Moosebunk

Work and play this summer have surely kept me living. End of June and the school year, had returned from Nipigon after a short stint guiding for Onaman River Resort and the New Fly Fisher. BIG, BIG, BIG, pike over and over again with some great speck fishing too. Speckie episode should air sometime in February. School out, the following four weeks was spent at home with the girls, yet with a little local work thrown in. Don't do well with mid summer heat so fishing took a back seat to household chores and family time, yet the Missus took two weeks away for family and work of her own in the busy and battered community of Attawapiskat. Once she returned home I departed to Nunavut for a month of work and some fishing in the small, remote community of Kugaaruk. Both the job and the arctic char fishing were tough, but in the end quite exceptional and extremely rewarding. Combining my profession with passion to this extent was a first. Felt great! Home a couple weeks for down time before school was to start I plied the local waters a little for lakers and muskie. Returning to old and visiting brand new as well, made for success. Once the bell rang though, I snuck away with a good friend for a week in the north to get in a little camping and some pretty fish. Reports falling behind now, family has me for a few weeks before planning to head off to the Sunshine State for six days of some entirely new fishing. When able, fall muskies, smallies and maybe some walleye will grace the gunnels before mid November likely has me call it a season. Reports will come... And so yeah, not dead! Not dead at all. Very much alive and enjoying each day every which way I can. Best of luck for the fall fishing season. Bunk.

It isn't April Fools so the man, the myth, the OFC legend must be telling a true tale. Like others have said, Lew, if Ottawa way you can take a seat in my boat anytime you like. Enjoy the next passions in life.

Haven't been around much... not here, not there, just waaaay the heck up north and kicking around my Facebook when I get the chance. Just passing through Edmonton this morning on the way home after spending the past five weeks in Kugaaruk Nunavut. A report will come in time, as this work & play trip surely had all the ingredients of something tasty. To spend a month there this summer after being there six weeks over the winter creates an appreciation and deep experience of the Arctic life. Kugaaruk is the furthest community to reach in the Kitikmeot region and it's people are wonderfully friendly, with traditions still very woven into the fabric of daily life. So many are friendly to me... The photo going up on CBC Nunavut's page had many people in the community stopping by at work or on the street to ask questions. Other than some "elders," most from the town had never seen char like the one's I found, this is noted too in some of the comments on the CBC post. Homework really paid off but more so did pushing myself to find, figure out, and catch these fish. Had lost nearly 15 pounds during the month after putting in 210 work hours, 300 on-call hours and stealing whatever time was left to take 7 full days and 7 after work evenings to get out and fish. Coming home now I can't quite explain how the time in Kugaaruk has affected me. Will say, exhausted but rejuvenated, and so fortunate work and life choices allow for these types of opportunities. Lots of pics and details to come. Thanks for posting Rick.

Thanks for that write up. Always enjoying reading people's experiences from the ole stomping grounds. Of the big rivers emptying into James I've been lucky enough to fish and see most, but never the Albany. It interests more for it's specks more than anything... and to some degree it's exceptional walleye fishing. Seems you got a great taste of it.

I know new Docs working 5-6 days a week between both clinics & hospitals combined, making upwards of $500,000 a year... And some Physicians pulling the same amount of time in remote communities on contract for X number of years have been said to be earning close to a mil a year. Some examples of pay... $160-180/hr in rural ER. $1200/day on-call or working in a northern office. Many Physicians nowadays in general practice are part of Healthcare teams with other Docs and services sharing the rent and resources. They still earn incredible money with that, and for a 9-5 M-W-F office job in reality. And then there's the extras earned through other days/hours spent working in hospitals or within other practices nearby. Any Physician tells you they're underpaid, it would only be because they're doing something wrong. In my time beyond 2000 noting what's been happening in the north, I have seen their annual incomes rise from $180,000-220,000 to $380,000-500,000.. and in some regions again, it can reach closer to a mil. In that same amount of time, I think nurses have taken about an 9 - 11% raise, have been cutback and cutback, and working in what is fast becoming one of if not the most under-man-powered, most governed and heavy work-loaded degree educated professions. And the NP's... talk about getting the shaft even more. The Physician's Union sure is a strong one it seems.

Crushed 'em Jacques... and Paul. Nice!

Agreed. lol

You got talent Ryan. Best of luck with everything.

Carrying a canoe tires me out. Reading about someone carrying a canoe tires me out too. lol Adventure that leads to specks.. you'll go back to find more.

Mere walls are no match for a hungry, determined, super strong bear.

