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Coming at this from a somewhat western point of view as we travelled from SK to get to this Mecca of trout and salmon. I got a late start on our first day so only made it as far as Winnipeg. The next day we woke to clouds and rain and it chased us all the way into Ontario ,so much for high fire ratings. We checked into the Northland motel a nice but little independent motel on the south side of the TransCanada as you come into town from the west. Due to a late arrival I had to wait for Canada's smallest Canadian Tire store to open in the morning to get my fishing license renewed. I made a new friend of the stores very affectionate black lab. license in pocket it was time to hit the road for the Alexander dam. I followed a local hauling his boat in the same direction which made it a lot easier to find the ramp down to the river, not that we could have missed it. I Off loaded the peddle drive kayak and made my way upstream against a moderate current, but was able to make decent headway without having to break out the kayak paddle. Low water conditions allowed me to park the boat on a rock bar and fish the channel formed between it and the western shore of the river. As I paddled upstream, I had seen salmon rolling on the surface so the adrenalin was already kicking in before I even had a line ready to cast. The morning was dark with low clouds threatening to rain with a stiff north wind coming right down the river. With limited tackle on hand, I went with the old adage dark day dark lure and put on a small Brass spoon. I started laying out quartering casts down and across the rapid that laid out into a fast slick with a short wing dam of rocks coming off the west bank, out towards the bar I was on. The East end of the bar was occupied by Kyle a local fellow I got some help with later on in the morning. As I was casting, I noticed him hook up to a fish and couldn't help being nosy so ran over to see if I could give a hand. He had it well under control as he already a the decent Pink salmon in the net and was releasing it as I arrived. He shared some suggestions on lures and techniques. After returning to my spot I made another cast across and down and was rewarded with a solid strike. With Chinooks, Coho, Pinks, Steel head and Brook trout all in the river, I had no Idea what to expect. The fish wasn't large but in the current he felt a lot bigger then he actually was, when I was able to beach a decent sized Pink Salmon in a shallow pool on the west end of the bar. I'd broke the skunk so the pressure was off. I started to switch up lures and fell back to an old standard but likely wouldn't have thought of it if it hadn't been one that Kyle had also suggested when I talked to him earlier, a blue back 4 inch Rapala. It made perfect sense in hind sight, with the number of smelt in the river and lake making up part of the natural forage base, it probably should have been my first choice. I moved upstream to the head of the rapid and cast across stream to the shore. I cranked it down to get the current to catch the lure and it just started to cut into the main current when it was stopped dead. The first solid thump left no doubt that this was no little pink salmon, and in a split second this fish had me back tracking down river on the rock bar. When I got to the bottom of it and had no further bar to run on all I could do was keep the pressure on, and hope to get the fish through the main current seam of the river and into the slack water on the downstream side of the bar. At one brief pass and I got a glimpse of white barred fins and I could have melted on the spot this was a fish I had dreamed just seeing once in my life time. But here I was No guide, on a DIY trip, with a truly world class Brook Trout on a lightweight spinning rod in full spawning colours. A quick call out to Kyle and he was good enough to come over and help get the fish as gently to shore as it would allow. After a few very quick photos it was released to make more memories for some other lucky fisher I hope. I was too pumped to get right back to the casting. Kyle was willing to share more of his expertise so I asked how his morning had been(since I hadn't got to the river before 10 am). He quickly pulled out a couple of Chinooks, and a Coho that he had caught as well as the Pinks I had seen him catch. I had to admit he had his technique down pat. Which was using a swim jig with a leach like rubber trailer. As the morning broke towards midday the pinks were still rolling but less inclined to strike. With hunger building, I headed back down stream to the boat launch. We loaded up and headed into Nipigon for Lunch at the Northern Grill Restaurant just west of the Petro-Pass card lock gas station. We had a great lunch and decided to take in some of the fall colours checking the streams and rivers out to the east. We stopped at the Granite and Little Granite Rivers along with a couple of others on our way to Schrieber, and ended up walking the board walks into rainbow falls. A small but highly scenic little waterfall inside Rainbow falls Provincial Park. We saw fish in a few of the smaller streams but not enough to make the trip back down again the next day. On arrival back at the motel I set about trying to arrange a very last minute charter out on The big Lake Gitchi-Gumee. I'm slowly checking all the great lakes off my bucket list, and a trip for lake trout and possibly a salmon would leave me with just lake Lake Erie to finish them all off. A call to Archie's Charters got me a quick return call, but he was sorry to say he was already booked. It didn't surprise me, I should have had this locked down before we left Saskatchewan. But with Covid playing havoc with everything I just didn't want to book something and have to cancel because of regulations changing every day it seems. Archie however had a fall back for me in Ian Parker, who fills in for Archie with his fully rigged Kingfisher. So a quick call to Ian and the charter was set for 9am the next day to meet at the Silver Islet harbour. We woke to dead still air and heavy fog. The drive out to the harbour is along your standard twisty, turny, hilly, blind curvy road in the dark and fog did I mention the fog! as we approached the hamlet of Silver Islet the fog had lifted and we were greeted with and absolutely remarkable sight the waters of Lake superior were glass calm with seagulls and eagles overhead you couldn't have painted it any prettier. A very short trip out of the harbour and Ian was setting lures and downriggers to depth and low and behold I'd like to say we had some great conversation as we waited for the fish to become co-operative but there was no time in the 4 hour charter we had one quad header , two double headers, and I think 4 singles forgive me on that one I lost count after the quad header. Talk about a fire drill! For value for money I don't think I'll be able to beat this charter. Ian was good enough to share his techniques and opinions on suspended fish that I can't wait to try if we ever get the chance to head back down to ND or Montana to fish their big lakes for Laker's and salmon. We consistently took Laker's in 20 -40 Feet of water over a 100 to 150 foot bottom I have to wonder now how many late season fish I have been fishing underneath of. The day ended with three nice 5lb Laker's and a small un-releasable chinook in the box. Ian had the fish cleaned on the trip back to the landing with the cleanings being quickly and skilfully picked off by Eagles and gulls. We finished our trip off with a stop overnight in Thunder Bay. Entertainment provided by a live performance of a play written by a local to the area woman about the stresses of the COVID situation on three women a comedic ,dramatic, musical with a bluegrass theme. Wow what a pack of talent that town has! I couldn't put the rods away just yet, so I did a walk along Mc Vicars creek and found some more pink salmon to play with. I landed 2 on a small beadhead fly I made up to look like a dragon fly nymph in chartreuse seemed to do the trick. I'm not sure why Pinks have such a poor reputation I had a blast catching them. With a quick stop at Kekabeca Falls and then a long stop on HWY 17 because of a fatal car accident that blocked the road for 12 hours we made it back to the flatlands of Sk Until next time enjoy your day and your waters Ontario Fishers.

