 |
 |
| 2010 Dave Schabell Bill Hagedorn and Dave Schabell Spanish River Fishing Trip |
 |
 |
 |
 |
| This year's trip was absolutely amazing - something right out of the brochure! As opposed to last year, when arctic conditions, rain, wind, and bugs prevailed, this year the gods in charge of the weather must have confused Canada with the Carribbean and sent us unbelievably great weather, near-perfect fishing conditions, and NO bugs for the best part of our stay. A high pressure system planted itself over Northern Ontario providing us with sometimes hot (80's), calm, pleasant weather for nearly the first three weeks. Note the sunburn! Being our 20th trip, perhaps we had earned enough brownie points with the gods that we were rewarded, or perhaps after not being able to run us off last year with the string of plagues that befell us, they simply gave up and smiled upon us this year. Whatever, we will probably spend the next 20 years trying to duplicate the wonderful conditions that we experienced this year. In addition to good conditions, the fishing held up all four weeks and we put a plethera of fish over the side of the boat. With the early spring, we were able to generate action on top-water plugs from nearly day one, which is the most exciting way to fish. Walleye were plentiful again this year, and willingly hit on our twistertails and crankbaits, when located. Again this year we did not use a piece of live bait, and had fun laughing at all of the "dew-worm dippers" that made their way down the steps to the dock on a daily basis with their worms in hand - probably having no clue how to catch fish other than dragging worms. |
| May 12th - June 11th 2010 |
| Deborah Matheson is the first lady of the Blue Heron Resort. She does an excellent job of providing for all of our material needs while in camp. She is the self-proclaimed 49% stockholder who can take out a legal pad, draw a few sketches, and a new cabin/lodge will appear the next season as if magic. She, Cal, and Dennis are all kept busy by we guests, but they truly enjoy what they are doing, and make life pleasant for everyone. |
 |
 |
| Walleye were again plentiful this year, and we always had enough for dinner and a few to bring home. We threw back over 50 walleye and there were stories of 100 fish catches. The smallmouth bass are incredible. Although out of season, by throwing plugs we encounter a few dandies during the course of our stay. |
 |
| Dave Schabell - Trip Twenty |
 |
| Bill Hagedorn - Trip Twelve |
 |
 |
| The 36 inch Northern Pike I am displaying at left was by far our biggest of the trip. I caught it on the second day in camp. After that the sun came out the water warmed up, and the big pike disappeared. Normally we will catch about a dozen in the 28-35 inch range. This year 28 inches was our largest for the remainder of the trip. The smaller pike were plentiful and always added some excitement to each day's outing. |
 |
| The Blue Heron Resort is the cleanest and most well-kept fish camp in Northern Ontario. This is one of the reasons for our return year after year. When I returned home, a friend asked me if we fried our fish in a black iron skillet. I laughed and said. "Heck no, we fry them in a deep fryer." Another advantage to staying at the Blue Heron. Deborah threw in some onion rings one night and we were in pig heaven. Fish, Onion Rings, and Mac and Cheese. Doesn't get any better than that. |
 |
 |
| Muskie continue to be in evidence. This 40+ inch, 20 pound whopper was caught, photoed, and released by one of the members of the first week group from Holland, Michigan. We call their group "The Michiganders" and they are perhaps the most accomplished fishermen that have been visiting the Blue Heron for years. |
| Our day starts each morning at 7am when the alarm goes off. Breakfast is completed by 8am, and then it is on the lake or river until shore lunch at 12:30pm, and then more fishing until about 2:30pm when we return to camp for a 2 hour nap before dinner. Following dinner it is back on the water until about 9:30pm, when we wrap up another perfect day to a brilliant sunset. The same thing happens each day for the duration of our 30 day trip. |
 |
 |
 |
| You never know what is going to jump on your hook. No trip report would be complete without a photo of a crappie caught in "No Fish Bay." Actually with the warm water, we only caught 2 crappie this entire trip, whereas somethimes we will catch two dozen. My primary bait of choice on the trip are 3 or 4 inch twister-tail grubs. I will also use crank baits when the situation presents itself, but all in all one of the reasons I like the grubs is that you never know what your are going to catch. I leave the surface fishing up to Bill who delights in a big northern pike blowing up on his Rapala Skitter Pop Frog. In the middle of one sunny afternoon, a school of BIG channel cats moved through our fishing grounds. In a matter of 20 minutes I caught a total of four cats on the grubs, including a pair of ten pounders. We caught walleye (pickerel), northern pike, bass, crappie, catfish, rock bass, perch, and suckers - all on artifical bait. |
 |
| During the early season walleye run, which lasted about two weeks this spring there are up to 30 boats at the mouth of the river, and men, women, and children are all catching walleyes as we manuver amoung them to get to our fishing grounds. Since we prefer to troll for walleyes ourselves, and catch them by casting we leave the worm dipping to the locals. |
 |
 |
 |
| Fish isn't the only thing we eat at fish camp. Here Bill prepares to wolf down a steak. |
 |
| In addition to the great fishing, we are treated to pristine condidtions, beautiful scenery, bear and eagle sightings, and gorgous sunsets on a daily basis. All of our fish, with the exception of a few walleye, are caught, photographed, and returned to the water in excellent condition to fight another day. Of the hundreds of fish caught during our 30 day stay, only one or two will end up being fatalities. Bill and I are meticulous at hook removal and will often cut our hooks in order to prevent damage to a fish. We often team up on a difficult hook removal and work patiently to revive a fish until he swims off under his own power. |
| As always we brought many fond memories home with us and are already looking forward to our 2011 Blue Heron Fishing Trip renewal. |
| Good luck to those of you reading this page who will be making a trip to the Blue Heron. We wish you the success and good experiences that we have enjoyed over the years at this wonderful camp. |