After one of the latest ice-outs that I can remember on Lac Seul, the 2013 open water season is underway.  Late ice out years are typically great for catching big walleye.  This year didn't disappoint.  

The ice went out the night before opener, leaving us with clear sailing to my favourite early season area on Lac Seul.    

Other than walleye fishing in the spring I also love to chase pike and lake trout.  Check out this big pike my buddy Ian caught last week.  

My good buddy Mike and I took a shot at lakers on Minnitaki this past week.  We went with the quality over quantity approach and that's exactly what we got.  

June is one of the best months for fishing in northwestern Ontario.  Big walleye, pike and bass are on the menu and muskie opener is also coming up quick.  Stay tuned for another report in a couple of weeks.  

The weather this week couldn't be any more different from a year ago.  Last march break we were in T-shirts on the ice while this year it's been 20 below.  As I type this the snow continues to fall outside, adding to the foot we've already got in the last 24-hours.  

It sure doesn't seem like spring is just around the corner.  If it wasn't for the longer days, the fish would think it's still mid-winter.

Big fish continue to find their way onto the ice.  With dedication, patience and effort come rewards. 

My wife Kelly joined me recently, and of course she caught the big one.  Kelly can jig walleye with the best of them, whether it's through the ice or in the boat.  Check out this big, beautiful, dark walleye.    

My pursuit of big winter lake trout continues.  For me, these fish are the best substitute for muskie fishing.  The drag peeling, rod bending runs of a wintertime laker fill the adrenaline void created by the closed muskie season.  In other words, they're the biggest bang for your buck on the ice.  

I've been fortunate to catch some really nice lakers lately.   

I also wanted to share a product that has made a huge improvement to my ice fishing program.  

The Digger Auger Carrier by Digger Anchor makes carrying your auger so easy and convenient.  It makes me so much more portable and efficient on the ice now that I don't have to load and unload my auger from the sleigh every time I move.  

Even though we've still got a few weeks of ice fishing left here in Northwestern Ontario, spring really is just around the corner.  Check out the current issue (April 2013) of Ontario OUT OF DOORS for an article I wrote about using strutter decoys as a part of your spring turkey hunting strategy.  

Also, click HERE for an on-line article I did for Ontario OUT OF DOORS called 'The ABC's of Backtrolling'.  

Before open water and turkey hunting, however, the year's best ice fishing is still to come.  Stay tuned for one more ice report.  

It's hard to believe that we're mid way through the winter season already.  With February half over that means the warmer spring fishing in March is just around the corner.  

Mid-winter means cold, and we've had our share of 40 below already.  We also have a ton of snow.  From the fishes perspective, it's a dark and cold world under the ice.  They move pretty slow at this time of year so downsizing and slowing down presentations definitely helps.  

We've been getting our share of nice walleye.  Lindy jigging spoons like the Frostee and Rattlin' Flyer Spoon have been producing, and so has a jig and minnow.  

Lake trout get a lot of my attention during the winter and I've landed some really nice ones.  

Using a tip-up with deadbait on a quick strike has proven to be a big fish magnet.  Along with the previous lake trout, this monster pike was caught on a quick strike rig by my good buddy Mike.  

There is still a lot of ice fishing season left here in northwestern Ontario.  I've got some dates available in March for ice trips so get in touch with me if you're interested in booking a trip.  

The first ice adventure of 2013 is in the books.  My good buddy Graham came up to visit and do some ice fishing.  Graham is no stranger to the area, having lived in Sioux Lookout for a winter in 2009.  We checked out some of our old favourite spots and did some new stuff too.  

We put our time into chasing lake trout, walleye and whitefish.  We fished 4 different lakes and caught fish everywhere we went.  Overall the bite was a bit tough and we had to work for every fish we caught.   Some areas that were excellent this time last  year just weren't holding fish.  

The first thing we did was camp out for an afternoon on a Lac Seul walleye spot that's known for kicking out big fish.  We didn't catch many walleye, but Graham did ice this big fat Lac Seul 'eye.    

Over the course of the trip it seemed that walleye wanted smaller and simpler presentations.  It was hard to beat a 1/8 oz jig and minnow, but I did manage to catch a handful on a Lindy Rattlin' Flyer Spoon.  

On a day we decided to target lake trout and whitefish, that same Rattlin' Flyer Spoon was on fire for the whities!  We put a hurting on some big-big whitefish.  They'd hit it sitting still, they'd chase it and hit it while moving - I even had one intercept it on the free-fall.  

After having fun with the whitefish we switched gears and targeted lake trout.  When it comes to winter lakers, I love fishing soft plastics.  It wasn't 5-minutes after putting on a white tube jig that this big laker inhaled it only 15-feet under the ice.  

I marked this fish on my Humminbird ICE55 flasher - without that tool I never would have known this big laker was flying high in the water column.  