bonessk01, being from Saskatchewan you may...or may not...find this story somewhat interesting. After WW1 two English brothers who survived the horrors of the trenches of France fighting the German's decided to leave England and emigrate to Canada for a better life and become farmers. They ended up near the "wilds" of Estevan Saskatchewan in 1919 and bought adjoining pieces of land. They each built a soddy and started to get set up shop. In 1920 they decided they needed to start families but seeing as young women were pretty scarce on the prairies 100 years ago they mailed off letters to some English newspapers saying they were looking for a couple young ladies who were seeking adventure. My Dad's family were from Derbyshire England and my Grandmother's 2 sisters thought it sounded like a great idea and answered the call and within a few months they sailed to Montreal then hopped a train to Saskatchewan and married the 2 brothers. The 2 sisters absolutely loved Saskatchewan and what it had to offer and wrote to my Grandparents in 1929 and told them they should also move out there. England wasn't offering much back then so they decided to do it and sold their home and packed up the family, including my 8 year old Dad, and made the move to Regina. The Depression hit basically as they stepped off the boat but everyone survived and loved the place. When the war started my Dad left the prairies in 1940 and joined the Navy and then his family moved to Toronto but none of them ever lost their love of Saskatchewan. The 2 brothers and their 2 mail order brides raised great families and had successful farms and lived long and happy lives out there.

No unfortunately not my son arrived home unexpectedly and wanted to go p north fishing so we did that instead. Had some good bass fishing in grey Bruce area.

