Barometric Pressure

Opening Day! We are ready to kick off our 2019 season! Northern Pike and Lake trout fishing has been very good this past week. Lake trout waters were running temperatures in the high 40’s and many fish were being caught in shallow water. Northern Pike action was hot. Smaller bush lake temperatures are in the low 50’s. Looking forward to see how walleye action sets up on the first day of season. NW Ontario is experiencing some beautiful weather on this May long weekend, lots of sunshine with a nice walleye chop.

Pickerel Creek Camp is excited to announce along with Lethbridge College in Alberta a study on the potential effects of barometric pressure on fishing success/harvest. Personally, I have always wondered what may cause fish to actively feed or not. In conjunction with the Department of Environmental Science at Lethbridge College we will be doing a study this summer. Zain Ismail is a senior student and will be doing his final project on this subject. We will be asking for your help in collecting data and look forward to sharing our results with you. I know some of you may not be customers of ours but if you would like to participate in the study a simple email to get a questionnaire would suffice.

We will be seeing many of you soon, safe travels and good fishing.

Opening

We have 2 cabins that just opened up, 1st week and 3rd week of June and the outpost is available June 8th.

Ice is melting quick and we should start to see open water on smaller lakes this coming week. Looking forward to see many of you very soon.

Feels Like Spring

April has been a very nice month, warming temperatures and some sunshine has melted most of our snow and has all the creeks and rivers flowing. Just a few more weeks and we will have open water again. Fishing this month has been very good for the most part. Trout fishing I would say has been excellent in the last week and we had good reports of walleye fishing right up to the season closurer . Crappie were a bit tougher to locate in March and even in April. But enough of ice fishing , it’s time for some open water. Northern Pike have moved into their spawning areas, we have seen several eagles catch their lunch of Northern Pike in Pickerel Creek this week. Pickerel Creek opened up on the 16th of the month and pairs of all sorts of waterfowl arrived with the open water. We are excited to see all of you and look forward to a busy season.

Mid-March

Warmer weather has fisherman finally getting out and doing a little more fishing. Seems like most of the recent reports are fairly decent. This winter has been long and cold for the most part. We were able to get out for a trout day and although we didn’t have a banner day we did put a couple of fish on the ice and had a true giant get away. Don’t roll your eyes, a buddy really did have a giant trout on for a while. Walleye fishing will be picking up each day and the warmer weather in the forecast will help out a lot. Crappie fishing in our area has been spotty, some good days of 20 plus fish and some stinkers of less than 10 fish. Looking forward to some trophy northern pike fishing, the feeder creeks will start to flow with this warmer forecast and northern pike will start to stage and begin a pre-spawn feed. Pulling mid 30″ to mid 40″ fish through the ice is definitely an outing everyone should experience. Many of you that purchase your licence online may have a copy on their phone but do our conservation officers a favor and print out a hard copy to give them when asked. No one would want to handle your phone over the edge of a boat.

We have 3 spots available in June and a couple spots available for our fall bear hunt. Please call or email for more information.

A Look Back

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SEASONS GREETINGS FROM PICKEREL CREEK CAMP & OUTPOST

Well another year has come to an end.  2018 provided us with many unforgettable moments.  Dave and I have shared many of our stories with friends and family and they agree that we are very fortunate to live our lives in Northwestern Ontario.   We know our success and happiness could not be possible with YOU…Thank you!

FISHING

This past year could have been reported as much tougher fishing from the previous few years.  As much of the Midwest had experienced, our weather seemed to have 2 seasons in 2018.  We went from winter to summer and summer back to winter.  Water temperatures play such an important role, Pickerel Lake went from 49 degrees on opening day to 75 degrees just 10 days later.  Keep in mind we are in NW Ontario and the fishing is excellent so when we have a few below average weeks they really stick out.    Numbers of mature walleye being caught is still very much on the rise and is undoubtedly a result of your excellent conservation practices.  Not only are we seeing mature fish being caught but many different year classes of fish.  We have had more “personal best “, caught this year than any other.

HUNTING

Wolf hunting is our first hunt of the year which starts in March.  All of our hunters harvested or had opportunities at taking a wolf.  Our bear hunt like most in NW Ontario is very good.  Populations are healthy and opportunities to observe and harvest trophy black bear are excellent.  Although our moose population has been declining over the last 15 years there seems to be a rebound in many areas of our unit.  Our non-resident hunter seen 18 moose in four days of hunting and harvested a beautiful mature bull that measured 54”.  Our grouse numbers have been plentiful to say the least.  Always great stories from our guest that mix it up with some fall fishing and grouse hunting.

