July brought in a wave of great fishing and even better stories! We received tons of awesome fish photos from guests, and we’ve loved every one of them. There’s nothing better than sharing your big catches with the entire community!

If you have any fish photos from your trip with us this summer, we’d love to see them! Just be sure to include your party name and the location where the photo was taken when you send them in.

Keep those lines tight and the pictures coming!

Kettle Falls Lodge

It’s been a true trophy month of fishing here at Kettle Falls! Our anglers have been reeling in some impressive catches—lots of trophy-sized smallmouth bass, northern pike, and walleye. It’s always exciting to hear about the big ones biting, but just as thrilling when a few boats report catching over 175 fish in a single day!

We were thrilled to welcome back longtime guest Duane, who brought his family—and for the first time, the wives joined in on the fun! They had an incredible trip, with the ladies landing some truly amazing fish. Be sure to check out their photos of those BIG catches—they definitely got hooked! After long days of sunshine and fishing, they enjoyed relaxing evenings filled with great food, laughter, and a little “wine and dine.”

Ken and his son also joined us for an unforgettable trip. Ken summed it up perfectly: “My son and I had the time of our life.” Their smiles say it all—take a look at their fun photos!

Guests this month have been adventurous with our daily flyouts.  For a little more of a tidbit for those who are new: we offer lake trout, smallmouth bass and northern pike daily flyouts where guests are on the dock at 7:45am and the plane takes them for the day to a secluded lake where we have boats and motors set up to fish. Cooler of drinks and lunch, rods and reels are brought on the plane and enjoy the day fishing before the plane comes to pick them up at 4-5pm.

We have had days where guests this July have flown and fished our musky fly in lake for the day and have boated 16 muskies. Our bass fishermen that fished on another smallmouth bass lake they boated over 200 smallmouth bass! It is a fun way to have a true Canadian fly in fishing excursion. We have all sorts of names for these lakes whether they are a number or a Letter like “H” lake-each lake has a story of how the lake got its name. H Lake is nothing really creative-the lake looks like a H.

Caribou Falls Landing

This month we had fishermen go out with their fish counter and they caught 26 fish in one hour between 2 fishermen. That is a fish almost every other minute and they still had to re-bait their jigs! That was a fun time! The fish have really made their way out to the humps. Lots of fish between the 8-22 foot range but the bigger ones can sometimes be found in deeper waters of 30 feet.

93 trophy fish this month at Caribou Falls Landing!!

We had plenty of familiar faces this month—it’s always great to see so many repeat guests! Tom from Wisconsin returned with his son, grandson, and friends, and they caught some really big fish. Tom’s a true walleye guy, so they spent a lot of time fishing the humps and had a blast out there.

We also welcomed back Rob from Wisconsin and his fishing crew. They’re dedicated walleye fishermen too and spent their time on Umfreville—working the humps and exploring the smaller lakes that branch off. Their efforts paid off with some absolutely dynamite fishing!

Side Note from Amber:
Over the years, it has truly been a blessing to meet so many wonderful people through this job. There’s a crew from Iowa that has been coming since I first started working at Halley’s Camps—26 years ago! He had done multiple trips per year. He is connected with so many others, and after my “Mr. Fisherman” from that crew visited in July, he told me in September this year was his last trip. Oh, the tears that came with the memories—so many laughs and stories over the years. Don has brought so much joy to all of us, and I will truly miss him.

Almost every group that comes through leaves a personal mark on my heart. This job is so much more than just a job—it’s the relationships, the stories, the good times, and even the challenges. (You wouldn’t believe how many hooks I’ve seen—though only one this summer!) We’re the destination so many fishermen count down the days to return to each year, and it’s such a privilege to be part of their adventures and to meet so many amazing people.

Dufualt’s Island Outpost should be named Trophy Walleye Outpost!! The guests from there this past August registered so many trophies it is crazy. One group alone registered 9 trophies! Cannot wait to see what August brings!! The new cabin is getting more complete-the wildfire set us back from construction and we are still getting some of the last details complete!!

Usually this is our month to post some pictures about our delicious wild Canadian blueberries. With the fires that came through it wiped out lots of our blueberries and even if they did survive the fire the amount of rain that we had in May and June would not have sustained a bumper crop of berries. On the bright side is the there are these beautiful fire flowers. We call them fire flowers as they always bloom after a forest fire. When flying over, you can see huge patches from the airplane of these bright purply/pink flowers that are in the middle of the burnt areas. It’s hard to believe the fire was only a few months ago as the green shrubs, bushes and grass are already growing back.

