Here we go again

[wallii]

I am going to try it again this year. Many of us like to check out the fishing reports before and even after our annual trip to C/H. In the past many of us were regulars on this site and shared information on our trips. Lets get back to posting fishing reports. I realize that some are using Face Book but it seems to be some what limited in content. We will be at C/H the first full week of June again this year and will be happy to share any info I have from the past years at C/H and the results good or bad from this years adventure.
Looking forward to seeing if any of the C/H extended family (guests) decide to reappear and get this site active again.

Cross some Eyes
Dick

[Kym C]

Dick,
I agree with you and you and I seem to be the only ones. I am also on Facebook, so I see both. There doesn't seem to be to much activity there either. I have posted there with no response. I am wondering if something is wrong. I sent Brian an email just other day and did not get a response yet. We will be there the 3rd week of July. I hope the weather is nice and warm this time. It has been cold and rainy the past couple of times. Hopefully Brian will see this and we will get some kind of response. He is probably busy right now getting ready to head up.

Kym

[Brad]

Kym and Wallii,
It sounds like you are having the same problems we are having on the web up in the norther part of the lake. Maybe we are on to old of technology , maybe everyone is to busy to write . To answer you about the weather I think we could be in for a wild summer,if the weather this spring here in Virginia is any indication. We have been cold, hot ,very windy ,tornados, you name it we have had it. It looks like we have a lot of water this year. I will be heading up to the woods June 18th to July 16th. We have a cabin on Minnesabik Island in Bigstone Bay. Lets talk about our bigest fish and how long you all have been going to the woods? Best catch of walleye a 25 ,26 ,27,28,29and a 31.5" 11.5lbs in 20 minutes , we would have caught more but we had to go into eat, I should have never left that big school of big eyes. Bass Smallmouth 20" ,5 lbs. Pike 47" 22lbs. ,14"perch, 50" 31lb Muskie. I have been going to the woods for 41 years. Take care hope to here back from you. Brad . By the way I am a Teacher that is how I get to spend some much time on the woods.

[wallii]

After about 19 years of great times at LOW I guess it is more of a special time than I realized. If it was just big fish we were after we could go to a bunch of places that we have also been to over the years and not travel nearly as far. I guess that the notion of the great north and all that goes with it is the release from the office that maintains a certain level of sanity for another year. As far as the fishing goes, while important, is just another plus. 50 inch Musky( my son caught), walleyes up to 28 inches and countless eaters are not all that there is. The time we spend with our friends and the great people we meet on these junkets are what I think of when looking back over the years. We started out with a crew that nearly filled the resort and over time is down to just a hand full. Makes no difference! The Loons, the Pines, the Eagles, and assorted other magnificent sights while having a morning coffee sitting in my boat is as close to perfect as it can get.
Sorry to ramble on but the more I looked back the more I realized what becomes important as the years creep by.

Cross some Eyes.
Dick and Maggie

[Brad]

Dick,
My family did the same, when I lived in Ohio as soon as school was out we would all head up to the Woods. My Grandparents ,my Uncle ,Aunt and their son., my Dad's best friend and there kids,all in all 15 or us. We would rent 2 cabins, my brothers and I would sleep in a tent, and my parents in a old 66 dodge home built camper. The average walleye back in the 70's was around 12" , we ate fish in one cabin every night . We were teenagers then and the walleyes were not so big , so we could eat a lot of them. We would bring up 1200 night crawlers and use them all in 8 days , we caugt them after it rained on a baseball field at home. I now use Gulp alive 2.75 "soft baits on jigs , if you haven't tried them you should ,I have caught 11 walleye on one before replacing it. I now drive 1650 miles from Virginia to the Woods and there are memories all along the way ,I would rather drive then fly , plus I pull my boat, a little hard to get on the plane. I don't know of a better all around lake to visit or fish , friend's I have taken up say what a great place you have to come to. God knew what we was doing when he put Lake Of The Woods together. Take care Dick, thanks for the reply and as always keep the small ones and let the big ones go Brad

[Kym C]

