Great week at Lost Island Lodge, Lac Seul

[Mike Kansas]

My wife and I and another couple and my brother In Law just got home from a great week at Lost Island Lodge. The Lodge has great customer service and just like the last seven years there we caught a bunch of Walleye.

The weather was hot and we had some some nice wind that helped off set the heat and kept the fish fairly active. We fished 5 days and caught 900 walleye in depths from 4" to 25". Most consistent bite was in 16" to 23" on jig/minnow on reefs in open water.

Met some new friends there . Bill from Minneapolis and Jim from Duluth. It is always great to meet new people who enjoy the bounty that Canada has given those of us who love to fish.

Mike Kansas

[rnnonmt]

Nice Mike! Wish I could say we had the same results the last week in June on Lac Seul. When I read "900 fish in 5 days" at first I was thinking no way! Did the math and that is a great average of 36 fish per person per day 5 ppl/5 days..... Definitely attainable. Again, nice fishing. We caught the tail end of all the rain then the hot no wind days followed by the last two days of wind blowing 20 mph gusting to 30. oh yeah, almost forgot to mention all the floating mayfly chum.......it was tough but I will be back. Can't let one year's trip deter me.

[IaDave]

Is Basil still there?

[Mike Kansas]

Originally Posted by IaDave

Is Basil still there?

Basil is there and he was the difference between us catching 900 Walleye and just enough to eat every day. Fishing was slow for the rest of the camp because of 90 degree heat.

Basil is a genius and has so many spots to fish at that vary in depth and structure. He always finds a lot of fish for us. We have had many days in the last few years that 7 of us will catch 400 to 500 Walleye a day with him.

Mike Kansas

[Larry Mac]

Hi Mike, Great report and love the results.

"We fished 5 days and caught 900 walleye in depths from 4' to 25'."

Putting together results like that in 90 degree heat is quite an accomplishment great job!!!!!!

Thank you and have a great year!

Thank you,
Larry Mac

[Mike Kansas]

Originally Posted by Larry Mac

Hi Mike, Great report and love the results.

"We fished 5 days and caught 900 walleye in depths from 4' to 25'."

Putting together results like that in 90 degree heat is quite an accomplishment great job!!!!!!

Thank you and have a great year!

Thank you,
Larry Mac

There was one spot that we caught the Eyes in 4' of water amongst the weeds. You could see the tops of the weeds when you were pulling up the Eyes. First time I had ever done that. key was probably heavy wind was pushing a lot of water through a narrow passage between two bays and I guess the minnows were in there.

Mike Kansas

[nd89sc88]

I also spent the week at Lost Island Lodge last week, and had the honor and privilege of fishing alongside Mike and his group. For my fishing partner Jim and I this was our first ever trip to Lac Seul. After "meeting" Mike on WC, I found him to be a treasure trove of good information and advice. Once we had everything set and booked during the same week that Mike was going to be there, he kindly offered to allow us to trail his group and their guide, Basil, so long as we agreed to tip Basil appropriately.

It took us a day and a half to catch up with Mike once we arrived, as Jim and I got our feet wet and started to learn a little about the lake. However, once I met Mike in person, he again offered to allow Jim and I to trail along with their guide boat, even offering to feed us breakfast at 5:15 AM so we could be at the dock by 5:45 for a 6:00 AM departure. Maybe just a bit skeptical anyone could be this nice, Jim and I agreed. Turned out to be the best decision we ever made.

For the next three days, we fished right alongside Mike, his beautiful wife Janet, and their group of friends. I learned a ton about not only where to fish, but how to fish this lake. Conditions were beautiful. Warm and sunny, and light winds most days. Despite that, Basil always put us on fish. We caught 110 walleyes in those three days. I had really never vertically jigged before. It's a lot more about boat control that anything else. And, you need to develop a feel for the bite. Also learned that when the fish were really negative, the best method was to lay the jig right down on the rock, on in the sand, with slack line and let it sit for 10-20 seconds, then slowly pick up the slack hoping to feel some weight . . . and set the hook. Amazingly, if you are not moving, you rarely snag this way. Totally different than the usual trolling methods I was used to with Lindy rigs or bottom bouncers. I'm convinced that there next time we go, we will catch a lot more because of all we learned this week. In total, we caught 147 walleyes, with the biggest being 25.5" and 24.5". We also caught 50+ northerns, with a 34, a 33 and two 32's.

I would also be remiss, if I didn't comment on our guide Basil. I wasn't entirely sure what to make of him at first. When we were introduced, he told me that I should follow in his wake, "Like you're stealing it." He also kidded that it was a good idea to stay close since he makes sure to give the reefs a wide berth, at least two feet or so! And of course, laughed as all the color drained from my face. Let me tell you, the first trip to Bear Narrows, I was totally white knuckle following him with our motor trimmed to the max, just barely able to stay on his tail. Over the next three days, however, I gleaned tons of information from Basil. Mostly from just watching him, and especially about boat control. The guy is a master at it. But he was also free with his advice and counsel, even if he was nervous about Jim and I and our maps and GPS. And, no Basil, I'm not giving out any coordinates!

We fished two of the days in the Bear Narrows area of the lake. Mainly rocky islands and points. Mainly 12-16 feet of water. We also fished a sand flat in 16-20 feet of water. On day three we went to the Grassy/Canoe Bay area and fished some mid lake structure and a sand area that necked down between two islands. With the way the wind was funneling through the channel, the sand got pretty churned up and the fish got more aggressive and shallower. Jim and I didn't fish the weeds there, but used the wind to increase our speed and picked off some nice, and very aggressive fish who were chasing our jigs and minnows. The following day, Jim and I went back on our own and caught some nice fish trolling Lindy rigs and even some on crank baits.

Finally, kudos to Shane at Lost Island Lodge and his staff (especially Brandon), for running a very nice operation. Our cabin, was nice and clean, with a shower. Toilets were in a common area, but each cabin is assigned a toilet, so that was nice. Kitchen was small but adequate. Our boat was a very comfortable 18 foot Princecraft with a 50 HP 4stroke Yamaha. A depth finder was included, as well. Can't really imagine anything more I'd want from a fishing camp.

All in all, a wonderful week of fishing, fun and camaraderie. Thanks again to Mike for his kindness. Looking forward to more fishing adventures, and bringing my daughter along the next time.

Bill

[narly12]

Excellent. Will be up there the week of 14-19 July and your thread sounds like it will be another wonderful trip to Lac Seul. Been going to that lodge for 10 years now and the fishing and hospitality only gets better.

[drlee]

Mike Kansas and Larry Mac: As a long time member of the Walleye Central group, I would advise you to read everything these two guys write. Not only do they write very well, but also they share great advice because they want you to enjoy fishing walleyes as much as they do. Thanks, guys!

[Mike Kansas]

Originally Posted by drlee

Mike Kansas and Larry Mac: As a long time member of the Walleye Central group, I would advise you to read everything these two guys write. Not only do they write very well, but also they share great advice because they want you to enjoy fishing walleyes as much as they do. Thanks, guys!

Thanks for the kind words. You are right there are plenty of fish out there for responsible fisherman and Larry Mac and I get a lot of satisfaction from all of us having great fishing trips.

Mike Kansas
www.sirmanski.com