Ogoki Lake 2016

[wantabigone]

Ogoki Lake

 

We flew into Ogoki Lake Outfitters June 25-July 2^nd. This was a special week as I had my 11 year old son with us on this trip. We were a party of 4, including my dad and our friend Glenn. This is my 4^th trip to this location over the past 10 years or so.

 

I have always wanted to bring one of my sons on a trip while they were young and as John and Gloria provided a discount for my son I was able to cross this bucket list off! (Thanks guys)

We had decent weather but a lot of wind. The wind would keep us off the main lake but this really did not effect the quality of fishing. The main bay where the outpost cabin is located allows one to fish even in windy conditions. We had cold nights (7C) which made sleeping nice and the wood burning stove John had built heated up the cabin in the mornings very quickly.

The boats were dry and the motors ran perfectly. The walleye fishing was very good with the average being around 20”. We did not catch any monsters with the biggest being 25” if memory serves me correctly. We trolled body baits mostly which would always bring in the larger fish. If we wanted the 16 inchers we would switch to bottom bouncers.

The highlight of the trip was on the day we arrived. My son (who turned 12 while we were up there) had never caught a pike larger than 16 inches. On the day we arrived I explained to him that we would try for pike for fun at the top of the bay which has a soft muddy bottom with sparse weeds close to shore. Close to this is a rocky island dropping into deeper water quickly. Well, we came into the bay and we start casting spoons and much to my sons joy, we start catching hammerheads on almost every cast. He was having a blast and I was getting a kick watching him. After an hour of this I finally convinced him that we should try over by the island (he didn’t want to try a different spot) and all the rocks as we likely could catch something bigger. He hooked into several more pike and some decent walleye using his spoons. I suggested he try casting to a certain spot and then, bang, he started fighting a decent pike. When he brought it to the boat he had caught a 31 inch pike. His biggest pike to date. Oh what a grin he had.

We fished the island thoroughly with no larger pike and I then had to convince him that we should try a different location. (ya right) He finally consented and we went to another location where he cast out and, bang, he had another decent pike on. When we measured this one it came to 34.5”. He was just beaming. At this point he started feeling bad that I had not caught one yet and offered to give me his rod if he hooks another one. I felt so proud he was willing to do this but explained to him that I truly was enjoying watching him catch the pike more than I would in catching them myself.

We fished the area thoroughly with some smaller pike and walleye and moved off to fish for some walleye. We had fun for several hours catching many walleye along the shoreline.

On Wednesday we went back to the first island we had gone to on the day of our arrival. As we drifted past the point close to deep water I threw out my Johnson silver minnow and a large wake missed the lure. We both saw it at the same time and my son did not waste any time casting to the same area. He too then had the pike make a hit and miss his lure. He was so pumped (as was I). As he was reeling back to the boat the pike missed his lure 3 more times. I then cast out only to have the pike miss my lure again. Geez this fish needed glasses! After this, the pike had lost interest and sank slowly out of sight past the boat. We tried many types of lures and colour combinations to coax this fish to bite. My son started casting to other areas while I still tried different lures until finally I pulled out a heavy deep diving spoon and cast it to the depths. BANG, finally she bit properly and I brought her to the boat. The tape in the boat went to 36” and the fish was at least 2 inches longer so I will call it a 38”.

The rest of the week was very relaxing and many walleye were caught and we enjoyed a few fish meals. One thing I have finally decided on with preparing fish. I much prefer my walleye to be fried in butter or bacon fat then deep fried in oil. It just tastes better IMO.

We had a beaver tail slap us much to my sons delight and we saw 2 moose grazing in the shallows. He also enjoyed trying to feed the chipmunk and squirrels but none came close enough to feed out of his hand.

I am grateful to say my son survived without his video games and he suggested that he would like to earn some money so he could pay for his trip next year! Now that says to me he had a great time! I couldn’t have asked for a better comment from him.

I didn’t get any pictures of my son and his fish as he did not feel comfortable holding them yet. That is my only disappointment. We are happy to say though that they are all still swimming and getting bigger for next year!

Tight lines all.

http://www.ogokilakeoutfitters.com/

Here is a link of the outpost. (apparently I have one shaky hand….sorry about that) One of the nicest outposts out there IMO. Very comfortable. I have taken a page from Mike’s book and have started taking videos of the outposts I go to.

https://youtu.be/qTg4lvIAaMo

 

[BassMan11]

Great report. Looks like you had a great time with your son. You will have those memories forever.

[pics]

Awesome report.. that trip will forever be in you and your son's memories..

[chris.brock]

 

You guys like that lake eh. The water looks really low.

 

An awesome father/ son adventure.

[wantabigone]

The water was indeed low but I have been there when the water was even lower.

 

My dad likes the lake a lot. I would like to try some different lakes but comfort has become more of a requirement due to my dad and Glenn's age. I have been to Nagagami, ,Esnagami, Muskrat lake, The "Kag", North Caribou Lake, Beteau Lake 2X and my favourite...... Lake Athabasca 4X.

 

Next year I have no plans as funds are dedicated for other things..... well, unless some fantastic fishing deal gets offered that I just cannot turn down!