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Anyone that is looking to find some great deals and see what the LOONY BIN BUGS AND GRUBS has to offer up, mark the date . I,ll have 2 full 8ft tables plus of all my ties . River fishing,pan fishing and ice fishing . Barrie Bassmasters is proud to announce that we'll be hosting our 1st annual Charitable Tackle Swap Meet. Come join us Sunday January 18th 9 am to 4 pm. Located at the Essa & District Agricultural Society 7505 10th Line, Thornton, ON, L0L 2N0. All profits will be donated to Toy Mountain drive and local Food Bank.

I enjoyed my first attempt at basic knife handle building for my Daughter's so much that I ordered up one for myself and an additional 15 fillet knife blades that I'll be offering up for sale in time. I have all the knife scales in hand now and the beautiful figured Amboyna piece pictured will be on mine. The 15 fillet blades will be here within the next week or two. To take on this new hobby I have also built more bench space in the shop and will be purchasing some new power tools to help me along. I'll add more pictures as I'm able throughout the process.

If you need an extra body keep me in mind, you'd also get a built in guide with 20 years of experience up there. Most of our old crew are all gone, my old partner's in BC now. Regardless, like I said almost 3 years back I have a bunch of maps with Laker runs marked that I did up for Hodgey on the forum that I can send you. These would mostly all be in the center hub area which would be at least 10 miles north/south. It's close to 10 miles to the physical hub of the whole watershed at Corbeau Island. First Laker run I learned was coming out of the shortcut where we camped and following that mainland point around the corner and keep along that shore or cut across the deep channel and go up the side of Corbeau Island, tons of structure and deep water down to 300ft. There used to be a big sign high up on the rock face of Corbeau Rock and with no sonar back then you needed to troll by far enough from shore that the sign was getting hard to read with 7 1/2 colours of lead core out and a long Big Hammer gang troll and a minnow trailing behind. That was with good young eyes.

Alwaki lodge is completely shut down now, the last lots were sold this past summer. This doesn't leave much in the way of lodges in the hub area anymore. Kipawa lodge is still there, it's a 20 mile boat ride from the government dock in the village. Miwapanee still has their outpost cabin in Dead Bear bay which is an excellent rental if you could find an opening. It's a 13 mile boat ride. The main Miwapanee lodge is only a few miles from Kipawa village. https://www.miwapanee.com/ The Kipawa forum has been pretty quiet the last couple of years but you could still find it useful. https://kipawafishingforum.net/index.php

What a COINCIDENCE! I am looking at a Kipawa trip in 2026 also. Doug

This reply is almost 3 years late. My apologies. We ended up going to Biscotasi for our spring 2023 trip. Currently planning this years trip and leaning towards Kipawa. There is some great info. in your post Smitty55. Thank you!!

Hello Orca. I have brand new Frabill HQ100 for trade. New one at CT is $349+tax. Bobby

Fire and ice. you lucky guy.

Ya but what about the fishing? might have to vertical jig because I’m not going to run my Downriggers on bottom.

Very nice

Hi All, Got out at daybreak with my pal and headed out in search of walleye. We were treated to a truly stunning sunrise as we set up the shack. We hammered small pike from 8am to 9am, then there was a half hour lull until some walleye and whitefish showed up. Got a decent pike near the end that was cruising just under the ice. 5.HEIC 1.HEIC

Sounds awesome and I still have more Halibut to use up..... While I didn't take any pictures my Christmas dinner was 3 of the proverbial Pear Tree Birds.....YUM! PS....I have discovered that Air Frying whole Russets then allowing them to cool down at room temp for a few hours before refrigerating for a few days before cutting and then Deep Frying in Tallow is ...... well, AMAZING!

Squirrel! Ya, that's likely a very accurate statement. Never had Squirrel but I'm up for trying most anything and everything, at least once.

Found this on another site, interesting for sure. The Story Beneath Lake Temiskaming! At first glance, Lake Temiskaming (also spelled Timiskaming) looks like any other long Northern Ontario lake — calm, scenic, dotted with islands. But beneath those deep blue waters lies one of the most fascinating geological stories in the province. A Lake Born from Fire and Ice Millions of years ago, a massive crack in the Earth’s crust — known as the Ottawa–Bonnechere Graben — split the land from what’s now Temiskaming Shores down toward Ottawa. This ancient rift was once filled with lava flows and later carved deeper by advancing glaciers during the last Ice Age. When the ice finally melted, it left behind a deep trench that filled with water… forming Lake Temiskaming. Depth and Size Length: about 110 km (68 mi) Maximum depth: roughly 216 m (709 ft) — that’s deeper than the CN Tower’s observation deck is high! The deepest point sits near the southern half of the lake, where the old fault line plunges sharply below the surface. Lake Temiskaming straddles the Ontario–Quebec border, with Temiskaming Shores on the west and Ville-Marie on the east. The name comes from the Algonquin word “Temikami”, meaning “deep waters” — a perfect description once you know its true depth. Today the lake remains a key part of the Ottawa River system, powering hydro dams, supporting local fisheries, and serving as a natural highway that’s connected communities since Indigenous trade canoes first cut across its misty surface. Fun Fact If you were to drop a coin from Devil’s Rock near Haileybury, it would sink more than 700 feet before hitting the lakebed — making Lake Temiskaming one of the deepest inland lakes in Ontario.

