What was this perch thinking?

Tyler Koopman shows the perch he caught this summer on a #13 Floating Rapala. The lure is nearly the same size as the fish proving again that ounce for ounce, the perch is the most aggressive fish species in the lake.
Incidentally, Tyler points out  this perch set a record for his group. Most perch at the west end of Red Lake are too small to keep. We think they just don't live long enough with all the walleye and northern pike lurking about.

The most fearless, ferocious fish in the lake

Perch hit a top-water Spook for Alice Baughman

Sophie Kurucz took this perch on a spoon

I got this perch on a Shallow Shad Rap

It's a good thing perch don't grow as large as northern pike. If they did we would fear for our lives when we went swimming.
As these photos will attest, these tiny fish will attack anything remotely close to their own size.

Creatures you see while out fishing

Troy and Jane Bechtel saw a black object on the shoreline while they were fishing a few days ago and moved closer to investigate. It turned out to be this young bull moose.

Strange things boated by this angler

Dennis Egge has caught some unusual things in the years he has been fishing Red Lake, but last week's catch was exceptional, even by his standards.
It started with the beautiful and elusive redhorse sucker. Virtually everyone who is lucky enough to hook one of these bottom fish is struck by their vivid orange colour.
Then Dennis pulls in a fillet knife! He caught it by the leather sheath while backtrolling. That's a first at our camp.

This would make a great pet while fishing

Photo by Bill Baughman

The hat of our cook, Sophie Kurucz, provides a resting spot for an emerald dragonfly.
Wouldn't it be great if we could have pet dragonflies that flew around the boat gobbling up mosquitoes?

Nice size walleyes are being caught

What does a 25.5-inch walleye weigh, Troy wondered?

Jane's fish shows dark golden colour

Troy and Jane Bechtel show off some of the big walleyes they have been catching and releasing this week. There have been a lot caught in the mid-20-inches.
What do they weigh? You can figure the weight of Red Lake walleyes from their length. Twenty-four inches is four pounds, 25 inches is five pounds, 26 is six pounds, etc.
Troy said he has never weighed any of the walleyes before and wondered if the 25.5-incher he holds up in the top photo would hold true to the above estimates. Sure enough, it was 5.5 pounds.

A great technique for walleye fishing

Greg Tanko back trolls with drift sock in place

Roy Windhorst with 25-inch walleye taken this week

For years Roy Windhorst, Dennis Egge, Bob Edwards and Greg Tanko have used drift socks tied to the bows of their boats to slow down their backtrolling speed for walleye fishing. To my knowledge, they are the only Bow Narrows anglers to use this clever but simple technique.
The drift sock, also known as a sea anchor, drags in the water, reducing their speed. They call it a "parachute."
 The drift sock accomplishes the same thing as an electric trolling motor, without the 60-pound lead-acid battery, 30-pound electric motor and 10-pound battery charger. It weighs virtually nothing, and takes no space in the car trunk. It is a far-more environmentally-friendly option than an electric motor. It costs a fraction as much and will probably last forever.
Our 20 hp Honda outboards troll exceptionally slowly all by themselves but the "parachute" takes them down to crawl. On windy days you can use the sock to slow down your drift too.
You can buy drift socks through outfits like Cabela's. Get the largest one available.
Incidentally, some people use electric trolling motors because they think the fish can't "hear" you. This is an example of anthropomorphizing. Unlike humans, fishes' lateral lines lets them feel movements in their environment. The turning of the electric trolling motor propeller is every bit as detectable to them as the sound of an outboard motor is to humans.
The point is that neither the propeller action nor the outboard's sound frightens them anyway. That is just something imagined by anglers.

What's for supper

There's something different each night for supper but chicken cacciatore and Caesar salad are usually  favourites each week.

Cool nights and mornings great for sleeping

Morning in the lodge dining room

We've had some mildly hot weather with daytime temps in the low 80s but then almost every night is deliciously cool. There has also been some nice winds that keep everything cooled off.
It looks like there is a good chance of rain most days this week. We have had very little rain this summer so far. Fortunately, we also have had only a few thunderstorms which would certainly have started forest fires. One batch of lightning two weeks ago has ignited a bunch of fires to the north of us. The largest of these is about 35,000 acres. None is a threat to us as they are at least 20 miles away.

Sample of the size pike anglers are catching

I certainly don't show photos on this blog of all the big fish people are catching. If I did there would be nothing else but a photo of virtually everybody who comes here, holding up a big one for the camera. But I do include photos of fish from time to time as an indication of what is happening. These three shots are a good example.
Al Andrin had not been to our camp in many years after coming here yearly as a kid with his dad. This time he brought his wife, Sandi, and family to see what fishing is all about.
As usually happens, Sandi caught the biggest fish -- a 44-inch pike. Son Ethan got a 38-incher in town before they even came out to camp! Al got a 32-incher which is also a great fish.
Everybody who spends time at pike fishing seems to get some in the 30+inches and some even in the 40s.
Fishing the entire summer has been some of the best we have ever seen. Lots of walleyes, including big ones, and lots of pike like these in the photos.
The weather has been beautiful. We are having mostly dry weather with daytime temps 70-80 F and nighttime temps in the 50s.

Loons are hatching in good numbers

For the second consecutive year, loons are having a great hatch. The eggs started hatching last week and most pairs of loons with territories can now be seen with young loons beside them or catching rides on their parents backs.

Lots of moose being seen by our fishermen

Kleve Granger snapped this shot of a big bull

This cow with twin calves was photographed by Bill Baughman

The warm temperatures last week brought lots of moose out to the water for a drink and to cool off. We saw these largest members of the deer family on almost every bay.
Mostly we see cows and calves as the bulls are more secretive.

Temperature and pike fishing both hot

Our friend Dan McConaughy snapped this Disney-like scene of a mother and her cubs eating wildflowers along Highway 105, the Red Lake Road, on the way to camp this week

Kleve Granger watches chopper working on the fire east of Sadler Bay

This is our Family Week where we are closed to all but our family and friends.
We have been reveling in the sunny weather and having a ball fishing for northern pike which are our favourites for eating.
Pike fishing has been exceptional. The average size is much larger than normal and all of the fish are very muscular and powerful.
No sooner did a thunderstorm pass yesterday evening then we smelled fresh wood smoke. Within 30 minutes there was an Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources helicopter on the scene, just east of Sadler Bay. A lightning strike had started a forest fire there, a few miles from camp.
We all moved closer to see the action but alas, it was far back from the waterline. All we could see was the helicopter, apparently keeping an eye on ground crews that were extinguishing the blaze. They had it out within an hour!
Everything is very dry and with the hot temperatures we have been getting, I expect the MNR to call a fire ban any day now.