terrybrand
08-13-2008, 08:54 PM
Trip Report, Antenna Lake, July12-19, 2008
Antenna Lake is run by Doug and Gayle Gawley under the Little Beaver operation just south of Ear Falls Ontario. They also run the Woman River Fly-In Outposts from this location. Their main camp is on LacSeul Lake just off highway 105.
We arrived at the dock on Saturday morning July 12, 2008 in a light rain, soon to be replaced by lowering clouds and heavier rain. Delayed about 2 hours, the ceiling finally lifted enough around 10 AM to allow the Twin-Beech to fly. It’s only a 25 minute flight to such a wonderful fishery; as the GPS ticked off the miles, Antenna Lake soon loomed below us as we banked in from the East for a patented landing by “Jake” the pilot. In no time we were at the dock unloading the gear for the five of us and helping the other group load up in preparation for leaving.
Walleye was on the menu and we were soon out looking for a lunch fish; before getting in the boat I caught two 18 inchers from under the dock but being the total sporting fisherman, left them go to look for truly wild fish! Within 15 minutes we all had our fat 18 inch walleyes on stringers trailing next to the boat but the eyes were willing so we caught and released numerous 16 to 20 inch fish before heading into clean our dinners.
Upon arriving at the dock we were greeted by one of our party who was quite animated and informed us he had hooked a “BIG” northern on his walleye jig and had the fish on for over 45 minutes. The fish finally got tired of the game and summarily broke his line and swam off. Being alone he had no way of landing the fish without help. He showed us where the nose and tail was on the side of the boat when he had it alongside; the measurements were in the 50 inch plus class. We fished for that fish the rest of the week with no success. The departing group had told me of a really big northern that was hanging around the dock and had in fact taken a walleye off a stringer one day, could this have been that same fish?
Sunday dawned partly cloudy, and the rain continued, heavy at times but would let up too so it was one of those on/off rain-suit kind of days. It rained off and on for the next 3 days before we really had any sun. Walleye spots marked on the map produced fish consistently but the bite was sporadic at best. Catch a couple of fish in the first 5 minutes or so then move to the next spot and catch a couple more and so on. We call this approach “run & gun” fishing. Using this approach we had a couple of days where we caught 100 plus fish per boat. Antenna Lake looks like it should have walleye in many more places than those marked on the map. To test that theory one day another fisherman and I decided to fish only spots that were not noted as walleye spots. We caught walleye in almost every spot we tried; if it looks like a walleye spot it probably is! Two of the best spots were the island in front of the cabin and the small island just east of it; both spots produced very well many times.
Rain and some cool weather, (one night down to 40 F) plagued us for most of the week but the fishing held up pretty good. Big northern pike were somewhat reluctant to chase lures this year but they were not shy about taking a walleye as you were bringing it into the boat. This happened to the group 3 or 4 times during the week. We also lost a walleye to a big pike when he ripped it off one of the stringers.
Fishing my favorite northern pike bay one rainy afternoon I was trolling a perch shaped lure when a big pike hit. As soon as I set the hook I knew it was a nice fish. After several heart stopping runs and one jump we had the fish next to the boat. My partner asked if I was going to hand land the fish but I thought she was a bit green and didn’t want to tire her out any more so we went for the cradle. After the second pass with the fish firmly in the cradle we got her in the boat; 48” and weighing in at 34.6 pounds.
That was the biggest pike I had ever caught; after pictures were quickly taken we got her back in the water and after 15 minutes she was recovered and swam slowly into the dark water to live and fight another day. The memory will live on as will that fish. Her picture is on the counter in Doug and Gayle’s office.
Antenna Lake is a quality fishery and is run by people who know the value of providing a wonderful experience but also understand the fragility of these kinds of waters. Conservation management and fishing insures that these great fish will always be available for others to catch. I applaud the Gawley’s for maintaining this lake and many others as trophy fishing waters. If you want the chance to catch a big northern pike; one of those fish of a lifetime, then Antenna Lake is where to try. This would also be a great lake for young fishermen to whet their appetite for Canadian fishing.
We ended our trip with over 700 walleyes caught and 3 northern pike over 40 inches taken. Lots of smaller pike were taken in the 24 to 30 inch range, a couple 36 inchers and a few 23 inch plus walleyes too, with one 24.5 inch eye as the top fish.
Doug and Gayle will provide you with a quality fishing experience on any of their lakes; great equipment, boats, motors and all the gas you will need. Cabins are comfortable with hot and cold running water, showers, solar water pressure systems, fully equipped kitchens and comfortable bunks.