OGANI OUTPOST

Whether you are fishing, hunting, or staring at the falls relaxing, the outpost is definitely a fan favorite.  Fishing was steady as usual.  Our repeat guest are really figuring things out and are boating more and more mature fish.  High numbers of 15 to 18 inchers are still the bulk of the fishing but many mid 20’s are being boated. There were a couple of weeks that northern pike were really on.  Mid 30’s were common but several 40” plus pike were boated this past summer.  Ogani is a great place to see all kinds of wildlife.  Sightings of moose, bear, and wolves this year were plentiful.  We are continuing to make upgrades to make your stay even more enjoyable

PCC NEWS

The new pavilion with an event grill, pizza oven and deep fryer this year was a big hit.  Many of afternoon and nights, guests would stop in for a cold beverage at the new bar and awesome tractor seats, picnic tables or just to relax on the lounge furniture.  Later in the year we had a few people try out our karaoke machine, just imagine! In all sincerity, Dave and I loved having all of you in one place in the evenings.  It was very special to both of us getting to know all of you better, sharing stories and having fun!

In the spring we plan to remodel the bathrooms in Cabins 5&6.  Last year we completely rehabbed Cabin 1.  Our customers that had the opportunity to stay in Cabin 1 this year enjoyed the new floors, beds, kitchen cupboards and countertops.  Cabin 4 had a new kitchen renovation that was also welcomed. 

We are looking forward to our 16^th year next season 2019.  Every year we are busier than the year before thanks to all of you for your referrals.  Just a reminder, our web page is:  WWW.PICKERELCREEKCAMP.COM. My husband is supposed to be writing a blog, not sure what happened this year? I think he dropped the ball. Please note that on Dave’s blog page you can sign up to receive his postings.  The website will automatically send it to your email.

WISHING ALL OF YOU A VERY MERRY CHRISTMAS AND A HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Warmest regards, Dave and Betty

2 Weeks in the Books

Pickerel Creek Camp's Blog

The last two weeks have been hot and dry but the fishing has been pretty good.  Calm winds have hurt the fishing a bit.  Fish do not seem to be schooled up as much as they should be. One day fishing is really good and the next just OK.  Walleye that are being caught consistently have been in 4 to 6 feet of water but have moved out to 8 to 10 feet the last couple of days.  If we could get some sustained winds to concentrate the bait fishing would be a lot easier.  Weather changes with more normal temperatures should get  something going on a consistent basis.  Female walleye are starting to feed a bit more with some really nice fish being caught, that should only get better over the next couple of weeks.  The outpost fishing has been fantastic  and reports from the surrounding area have been…

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2 Weeks in the Books

 

The last two weeks have been hot and dry but the fishing has been pretty good.  Calm winds have hurt the fishing a bit.  Fish do not seem to be schooled up as much as they should be. One day fishing is really good and the next just OK.  Walleye that are being caught consistently have been in 4 to 6 feet of water but have moved out to 8 to 10 feet the last couple of days.  If we could get some sustained winds to concentrate the bait fishing would be a lot easier.  Weather changes with more normal temperatures should get  something going on a consistent basis.  Female walleye are starting to feed a bit more with some really nice fish being caught, that should only get better over the next couple of weeks.  The outpost fishing has been fantastic  and reports from the surrounding area have been good.  I do think there is some room for improvement and the upcoming weather changes just might do it.

 

 

 

Opening Weekend

Somewhat of a slow start on Saturday turned around and fishing is picking up everyday.  Cold water temps Saturday made fishing tough for the most part but warm dry weather has moved in and so have the walleye.  Find water temps in the mid 50’s and you should see some action.  There is larva present in the walleye that are being filleted, and everyday the water warms, more larva and hatches will occur.  Targeting shallow warm water is a good place to start right now.  Trout waters are still cool and you can find fish in 15 to 30 feet of water, trout action has been very good over the last week or so.  Water temps are averaging 53 degrees, hitting 57 in the afternoon.

Cancellation

A cabin just opened up for the week of May 26th, 2018.  Excellent week for fishing.  If you or anyone you know would be interested please let us know.  This is our only cabin available until July 7th.  We also have September 8th available at our outpost.  Thank you.

It’s Still Winter.

A short report from the north would say winter is still here.  Unless the weather drastically warms up we should have ice well into the first part of May, that’s only my guess.  Depending who you are and where you are fishing the reports are all over the map.  With a couple of warmer days we are starting to see some flow from the feeder creeks.  This running water should start bringing the Northern Pike and Walleye into the shallower water of these creek mouths.  It seems everyday is different.  We have been able to get out a bit as of late and our report is spotty at best but we do hear of some pretty nice catches in the area.