True North Guiding And Outfitters

09/07/2026

Took a couple of youngsters from Tennessee out yesterday with my co-guide John Grady. My boat with 12 year old Julian was focused on getting him his first bass and his first pike. John’s boat had 6 year old Sebastian.. main focus.. quantity. We fished hard for the first hour with little to show for it.. a few frog bites but couldn’t get them hooked.. switched to weedless plastics and Julian nailed a beautiful 4 pounder… he went on to catch 8 more bass.. but couldn’t find a pike.. until the old reliable Johnson Silver Minnow got hammered.. and he boated two pike back to back.. we were pumped.. one hit at boatside which is always a good time! Sebastian counted 30 bluegills with 6 of them solid 9” keepers. Super fun day.. Saturday of Labor Day weekend and we never saw a person.. due to just a little drag of the boats through the woods and down a hill. So fun to take kids that are really into it.Boulder Lodge on Ghost Lake,Brenda MaierGhost Lake Lodge,Happy Ho**er Bait & Tackle

09/05/2026

I did this video for a customer and I thought I would share. If you follow our posts, you know that we don’t promote too many products.. except the ones that we can confidently say are exceptional and we use them enough to have full confidence in our review. Here’s one for the Rangeley.. kind of the backbone of our guide business. Ghost Lake Lodge,Brenda Maier,Esquif, Deerfoot Lodge & Resort,Boulder Lodge on Ghost Lake,Happy Ho**er Bait & Tackle

An overview of the Rangley boat made by Esquif.

09/03/2026

Trying to find some sort of positive for the lack of rain and the extreme low water… OK here it is.. on a personal note Brenda Maier and I are in the final stretch with our home building project, and extreme low water has meant we have had more time to work on it. That’s about all I have on the positive side. It’s been our goal to live where our cabin is, so we tore down the crumbling cabin and rebuilt in the same footprint. While doing so we lived at our deer camp for the last year.. kinda ready to be done with that.. move in coming soon.

Here’s a few recent photos of what’s going on in the outdoor side our world.

09/02/2026

Doing the best we can with the low water conditions.. everything is just way more intense when the water is so low it barely covers their back… they miss nothing that comes into their pool.. even the strike from this 2 foot pike gets the heart going.
Boulder Lodge on Ghost Lake, Ghost Lake Lodge,Brenda Maier,Saga Outfitters

08/27/2026

Just a little Northwoods update. Brenda Maier Boulder Lodge on Ghost Lake Ghost Lake Lodge Happy Ho**er Bait & Tackle

08/26/2026

Greg does a great job with these weekly fishing reports. We live in a time where we expect accurate up to date information on demand. If you are coming up for only a weekend you don’t have time to mess around and figure things out. The local bait shop is plugged into the local network of what is happening right now.. and is still your best source for current, up to date conditions. But they also require a consistent time commitment by Greg, so if you read them, please show your support by sharing and more specifically, instead of hitting the big box on the way up, or ordering online, stop in to the Happy Ho**er Bait & Tackle shop and get what you need! Considered “old school” for some.. it’s still a very simple concept that works well in the north woods. Tight lines!!

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08/25/2026

With the cooler water, Brenda Maier and I jumped in our Rangeley and snuck out for a few relaxing casts right before dark. This fat Tiger pounded her top water.. soaked us both at boatside and swam away beautifully on the release. A perfect encounter on a perfect Northwoods evening. Boulder Lodge on Ghost Lake, Ghost Lake Lodge

08/22/2026

A fun day with Austin and Kelsey Ebert. Just when I think I have a pattern figured out.. a day like today happens. 2 feet of water, bright sun, sand bottom, watching pike, walleyes, and bass swim back and forth like morning rush hour traffic.. A true mixed bag.. and of course our first keeper walleye comes on topwater… go figure. Saw two nice bucks crossing the river.. many eagles and herons.. overall a great day.. besides all the dragging of the boat. 😜 Ghost Lake Lodge, Boulder Lodge on Ghost Lake, Esquif, Brenda Maier,

08/20/2026

When an 80 year old fly fisherman catches his personal best smallie it’s a great day! On a side note.. this fish fought like no other..not surprised.. look at the size of the tail on this baby! Esquif,Boulder Lodge on Ghost Lake,Ghost Lake Lodge

08/19/2026

Well.. I we kind of just said.. let’s go for it and do the best we can with the river conditions pretty much at an all time low. It’s a ton of work, but the smallmouth are doing what they do in August.. they eat… mainly crayfish because they molt at this time and are soft and easy to catch.. but there is so much food in the river with schools of various minnows, and lots of frogs.. so truly they eat almost anything. One thing that is crazy is how much wild rice there with the low water. I don’t understand it very much, but it has spread to places that I have never seen it. Fishing in it is not easy but anywhere there is depth there are fish. Fly fishing is super challenging but really fun sight fishing the clearest water I can remember. Ron and Bryce from Oklahoma teamed up for a fun day in Monday, then yesterday at 80 years young, Gary broke out the fly rod and we found some more active fish.

We need rain so badly…. Two more trips this week.. hope we can make it work. Be sure to follow Happy Ho**er Bait & Tackle for weekly conditions. They do a great job of keeping info current with their weekly report, and stock tackle that works in our area.
Esquif, Ghost Lake Lodge, Boulder Lodge on Ghost Lake,