Creatures along the shore, in the lake

Jason Williams spotted this cow moose along the shore of Red Lake

Ken Conkle with golden 23-inch walleye

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Deepwater fishermen are successful too

Jerime Williams with 35-inch laker

Jason Williams with beautiful 28-incher, quite a young fish

Jared Williams with large whitefish

We're often asked if people still catch lake trout -- they do and here's proof. These three anglers caught and released several lake trout (all trout caught in Red Lake must be released). Young angler Jared Williams also caught and kept a dandy whitefish. He was fishing with his dad, Jerime, and uncle, Jason.
We always ask our anglers if they noticed if any of the trout they caught and released were missing a fin. That would indicate it had come from the restocking effort by the Ministry of Natural Resources. So far, no one at our camp has caught a trout with a clipped fin. However we are catching more and more trout each year, all of them the result of natural spawning.
The Williamses were in camp around the first of August when bizarre cold weather sent walleyes streaming to deep water and lake trout came toward the surface. The lake must have "turned over," something that normally happens in late September. Within a couple of weeks everything returned to normal. The last week of August was the hottest all summer.
Now, the beginning of September, temperatures are more or less normal with daytime highs about 20-25 C (70-75 F) and cool nights.
Fishing is still excellent with plenty of walleye and northern pike caught.

Jason with a very heft 34-incher

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No trouble for new "Moose Club" member

Tyler Tyson hoists a hefty northern pike for the camera before releasing it back to the waters of Red Lake last week. In the background and acting as guide is Tyler's father-in-law, Jeff Preuss.
Tyler was the only member of Bob Preuss's group that wasn't already a member of the "Moose Club," whose disciples must catch at least two northern pike over 32 inches.
(I swear the criteria for membership used to be to catch ONE pike over 32 inches but with newbie Tyler along and after he caught a qualifying pike on one of his first days the bar was suddenly raised to needing TWO pike over 32 inches.)
No matter, Tyler met that requirement handily, I think even on the same day.
I could be wrong, of course, but this is how legends are made.
Incidentally, one of Tyler's big pike was hooked deeply and rather than damage the magnificent fish, possibly even killing it, the decision was made to use a pair of sidecutters and cut the offending hook off from the treble and quickly release the fish.
It's a great idea to carry a set of medium-sized sidecutters just for this purpose. The pike should be able to shed the hook over time without ill effect.
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Lake trout and walleye this family's specialty

Tammy catches lake trout but apparently, doesn't hold them for photos!

Lorin Conkle with a nice evening walleye

A double-rainbow was the bonus on a rainy day

Awesome sunset

Tammy and Lorin Conkle were here recently during a really cold week when the walleye and lake trout actually got turned upside down. The lake trout came toward the surface and the walleye went to deep water. It didn't take long before the Conkle-Williams-Boyer group figured out what was going on and started catching fish.
After two really cold weeks and about a month of cooler-than-normal weather, now the temperature is back in the high 70s and low 80s F (20-30 C). Pike are shallow, walleyes 20-30 feet and lake trout 45-65 feet.
Thanks to Tammy and daughter Rachel for these great photos!

Letter from first-timer says it all

Here we go!

This one was not so big

Debi and sister Brenda

Dear Dan and Brenda,

Visiting Bow Narrows for the first time with my family, Brenda, Carl and Tom Cieplik, was the most breath taking and exhilarating vacation I have ever experienced.  Knowing what to expect from all of the videos and pictures I have seen from my sister did not compare to what I actually lived through.  From the thrill and excitement of catching a 35 inch northern pike to relaxing in the boat and watching the sunset gave me just a taste of what God's world is really about.  Your camp felt like a home to me.  The accommodations were so warm and inviting (even to the bat in our cabin) not to mention the food that you cooked daily was out of this world by far the best I have ever tasted.  I have done nothing but talk about this trip to everyone back home insisting that they need to put Bow Narrows on the top of their vacation travel list. 

I wanted to thank you both for the wonderful adventure and life learning experience.  I absolutely will be returning.

Thank you again,

Debi

Yowser! That's a big fish!

Nathan Manni hoists a giant, 41-inch, 20-pound northern pike before releasing it to the waters of Red Lake a few days ago.
The young angler reports he took the behemoth on a spinner bait.
This isn't the first time Nathan has been feted on this blog. He is also known for his walleye-catching skills.
He was here with his mom and dad, Amy and Scott, his younger brother, Josh, and grandpa, Tom. They all did well on walleye which is really this family's specialty. As I heard it, mom Amy got the largest walleye, a 27-incher. But get this, Josh caught a 30-inch walleye back in Minnesota before even coming to Red Lake!
There were a lot of big northern pike taken at camp last week. The weather has "smartened up" and the fish are settling back into their favourite haunts.

