Eddie Norths Attiwapiskat adventure!

[fish1812]

(disclaimer) Both Solopaddler and moosebunk have written in depth posts about their trips to the attiwapiskat that inspired my own trip and I hope i can do them justice with my post.

 

Occasionally the boys took 2 beer each out in the boat for lunch, we fished 12 hours a day, and I was driving the boat at all times drinking only dr. pepper

 

Every pike was released in accordance with Eddies conservation policy, and we tired not to ever use a vertical hold i believe there are only two vertical hold pics, and i was bleeding from the other hand at both those occasions so those pike deserved it we didnt lose a single fish, all we revived and swam away strong, and we did keep some walleye for shore lunch, but none are allowed to travel out with you, this is really a plan to insure that the fishery remains strong for years to come

 

and now on to the fish!

 

 

Day 1

 

After reading solopaddlers post last september i quickly got in touch with Eddie North and Booked a trip for the first week he was open hoping to get in on some shallow early season gators. I was accompanied by jeff, (hoops12) and bob (thepikeassasin) from the OFC board. Jeff had to work till 3pm on friday so Bob and i loaded the the truck and as soon as he pulled in the driveway and kissed his wife goodbye we were on the road north! We rolled into Nakina about 8am and located the Air service, at which point we were told, "ooh your flying to beteau? we'll get to you much later" this gave us a chance to walk around and chat with the other groups flying out of Nakina, you could feel the excitment, everyone ready to get their line in the water on the first fly-in of the year. We had been up about 24 hours at this point but no one was thinking about sleep.

 

 

Finally it was our turn to fly out, as the crew loaded our plane we chatted with the other group that was going in to beteau with us, Jason (basskicker) and his freind from b.c. Mike, Jason was one of the lucky ones that got a chance to fly in with solopaddler last fall before the camp was open and we were anxious to pick his brain about what to expect. But the plane was loaded and it was time to go. I was Nomiated to take the co-pilot seat and man what a view. Our Pilot bruce, is a professional ski racer during the winter and with 38 years flying in the bush under his belt we felt pretty safe. Although when he pulled out a sandwich and leaned back to have lunch during the flight i have to admit i did a double take. The land around the Attiwapiskat is incredible, hundreds of miles of nothing but forest and lakes, (and fish) there were some clouds on this day so bruce flew us pretty low to stay under them, ok realllllly low!!!

 

finally we got our first look at beteau! and it looked just like solos pics from last fall, we were already scouting potential fishing spots from the air, once we got a little closer we could see the camp, and Eddie had done some work over the past few weeks.

 

 

 

The plane pulled up to the dock and when the door opened Eddie was right there to greet us,

 

I have to take a moment to say that Eddie North is just a great guy, genuine and down to earth he went above and beyond to make our stay at the camp as great as possible! Even spending one afternoon out with Shirley in the pouring rain assembling a new outhouse for us (which was much obliged by the way) But now it was time to fish!! We loaded our gear in the boats and off we went, I'm not sure what we expected, but we sure didnt expect what we got!

 

There are 2 small bays directly across from the camp so that was our first spot, and the first cast yeilded a little hammer handle, Ok decent start, we worked both bays with only 2 little pike to show for it. I have to admit our faith was shaken a little bit, was it all a scam? were Eddie and Solopaddler in on it together? did all those pike from his report really come from beteau? About 2 hours into the first day and we were really starting to get a little worried we came upon a little inlet, surrounded by big rocks, with the first signs of cabage weeds in the deeper water just off the first break, bob had been throwing a buzz bait hoping for some topwater action so he zinged a cast right to the mouth of the inlet, and about 5 seconds into his retrive, pow!! the water exploded, and we had our first beteau brute! As we fumbled around with rods and Eddies home made cradles lol we did actually manage to get him in, and after a picture and a few measurements our first 38 inch pike was back in the lake.

 

We didnt have much time to savour the moment though, on bobs very next cast a little farther into the inlet, we saw somthing that we are still in awe of, the second that bobs buzzbait hit the water, we saw 3 tail splashes each comming from a seperate corner of the bay and then the explosion in the middle was unbelivable as 3!!!!! 20 lb pike all slammed into each other in the middle trying to get the lure. Bob did actually manage to hook one and brought this 43.5 inch fish into the boat while we casted feverishly for the other 2!

 

Solo was defintley right about the walleye being agressive, as we caught at least 15 that first day while fishing pike, they would hit everything, big spoons, spinnerbaits, bucktails, what ever we used for the pike the walleye would snatch it up.

 

To say that our first day was a sucess was a huge understatement, here are a few more pics of the fish we boated on the first day, I was pretty good with my record keeping and throughout this post each fish is only shown in 1 picture.

