Looking Back

Hello Everyone,

Betty and I hope this email finds you all well and we hope you and your families had a safe, happy, and healthy holiday season. As we get older, the seasons just seem to fly right by and 2017 was no different.  The year started off with a successful wolf hunt in March and some world class Northern Pike ice fishing in April.  The walleye season was excellent last year, staying strong until mid-August for most of the water in the area.  Mid-August through September seemed to be a bit tough on some lakes.  Heavy algae blooms with low oxygen concentrations kept the fishing a bit slow.  When things are tough we just need to find the water that has active fish and many of our guest caught fish last fall in lakes they never had fished before.  Hard to believe we are talking about crappie fishing, but that species has made its way to many of our surrounding lakes and anglers are having fun filling their limits.  Musky fishing was good throughout the summer but above average in September and October.  September also was the month to catch numbers of trophy smallmouth bass.  Our outpost fishing was great throughout the year and many of our outpost moose hunters filled their tags.

One of our highlights last year was hosting two wounded U.S. Army Veterans for a fall bear hunt in August.  It is truly remarkable what our service men and women on both sides of the border do for their countries.  A big thanks to all the service men and women in the U.S. and Canada for keeping our countries free.  Western Michigan Bow Hunters and Safari Club International were a big help in putting this together and we look forward to working with them again.

We are already looking forward to our 15^th season at PCC and have a few updates to tell you about.  All of our guest cabins will have new beds.  We will be finishing the remolding to cabin 1 in April.  The pavilion is 90 % complete and 100% usable.  It is equipped with fish fryers and an event grill, along with a bar and picnic tables.  There will also be pizza ovens and pizza available for purchase.

 

As always we thank you for your continued support and thank you in advance for your referrals. 

We have two cabins available this spring, one in May and one in June. We also have spots open for August bear hunting.

Inquire about mid-summer and fall fishing opportunities.  Let’s not forget excellent grouse hunting in September.

Book now for 2019 wolf hunts.

Book now for 2019 bear hunts.

Inquire now for 2019 Moose hunt.

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A New Season Ahead

Even though it has been brutally cold  in the north for quite some time there are some folks getting out on the ice.  Crappie fishing has been decent and a surprisingly good walleye bite has been had by several parties from Dryden to north of Ear Falls.  We do not have many trout reports but I’m sure their are a few getting put on the ice.   Conditions are actually pretty good for travel.  We really did need this cold spell to firm up our lakes for travel.  The amount of snow in November and December caused an insulating effect and made conditions on some lakes sketchy at best.  Most of the reports we have now are good travel throughout the area.

The end of the moose season was full of action for the hunters that were out there.  I had a successful hunt with some buddies the first week of December and many hunters in the area were able to fill their tags in those last couple of weeks.  The amount of animals seen was impressive to say the least.

Our 15th Season is just a few months away and we are already looking forward to get started and to see many of you this spring.    We do have two cabins available this spring, one in May and one in June.  Both are excellent dates to put fish in the boat.  Our wolf hunts will be starting at the beginning of March and we are looking for interested hunters for the 2019 season.  We also have a couple of 2018 fall bear hunting opportunities available.

 

Couple of Highlights from 2017.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

2018 Changes

Some changes to the fishing regulation in the upcoming year.  These changes do not affect fisherman in FMZ4 but for those of you who fish Vermilion Bay and south the changes will affect you.

 

Happy Thanksgiving

Happy Thanksgiving to our friends and family south of the border.  Winter has come early in NW Ontario.  Lot’s of snow and cold since the end of October.  Well over a foot of snow on ground even more in the bush.  Smaller lakes have 6 to 8 inches of ice already but your larger lakes are not safe for travel yet.  We got out yesterday for the first time and caught just enough crappie for a small feed.  Being cautious on new ice we didn’t move around too much to locate the fish.  Moose have been showing themselves as of late and seem to be on the move.  A buddy and I hunted last week a few mornings and got to see 13 moose, 11 bulls and 2 cows.  Scouting around it seems the moose population is healthy in our small area.  Essentially there are zero deer in this immediate area which will only help our pocket of moose around PCC.