What a great fish to break in my new 36" St. Croix Premier ice rod with.    

Another day we made the trek into a backcountry lake trout lake that's about an hour south of Sioux Lookout.  We broke trail into the lake no problem, but getting out was another story.  Big hills, unpacked trails, sugary light snow and heavy sleighs meant everyone was getting stuck.  After 2 hours of sweating, swearing and back-breaking pushing/pulling/lifting we were back at the trucks. 

It's a good thing the fishing was on and everyone took home a nice limit of 3-to 4-pound lakers for the table.   

It's a long winter here in northwestern Ontario so look for more ice fishing reports to come soon.  

'Tis the season for ice fishing!!  With hunting season behind us, that means it's time for hardcore ice fishing action until spring.  Winter is one of the seasons I look forward to the most.  Big walleye, lake trout, pike and more are going to be hitting the ice this winter.  

I got my snowmachine running in time for some early ice action.  The maiden voyage was a trip to Lac Seul on a solid 8-10 inches of ice.  It wasn't long before walleye started biting.  

This nice walleye couldn't resist a Lindy Darter in 31 feet of water.  

My good buddy Colin was sitting a little deeper and landed a handful of walleye between 18- to- 23 inches, including this chunky fish.  

It's shaping up to be another great year on the ice here in Northwestern Ontario.  

In case you missed it, check out my new ice fishing video.  This action packed highlight reel was put together with footage from last winter on the ice.  

Some people can't wait for winter to be over.... I say bring on the snow and ice!  

It seems like just yesterday everyone was getting ready for walleye opener.  Now the leaves are changing and surface temperatures are dropping.  It's official... summer is over and fall has begun.  

Overall it was a great summer on Lac Seul.  Lots of walleye, pike and some really great muskies hit the net.  A few days were dedicated to jigging summertime lake trout on Big Vermilion Lake, which is always fun for a change.  

Later in the summer the walleye fishing on Minnitaki Lake really heats up.  Here's a beauty 'eye from Minnitaki.  They have a hard time resisting Lindy X-Change jigs tipped with a lively minnow.  

Here's another Minnitaki monster of the Essox variety.  Check out this 41" pike my guest Steve caught last week!  

I had a blast fishing with my buddies Dan, Kevin, Shannon and Paul on the Labour Day weekend.  The boys made the trip here to celebrate Shannons 40th birthday.  

Double-header lakers for Shannon and Dan.

Paul and I with a nice walleye.  Paul was a fishing newbie when he arrived but an old pro by the time they left.  

Kevin and a nice walleye.  

And the icing on the cake... the birthday boy catches a muskie.  

Also had a great time chasing muskie with my buddy Mike at the end of August.  We had nice warm weather and found a bunch of muskie, and some big ones too, relating to shallow water and dying weeds.  Here's a nice one that Mike got to go on a top-water.  

Hunting season has also arrived here in NW Ontario.  Black bear season is open so be sure to check out the article I wrote on building a bear bait in Ontario OUT OF DOORS here.  

Stay tuned for a fall chalked full of muskie fishing on Lac Seul.  I've got some great trips that I'm looking forward to and some really exciting news that you'll just have to wait to find out more about.  

Wow, time flies.  It's hard to believe its been over a month since my last update.  Since then there's been a lot of days spent on the lake and a lot of fish in the boat.   All that translates to many happy guests at Moosehorn Lodge.  

Overall fishing has been good this summer, with high numbers of walleye hitting the net.  This time of year, walleye are scattered on main lake basin structure like humps, reefs, flats and islands with deep water access.  100-plus fish days are the norm.  Jigging Lindy Jigs tipped with minnows is all it takes to catch fish.  

Here's a typical Lac Seul over-slot summertime walleye.    

Corey from Wisconsin with another nice 'eye.  

Here's a walleye with a big appetite - That's a 10" muskie bait in its mouth!  

Speaking of muskie - these big predators have also been making regular appearances in the Beckman net. 

Here's Kevin from Thunder Bay with his first muskie ever, caught on a top-water bait.   

This feisty muskie crushed a topwater bait at the side of the boat.  Always a thrill!  

Bruce, from Minnesota, got this nice muskie on the first spot of the morning.  Everyone in the boat got to see it eat a spinnerbait about 30-feet out.  

Lac Seul muskie love topwater baits... here's another boat side topwater fish caught on a Psycho Sister.  

Here's a beautiful muskie I caught trolling recently.  It hammered a Legend Perch bait 25-feet behind the boat.  

Check out those teeth on the release shot!   

I had a great time with Rocco and Amy from Illinois.  Check out these awesome pike they caught last week.   It was Amy's first fishing trip to Canada but that didn't stop her from catching the big fish of the trip.  Great pike Amy!  

