Minor Bay Lodge, Wollaston Lake
Aerial View of Minor Bay June 13, 2009 (the lodge in in the right upper corner of the photo)
Minor Bay Lodge 2009 "Wall of Fame" Trophy Fish Log MBL-Trophies-09.pdf
There is still lots of ice in Minor Bay, but the weather is warming, plus we've had wind and rain which should speed the break-up along on Wollaston. Our first guests of the season arrive on June 15th as we've had to cancel our first two trips due to the late ice-out. We understand that this is the latest ice-out on Wollaston since they started keeping records in the late 1800's. So much for global warming in our "neck of the woods".
The ice has left our daily fly out lakes and the trophy pike fishing at our flyouts is exceptional - especially right after ice-out. We will hve enough open water to fish Minor Bay Creek and South Minor Bay which are dynamite big pike areas early in the spring, consistently producing monster pike in the mid to high 40-inch range.
The staff has been in camp for a while and are anxiously anticipating the arrival of our first guests. With the cancellation of the first couple of trips the staff had lots of time to get the camp ready and were able to pay attention to even the smallest details. Our next update will fill you in on the first week's fishing.
After a very late ice-out we have gotten into full swing as of June
15. The fishing was tremendous on both Wollaston and our flyout lakes.
Some of the better fish include two 48" northerns. The Telander group
had one of the most spectacular days we've ever heard of catching over
100 pike over 36" in a single day between 4 people.
The bays
are just now starting to warm up, with plenty 60 degree water in the
shallow dark water areas. The hot lures have been the mepps and blue
fox spinners along with the sluggos and various plastics. Some areas
are seeing limited cabbage growth, but the pike are primarily in the
shallows.
We've had a number guest taking advantage of our
excellent spring trout fishing with good numbers of 10-20 lb lakers
being caught. They are still shallow and have been readily taking a
variety of spoons and crankbaits.
Its starting to look more like summer as temperatures have improved and the pike are starting to inhabit more typical summertime areas. Cabbage beds are still behind, but are holding good numbers of fish. Rock points and flats are starting to produce, as fish have moved onto these colder water areas.
Some of the bigger Northerns of late include, Kim McQuinn with his 48 incher, Jeff beardon and Jack DeVries with their 47's. The walleye fishing continues to get better on Wollaston as some big ones have been caught in the Minor Bay and Compulsion Bay areas. Hot lures continue to be the Mepps and Blue Fox spinners as well as various soft plastics.
Its been cloudy and cool with daytime temps averaging about 60 degrees, although the bite has been very good. The fish continue to transition into the cabbage beds, while the bays and flats also hold large northerns. Our flyouts and outposts have been outstanding in July as numerous big pike and walleyes are being caught. Hot lures include the gold #4 mepps and blue fox, in addition to medium size rattletraps and the buzzin frog.
Recent notable catches include Dave halverson and Tom Smith with their 46" pike and Terry Brisebois with his two 44's in a day.
Late July has brought a marked improvement in the weather and the beginning of a change in fish habits. Pike are now moving into the weed beds at a greater rate. 6-10 foot Cabbage beds are holding big fish right now. The top lures are still the smaller spinners although larger minnow baits and jerk baits are also working. Daytime highs have been from low 60's to mid 70's.
The past week has been very good with the fish biting readily on a variety of baits. Plenty of big fish have come in over the week including Dan Grays 48 incher out of Mullen Lake. Topwater action was outstanding as many big fish had moved back onto the shallow flats and were smashing the buzzin frog, spooks, and other topwater baits. The walleye bite has also been outstanding on the fly-outs.
The fish moved back into the cabbage this week and were feeding heavily, taking a variety of larger baits in addition the to the usual fare. The ReefHawg was particularly deadly! Topwater baits continue to produce as the bigger pike have had no problem with coming up off bottom. The weather has been fair with highs in the 60's and just scattered showers. The flyrod action has also been outstanding as Joe McGinnis demonstrated, catching 7 over 40" in a day.
To check out the trophy fish caught and released by our guests this past season just click on the link below. Come visit us at Minor Bay and add your name to the 2010 Minor Bay "Wall of Fame".
Minor Bay Lodge 2009 "Wall of Fame" Trophy Fish Log MBL-Trophies-09.pdf
If you are taking a trip to Minor Bay and want to check the weather conditions just follow this link to the Accuweather weather forecast for the Wollaston Lake area:
http://www.accuweather.com/
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