20 Years of World Class Fishing w/ his biggest fish ever!
John and Andrew Ross have been Gangler’s guests for 19 years & John, even longer. Andrew first visited before his teens. Along the way, whether they visited in July or August, they have encountered the kind of fishing everyone dreams of! Their July 2 -9th, 2022, trip was exceptional and Andrew wanted to share the experience with others:
“The first time I traveled to Gangler’s fishing lodge I was 12 years old. I will never forget the first impressions of a place so remote and beautiful. The crisp air, pine trees, sandy runway and lake view is truly something that still to this day takes my breath away every time I step off the plane. My father, John Ross, and I have kept our tradition going and will be celebrating our 20th year at Ganglers Lodge this next summer. While nothing in our home state of Florida comes close to comparing to the scenery in Northern Manitoba, what really keeps us coming back is the world class fishing.
In 2021, we managed to drive across the border to get into Canada to avoid losing another year on our tradition. Having rested a year because of the border being closed in 2020 due to COVID, we expected the fishing to be phenomenal. We landed over 10 trophies throughout the week, with the biggest being a 45-inch pike and 40 inch lake trout. We thought there was no way we could have a better year than this in 2022, but boy were we wrong.
On our first day this season we traveled to Atim. Being a different time of the year then when we traveled in August of 2021, we thought there was a good chance we would see the monster pike sunning themselves in Frustration Bay with them having no interest in anything we throw their way. This concern was quickly diminished by the first fish of the day, a 40-inch pike. This immediately sparked the ‘Fever’ and we continued to cast around the front end of the bay. We caught two more 39 inchers in about 10 minutes time, before heading to the back of Frustration Bay where we know the big ones like to hide.
Within the next half hour, we caught a 40”, 41” and 43” pike. Fully satisfied and only late morning, I threw out one last cast before taking a break after the excitement with the 43 incher, who took my make-shift pike lure right at the boat. As I threw out one more time, joking to my dad that I couldn’t possible catch another big one, a true lake monster sitting in about 7 feet of dark water took my lure. Instantly, I knew I had the biggest fish I had ever hooked on the other end of my line.
It took about 5 minutes to get the fish to the surface, and we all gasped as our guide of many years, Alex, grabbed the net. I remember saying “Alex, this is going to be the biggest pike I’ve ever caught!” As an expert with the net, Alex got him immediately in the boat and we all breathed a sigh of relief but also excitement to see such a big fish in person. As we grabbed the tape measure and lined it up, I hear Alex laugh out loud and go “49!”. I couldn’t believe what I had heard, so we measured again, and again. 49 inches every time, the fish of a lifetime.
Having beat our family personal record at 47.5” from my dad back in 2011 (caught on Egenolf, the main lake), I was thrilled to even have gotten to see such a trophy fish up close and personal. We took our photos, recovered, and released the fish back in the depths of Frustration Bay, waiting for the next guest to summon his/her presence. The day didn’t end there, as we caught at least another 3-4 trophy pike, and 3 trophy trout. We ended the day on a 40-inch trout that nearly took my arm off trying to reel in after 20 minutes of hard fight battle outside Frustration Bay.
This was only day one of our trip, and the rest of the week kept up with great fishing. We explored Dillabough Lake, a portage lake, for the first time (after a tip from a guest we’ve known for a few years who was there the week prior), landing 2 trophies in the bay just to the right of the esker by the boat docks. However, this was not the most exciting find of the week for us.
On the last day, I decided to follow the Gangler ‘secret’ that fishing on the south side of the lake right by the lodge can yield trophies and plenty of fish. We went in the boat no more than 100 feet from the lodge towards the back bay. Within the first hour, we had a 41” trophy, and probably over ten 36+ inch fish each in the boat. Both the guide and us were stunned to have so much great action so close to the lodge!
We continued to fish this area all day. The big pike were steady, and we found they are likely feeding on large suckers and walleye, of which we caught close to ten with the largest being 28”. In all the years we have been there, we had only caught two walleye in the main lake, so this had us with full smiles and laughing the whole day to find so many large fish next to the lodge, keeping true to the Ganglers legend.
Every year is a new adventure at Ganglers. It’s the unknown that keeps us coming back. I can’t stress enough that there is no experience in the world like what you get at Ganglers lodge. Not only is the fishing the best I have yet to experience anywhere else in the world, but the food and service are always 5-star.
I challenge any new father (and/or mother)/son/daughter teams to experience it themselves and build new traditions and memories in one of the most beautiful, remote parts of the world that has so much to offer. We will back in August 2023 for our 20th year anniversary at the lodge and can’t wait to see what the North Seal River has in store for us next.” – Andrew Ross, 2022 Main Lodge Guest
