More big fish for young fisherman

It's all Nathan Manni can do to hoist this chunky 25-inch walleye for the camera. It was one of many walleyes in the 20s that this angler boated that day.
He had an excellent guide -- his father, Scott, seen at the stern of the boat.

Young anglers are landing the big ones

Brett Styve, 12, hefts a chunky 25-inch walleye that he caught and released while fishing at Bow Narrows Camp a couple of weeks back.
Brett was one of many younger anglers we have had this summer at camp and they have all proved excellent fishermen.
I believe it was the third trip for Brett who comes with his dad, Paul. The pair landed a bunch of big walleyes and Paul got a giant northern pike as well.
These two are also excellent conservationists. All their big fish were released to grow and reproduce.

How hungry are the pike? This hungry!

Bow Narrows angler Ken Lehmann has had some pretty incredible things happen during the years he has fished Red Lake but last week was the first time a pike bit his lure in half!
It happened right at the boat. Ken said the pike took the other half with it and swam away.

Fish don't seem to mind smoke from forest fire

My great nephew, Hunter Baughman, holds a nice 36-inch pike that he caught and released on Friday. Notice the forest fire smoke in the background.
Depending on the wind direction, the smoke can be very heavy or the skies can be absolutely clear.
We're expecting a little rain tomorrow and that will help dampen the fire. It's about 25,000 acres now and is about 15 miles northwest of camp. The fire is mostly around Murdock Lake which is Woodland Caribou Wilderness Park.
Ministry of Natural Resources fire fighters have only been protecting cabins on lakes in that vicinity and have not been fighting the fire itself since the fire started from lightning, a natural method of ignition, and fire is a natural element of the Boreal Forest.
We are in no immediate danger here at Bow Narrows Camp. Mostly the smoke and ash are a nuisance. However, everyone will be happy when we finally get a rain and the air clears.
Northern pike and walleye fishing were excellent last week. One boat caught 65 northern pike in one day and another got 75 walleye.
Fishing is always slower on Saturday and Sunday as new fishermen figure out how and where to fish.

I catch a sauger; smoke and ash fall one day

I don't get out to fish much but when I do, it seems like I catch the most unusual things. Here is a nice sauger I got just down the shoreline from camp. On another outing, just last week, I caught a lake trout in only 20 feet of water.
A few days ago the sky above camp became inky dark from the smoke of forest fire to the northwest. There was even a lot of ash falling from the sky.
We could see the smoke cloud originating northwest of Pipestone Bay. A check with the Ministry of Natural Resources showed the fire is a Murdock Lake, about 10 miles from Pipestone and in Woodland Caribou Wilderness Park.
The blaze is not being fought by the MNR since it is in the wilderness park.
The forest is very dry and I wouldn't be surprised if restrictions are placed on shore lunch fires soon. We already had one such restricted fire zone, about two weeks ago, but then it was lifted after a couple of rainy days.
Camp is not in any danger.