 

 

When we looked down at our watches we could not belive it, 11:00!!! it was still light out! we thought maybe 8, 8:30 but it was closing in on midnight when we pulled our boat out of the water the first night, and we could still see by the sun,

 

Beteau truly is a unique spot. But 40 hours of travel and fishing had taken its toll and after a quick supper we were all sound asleep in our bunks, which were suprisngly comfortable and served us well for the week.

 

 

day 2~!

 

I wont pertend that we are early risers, this week serves as my only vacation time for the year so i needed a little rest and relaxation along with the fishing, so we rolled out of bed around 11 ready to do battle with a few more of those beteau monsters. We were pretty sure that we had picked up on a pattern yesterday and were anxious to put it to the test. So we went out looking for spots along the main channel, that had more of those huge rocks, along with deeper water, and some emerging weeds, and man did we hit the mother load. We found a little bottleneck between the main channel and back bay and this area proved to be our premire spot of the week, just loaded with fish, we would pull up to one side, and let the current carry us through, while avoiding the massive rocks and man did we catch alot of fish, the walleye and pike were both mixed in this location heavily and after catching and releasing 30 walleye over 18 inches we finally had 4 under Eddies slot for dinner. So it was home for a nice dinner of pasta and pikerel, and man were there some stories over dinner "remember when the pike jumped up to get your lure when you were taking a pee break?" or " man did you see that pike almost swim up on shore to get bobs bait when he casted to far lol " heres a few pics from day 2 if you see some blood on the one fish, and spilt all over the boat dont worry its not from the pike, its all my blood, but a little towel and few zip ties and i was ready to go back to casting!

 

and they dont call them water wolves for nothing, those pike have some teeth!

 

 

day 3

 

Day 3 started out a little colder and overcast, but that did not put a damper on the fishing at all jeff got things started with a massive 45 incher

and then bob followed that up with another nice 42,

then we rolled off another 10 38 inch plus fish, before deciding to switch to smaller jigs and pick up some walleye for dinner, another 20 walleye later we had our 4 keepers and headed home for another walleye supper, man this place is incredible.

 

day 4

 

Day 4 started off 20 degrees and bright sun, but by the time we got out on the water, all that had changed, dark clouds were rolling in and the wind really picked up, but each of the boys managed a 45 incher, and I stuck to my specialty and bagged 3 39 inchers before we had to call it a day due to weather.

 

day 5

 

day 5 was our best day yet, as if the other 4 hadnt been amazing enough, bob got things started with a massive 45 incher on the flats of a windswept bay,

 

and we followed up with another 45 and a 43 before moving back into our little honey hole to get our of the weather,

this was when jeff hooked this 47 inch monster that turned out being the big fish of the trip, This fish was just incredibly aggressive despite its massive size and slammed a reaper jig at the boat, It had incredible coloring as well, just a really clean, healthy massive fish|!!

4 more 40+ fish came out of the same spot, including one that managed to get me with his gill raker's, meh its only blood. and jeffs wife was good enough to pack a first aid kit just for me (thanks jen)

 

we had picked up 4 nice walleye under the slot so decided it was time for a shore lunch, and we found a beautiful beach. The scenery at beteau is unbelievable, around every corner is another amazing beach, or rock point that is untouched by man, The boys gathered some rocks and made a nice pit, i cleaned the walleye and we enjoyed another wonderful walleye lunch courtesy of the amazing lodge that Eddie north has created.

 

 

 

 

day 6

 

We had been putting in 10-12 hours a day on the water and by day 6 we were getting a little weary, the late night poker games didnt help either, but i got off to a good start and nailed a decent fish from shore, the guys bagged another 4 or 5 38 inch plus fish, and we cleaned up on the walleye, we just couldnt get enough of them, so 30-35 walleye later we had our 4 dinner fish, and called it an early night and enjoyed another wonderful walleye dinner and a little scotch to boot.

 

 

day 7

 

We had caught and released so many pike by this point, and honestly we were tired, I have never fished as hard as i did this week, the chance at another trophy of a lifetime on each and every cast kept us on the water from dawn till dusk, so we gave it another go in the morning, and landed a few more solid 40 + fish, and then switched over to walleye as we were suppose to meet eddie north and the other guys for a shore lunch to close out the week. The walleye were more than happy to oblige us and we nailed another 20 slot fish before getting our 5 keepers and heading down to the spot eddie had set up for shore lunch.