Nice to see Rick. Quite an adventure, long haul out there but seeing a piece of Seul would be worth the go. Great pics too. Thanks for posting this up dood! Enjoyed.

In the Ottawa Valley a few places I'll often hit up... The Lanark Landing in Lanark. Penny's Pit Stop in Perth. The Gourmet in Carleton Place. Usually get breakfasts there but all serve good food any time of day.

Appreciate that PS! Thanks. It's a practice well enjoyed. In pike years? You'd still be a dinosaur. What Joey said below is how we often roll too. Especially with 3 guys. But like you pics, would rather cast to 'em when able.

Would love to see more of these kinds of reports here at OFC. Your excitement overflows right out of this one. Have flown with Hearst Air a couple of times in the past up to Pym and you're right, Mel, Mike, Georges and the gang are fantastic. Need to go see them again really... For best pike opps shoot for Pym or Napken next time... although you'd maybe need a larger group to book? Well done James! Thanks for this great write up.

Both you old farts... still ROCK! I hear you Chris... and Doug. May have something up both your alleys for a future group trip. Everything but the fish will go easy on yas. lol. And yes Chris, you could use a new experience off that lake time permitting.

Hard to say what's going on there Chris... Still owe that lake for so many trophy pike over the past decade I'd be hard pressed to find a negative thing to say about it. It is without a doubt a lake that breeds slobs and up until recently the feeling was that the lake fishing is only getting better. From personal experience I know that our last time there Bren and I had to fish quite hard for 7 days to catch 5 fish over 40-inches. As you know, weather can CRUSH you there and that last week in July we saw everything from only a little sun to a little snow. Trip prior to that four guys struggled to catch trophies with I think only 4 over the 40 mark. Trip prior to that with the perfect weather we managed 17 or 19 over 40 inches. One thing to be said is that giants still do exist in there but that the lake can be so stingy at times. Recently fishing with another fella who loves Kesagami, he expressed that in a week he managed one over 40. While fishing about 10 hours with me on Nipigon I think between he and I we managed about 18 to 20 over 40" The biggest difference maker is pressure, no question. And with Kesagami that's why (after you got me onto thinking about it and made me the connection) going to Partridge after the main lodge closes is IMO the best option to increase the odds for big pike by eliminating the immediate pressure. (now that Cochrane Air doesn't allow this, I'll likely never go back) Our first year there, between two boats, the guys may have thought I was bossy on this but, I urged and all followed, that we enter some bays only at prime time, only one boat in the bay, and knowing they'd be hot bays we would take turns each evening. Forties were caught everyday, and even night one I told Carl and Mike to go into such and such bay between 430-630 and fish certain cabbage and low and behold they came back with smiles as they both got PB's, one of them at 46.5". We duplicated this on the trip in the days ahead and trusted the plan. The next time back two guys didn't want to go this plan and we suffered for it. I don't think they got any fish over 40.... maybe one. When you stay at the lodge I predict any one boat in any one area before you, will put the fish down. Think about how voracious pike are, they kill anything... but only to a point after being hooked so many times. Here's what happened in a micro scenario on Nipigon. Fresh fish were found in a small bay and left untouched. The boat went through that area regularly and stormy weather came and went as well. Couple days later we began fishing the spot for about 4 hours. All the big 40+" pike were on, aggressively hitting the lures before smaller fish. They tripped over themselves to eat. I'd bet they hadn't seen a lure, ever. The following day, more big pike smashed lures but we started to get more mid to high 30's in the mix. The next day we plucked three or four over 40" but many more 30's were caught. By night four I had a 40+ follow my fly and not take. Being that it was sight fishing, when my lure or fly hit the water, many smaller fish were now hitting but some of those 30's and 40's I watched them actually spook and dart right out of the area when the boat came close or the lure splashed over top of them. Moving out off the spot into deeper water I may have stumbled upon more of those bigger fish out sulking but I ran out of time to make too many casts..... This same sort of scenario has played out with gar, bass and muskie as well. Pressured fish made wise to anglers, we know it happens all the time. With gar and pike at least I have come around again after a period of several days to weeks and been able to find those fish back to normal again... Break individual fishing spots down at Kesagami and consider the daily pressure when the lodge is in full swing. Even if you're there a quiet week, who knows if the camp had a bunch of pros in the week before who quietly pounded fish, or maybe some knuckleheads ran the Indy500 daily in some bay? Huge area, little water... for as big as Kesagami is, it isn't. Not when say, six boats roll in and out of Small Bay in a day, or the same in North, Edgar or wherever. Our last trip was on the heels of the lodge closing and only one forty came out of a bay... the other four (and bigger) were outside off the points and well out of the bay. Trip prior to that was similar... prior to that it was magical weather and it didn't matter. Earlier season too, the fish are plenty more comfortable to be scattered and shallow. Go later, when the cooling begins and the shallow veg starts to die off and watch those fish concentrate more to the deeper parts of the bays, to places of greener veg not yet withering, and many pike wanting to put on the fall feedbag while being out deeper and less affected by angling pressure. Lastly... shiznit happens! Other great fisheries visited have turned off and on for different reasons over the years as well. A great trip doesn't mean a second greater trip will follow. It's fishing,,, and oftentimes we have little control over the outcomes.