Brad,
Sorry about the slow get back. I have been going to LOTW since I was kid (57 and we will be up there for my birthday). It was a place that my dad use to take us to. Back then we would go out of Morrison out of the south and stay at a lodge on an island 14 miles out in the lake. One shopping trip cause there was no going back into town. We had a housekeeping cabin with an icebox. Yep had to go and cut out a block and haul it in. Many, many memories. Now a days the best place on the lake IMHO is Canadian Haven in Nestor Falls, Sabaskong Bay. I have been through 3 owners in the time I have been coming there and the Wiggins are by far the best hosts we have had. In 12 years we have been there 10 times and I miss it every time we leave. As Dick mentioned as you look back on things it doesn't really matter about the big ones that got away. Sometimes the weather sucks, sometimes its great, the campers are always a gas. Reading books and taking naps come to mind. Soon we will be there doing that 55 days to be exact. Dick and I will let the rest of you how we did.

Kym

[Brad]

First thanks for the reply, I am leaving for the Woods June 18th right after the school year is over. My brother is up at our place as I write this. I hope gas will keeps going down. I am ready to go , I've looked at my rods and reals , replaced line , checked gear and cleaned the boat from past striper trips. If I could leave today I would. Take care and keep the small ones and let the big ones go Brad

[wallii]

Well at least there are three of us that can compare notes. We are starting to get our stuff together and time is getting short. We will be at C/H on Saturday the 4th and hopefully I will be on one of my favorite spots in the early afternoon. I tend to do more rigging than I should but old habits are hard to break. Every year I make plans to try dragging cranks and this year is no different. There are a number of flats that are prime targets and they are on my schedule but we will just have to see what happens. Another of our favorites is to slip bobber certain reefs. Can't get the kid out of me. Besides it is a deadly system for big fish. For the last few years the weed growth was late in the bays so we did very little with a spinner and crawler. Still might try some swim baits if there is any sign of new weeds. You never know until you get out there. Looking forward to passing along a report and I sure wish others would do the same.

Cross some Eyes
Dick

[Kym C]

Brad,

I come from Northern California to fish, about 2000 miles so I catch what I can. We have been thinking about moving back to the midwest as my brother lives in Omaha. It would make it a bit easier. I won't have to try and pack everything into a suitcase. Good fishing and don't catch them all.

Kym

[Brad]

Dick,
Tell me more about the way you slip bobber for big walleyes?

[wallii]

The presentation I use for slip bobbering is about as basic as one can get. The standard bobber stop, Thill slip float( lighted or not depending), and just enough weight to almost pull the float down. Set the stop so you are 6 inches or so from the bottom, add a leech, minnow,or piece of crawler to the #4 or # 6 hook or small jig and your about ready. That is the easy part. All reefs or simple rock piles have a path way from deeper water that the walleyes tend to follow to the dinner table. Some only work with a certain wind direction but most have multiple paths that are used. The key is using both your lake maps and depth finder to find that trough or even just a slight ridge that extends into the deeper water. Mark the high point of the reef and anchor your boat up wind and let out enough rope to position you with in easy flipping distance of the marker bouy. Start out off to the deeper side and allow the wind to move your rig up to the top. Adjustments will need to be done with the bobber stop until you find the active depth. Until you get the feel there will be some missed fish but that's part of the excitement that brings out the kid in me.
As my 3 year old grandson tells me " Your not a Kid you just a Gampa."
Kind of long winded but it is easier to do than to explain.

Cross some Eyes
Dick

[Brad]

Thanks Dick,
I have been kicking around fishing a bobber for perch on humps with worms when I find big ones mixed with the walleye. That was a good call on the pathways walleye use to get up to their feeding grounds ,I haven't heard that one before . What type of line have you been using on your walleye gear? Keep the small ones and let the big ones go . Thanks Brad

[Kym C]

Good Luck Dick.... Let us know how it went!!!!!!
Kym

[Brad]

Dick,
Have a safe trip to the woods , and send us a full report . Keep the small ones and let the big ones go. Brad

[Kym C]

Dick we are waiting for your report, some one is going up the 18th and has a need to know.


Kym

[Kym C]

Okay Dick you started this thing, where is your fishing report??????????