For those of you who stay in cabin #1 here is a sneak peek at the remodel job in progress.  New cabinets, countertops, floors, and beds.

2018 openings.  PCC has two 4 person cabins available for the spring.  May 19th and June 9th are the start dates.  Ogani Outpost also has the week of June 30th available.  Our moose hunt is booked but we do have a couple of spots open for the 2018 bear hunt.  You can get on a list for 2019 wolf hunts as well.

Fall Update

Pickerel Creek Camp's Blog

Let’s back up to September.  Walleye seemed a little harder to find this year (In September).  Water temps stayed warm and fish did not go from summertime spots directly to their fall/winter hangouts.  In these transition times of year it seems we catch a few here and a few there but really never find a school that you can sit on.  As the water cooled off fish arrived where they should be and fishing picked up.  October walleye fishing can be good as well if you can catch some stable weather.  Locals are catching some really nice females.  Deep main lake and secondary points are key spots to run an gun to.  Smallmouth bass action was awesome as usual this fall.  Bass seem to go on a feeding spree in September and October like no other.  Jigging spoons and raps off deep main lakes points is a great way to…

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Fall Update

Let’s back up to September.  Walleye seemed a little harder to find this year (In September).  Water temps stayed warm and fish did not go from summertime spots directly to their fall/winter hangouts.  In these transition times of year it seems we catch a few here and a few there but really never find a school that you can sit on.  As the water cooled off fish arrived where they should be and fishing picked up.  October walleye fishing can be good as well if you can catch some stable weather.  Locals are catching some really nice females.  Deep main lake and secondary points are key spots to run an gun to.  Smallmouth bass action was awesome as usual this fall.  Bass seem to go on a feeding spree in September and October like no other.  Jigging spoons and raps off deep main lakes points is a great way to put these aggressive feeders in the boat.  Trout in September were spotty, warmer water kept fish deep but on the right day fisherman were boating fish from the 75 foot mark.

Moose hunting is going pretty well for many hunters in the area.  Several big bulls have been taken.  Moose populations seem to be OK at the present time and probably getting better from the decline over the last ten years.  Deer populations are very low throughout the north allowing the moose to repopulate.  I was fortunate to guide a couple of hunters on a fly out moose in September but things were a bit tough.  It was one of the few times that we did not have very much action and no shot opportunities.  A bit humbling we hunted hard and still had a very good time trying.

Guiding for musky over the last week was a blast.  We hit a three day window that the fish were extremely active.  Water temps are finally cooling off which should trigger some of those tankers to start feeding as well.  Our fish only averaged between 40 and 44 inches but those bigger fish will be starting soon.

Duck and goose hunting in Manitoba was awesome.  Lots of birds and great camaraderie.

Grouse numbers continue to be high and you can harvest your limit in short order.  Taking Betty out this morning for her to shoot us a nice feed of birds.

Seasons Change

Fall is rapidly approaching and with another part of the year gone the fish are moving to their next hangout.  Transition times of year can be tough and for many of us lately fishing has been tough.  Most fish have vacated the summer haunts and are on the move somewhere.  Somewhere is a big question.  We have been finding a few fish deep but things have bit slow in front of the fall feed.  Water temps are still in the low 60’s.  Colder nights ahead will start the water to cool down and trigger some of the best fishing of the year, although it is sometimes a short window the fall bite is fun in many ways.

Moose are already on the move and fisherman are having encounters on logging roads as well as  lakes.  Grouse season opens today and it seems there are plenty of birds for this fall.

Couple of pics from late August and September.

If you are wondering why there is a chicken in the pictures I don’t blame you.  We where out in the bush last week and came around a corner and there it was, a beautiful white rooster.  No idea how or why but I never would have guessed we would see a chicken.