earl should be proud of the fruits of his labor of love that so many get to enjoy:
Mick and Laura had some great fishing- catching pike and walleye
and shared this bear video from the drive up on the 502:
Potluck nights- From Frank's pulled pork to Breezie's Utah fluff dessert, Laura's chili to Andrea's cookies, Jennifer's gnocchi and everything in between:
With the short window of outdoor project weather upon us, we got some manual labor in too- finally got to replacing the door to the Eagle's Nest, staining/touching up some cabins, and more tree cutting:
Great scenery and sunset pics taken by recent guests:
This one made it to Earl's pic of the week, silhouetting Bill and Nathan, first timers from Indiana enjoying a night to themselves up in God's Country:
Jim Whetstone captured this rare photo of a moose in camp! Remember the moose tracks from the last blog? Here's the culprit on a Friday morning on the edge of our driveway...
Scott and Jack returned to Tall Pines this year and are two of the nicest guys around. Scott custom made this new sign himself, with a beautiful inscription on the back. After a hard day's work, it really warms our hearts when you fine folks show your appreciation in the most unique ways. It truly is the reward for our labor of love.
Leaderboard Updates for Week 14 and 15:
Til next time everyone, cheers to all our labor of loves. Don't work too hard, unless you're casting of course...
Comments