Drennan under 10lbs... Pretty well anything but Vanish over 10lbs.

Thanks guys. Chris... the Kesagami weather beat ya down or did you hook up with some big pike? And, did ya try trolling by Shappiros? I was amazed at how many big pike tripped over themselves to get at Bill's fly. Just sick! Giant pike everywhere in one tiny space unlike anything I've seen. Gin clear water too for so much sight fishing.

Some tidbits from online resources... The Gulf of Boothia (GB) polar bear subpopulation is one of the largest in Canada and is managed entirely by Nunavut. The most recent demographic study on the GB subpopulation estimated the mean total number for the 1998-2000 study period to be 1,592 (± 361) bears. A new 3-year research project was initiated in 2015 to provide updated information on the abundance of bears in GB. This mark-recapture study differs from the previous studies that relied on chemical immobilization of all bears for capture and marking. This study does not involve capture of bears but instead utilizes DNA extracted from tissue samples obtained using biopsy darts to uniquely identify individuals. The sub-population abundance estimate and status will be assessed by means of genetic mark-recapture. Between 29 April and 26 May 2015, we spent 96 hours of helicopter flight time searching for polar bears. Most of the GB subpopulation range was surveyed but poor weather and logistical constraints limited the intensity of the coverage of the whole area. We flew a total distance of approximately 11,737 km searching for polar bears. A total of 185 bears (in 115 groups) of various age classes and both sexes were encountered, of which 152 were successfully biopsied. The rate of sampling averaged 1.8 bears per hour of search time. The number of bears encountered during the spring of 2015 was equivalent to approximately 10% of the previous 1998-2000 mark-recapture population estimate currently used for harvest management. However, until genetic results are available it is impossible to discern how many different individual bears were encountered. General impressions from the first year of sampling suggested that polar bears were abundant and in good condition in GB. Preliminary habitat use analysis showed that polar bear densities were higher than expected in active pack ice and lower than expected in shore fast ice. Seal observations suggested that shore fast ice was preferred by seals while they avoided inactive pack ice. Seal kill densities were higher than expected in active pack ice and brash ice (found mainly as a transition between shore fast ice and active pack ice) but lower than expected in shore fast ice. Preparations are under-way for the second field season which will begin in April of 2016. Kugaaruk is in GB... see the link... https://polarbearscience.com/2013/06/18/gulf-of-boothia-unheralded-arctic-utopia-has-the-highest-density-of-polar-bears-worldwide/ Thanks bud. Will see about a gun or even a local guide for sure. Everything I think I know about timing, the fishing, the land and such isn't by any means personal experience yet. Hope luck is on my side as everything may need to align just right for me to have the time to even catch a fish or two. Whatever happens though, it'll be a month in the arctic and surely better than sitting in my cool basement pounding on a keyboard. lol. There's no messing around anytime. If they want a human for dinner they'll eat a human for dinner. No gun, I'll have to play safe and keep my head up. Thankfully the tundra this time of year is green, grey and flowery and a polar bear is still a giant, white, moving snowball out of place in July. Today's best rate with taxes, booking fees and out of Ottawa to Kugaaruk return about $5200. The employer will buy my ticket but not a second one, for anyone.

A wee bit man, just a wee bit. You and Lori have a great trip too bud. Would be cool to see some Newfie char.

That'd work for me too Dave... if only... Was offered some work in Gjoa H and Kug this summer but it couldn't fit availability. Would love to swing it to Kug one summer, do those islands maybe, jump over to the Tree but more importantly make the long trek up to the Bloody. Cam Bay would be mint too... but so would anywhere really. As long as their a need for my trade and these windows I'll be dreaming and scheming about ways to make it happen. Beautiful country as you know.