I'm happy to announce a partnership with 50 Inch Apparel.  Check them out online at www.fiftyinchcrew.com They make some awesome muskie themed clothing.  

In other news, I'm happy to share this photo from a project I called 'pimp my ride'.  My boat got a serious upgrade thanks to Humminbird and Minn Kota.  

That's an 80-lb Minn Kota Terrova complete with iPilot and a Humminbird 788 ci HD combo.  Fish beware!  

Stay tuned for more muskie and walleye fishing as we get closer to fall.  I know August will go by as fast as July did.  

Summer is here in a big way in northwestern Ontario.  The recent weather has been hot and so has the fishing.  Water temps are way up, with mid 70's on the main lake today.  The mayfly hatches are done and the walleye have been on the move.  100+ walleye days are still the norm - its really been an excellent year.  

Over the last week or so walleye have moved en masse to structure in the main lake basin.  Traditional summer patterns are working very well.  Over the last 2 days I've caught 300 walleye all from 28-34 feet-of-water.  Lindy jigs tipped with minnows have been catching all the fish.  Hot colors are glow, chartreuse, orange and white.  

Here's a shot of one of my guests, Lucas, with a nice walleye that won him the 'biggest fish of the trip' prize.  

Here's another nice humpback Lac Seul walleye from an overcast day.  Even the guide gets lucky sometimes :)  

The Bruley party had a blast fishing with me at Moosehorn Lodge.  They timed their trip just right for some awesome top-water smallie action.  

June 16th was a special day in these parts - muskie opener!  I had a chance to chase these monsters with Nick and Rocco, a couple muskie obsessed guys from Chicago.  Last year Rocco set the bar pretty high with a 53.5" giant!  This year, however, it was Nick's turn.  Nick boated 3 nice muskies, all caught on bucktails.  On average we saw about 6-7 fish a day.  

Here's a sight I've been waiting a long time to see - a muskie in the Beckman Net!  

Let 'em go, let 'em grow!

Coming up soon - more muskie, walleye, pike and lakers.  Check out weekly audio reports at the Lindy website.  

My spring fishing update is a bit overdue as things have been really busy around here since getting back from turkey hunting.  My guiding work is in full swing and the days are flying by.  

Overall fishing has been excellent, despite the non-typical weather patterns we've had this year.  The ice went out really early and since then we've had everything from seasonal weather to the extremes of heat and cold.  It snowed in Sioux Lookout on May 29th and now less than a week later it feels like summer.  


If I could generalize the effect on the fishing, I would say the fish are more scattered than usual.  Recently, I've caught walleye as deep as 34-feet and as shallow as 4-feet, and everywhere in between.  Everyday is different and most patterns don't last very long.  

Despite this, the catching has been very good.  Most of my walleye are being caught out of 15-feet of water, give or take.  The bigger fish, however, seem to be in 15-plus feet.  Another pattern that is producing is the may-fly larva pattern.  During sunny afternoons when the shallow water heats up, the walleye move into shallow bays to gorge on may-fly larva.  It's one of my favourite patterns of the year - catching lots of walleye, and big ones too, out of 4-8 feet-of-water.  

Here's one of my guests, Bob, with a typical Lac-Seul over slot walleye.  

Bob and Mike toughed it out through some of the worst conditions - cold, wet and wind - but we caught a lot of fish!  

Not long after they left, the weather got warm (sorry guys!) and the fish kept biting.  Here's a nice one that I caught out of 18-feet on a Lindy jig tipped with a minnow.  

The pike fishing has been kind of hit-or-miss lately but I have to show off this P-I-G I caught earlier in the season.  

I also had a chance to spend 3 days in my boat with my good buddy Mike Battistoni hunting for big lakers on Minnitaki Lake.  Minnitaki is known for trophy lake trout, but it's not a 'numbers' lake by any means.  We were hoping for a couple of big-bigs but it didn't happen on this trip.  The laker bite was tough and we only boated 1 fish.  We covered a lot of water trolling with planer boards, dipsey divers and long-lines.  We also jigged deeper areas but couldn't get on a big laker.

Here's Mike with our one-and-only lake trout.

Since I didn't get to 'scratch my lake trout itch' I hit up Big Vermilion for some jig fishing recently.  The action was much better and we boated a lot of lakers jigging with white tube jigs.  We caught fish from 35-feet down to 70-feet.  Here's one of the better fish from the day.  

Since I got home from turkey hunting I put together this video.  Check it out - I think it turned out pretty well.  

Coming up - a lot more fishing!  I'm really looking forward to muskie opener on June 16th.  

Also, the Johnson Outdoors santa arrived and I can't wait to rig my boat up with a Minn Kota Terrova with I-Pilot and Humminbird 898CX Side Imaging combo, plus a 788 HD combo on the bow.