2012 OPENER

Hello from Forrest Lodge on Caribou Lake. The lights are on and the walleye are hungry. We arrived last Tuesday and fired up the generators. As of today the west side is up and running and MaryJo is working her mojo on cabin 1. I have half of the boats rigged and in the water and the floating dock is set. Much to my dissatisfaction Squint poked her head out from under the office deck and another yet to be named varmit is under the shed. After 6 years Lady is still with us and has been by every evening. I wish she would develop a taste for ground hog. Alvin and Tweek are on the porch and act as though we never left for the winter. The weather today is cold and wet with a slight NW wind. Almost perfect walleye condition. Water level is normal for this time of year. We heard that the ice was out early this year and that means that the traditional spawn has occurred already and the fish are moving out. The cold weather and cold rain will help to keep them in shallow for a bit longer. Extended forecast calls for cool temps and rain. Lakers are still shallow. We have had some come in from the 10-20 foot range with fish being marked on the bottom. A group went to the north end yesterday and caught "100's" of fish. The Narrows are producing somewhat. No report on Whitefish Bay yet. I hope to get my chores done and get out for a few hours on Friday. Look for a new report by Sunday. And remember.....THINK WALLEYE!

                                   Are you ready!

So how about this crazy spring weather. Hard water fishing ended practically over night with the rapid thaw. The ice has been out on the lakes here in Northern Wisconsin for several days now and not a patch of snow remains. There are several golf courses open already. The weather on Caribou has been similar, although I have no report of ice out yet. If this pattern holds I'm sure we will be ready for the opener. We will no longer be selling licences as the MNR has gone all electronic now. You can go to our home page and click on the link to the MNR. The process is easy and only takes a few minutes. I just did mine and MaryJo's in about 5 minutes. Just have a credit card ready and when you are done you print your licence. Easy as that! If you forget before you travel north you can stop at several locations before you get to Forrest Lodge. I would suggest that you try at home first as there is no back-up system in place in the event that the MNR website has a glitch. It makes it much more convenient and you can pay by credit card. Now there is no waiting to get fishing! Remember that Forrest Lodge is WiFi hot so you can bring your laptop and other connected devices. More and more guests are using Skype to stay in touch with family and friends and a few are even doing business while on vacation. By now you should have been to a few sport shows and perhaps looked a boat or two. What shape is your tangle box in? Now is the time to replace broken equipment and re-spool. Get yourself a hook sharpener and touch up your favourite lure. Inspect your rod and pay close attention to the line guides. Use a cotton ball on each guide and if it snags any where clean it up. Check your rod tip for fatigue and inspect the reel seat. St Croix has some great rods that are made right here in Wisconsin and you can find them at most sport shops. Nothing worse than having your rod break hauling in a Caribou lunker. Have your reel checked out too. Some sport shops do it free if you buy line and have it spooled there. A few drops of rod oil go a long way to prevent a spoiled day on the water. Fishing line is inexpensive and should always be replaced every spring. Your line is the direct connection between you and the catch of a life time. Even if you have little time on the line from last year replace it. And remember not to throw your used line in the garbage. Take it to your local sport shop for proper disposal. If your hauling your boat to Forrest Lodge check it from top to bottom. Please clean out your bilge to prevent to spread of invasive species. Thoroughly drain and clean your bilge, air dry and mist with a bleach solution. Check your lower end. Pull the prop and remove any fishing line and inspect the seals. Check lower unit oil. If your uncomfortable doing motor work get your boat in to the shop now before it gets to busy. Don't forget about the trailer. Grease the bearings, check all lights and inspect the bunks. Make sure you have a spare trailer tire. Check all straps and the winch. Patch any holes in the cover. I have seen more than one or two boats arrive with the covers in shreds. How is your rain gear? All I can say is "Gore Tex". If you spend a few extra bucks here you will not regret it. Nobody likes to fish in the rain, but if you have, you know the value of a good rain suit. And the bite is usually great during a rain shower. So with just over six weeks to go now is the time to get ready and remember.................THINK WALLEYE!   

Happy New Year!

Happy New Year to all our guests, family, and friends!

We hope the new year brings everyone, wealth, health and happiness. We are looking forward to another great season at Forrest Lodge. As we look back in 2011, we realised that even though the economy wasn't in our favour, the weather was great, fishing was excellent and we made new friends. We can get so caught up in what is so wrong in this world today we tend to forget what is so great. We need to be thankful for family & friends, for what we have, not what we don't. We've already encountered a small percentage,1 or 2%, who are unreasonable, stupid, paranoid, delusional, or possibly suffering from the temporary or permanent effects of substance abuse or it's just genetic. Not how we'd like to start the New Year. But, these people are entitled to their opinions. We believe MOST people think for themselves and we just have to let negative comments roll off our backs and ignore stupidity.
So, how about those PACKERS?!!!! and those BADGERS??!!! What a year for Wisconsin. 

After the close of last season, we had come to the conclusion that we need to raise our rates for the 2012 season. After eleven years and only raising our prices twice, we need to stay ahead of the economy ball. We are offering the following:
IF you pay your deposit before Janauray 9th,2012, we will lock you in the 2011 prices, $70 pp/pn with own boat & $90pp/pn with the lodging package. Free ice, Free Wi-Fi, Free docking, Free dock-electricity,Free lake maps, and free advice ;).