We had Halibut for Christmas Eve dinner. Actually, the other half of the fish Doug had...we shared it from our trip to Rivers Inlet. I've almost always deep fried Halibut in the past...usually in a beer batter. To me, it's always been the fish I associate with the local "Fish & Chips" shop in my neighborhood growing up. Deep fried in beef tallow with thick cut chips, and doused in malt vinegar. However, for Christmas Eve I wanted to do something different. As per my Polish background, on Christmas Eve we eat a meatless meal...like the "Feast of the Seven Fishes" the Italians do. It's a tradition I've kept with my kids, and now my grandkids. So following the borscht with wild mushroom pierogies (that my 87 year Mom made) course, I went to the other side of the planet and did a Japanese preparation of the Halibut for the next course. My Polish father, who is no longer with us, was probably looking down and saying..."what the hell is that kid doing". It was basically the famous "Nobu Miso Black Cod" recipe. I marinated the Halibut overnight in a combination of miso, mirin, and sake. I then broiled it and served it garnished with sesame seeds and thinly sliced green onion. It was a hit with everybody...even the youngest at the table...my 6 year old grandson...thought it was "the best fish I ever ate".. I think the moral of Doug's and my take on Halibut is...it's not necessarily the preparation...it's the fish ! And yes Doug, I agree that Black Squirrel was probably not on many New Year's Day menus around the country. Nothing too exotic for us..we had a very tasty Prime Rib with all the fixin's..

Speaking of holiday meals, I am willing to bet a small amount of money that no other household in Canada ate what we had for supper on New Year's Day. I had some black squirrels that I was thinking about maybe pressure canning, and could not find my notes about pressure canning rabbits (which would be basically the same). I was intrigued by a number of recipes for squirrel that Mister Google found for me. And I decided that canning them would not be worth the effort for the number of squirrels I had. So I cooked them in broth all day in the slow cooker, then made spatzele in the broth. Squirrel and dumplings, yum yum! 😁 Tomorrow I am making a gravy with the leftover broth, and heating up the spatzele and deboned squirrel meat in it. I think it will be spectacular! And low sodium, low cal too. 😉NOT! Doug

Halibut.....that was Christmas supper here. A special request from one of our sons was to have a fish fry on the 25th. And I had 2.75 pounds of halibut left from our June trip to Duncanby Lodge on Rivers Inlet, BC. Up until then I had never fried halibut like I would do perch, walleye, bass, etc..............but I cut it into chunks, hit it with a bit of seasoned salt and shook it in Fish Crisp, then deep fried it. It was AWESOME! My new favourite way to eat halibut! And yes, home cut fries as well, all very toothsome. Doug

Happy New Year Folks.... So I was out for lunch the other day with a few friends and one them gifted me a bunch of Alaskan Halibut and Sockeye from his trip last August. So last evening I treated myself to a large portion of Halibut, steamed then dressed with a Lime/Butter/Caper sauce, twice cooked home cut Fries and home made Coleslaw. My first home cooked meal of the New Year. And ya, I ate it all ...... Absolutely Delish!

Sounds like a right good day you had.

Good to hear you got out and got into them Cliff. Have not been out on the ice yet. I think this is the first year I never got on the ice in December.😠 As always if you need a partner for a trip out with Tim Hales don't be shy about giving me a shout.

Bit of a price increase, it's now $80.00/adult for the day but still a good deal in my books. Got out yesterday, Jan. 2nd, first day is always a bit of hit and miss. It started off a little slow but the fish we were getting were all decent. We were on a solid 12" of ice in about 25' of water, when the sun peaked out, things slowed right down but about 3:30 it started to snow and the fish turned on. From that point until they picked us up it was pretty much non stop. Anyway, another awesome day thanks to Tim, Kim, and the rest of the crew.

Hi all, went out for a morning session for a change, got there at 8:30am( much later than I wanted but had issues with sled hitch etc...) and fished till around noon. Pretty consistent bite, lots of pike and even a couple whitefish, first ones so far. Happy New Year!

Sorry, to hear that. I like to pass through Lakefield on the way to Baptiste Lake.

Happy New Year from the Coast

Two minutes ain't so long for something a year in the making. lol. Happy New Year John. Thanks my good man. You should make an annual report. It's always great to look back and bundle up your year of experiences and times spent with friends. I think doing so during the doldrums of November and early December is helpful for pushing through and motivating for the year ahead. There is sooooo much planned change coming for 2026 being the year I turn 50 that next years end should paint an entirely new picture. One constant should remain, there will be some arctic photos, those as you say, take themselves. lol I think we probably disagree on some things politically although little to none of that ever enters the storylines... or maybe you've digested every word salad and just grown bored of those same servings Chris? You've been supportive forever, been there since Snare, and thanks for that. Good thing about pictures only, they tell whatever story you want to imagine. I'll have to dig up those old photos cause those do go back to the very first fly-in. WOW! Pics can be brightened, surely gone through enough cameras and lenses to find what I like tho. Twelve hours from your house, jeez Glen, I'd drive up on Friday nights and call in sick to drive home Mondays if only that close. lol. Happy New Year dude!