walleye wanderer

I would say it's a nice photoshop but no matter, why not just through in the big net and drag the lake? NOT fishing...

Good observation Pikeslayer, fact is another group that was destined for Ritcher and was unable to get in due to weather spent the week with us at Beteau. The Wallace family included in that picture were terrific company and it was really great to see two fathers taking their children fishing, especially that far up north. It was also very encouraging to see these kids enjoying the north as much as we did, it was truly a great week. ps. these kids are true fishermen and fisherwomen as they caught several very nice fish right Joel, how about a couple of pictures of the kids with some fish? Rob

Great info Tightline! I agree totally, don't bring any Crawlers this years at all! I will save you some and leave you a map. I will be shaking hands with you on the dock on June 9th as you arrive and we are sadly leaving this fishing paradise. Okay kids, who is going to Eddies the last week of May???

I picked up the Bass Pro version last year and they weren't bad except I had one bad boy squeeze them shut completely. The spatula looking one's I just recently found on a Diawa site but so far it appears they are only available in the UK. Here is a link I found to some from the US ---> Jaw Spreaders

Kickingfrog, I have been looking at Salmon rods lately however find them a little long, what length are you using?

Some people are looking for a Eddie North fix and some are dreading yet another coerced, paid advertisement for the relatively new guy on the block. Well sorry to disappoint both groups but I hope this report addresses more the technical side of my trip to Eddie North's Beteau Lake in August 2011 by inspiring some chatter about lures, terminal tackle and fish catching tricks and techniques. But I will start by clearing a few things up that have disturbed me a little about the forums lately. My adventure to Beteau Lake began when I read a report posted on here by SoloPaddler regarding a trip he experienced to Eddie North's. I followed up with Mike personally, asking him a few questions about the camp & the fishing. Next there was an exchange of emails with Eddie, and the rest is history. In the spring of 2011 I attended the Toronto Sportsman Show where I was fortunate enough to meet Eddie and Mike in person and ask a few more questions. I also dropped in and enjoyed time with Remi & Michelle ofArctic Watershed Outposts who are old friends and also run a great operation out of Nakina Ontario (and also don't pay me to say nice things about their camp). Before diving into the tech stuff, let's clarify that my party of six, affectionately named "The Walleye Wanderers" fished Eddie's this past August and caught many a spectacular Pike and several personal best Walleye. The fact that Eddie runs his operation different from some of the other outfitters in the area is here nor there when it comes to the fishing. The fact that Eddie was at the camp during the week we were there was only a bonus. The fact that Eddie is a down to earth, nice guy only adds to the experience. The peace, serenity and beauty of Northern Ontario is priceless no matter which outfitter you go with. I encourage anyone who has never visited this part of the world to do so, you will not be sorry. The fishing at Beteau is fantastic…period. Now for something alittle different, hopefully some meaningful discussion about catching large Pike & Walleye in the Attawapiskat River system or anywhere else in Northern Ontario for that matter. I reference a trip to the Attwapiskat in late August of 2011 where the conditions were a little unusual with the lake level being down about six feet. The weather for the week was a mixed bag with a few nice, warm sunny days and a few windy, rainy days. During the week my fishing partner and I caught many a heftyPike with a variety of lures including a Live Target Bass lure which I personally believe produced the best for the both of us throughout the week. Trolling the LiveTarget and a floating original jointed Rapala proved to be very successful for several big toothies. In some what deeper water, dragging around a floating perch colored Believer and a medium diving Live Target Herring produced Pike in a variety of sizes from 36" to 50". Due to the low water conditions fishing the typical back bays was not to be as there were essentially no back bays there! However, biffing silver Williams Spoons into shore where drop-offs did exist worked some of the giant water wolves into a feeding frenzy. Although I wasn't armed with one, another party fishing on the lake swore up & down that the Mepp's Cyclops, silver and yellow was the hot ticket. In the drops and shallows that did exist, I rigged a Warbait weedless jig with a 7" Lee Inovino Reaper and bounced it across the bottom getting a few Pike excited. For the topwater action the tired & true assortment of frogs & mice worked well in heavy cover with white leading the color selection. The new Live Target frogs worked well and stood up to the beating dished out by the large pike. Before leaving the City and heading up to Eddie's I managed to find a Dahlberg Diving Frog which worked very well in heavy cover and proved to have spectacular action. Top water pike action with this frog is the most exciting and I definitely will be tracking down a few more of these lures for next year. A selection of Rods accompanied me this year, including a couple of medium/heavy Fenwick's, a Shimano Clarus 7' medium heavy, a Bass Pro ultralite for walleye. Unfortunately rod manufacturer's have gotten away from making a huge selection of 2 piece rods and finding a good quality 2pc. Heavy action Pike rod is getting harder every year. Generally medium heavy to heavy action rods will do up there but one thing that is critical when fishing Pike in Northern Ontario is to have heavy duty, quality terminal tackle. The Attawapiskat is not the place to go cheap or light on leaders, snaps or line as a few of my buddies found out. I used braided line exclusively except one spool of light Fluro on an ultralight rod and reel for jigging walleye. Braid in the 30-50 lb range and green in color was the order for the day for me. I made some leaders using 50 lb. Seagar Fluro and 75 lb Sampo swivels and snaps but I also purchased a six pack of 80 lb Fluro leaders with 100lb.Springease swivels and Stay-Lok snaps. I did not lose a single fish due to failure of this equipment but a couple of the guys in my group using cheaper Bass Pro leaders did experience failures in the snaps and subsequently lost fish and lures. Although the Stay-Lok snaps can be a bit of a pain if you are changing lures frequently, I can't say enough about their quality, and positive holding power. Another must have is a pair of long needle nose pliers and I'm not talking 7" long! One large pike I caught inhaled my prize Live Target lure and the 7" needlenose pliers weren't even close, unless fully inserting my hand into a large mouth full of razor sharp teeth was to be considered, that lure wasn't coming out. The very next day I borrowed a set of 11" needlenose pliers from Craig (our camp attendant) and had no problems the rest of the week. A few other items worth noting, a good pair of fishing gloves with lots of grip is a must for handling large slimy Pike. Although I did have a tape to measure the giants we caught, I didn't have a digital scale to weigh a few of those bad boys, a mistake I will correct next year. When handling large toothy fish with large sharp hooks, things can happen so it never hurts to have a set of mini bolts cutters with you. Don't rely on standard sidecutters to get through any hooks of size and if using large Pike lures forget those light duty cutters, they won't help, you will need bolt cutters... trust me. A large sized and quality jaw spreader is another must have for the large Pike and a non-pointed, fish friendly version is the best way to reduce damage to a Pike's mouth. Okay, just a few more fish pictures from Beteau Lake, because you asked nicely, lol. A few Camp Shots: Lastly, because it makes handling large fish that much easier which in turn helps reduce mortality, I will be de-barbing most of my hooks for next year. The turning point for me was a 35" Pike that swallowed a jointed Rapala and buried all of the trebles halfway down his gullet. After along and gingerly attempt to remove all of those hooks with 7" needlenose pliers, it proved to be too much for the fish and it didn't survive. With all the advances in fishing, the invent of heavy braided line, quality terminal tackle, heavy gauge hooks, top notch rods and reels, I feel that de-barbing my hooks will give fish a little better chance than they had before but more importantly it will ensure they can be released quicker with less damage. I invite one and all to throw in your two cents, what lures, what rods & reels are you using? What experiences have you had fishing for Pike and Walleye and any tips, tricks or stories you care to share. Fish On! Rob & the Walleye Wanderers