We want to Thank everyone who were our guests in 2011 and those who already booked for 2012. We appreciate your business and looking forward to providing you with the best service possible this coming season. 4 months and 18 days to go! Think Walleye! Hurry and Book your trip soon.

September Numbers

Jerry & Kevin- U.Co-op trip Aug,2011

We are well into the late season here at Forrest Lodge and the bite continues to prove that Caribou Lake produces some trememdous numbers of walleye. Fishing has been productive in the 20-40 foot zone with any combination of approaches. Of course live bait rigging still produces the best bite. I used a 1/8 oz chartruese tipped with anything from minnow to leech to crawler and the "Gulp" stuff and did equally as well. Rubber tails and other soft baits takes a little softer touch but produce some good eaters. We had a nice Laker come in the other day that took a minnow on a walleye rig. Lakers are in the fall spawn pattern now and moving into shallow water. Stick baits and spinners will get the best action now on Lakers. Setting up with down riggers is still another approach but not as effective this time of year. These two fellows have a couple of nice smokers that they pulled up using a vertical jig over the edge of the breaking reef. The September size limit is on now and October is the close of  Lake Trout.

Smoothrock fire,Sept,2011

The fire season is coming to an end finally. We had several nervous days here as the smoke and ash fallout was heavy at times. The rains came just in time and also helped to cool the lake water and get the fish into a fall pattern. So far we have not had a frost here along the shore of Caribou Lake but up at the top of the ridge and in town has seen several frosty mornings. The weather has been great for fishing so far but our moose hunters are not seeing much activety. Moose need a few cold nights to help get them moving. Yesterday we saw 72f here and today looks like a repeat. Clear brilliant sky with calm winds. Just a few more fishing partys in this year then Capt MaryJo and I get to spend some extended time on the water. We do get to fish together during the season, but only for short trips. One of us needs to be available for our guests at all times so we plan accordingly and on occassion even meet up with some of our guests on the water. When I'm not guiding and just out fishing it gives us a chance to get to explore and try new equipment. One thing we have learned over the years is that cheap equipment is just that, and on the other hand, a $100 fishing rod catches just as many fish as a $500 rod. A reel with multiple bearings is better than a reel with a few, and a quality 6-7 foot medium fast rod works well for me. I still like a good quality mono line that doesn't break the bank to spool up. I have never suggested one product over another or one manufacturer over another but I must say buy American as much as possible and remember.......THINK WALLEYE!
Capt. Scott

Mid August Bite

After numerous phone calls and emails I went to the "Walleye Central" web site.Thank you all for the input, it makes our job that much more fun and says we must be doing something right! So to answer a few questions. The fires are no longer a threat and we have not had any smoke for several days. We did get some good soaking rain yesterday. The weather link on the Forrest Lodge home page is sort of close. Currently 78f, mostly sunny, wind from the W/SW at 20-gusting to 25 with 2 foot cappers out front, no doubt 3 foot+ at the Narrows. Last week the bite on this end of Caribou was astonishing. Walleye swimming past the main dock in the mornings looking for a free meal, thats is whats left after the Gators get their fill. I had one group that never went past the narrows and commented that there are so many places that hold fish that they never had to venture out of site of Forrest Lodge. The bite remains solid at Cove and the Beave and all points in between. Some Heavies have been hooked up with C&R and pictures. Lakers on the smoker today and fish fry on Thursday. The Blu Cheese Cole slaw is made and with any luck we'll have some of MaryJo's smoked trout spread. I made some walleye cerviche, always great with a chilly Blue! Speaking of Capt. MaryJo, the big Blues have moved to MaryJo's Island, all C&R as nobody keeps any over 18". No report on Gators cause I dont fish for them this time of year and nobody has any to brag about. No reports of them grabbing walleye either. The nights are beginning to cool off and as the water temp begins to drop the feed bag goes on. By the early to mid part of September the big heavies are on the move eating anything that gets in the way. Its time to change gear a bit and keep a meat stick in the boat to snag the big Gators that are feeding on everything. Jig and live bait are still my favorite. I cant get excited about trolling cause I dont like to sit still for to long. Same holds for fishing, if you dont pick up a bite in 10-15 minute then move, change location and look for the break in the chop along the edge of the reefs and points. Throw out a Buzz bait and get ready to hear the drag squeal. Often I cant even get my jig to the zone before a Gator grabs on. Lake Trout are fall spawners and come into the shallow rocks to take care of business. Casting count down stick baits and spoons will get these guys. Caribou has 2 variety of Lake Trout, one being the soft white oily meat and the other is the firm pink/orange meat that is almost like Salmon. Vertical jigging for them this time of year is productive as is trolling with down riggers. I have used the Dipsy Divers in the past and didn't care for it as it is trolling and I need constant action. Long lining for them is about the best I can do to slow down. Anything blue and white or blue and silver seems to work the best. I use blue and white Buzz Bomb for them and sometimes tip it with some of that articial stinky stuff. 18lbs has been the biggest so far. Just remember that when you hoist a Laker up from 100+ feet it's not going to be a C&R, so if you fish for them be ready to keep and eat what you hook up. And speaking of catch and release, I need to mention Bill F. from Ohio that hooked up with a heavy last year. 32", 12 lb walleye, the picture will be posted of the actual fish and the replica mount. Now thats what its all about. Remember.......THINK WALLEYE!