Look them up on the web at: www.gawleyslittlebeaver.com or……. www.womanriverflyin.com
Phone is 807-222-2197 or 807-222-3333
If I can answer any questions feel free to contact me at terrybrand630@aol.com
Antenna Lake is run by Doug and Gayle Gawley under the Little Beaver operation just south of Ear Falls Ontario. They also run the Woman River Fly-In Outposts from this location. Their main camp is on LacSeul Lake just off highway 105.
We arrived at the dock on Saturday morning July 12, 2008 in a light rain, soon to be replaced by lowering clouds and heavier rain. Delayed about 2 hours, the ceiling finally lifted enough around 10 AM to allow the Twin-Beech to fly. It’s only a 25 minute flight to such a wonderful fishery; as the GPS ticked off the miles, Antenna Lake soon loomed below us as we banked in from the East for a patented landing by “Jake” the pilot. In no time we were at the dock unloading the gear for the five of us and helping the other group load up in preparation for leaving.
Walleye was on the menu and we were soon out looking for a lunch fish; before getting in the boat I caught two 18 inchers from under the dock but being the total sporting fisherman, left them go to look for truly wild fish! Within 15 minutes we all had our fat 18 inch walleyes on stringers trailing next to the boat but the eyes were willing so we caught and released numerous 16 to 20 inch fish before heading into clean our dinners.
Upon arriving at the dock we were greeted by one of our party who was quite animated and informed us he had hooked a “BIG” northern on his walleye jig and had the fish on for over 45 minutes. The fish finally got tired of the game and summarily broke his line and swam off. Being alone he had no way of landing the fish without help. He showed us where the nose and tail was on the side of the boat when he had it alongside; the measurements were in the 50 inch plus class. We fished for that fish the rest of the week with no success. The departing group had told me of a really big northern that was hanging around the dock and had in fact taken a walleye off a stringer one day, could this have been that same fish?
Sunday dawned partly cloudy, and the rain continued, heavy at times but would let up too so it was one of those on/off rain-suit kind of days. It rained off and on for the next 3 days before we really had any sun. Walleye spots marked on the map produced fish consistently but the bite was sporadic at best. Catch a couple of fish in the first 5 minutes or so then move to the next spot and catch a couple more and so on. We call this approach “run & gun” fishing. Using this approach we had a couple of days where we caught 100 plus fish per boat. Antenna Lake looks like it should have walleye in many more places than those marked on the map. To test that theory one day another fisherman and I decided to fish only spots that were not noted as walleye spots. We caught walleye in almost every spot we tried; if it looks like a walleye spot it probably is! Two of the best spots were the island in front of the cabin and the small island just east of it; both spots produced very well many times.
Rain and some cool weather, (one night down to 40 F) plagued us for most of the week but the fishing held up pretty good. Big northern pike were somewhat reluctant to chase lures this year but they were not shy about taking a walleye as you were bringing it into the boat. This happened to the group 3 or 4 times during the week. We also lost a walleye to a big pike when he ripped it off one of the stringers.
Fishing my favorite northern pike bay one rainy afternoon I was trolling a perch shaped lure when a big pike hit. As soon as I set the hook I knew it was a nice fish. After several heart stopping runs and one jump we had the fish next to the boat. My partner asked if I was going to hand land the fish but I thought she was a bit green and didn’t want to tire her out any more so we went for the cradle. After the second pass with the fish firmly in the cradle we got her in the boat; 48” and weighing in at 34.6 pounds.
That was the biggest pike I had ever caught; after pictures were quickly taken we got her back in the water and after 15 minutes she was recovered and swam slowly into the dark water to live and fight another day. The memory will live on as will that fish. Her picture is on the counter in Doug and Gayle’s office.
Antenna Lake is a quality fishery and is run by people who know the value of providing a wonderful experience but also understand the fragility of these kinds of waters. Conservation management and fishing insures that these great fish will always be available for others to catch. I applaud the Gawley’s for maintaining this lake and many others as trophy fishing waters. If you want the chance to catch a big northern pike; one of those fish of a lifetime, then Antenna Lake is where to try. This would also be a great lake for young fishermen to whet their appetite for Canadian fishing.
We ended our trip with over 700 walleyes caught and 3 northern pike over 40 inches taken. Lots of smaller pike were taken in the 24 to 30 inch range, a couple 36 inchers and a few 23 inch plus walleyes too, with one 24.5 inch eye as the top fish.
Doug and Gayle will provide you with a quality fishing experience on any of their lakes; great equipment, boats, motors and all the gas you will need. Cabins are comfortable with hot and cold running water, showers, solar water pressure systems, fully equipped kitchens and comfortable bunks.
Look them up on the web at: www.gawleyslittlebeaver.com or……. www.womanriverflyin.com
Phone is 807-222-2197 or 807-222-3333
If I can answer any questions feel free to contact me at terrybrand630@aol.com