Passing some time preparing for an upcoming work/play trip to the Arctic and thought maybe it'd make a decent post... During the early winter some may remember I spent time up in a remote Nunavut community called Kugaaruk (aka Pelly Bay) http://ontariofishingcommunity.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=81993 Wanting to see much more of Nunavut, especially Baffin, while working up there this past winter I found that the community and people were absolutely incredible, and the landscape to be much more rugged and inspiring than other places typically found within many western Kitikmeot region towns. It was said that May and June are the best months for ice fishing. That by mid to end of June most of the snow is off the land and the rivers are flowing to the mouths of the Arctic ocean. First week or two of July the ocean and lake shorelines thaw, icepack breaks and arctic char fishing can be done just by casting the shallow shorelines or by hopping on ice chunks and jigging between the cracks. By third week of July the char enter the rivers and begin their push upstream to spawning grounds. For the coming weeks more and more enter. Best week I was told was usually the third week of July and the following two weeks. Any earlier and the fishing can be good as well but, the bugs are so horrendous that most people prefer to stay indoors. Any later and the mass of the fish have pushed too far up and away and don’t actively feed. When I got the call to go for the fourth week of July I asked to come a little earlier, by just four days. With 24 hours of daylight there will be plenty hours to fish and explore and, that little stretch before beginning the busy work schedule should allow for some local fun. It was an extremely poor winter there with a well below average snowfall and some milder than usual temps in December and January so, I'm not sure how this will affect things overall. Been fortunate enough in the past to fish the Tree River for char. For those unfamiliar, the Tree holds the world record char (34lbs) and about 35 of 50 line class records as well. Every year numerous 20+ pound char are caught at the Tree and the odd time a 30+ as well. The bulk of it's fish are actually rare mutants more closely related to dolly varden than char found anywhere else known. Fish studies I have read show the Tree's char share a genetic link to dollies found in about 75% of the fish tested from that river and area. This gives them exceptional crimson colors and allows growth to enormous proportions. Only a handful of other rivers in the Coronation Gulf (such as the Coppermine) of the Arctic Ocean have fish similar to those found in the Tree, but none of them have the same level of high percentage genetic traits linking them more closely to dolly varden. The Kugaaruk River does not have these rare giant Tree char but instead has only the generic char found around the rest of the northern world. The people of Kugaaruk boast their char are the best tasting in the region though, the reason being is they have higher hillier lands with clearer water lakes and fast flowing rivers. Char on the Kugaaruk I believe average around 3 to 7lbs with chance of catching fish ranging up to 12lbs. An enormous specimen could push into the low 20's but I'm not holding my breath. Being fresh from the salt they are often much more chrome and also much more feisty. Different people had told me that at the right time and place around town, I could expect a few fish to a dozen or two in the span of an afternoon. I am surely hoping my timing for those four days works out because my on-call and work schedule following runs about 5-6 days at 100 hours per week leaving much less time for play. Within 40km of Kugaaruk there are five other major rivers that flow into Pelly Bay. One young man I had met last time there promised if I return he would take me to a place where it's char after char on every cast. Surely hoping to see him. Others had said to keep my head up and jump on board with people heading out to caribou or whale hunt. If time only permits. One thing not sure of is how safe going out on the land alone will be. In the winter it was mostly okay, but now I’d expect the polar bears won't be at the floe edge hunting seals but rather on land waiting for the ice to return. Packs of Arctic wolves could be a consideration as well. Thankfully, there's no barren ground grizzlies, venomous snakes or terrorists around. All this is speculation until arriving there really. During this morning I packed up some odds and ends and also poured over Google Earth to orientate myself a little better with the Kugaaruk River. The river is quite wide, looking to be anywhere from 50 to 250 meters although shallow in many stretches. There are no plans to take fly fishing gear. In the selection of lures I have about 40-50 spoons ranging 1/3 to 7/8 ounces. Pixies, Devle Dogs, Cleos, Strobes and Krocodiles make up the majority of heavy options, with a few other randos like Cyclops, Williams, Mepps spinners and some old Rocket Shads that can be cast a mile too. All the heavier spoons have a single siwash hook for safer retrieves as the river bottom is all jagged rock. Secondly, I packed about 40 jigheads in the 3/8 to 3/4oz range. The Jig-a-Joes with