Owen On behalf of all of the Walleye Wanderers I want to say thanks to you and your family for making our trip just that much more enjoyable. It was great fun to watch "Joel with the Pole" reel in the big ones and equally as much fun to watch and hear how excited both Brittany and Dana got over the various big fish they caught. You should be very proud of those children as they are very grounded, respectful and were certainly a pleasure to talk to. I too have a great many pictures of our group and several of your family so I will flip you an email and we can exchange some of our digital memories. I think I speak for all of the Wanderers in saying we would have no reservations of sharing a camp with you guys in the future, Dana's enthusiasm is more than welcome and maybe Joel could teach me how to fly fish? ps. please thank your wife for the best corn we have ever tasted! Cheers Rob & the Walleye Wanderers

Hey 3 cheers for Craig aka Billy Bob Thorton, he shared our week at Beteau and he was great! He even came out fishing with us for a day and caught some real fine Pike. The combination of Eddie and Craig made us feel like we were at a resort rather than a fly-in camp.

Great Report!!! Just what I needed, a little more tuning up...we leave Friday for Eddie's, can't wait!

Your evil Mike...lol

Great detailed DIY for the leaders but where does one find the SS thimbles?

Excellant report, pic's and video Mike! Memories for you and your family to last a lifetime.

Hey Dan, I'm looking for the 50"er so do tell...lol. Rob

Best of Luck Bassive! Leave a couple of the bigun's in there for us, we are heading up Aug 20th. Anyone else going to Eddie's in August?