September-like weather has settled in

Misty mornings come from cool air temperatures

Dark skies and showers in the late afternoons

The last two weeks have been decidedly cool, more like September than August.
Today was no exception. Puffy clouds filled the sky and brought cool showers in the afternoon.
The lake has been steaming in the mornings which is a sign of the heat leaving. There has also been a lot of wind to stir up the normal layers of different water temperatures. The astonishing result last week was that people caught lake trout while fishing for walleye in about 20 feet of water and people fishing for lake trout in 45 feet caught walleye.
Things are starting to return to normal again although the days are still cool. Just about every cabin has a fire burning in the wood stove.

Smallmouth bass unusual fish for Red Lake

Mike Lundy holds up 15-inch smallmouth bass taken in Red Lake

Bow Narrows anglers Mike and Tate Lundy got a surprise a little while back when the fish on the end of Mike's line turned out to be a smallmouth bass! It is only the second verified smallmouth ever taken at our camp.
Smallmouth bass are actually an invasive species in Red Lake. They are abundant in lakes far to the south but are not native in this area. The species seems to be making a relentless migration northward.
I have heard that misguided individuals actually stocked the bass in small lakes on the Red Lake water system. It is probably only a matter of time before they become commonplace.
It is always a bad idea to introduce a new species to an ecosystem. For one thing, the lake can only support a certain amount of fish. When you put a new species into a lake, a native species is going to suffer.
In many lakes between Red Lake and the U.S. border, the species that suffered was walleye. Those lakes now have great smallmouth fishing and not-so-good walleye fishing.
Here on Red Lake we have excellent walleye fishing and would just as soon keep it that way.
Biologists have told me that the smallies will remain a marginal species as long as the walleye population is healthy. However, if the walleye population becomes overfished or undergoes some other stress, the bass could someday take over. That is what happened on the other lakes.
That day is probably a long way off for Red Lake. Smallmouth bass here are still an extreme rarity.
Incidentally, if you look in the photo above you will see that Mike and Tate were using a drift sock while fishing. They didn't use it while trolling, just to slow their drift while casting for northern pike.
They reported it worked beautifully.

Fifty-inch-pike angler tells the story in his own words

Fifty-inch northern pike caught and released by Rob Frye at Bow Narrows Camp

George Cies, netman on the monster pike, shows off a whopper 27-inch walleye

"So, if you're reading this blog, I assume you're checking on conditions for an upcoming trip. Well fishing was awesome.

If you're reading this blog because you're looking for a future camp location, well I highly recommend this camp as to the outstanding Food, Staff and awesome fishing.

Now, for the whopping fish story, lol:

"The lure"

Our group of eight stayed the week of July 27th-Aug 3rd, 2013. The first afternoon started off slow but quickly rebounded the following day. We primarily fished for Walleye and Pike but others in the camp were catching Lake Trout and White Fish as well, with most of our luck coming from Pipestone and Trout Bays. While fishing on Wednesday (our fifth day), George Cies and myself were trolling the SW wall of Trout Bay in about 24 ft of water with a black & white deep diving Shad Rap, when all of a sudden my line came to a dead stop. I told George "Stop!, Back up. I have a snag." My line wasn't budging an inch.

 Then while backing up the boat, the line went under the boat at which point my drag took off like crazy.  I yelled to George "shut off the motor, my line is in the prop." George looked at me and said "the motor IS off."

 At this point, the fight was on. As I attempted to pull this beast to the top numerous times, it continued to dive every time I thought it was ready to surface. The third time this beast dove it didn't stop, it headed for deeper water taking almost all my line out through my drag. George started up the boat and the chase was on.

 When it finally came to a stop George jumped up, grabbed the dip net and prepared for the landing. I advised him "Get ready, it's coming up." I knew it was ready to surface any second so I  looked down to see where I could step to get a better position when I heard George utter " HOLY SXXX.".

I looked up to see a look on his face that can't be described, lol.

 I looked over the side to see a freaking DINOSAUR of a fish surface.  George, quick with the net, scooped, reached over the side grabbing net and pulling it into the boat all in one motion. For the next 60 seconds, I think the bait shop back in Red Lake (20+ miles away) could hear George and myself high fiving and laughing. While attempting to retrieve the lure from its mouth, the pike slowly closed its mouth biting down on my net, shredding it, leaving a gaping hole in my net.

 Now the decision, Keep or Release? I always said if I ever caught a fish anywhere over 40 inches, I'd have to keep it. Not the case. After landing it, both George and myself took all the pics and measurements needed to back our story (lol) and to support a replica.

 After quickly accomplishing our pics and measurements we returned this dinosaur to the water. It remained boatside for less than 10 minutes before a couple quick flips of its tail disappearing back to the depths of Trout Bay. Hopefully, the next person lucky enough to experience this as I have, will also return this magnificent creature back to its depth. 

 I have had many tell me I was crazy for releasing this beast. No, killing such an magnificent animal is crazy. I've never claimed to be a professional angler nor tried to be. How many professional anglers do you know that have caught a 50-inch (35Lb+) Pike on 8Lb test line? lol.

 Let me tell all of you reading this, that a fish of this size was not and cannot be caught by just one person. I want to thank George Cies again for being my partner that day and helping make this story possible."

Thanks again, Dan & Brenda for such an amazing stay and a lifetime memory.

Rob Frye

DeKalb IL.

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.