One Man

“Fish on!” was definitely the phrase of the month—because the walleyes were biting! It’s hard to say enough about how great the fishing has been lately: walleyes, bass, pike, and even a few whitefish made for some exciting catches. Each morning, guests couldn’t wait to hop in their boats right after enjoying one of Janice’s delicious breakfasts. The top priority for most? Catching enough fish for a shore lunch—which, for many, took only 5 to 15 minutes depending on how many people were in the boat! After that, it was back out on the water either chasing big numbers or hunting for that next trophy fish.

It’s great to hear all the stories and see the happy faces after catching their greatest number of fish in a day or maybe they just caught their biggest fish in their lifetime-it’s just so great to see all that come up enjoy the outdoors, fish, relax, and repeat! Our 3-generation group of Grandpa Jim, son Steve, and grandson James caught 15 trophies in 3 days (9 bass, 5 walleyes, and 1 pike)!! James caught 7 trophies while Steve and Jim each caught 4. It was a very memorable trip!!

Lots of families use One Man as a get together meeting spot almost like a family reunion. As long as groups have 14 people, we will let them rent the entire premises as we can hold up to 20 guests. Dennis did that with his family, and they had an amazing time. Great fishing, good weather, and they took full advantage of the back yard as they used it as a driving range.

We also welcomed a new group this month—Lee and his high school buddies came up for a fishing trip at One Man. They’re usually saltwater fishermen, but this was their first freshwater adventure—and they did great! Lee was fishing rockstar! They reeled in plenty of walleyes, pike, and northerns. We’re sure we’ll be seeing them again!

One Man got a bit of a facelift this month! A fresh coat of paint, new lights, and an updated sign have really brightened things up—and a brand-new roof is on the way in September! Guests have also been loving the new deck furniture, perfect for sitting back, relaxing, and soaking in those beautiful scenic views.

Outposts

This season, Rex Lake Outpost had the pleasure of hosting a former local resident who brought three friends all the way from New Mexico to experience extraordinary Canadian fishing. What started as a simple getaway quickly turned into a trip they’ll be talking about for years.

The group of four wasted no time exploring the waters around Rex Lake, and found the fish immediately. From hard-fighting smallmouth bass to powerful northern pike, the action was nonstop. Every day brought new stories—missed strikes, surprise trophies, and plenty of friendly competition.

But it wasn’t just the fishing that made the trip unforgettable. The group soaked in every sunrise shimmering across the still lake and every vibrant sunset melting behind the tree line. Evenings on the deck, swapping stories and laughing about the day’s highlights, became just as memorable as the time spent on the water.

Trapline Lake Outpost

The whole crew spent their days reeling in countless walleye, creating memories that will last long after the tackle boxes are packed away. They were all smiles with steady action on the water, catching fish after fish and mastering their own fishing techniques.

With full stringers, big smiles, and another year of laughs and family bonding, Shad and his group are already planning their return to Trapline. Thanks to the amazing fishing, beautiful scenery, and the peace of the great Canadian wilderness, it’s become an annual trip for the family. The youngest fisherman we think out fished everyone:

A Familiar Face… and an Unexpected Visitor at Moosehorn Lake Outpost

Every year, one longtime guest makes his way back to Moosehorn Lake Outpost in search of two things he loves most: incredible smallmouth bass fishing and peaceful northern solitude. This season, the fishing was amazing—he hauled in plenty of hard-fighting bass and spent his days enjoying the quiet beauty of the lake.

But the solitude? That experienced a little “friendly disruption.” One night, he awoke to the sound of curious footsteps outside the cabin. Peeking out, he discovered a black bear casually touring the grounds, as if conducting its own late-night inspection. The visitor wasn’t threatening—just inquisitive—and after a quick look around, it wandered back into the woods. It was another unforgettable trip in the books—and we look forward to welcoming him back next season for more bass, more quiet… and hopefully fewer unexpected neighbors.

Wishing you were fishing? Drop us a line by email at [email protected] or call us at 1-800-465-3325 and let’s go fishing!