the long shank and wider gap are my favorite choice to tip with 4 to 5-inch twister tails and even white tube jigs. Decided to take three spinning rods for travel. The Fenwick Methods is one I picked up recently. Plenty options out there the reason this one got me is, it's a 3-piece stick with 5 pieces. Having choice of a medium or medium heavy power, moderate to extra fast action, and the safety added with two tip sections and two mid sections in case of accident, it was by far the most practical and best rod by price point I looked at. Options of 6-14 or 10-17 pound line rating for bombing 1/4 to 1 ounce lures is perfect for many applications. It has been tested on saltwater and it performed great. Another I have packed is a Norwegian Lawson 8 1/2 foot 5-piece rod. A medium power and moderate/fast action rated for 6-12lb line and 1/4 to 7/8 ounce lures, it was a gift I have been aching to use for throwing spoons to river char. Lastly, I packed a 5 1/2 foot, 2-piece 4-8lb test light action Ugly Stick. It can be bent into my suitcase and used as back up or for someone else. On 3000 series spinning reels I'll run 15lb PowerPro to probably a 12 floro leader on the Lawson and 15 to 20lb PowerPro to a 15lb leader on the Fenwick. Will keep 10 and 20lb floro handy in case and another reel spooled with 30lb test. The area to be explored for char breaks down into a few sections that can be accessed by foot from town or by vehicle dropoff. A road out of town stretches about 25-30 kilometers to an abandoned D.E.W. site. Much of it follows or connects with sections of the river until reaching Barrow Lake. The towns people don't fish Barrow much as they believe the D.E.W. site dumped toxins into the lake affecting the lake trout which reside there. Supposedly though, the 17km long by 4km wide lake has big ole greys that can reach the 40 pound range. I'm also wanting to pack my float tube for this lake and the ocean in front of town but don't think freight wise it will work out. The route is shown above and the breakdown of the river fell into three sections. Section 1 is around town. From the apartment I can walk approximately five kilometers and hit all areas of interest marked 1 to 10. Some deeper pools above and below runs and rapids, the #8 point is at the community's water intake about 3 km's out of town. Praying the fish are here to make life easy and safe. Section 2 begins about 12km out of town. A bridge at point 17, if able I could use a vehicle or hitch a ride up. From points 11 to 18 is another 5km or so stretch of river. At spot 15 the Kugaaruk forks. The main channel goes onward to site 16 where it forks again above a set of rapids and travels far to an unnamed tundra lake about 11X4km long. At 15/16 though, it is this area where essentially two new rivers join the main and I'm not sure which one continues on as the Kugaaruk but, what appears the shallowest of them all follows the road onward to Barrow Lake. Spots 17 and 18 could be a bust if the bulk of the fish continue on at 15 to the northeast beyond spot 16, although Barrow 17X4kms and another unnamed lake 12X4km's both feed the system to the southeast and would be a draw to char looking to maybe spawn in lakes. Regardless, the bends in the river, the rapids and the joining of several rivers around spots 15 and 16 make it worth checking out. Section 3 is where the river meets Barrow Lake. Points 18-22 are less than 3 kilometers apart. I half expect that lakers will be caught here from shore above and below the bridge across. One would drive in from the N.E. heading S.W. and spot 18 where the deep pool below the bridge exits into a long, wide and shallow stretch of the river is only about 150 meters off the road. Driving on to the bridge a rapid exists between points 20 and 21 and I'm hoping there to find at the very least some lakers in the current. Spot 22 is just a shallow point I can wade out on and hopefully cast long into some depths of Barrow Lake. Where, when, how far and even if the char will migrate and how far beyond town in what direction remains to be known. With my waders and boots on and the back pack loaded with snacks, bug dope, one tackle tray, some plastics, tools, reels, camera and two attached rods at a time, I'll surely feel like a little kid out there trying to figure it out. Looking forward to work this summer...

Read my mind! Very cool work away from your work Bernie.

Well now Mr. Dempsey that is an absolute beautiful find, and gift. A quick gander already and I'm in love. Yes, some definite better detail in all places checked, I swear next year there will be much more new water to cruise for specks and pike, and plenty new shoals marked on my maps. Just awesome, loving it. Thanks. And thank you to Joey!

Remind me on FB Joey to pass along the link to a friends page for birding in eastern Ontario. You may already be on it though... It is right up your alley, you take excellent shots. Fishing is not what this annual trip is fully about, that's for sure. The gang always enjoys themselves. On a side note, where's Roy? In the past few years I've personally maybe heard from him once or twice and he used to be quite active here. On FB I've noticed he hasn't been around at all either..? Wassup Roy!!! Where you at young fella?