Gene's Camp

06/05/2026

Mike Russell takes the lead in biggest pike with this stunning 34 1/2” fish!

It’s only June and we’ve got an all time leader in the kids division and Mike tied the all time mark for pike with this fish! It’s still early though and big fish are active, so everything is still up for grabs!!

This fish was also released to keep growing!

05/27/2026

And here’s our current leader in the kids division! Leia Hayes is leading with a 30 5/8” monster! I have to check the archives but this might be an all time leader for kids division. Setting the bar high for the kids this year, but it’s still early, the big pike are still biting and we have some talented young anglers yet to arrive!

05/27/2026

Some early leaders in the fishing contest:

Bobby Bradley is leading the pike category with a 31 1/8” fish; and Neil Strandwitz is leading biggest crappie at 13 1/2”!

We have a youth leader too, just waiting on pictures and details!

We’ve decided on the 2026 prizes and I want to let everyone know in advance so everyone knows what they are competing for!

We’re going to do custom combos for 2026 and possibly beyond depending on how it goes. These won’t be custom rods but will be custom combos assembled by yours truly that will include a rod, reel, line, leader and even lure! These prize combos will be ready to take on the lake fishing the day you receive them and will be assembled based on winner’s requirements; spinning or casting, action, power, species, etc. Custom combos will be awarded for biggest bass, pike and winner of the youth contest. Free categories (biggest crappie and children’s panfish) will receive tackle prizes.

05/04/2026

I have no idea why Google thought we were “temporarily closed” but rest assured we are open for business! Rich has already been welcoming our first guests of the season and early reports indicate the fish are biting!

Also the pike and youth portion of our 2026 fishing contest has started as of 5/1. Biggest bass will start on 6/15. Same rules for the fishing contest as last year with just a couple of changes:

1. There will be no ties! In the event the contest ends with a tie on length, we will analyze photos and any other evidence to break the tie based on weight, girth, etc. We’ll make sure the runner up gets a nice consolation prize!

2. Unfortunately the phenomenal custom rod maker we have used for our contest has retired. Rich and I are still figuring out what the 2026 prizes will be. If we can find a local custom rod maker we might continue doing custom rods, or we might switch to non-custom rod and reel combos, tackle, custom apparel or some combination. Rest assured we will have great prizes for the winners that are still valued somewhere in the $150 - $200 range. If you have prize suggestions, please feel free to mention them in the comments! His work will be missed, but we wish Steve Fogle all the best in retirement!! Btw - his last batch of prize rods came out great as you can see in the sneak peak photo I shared with this post!

3. I mention every year that in addition to our youth bracket we have a completely free kiddie bracket for biggest panfish and every year we get zero entries in this category. Let’s get our youngest anglers involved in the action this year!

4. The biggest crappie category will stay active this year as that was a lot of fun. This category is also free and doesn’t carry the same restrictions as the paid categories (this means Rich and I, along with other friends and family can compete! It won’t carry the same equal prize that biggest bass, pike and youth contest will win, but there will still be a prize!

Any questions, check in with our official judge (Rich) or ask them here!

We look forward to welcoming you all back for the 2026 season!

Tight Lines!!

02/05/2026

Hi Everyone,
We've been getting questions on prices and we used to keep a price list on the page but looks like it disappeared at some point! Rest assured, no price increases coming for the 2026 season! Short answer is your reservation will cost you the same thing it did last year. If you're a new customer wondering about prices- most camps are $165 / night, 880 per week, but the smaller or older camps are a little cheaper than that. Plus taxes and usual launch fees. We'll post the price sheet back up as soon as Rich or I can get our hands on one! Hope everyone is staying warm, looking forward to seeing you all this fishing season!

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11/24/2025

Hi Everyone! I'm about 20 days late with the fishing contest results but here are the final standings:

Biggest Pike - Tom Hayes, 32"
Biggest Bass - Steve Cenco, 22 1/4"
Biggest Crappie - Gene Wardzinski - 15"

And for the first time ever, we had a tie for the youth division! Braxton Brooks and Pauly Haist both caught 16 1/4" bass and will be co-champions!

Next season we'll have some extra fine print for tie breaking rules, but for this year participation in the fishing contest was great so both of these young anglers will get a custom rod prize!

If any of the winners see this post, please reach out to me with your custom rod preferences; type (spinning or casting), size, power, action, colors. You can reach out to me (Tony Matacale) directly. If I don't hear from you, I'll be in touch sometime in early 2026 which is when I usually put our order in with Backyard Custom Rods!

Thank you to all of our customers for a great 2025 season! To say it was a tough first season without Gene would be an understatement, but huge thank you to all of our customers who continue to support us with your business!! We wouldn't be able to keep things going without you, our amazing Camp Manager Richard Robbins, and our neighbors at Muskellunge Lake.

We know just keeping the business going isn't enough, there are improvements to be made, and we plan to make them! Looking forward to seeing you all again in 2026!!

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08/26/2025

Steve Cenco takes the lead in the adult division with a 22 1/4” bucket mouth!

Also finally we have some youth division entries with Braxton Brooks and Pauly Haist tying with a couple 16 1/4” ditch pickles!

No offense to Braxton and Pauly who are both fine young anglers, but I need this tie broken! One nice pike should do it!

08/11/2025

The Roots Combat Academy LLC crew stayed with us again for the annual North Country jiu jitsu retreat! Great times had by all!

07/30/2025

Nick Martin narrowly takes the lead with a 21 7/8” lunker!

07/15/2025

Greg Sullivan takes the lead with this 21 3/4” Bucket Mouth!