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2005 Year End Newsletter
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Hello Friends,

The 2005 season is now finished for Moonlite Bay Camp. We would like to thank everyone who came up, for making it a truly exceptional season. The weather in May and the first half of June was cold and wet. I thought we were going to have a similar pattern to the one we had last year, when we had cool wet weather almost all season. Boy was I wrong! By mid June we really started to heat up, and that heat stayed with us until mid August. It is a good thing that our island location provides us a nice cool breeze to cool things off just a little. We also had many days when that cool breeze turned into a fairly strong wind, which made it a little difficult to control a boat and fish at the same time. For the most part, however, the weather we had was typical for our area, and the fish were generally whare they were supposed to be during the 2005 season. If it wasn’t for a little too much wind in late June and July, we would have had a perfect summer, weather wise.

Walleyes were on the bite from the very start of the season. There was no waiting for the spring walleyes to get up on the sand, like we do when the winter goes out like a lion. This was due to a warm weather snap in late April, which helped the walleyes to spawn on time and move up to the sand beaches and feed, right when they are supposed to, around opening week. Even though we had pretty cool weather to start the season, we also had good fishing, and good fishing in cool weather turns into some mighty fine cold weather shore lunches! Nothing beats a cool weather shore lunch in late May or early June. If anyone out there is looking for some very consistent fishing, and doesn’t mind a little cool weather, then they should consider booking a trip in late May or early June. We mainly troll for walleyes on the sand, until the summer weather warms up, but jigs can also be used in these same areas as well. By mid June of 2005, the weather started to warm up, and we started jigging for walleyes on reefs, sunken reefs, and rock ledges. A very large number of 23 inch walleyes were caught in 2005. The Ministry of Natural Resources has said that these 23inchers were from the class of 1999. I guess all the conditions were right to give the 1999 baby walleyes a good survival percentage compared to other years.

Northern Pike were also biting very well early on. Because we had cool weather and lots of rain for our opener, the weed growth in the lake got a late start. This helped to make one of my favourite lures work great. That is, the basic spoon in all of its forms. Daredevil, Little Cleo, Crocodile, Red Eye Wiggler, and the knock offs of these, all worked well. Even after the weeds were up in late June, the weedless spoons such as the Johnson Silver Minnow, still kept catching northern as well as other species of fish. Floating crank baits that dive, spinner baits, and buck tails also worked very well all season, except for parts of July when the heat of the summer really kicked in and the northern went into deeper water on the main lake. We could still catch them, however, if we could get our lures down a bit deeper. This is accomplished by either trolling with a diving lure, sometimes with a bit of extra weight on the line, or casting a more deep diving lure. It also helped if you fished the first thing in the morning, last thing in the evening, or at anytime during an overcast day. Don’t waste your time fishing for northern on a mid summer, hot day, with blue skies! By mid August we started to see some northern moving back into their early summer haunts such as the shallow weed beds.

Smallmouth Bass fishing usually heats up when the weather warms up, and this exactly what happened in 2005. At the beginning of July the bass fishing really got going. While Northern fishing slowed down because of the heat in July, the bass fishing got better. In fact, small mouth bass were probably the only species in mid July that still inhabited the shallower, more castable, rocky shorelines and rocky points. Smaller spinner baits, small to medium Mepps, and cranks, such as Rapala’s new jointed shad raps (#5 and #7), with a deep diving lip, were some of the best small mouth lures in 2005. Bright and shiny colours with some sparkle, and crayfish colour worked the best.

Musky fishing in 2005 was actually a little bit tough during the musky season which opened on the third Saturday in June. The funny thing is, we saw some huge muskies in the spring, before musky season was actually open. We usually saw these fish while fishing for northern pike, as musky will often go after smaller lures especially in the colder spring water. If a person was to catch a musky out of season while fishing for northern pike, for example, that person should treat the musky very gently, and release it as soon as possible. Even though it is fairly common to catch muskies out of season, while fishing for northern, it would not be smart to tell a warden that you are fishing for northern, but if a musky came along and hit, that would be a bonus. If it is not musky season, then you should not be fishing for them. One of the main reasons that musky fishing was slow during musky season was that musky season opened up in late June. Very soon after, the weather really heated up, and stayed that way until mid August. Just like the northern, the muskies headed for deeper water, and were not very accessible to casting. Trolling weighted and diving lures can be a little tedious, and most people would agree that it is much more fun to catch a musky while casting a shoreline or a shallow reef. Either way, it certainly a thrill to catch or even just see a follow up of a decent sized musky.

Crappies really started turning on about mid August. This is the same time that the main heat of the summer ended. Because our crappies school up in late summer, this is when we actually focus on them. This means that the crappies are left alone during most of the summer. This also means that the crappies have most of the summer to grow to a nice size, compared to other crappie populations south of the Canadian border. Most of our guests say that our crappies are a little bigger than the ones the catch near their homes. Crappie fishing is an acquired skill, especially when the fish are biting lightly. Because crappies are smaller than walleyes, when crappies are biting lightly, it can be very hard to feel them bite. A very sensitive, ultra light rig is your best bet in order to feel our crappies bite. This does take patience and practice to master, but the payoff is worth it. A crappie shore lunch is awesome! Small Jigs and tube jigs are what we use here.

Well that about wraps it up for another season of fishing at Moonlite Bay Camp on beautiful Lake of the Woods. Our booking schedule is now open and ready to be filled with bookings for 2006. Last season we were very busy from mid June until August 1st. If anyone is interested in those dates, please don’t hesitate to get your booking in early. Remember, it’s first come first serve. Thanks again to all of our guests in 2005. I will talk to you by email, or in person at the Omaha and Milwaukee Sport shows. You can also phone us in Wisconsin if you prefer.

Regards,

Mike Evans

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