You can take your car off the road for 30 years in Ontario and you don't need a safety to go buy a sticker for this year... trust me on that. My '69 Bee's last safety check was in 1986, after my Father passed away and Mom transferred the car into my name requiring a safety. My last "off the road" period was 14 years without buying a sticker. Most recent is 2 years, due to a stay at home order.. lol.

Well my adventures are winding down for this season, I have to say this thing has amazed me at so many levels. I have gone through stuff I wouldn't have even tried with a 4 wheeler, up hills where 4 wheeler s even with big lug tires were having trouble, through rock mazes where you had to make 90° turns and swamps and mud holes that would have previously stop in my tracks. This thing gave me opportunities to fish, explore, harvest in places I could never have even come close to without it and I never even got my feet wet! It's a joy to operate and fish from and I have a freezer full of fish to do me until hard water fishing. I do love my Argo! The dealership was a different issue, broken promises, mistakes galore, lack of service..... I had one issue with the tachometer from day one. Waited all summer for them to get a replacement in and when they did finally get it, it didn't resolve the issue. Left the Argo with them with a promise they would call me back the following week. Two weeks later no call back and when I called them; "they were too busy to even look at it". In total frustration I picked it up and brought it home but on the way I stopped at RMC Argo Sales in Beaverton. I explained what the problem was and even though I hadn't bought it from him Roy had no problem taking a look at it right then and there. 15 Minutes later he had it fixed, not only that but he checked everything over for me, idler chain adjustment and everything NO CHARGE! I really wish now that I had bought my unit from him, he has over 20 years experience on Argos and boy does he know his stuff. Two of my friends are buying Argos this spring, you know who they will be going to. Roy did mention that now is the time to get your order in to take advantage of Argo's promotions for delivery next spring. If you are thinking of buying one check him out!

Hide the video evidence

He was probably just tired of having to go through 30 messages in his inbox a day 😆

Nice shooting.... but where was my invite lol. I need to do a fly in some day

Chiming in here again, Cliff. As you will recall, I have a lot of experience with these machines. Some good, some bad. My dealership here in Kingston told me about a week ago they are no longer going to sell or service Argos. They can't get parts or after-sales service from the manufacturer and so did not sign on for their dealership renewal. This leaves me in a bit of a pickle, since I can't basically do any of the service myself. It is wonderful that you have a dealer that knows their stuff, but if they can't get parts.......................I am hoping that this is just another covid-related bump on the road, and I will find a dealership close enough that I can get service when I need it. Have you been REALLY stuck yet? When you are REALLY stuck with an Argo, it can be a spiritual experience! 😉 Doug

100%. I have had a bunch of them over the years, two piece and one piece. I tried both pants and bibs for the bottoms. My current (and probably forever) set is a bibs bottom and a good top. There is no way to put this delicately, so......... if you need to take a leak when you are fishing, you want to be able to take Willy out without getting undressed. Some suits make this pretty difficult, unless Willy happens to be a foot-long.................🙄 Salus is a Canadian manufacturer, and their gear is excellent. Doug

They only need to be approved if they are replacing a life jacket on the water by far the two piece suits are the most comfortable and just as safe ,unless you going to sit in the water for an extended period

Mine has them if you head this way Brian

Sweet - glad it worked for you! Mine has been beat to crap this summer - the older I get (and maybe fatter) I seem to sweat out baseball hats quick lol. Still has some mojo to it as well

Gorgeous report, truly enjoyed.

I totally forgot about that, lol, that hat's got some mojo, threw it on and I had a stellar day

Here, Here Great write up....

amazing adventure for sure! Never done a fly in (probably never will) but it looks like a blast

BTW Chris. Great hat you are wearing in at least one of those shots!

Awesome write up, almost felt like I was there, sure did miss it though. Looks like a perfect place

well put, it's a double edged sword, that's god's country, a special place, I'd hate to see it raped, I kinda want to keep it for ourselves, but for people that go, please tread lightly, this place is unique

great report, and THANKS for taking the time to write it! Doug

Awesome report! I know Chris had fond memories of Ana and high expectations so glad it was a great trip Cheers Andrew

Dang I miss doing fly in fishing trips. I need to start doing them again great report thanks