 

and they dont call bob the pike assassin for nothing, here he is showing off his ninja skills exiting the boat

[fish1812]

Man what a feast we had on the beach, Eddie has the biggest frying pan that any of us had ever seen and he and Shirley prepared some potatoes and beans and onions while we took care of the fish,

 

 

jason and mike even came by for a snack as well, and we all got a chance to sit and reflect on the week, and the future for Eddie north, when you think that this was only the first week that the camp was open its really amazing that everything ran as smoothly as it did. There was literally not a single thing i would improve upon, we were expecting bugs, there were no bugs, we expected freezing temperatures and it was beautiful, and we expected to maybe catch 1 trophy a piece, I mean how many could we possibly hope for, well let me tell you what we got, between 3 guys, 56 fish over 38 inches, 27 over 40 inches, 9 45 inch plus fish and 1 mammoth 47 incher, thats on top of 175-200 walleye between 16 and 26 inches. It was truly the trip of the lifetime. But all good things must come to an end, and as we packed up our gear, the week had really flown by, the float plane arrived and the next batch of anglers piled off, looking as bight eyed as we did just 7 days earlier, we gave them a little taste of just how good the fishing had been, but words just cant describe the expereince of being up there on beteau so we said our good byes and were back in the plane for the short flight back to nakina and the long drive back to southern ontario.

 

I dont mean to sound like an add for Eddie North but I really do feel that the pike fishing on Beteau is the best in the world, The sheer number of fish, and there severe aggressiveness to pretty much any lure in your box, as well as the fact that it just has not seen any fishing pressure makes it impossible to match by any of the reports from knee lake, wolleston or kesagami. I also feel that we were about 2 weeks to late to enjoy the real early season action but eddie has oblidged me and will be opening ealier next year and the first week is fully booked by yours truly but there are still a few weeks empty for this year, Eddie is at the camp right now but anyone wanting info just check out eddienorth.com or messege me, and ill get you together with eddie. 350 days till ill be back at beteau and ill be counting down every single one

 

[danbouck]

 

You are up there with Solo and Moose

Amazing Report!!!

Edited June 7, 2010 by Dan Bouck

[yakpiker]

I've been looking forward to the first report this year. Congratulations on a seemingly wonderful trip. Only 25 more days and I will be enjoying the Attawapiskat with some friends.

[BillM]

4 more days.... 4 MORE DAYS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

This report is killing me

[wankerjohn123]

My God......

 

I have to go....

[irishfield]

I 'tink I'll go fuel the plane....

 

Beauty report fella!

[kickingfrog]

:wallbash: Man! I missed out on Solo's trip last year by just a hair, and now every time someone else posts from there I'm going to want to beat my brains out.

[JimC]

holy crap 'fish' ... I am a long time 'reader' but rather new 'poster', and this is maybe the BEST fishing report I have ever had the pleasure of reading / viewing on this forum. Honest dialogue and pictures of some amazing Pike and Walleye

 

As you said, with only one week of vacation to do some 'Me time' it is clear you took full advantage.

 

Thanks for sharing this amazing account of your Northern adventure.

 

btw, my friends and i were fishing Lake Nipissing (north west quadrant) at the same time, and although we had some really good Pike action compared to normal (for us) at that time of year, it was nothing compared to the size and numbers you guys enjoyed. (we got maybe 2 to 6 pikers per day in the 23 - 30 inch range on average).

 

As for our Walleye catch this year, where just a few years ago, our group boated (and mostly released) 150+, all I can say is

[Grimace]

That is awesome. I gotta go.

[west lake charlie]

Wow really glad I didn't take up the offer to tag along jeff!

You guys probably have to bit all new lures from all the teeth marks!

[fish_fishburn]

Those are some sic numbers and awesome fish. Thanks for sharing. Think I just added another to the bucket list.

[Nipfisher]

Great report. With all those lakes up there and such little pressure due to only fly in access those pike just keep on growing.

[scuro2]

Lovely report, enjoyed it! Looks like my grandma could do well on this lake!

[Cudz]

SICK!!!!

[tibbs]

Fantastic report!

 

You guys caught some massive fish!

 

I'd like to go up there one of these days.

[Syn]

lol Posting in an EPIC thread! I lost track of how many fish you guys caught.

I'm going to bookmark this thread. thanks for posting this, you guys are pure 110% awesomeness. The frying pan pic.

[corvette1]

awesome trip guys congrats i have been to wollaston and knee lake my trips were in july and i still cought hundreds not like in the spring

[Joey]

Wow, what an awesome adventure. Absolutely super report.

 

Joey

[aniceguy]

4 more days.... 4 MORE DAYS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

This report is killing me

4 DAYS BILL is right ............this is killing me as I sat in the garage and packed gear up..

[ctdd2006]

Wow! I just spent an hour drooling over his website! Great site btw! I gotta get there soon before all involved realize fifteen hundred bones is a bargain! Congrats a great trip guys! Cheers!

Edited June 7, 2010 by ctdd2006

[Rich Clemens]

Great report bud. I can see why you spent as much time on the water as you did. I'd make the most of it too.

[solopaddler]

*

Edited June 8, 2010 by solopaddler

[lew]

Absolutely fantastic fishing tale !!!!

 

What an amazing trip !!

[beerman]

Holy Balls!! Awesome!