Better bring worms from home

Red Lake bait dealers are angry and frustrated at the quality of nightcrawlers sent them by suppliers this summer. Anglers are returning flats of 500 crawlers because the worms are either dead or in poor condition. In some cases the dealers simply have no crawlers at all, even for orders placed last winter. There have also been concerns with leeches.
Until the supply problem is rectified our advice is to bring worms from home. You can bring worms across the border if they are packed in bedding but not dirt. You cannot bring leeches or minnows across the border.
Leeches might best be purchased as soon as you cross the border.
There is no problem with minnows.

Fishing is great, so is the weather

This double caught and released were chubby 30, 31-inchers

Stable water levels should see a good loon hatch. Bob Preuss photos

Lots of walleyes are being caught now. The best story I heard was yesterday when two boats caught and released 200 fish in two hours.
Temperatures are expected to be 25-26 C (80 F-ish) this week.

Sunset Lodge anglers do not eat big fish

Here's a correction to an item a few postings back. We had reported that some boats from Sunset Lodge had kept two big northern pike caught opening week at this end of the lake. It turns out only one fish was kept and that was just for mounting purposes. It is Sunset's policy that other than fish for mounting, all over-sized fish must be released. In fact, Sunset owner Rene Franczak has spearheaded a movement on the lake to release all big fish. It's a conservation movement followed by just about everyone, including all but one group of anglers at Bow Narrows.

The Moose Club is here

Bob Preuss, 40 inches

Wet weather ending; fishing excellent

Last week was cold and rainy but fortunately the fishing was hot. Lots of big pike caught and released and the walleye bite is on with great quantities of eaters boated and many in the 22-24 inch range released. Don't eat the big ones!
The forest fires near here are now history after all the rain.
Sunny, warm weather is in the offing all this week. Yay!

The season so far in pictures

Terry Ditsch opening week smallie

Don Ballinger 28-inch walleye

And 45-inch, 25-pound northern pike. All fish released.