2010 is now in the history books .
What a great summer we had
from start to finish! With an
extra early ice out, and balmy
weather, we were able to get a
head start on opening up the
lodge.
As many of you know, it is not
unusual for Esnagami Guides to
be dusting snow off the boat seats
for opening week. This spring,
long underwear, toques and
gloves were replaced with tshirts,
shorts and sun block.
Anglers were greeted by Pike &
Walleye, eager to put on the
feed bag….having already
completed their spawning duties
By the end of the first week,
lodge guests accumulated 70 Pike
& Walleye entries into the now 22
year - running Trophy Catch &
Release Program. We
implemented this conservation,
minded program in 1989 with a
goal to maintain, if not enhance
the Trophy Pike & Walleye fishing
opportunities in Esnagami Lake.
All 30”+ Pike and 24”+ Walleye, now
totalling over 7,000, having been
released back into the lake.
Esnagami Anglers continue to
enjoy the success of this “live
release program” with the 2010
season producing record
numbers of Trophy fish, as well
as setting a NEW LAKE RECORD for big
Pike.
First week guest & former guide,
Brian Lambie had very
productive results. Brian put up
20 trophy entries, with 2 being big
Pike over 40”. Also “Milwaukee’s
best”, Mike Wang’s group tallied
over 30 Catch and Release
entries. Several of the bigger
Pike were caught using a fly rod,
a method of fishing that is
growing in popularity amongst
Esnagami Anglers.
The success of this first week,
seemed to set the tone for the
rest of the season.
The next few weeks saw guests
catching a slew of big Pike and
especially Trophy Walleyes. Ed
Helble’s group of 3, son Nick and
friend Jake Jakimow had a great
week totalling 16 trophies. Nick’s
29” Walleye and Jake’s 28” & 29”
Walleyes topped their tally. It
was Rob Giardulli’s 30 ¼” Trophy
Walleye that took top honours
for the week, and as it turned
out, for the season. This of
course, means Rob will enjoy
another free trip to Esnagami
for having the biggest Walleye
of 2010. Some of you may recognize Rob’s name for 2009
when he caught the Biggest Pike
of that year at 46 ¼
Another trend that is becoming
more apparent each season, is
the growing number of women
anglers that are claiming top
spots on the trophy board.
Anglers Yvonne Adrion, Tina
Randall & Cathy Giles all
cracked the top 10 with 40” Pike
with Shelly Tighe placing 2nd with
an awesome 45 ¾” fish. Susu Earick &
Vicki Nelson also place in the top
10 of the Walleye division with a
28” and 2 over 27” respectively!
There were many great catches
in every week of the season, too
numerous to mention. For a
report on the highlights for
each week, please go to our
website www.esnagami.com near
the bottom of the cover page,
click on the “already addicted
to Esnagami” - online community
button to bring you to the
weekly stats. The top 10 leader
board can also be found on the
“trophy gallery” page of
Esnagami’s web site.
Last summer we were fortunate
to have both “The Wilderness
Journal Outdoor Show” and “The
New Fly Fisher Show” join us at
the lodge to film some new TV
episodes. Most of you already
know Kyle & Tina Randall, hosts
of “The Wilderness Journal” and 10
year veteran Esnagami Anglers.
Kyle & Tina put together some
impressive footage in both their
spring and fall visits.
Collectively, their crew had
numerous trophy Catch &
Release entries for both
Walleye & Pike. Especially
impressive was Kyle’s 40” + Pike
caught in the spring which tipped
the scales at over 25 lbs. Worth
noting as well, was the abovementioned
40” pike Tina caught
during their fall trip. For
programming schedules for
those 2 shows as well as others,
go to
www.wildernssjournal.com.
We also welcomed Colin
McKeown, host of “The New Fly
Fisher Show” up to the lodge. Fly
Fishing at Esnagami is indeed
becoming more popular and
several of the biggest Pike of the
season were taken on a fly rod.
Colin certainly demonstrated
that this technique works by
landing several Trophy Pike. One
in particular, a 41”
beauty caught in Three Rivers,
made for
an exciting afternoon of fishing.
Please go
to www.thenewflyfisher.com to
check out when the lodge’s
episodes will be aired in your
area.
As the weeks progressed, it
became apparent that we were
on track to eclipse 2009’s record
number of trophy entries. By
season’s end, lodge guests had
indeed achieved that. 2010’s final
tally of 787 30” + Pike and 24” +
Walleye surpassed 2009’s total of
726. WOW!!!!!! As impressive as this
was, it was another milestone
achieved that was the highlight
of the summer. Late in August,
first time guest Roger Thurow,
struck Esnagami Gold!! Roger
coolly and calmly battled a
giant Pike to the cradle … and
Esnagami’s Record Books
stretching the tape to 48”!!!!
Roger’s Pike sets the new
standard for top honours on
the lake. Congratulations to
Roger, and a nod to Guide Mark
Gryszczuk, for successfully
landing and releasing such a
tremendous fish!! Mr. Thurow
will be able to retell his fish
tale on his free trip back to
Esnagami Lodge for catching the
biggest Pike of the summer!!
Congratulations also goes out
to the 4 winners of a free trip in
our annual Catch & Release
contest draw.
1. Art Martin, 24 ½” Walleye
2. Matt Vara, 32” Pike
3. Yvonne Adrion, 40” Pike
4. Dan Elgar, 34” Pike
2010 was indeed a great summer
and Sue and I would like to
extend a special Thank you to
all that joined us. We hope to
see you in 2011.
Sincerely, Eric, Sue & family
Pictures of the Top Ten Pike & Walleye as well as listings of all of the catch and released trophy fish of the summer can be seen on the Trophy Gallery page of our web site: www.esnagami.com.
Also check out the "MyEsnagami" link new this year on our main web page, to get the week-by-week reports during our "2010" season. Feel free to join the "Esnagami Trophy Club" on-line community for past and present lodge guests.
2011 SPORTSHOW SCHEDULE
**Ultimate Fishing Show-Novi, MI.
at the Rock Financial
Showplace. Jan 13 - 16th
**Huntin’ Time Expo -Grand
Rapids, MI. at Delta Plex Arena.
Jan 28th - Jan 30th
**The Spring Fishing Show –
Toronto, ON. at the
International Centre, Feb 18th -
21st
** Midwest Fly Fishing Expo-
Warren, MI.
at the Macomb Community Sports
& Expo Center, March 12th & 13th
