Tomcat

Thanks for sharing the story and the pics.

There's an old saying that 80% of the fish are in 10% of the water. Consequently, it's not necessary to fish the complete lake. Both the internet and individual web sites have a plethora of information on walleye fishing (e.g. preferred water temperatures, preferred food sources, preferred structures, seasonal haunts, etc). Try to get bathymetric maps for the lakes you will be fishing and study them for prospective spots to hunt for walleye. A good sonar unit (3000 watts of power + a 400 X 400 pixel display screen) combined with a willingness to use various fishing methods should put walleye in your cooler.

Darcy: Regardless the fact that 20+ outfitters ply their trade on the Gouin Reservoir, I doubt many guys would be disappointed with the remoteness of the fishing afforded on the Gouin. After all, the surface area of the Gouin Reservoir is 1570 square kilometers and there is over 5600 km of shoreline (excluding islands). In fact, I'd say that there would a very good possibility that you might only see 2 or 3 other boats that aren't in your own group. Consider 20 outfitters having 20 boats each on the Gouin at any particular time. That works out to 1 boat for every 4 square kilometers. Its a big place!

Corvette1: Whether a location can provide good walleye fishing is very subjective. First, weather can make or break any fishing trip. Second, some fishermen aren't happy unless they can put 100 walleye a day per person in their boat. Two of us fishing real easy (never on the water before 10 AM nor after 5 PM) caught maybe 175 walleye in the week. We endured two major thunderstorms during our week there. Our best day was 40 walleye between the two of us in 6 hours. Were they jumping in the boat? NO. However, lots of fun was had and we caught way more walleye than we could eat. During our week in mid August, the average walleye caught was 15 - 18 inches. We also caught some 20-23 inchers and we had a 25 incher at the boat. Unfortunately for us, we were unable to find a school of big walleye. Not that we wanted to harvest big walleye - we just would have enjoyed catching and releasing some big walleye. Gouin water levels can fluctuate wildly from year to year. Consequently, one should do due diligence to ensure that the outfitter selected will have adequate water to float his boats.

OK - just thought I'd ask. No Nemio's doesn't run their operation as a flyin. However, I believe you could arrange to fly into Nemio's if you wanted. Fishing at Nemio's provides a drive in opportunity to fish Baie du Nord. The only other way to fish Baie du Nord is to fly in with Air Melancon - see http://www.airmelancon.com/baie_du_nord.htm

Good morning Corvette1: I'll be going to the Gatineau, Quebec outfitter show today around noon. There are usually 10 - 12 Gouin outfitters there. If there's any info you'd like me to try to get from the folks at Caesar's, if they are there, let me know soonest. I fished the Gouin in 2005 (out of Nemio's) and it's likely I'll make a return trip in August.

We'll be thinking of you (Rob, Chris and family) everyday!!

You might benefit from a review of the features of the new crossover type GPS units. The Lowrance XOH model apparently uses Navionics fishing map charts via the SD slot on the side. Magellan has a crossover type GPS unit too. The display of these crossover units is bigger than the display on a Garmin 76CSx.

Sweet looking ride!! How did you find out about this beauty? Thanks

I’m about to turn 65 and I’ve been retired 10 years. And frankly, the last 10 years has been outstandingly satisfactory. My decision to retire at 55 was made with the full knowledge that my retirement income would be lower than if I worked until 65. However, I was a firm believer of the “work to live rather than live to work” premise. My wife and I enjoyed good health, were debt free, had a beautiful home, had no children remaining at home and we both had defined benefit company pension plans. While not wealthy by any means of measure, the last 10 years of freedom from the work force have been thoroughly enjoyed. Of course, the amount of retirement income required for a satisfactory retirement will vary with every individual. In reality, it’s simply about objectives and choices. Spend your disposable income in a way that provides you the most enjoyment. If that means paying $4 a gallon for gas during a fishing trip, so be it (as long as you didn’t take food off the table to do it). After all, with your shoulder to the grindstone for 39 years, you’ve earned the right to take regular fishing trips during retirement. The only real question is how many!!

According to a Nov 07 review of GPS receivers, the SiRFStarIII chipset is the top of the heap. With that knowledge, one just has to select a GPS unit that has the SiRFStarIII chipset. Easier said than done. Indeed, Garmin refused to tell me which chipset was in the Nuvi 750 I was contemplating buying. Fortunately, I was able to learn a lot about the Nuvi 750 from the GPSPassion web site before my purchase. The Garmin web site states that both the 60Cx and the 76Cx have a SiRF chipset - but which one is not clear.

Good morning Steve: You may benefit from perusing through the posts on http://www.gpspassion.com/forumsen/forum.asp?FORUM_ID=4 I recently purchased a GPS unit for my vehicle. I found many of the posts on GPSPassion very informative. I purchased a Garmin GPS76 seven years ago to facilitate marking fish and structure. I've been very satisfied with that unit.

Thanks for sharing your report and pics Wayne. Congrats on your beauty laker!! Sure brightened up my day - seems like all I do is blow snow this winter.

Fishing is a sport when practised by a sportsperson (person who behaves fairly and generously).

Here's another vote for Cabela's Guidewear. I've had the bibs and parka for three years now. I'm with Wayne on this one - best money I've ever spent on fishing equipment. Regardless how bad conditions have been, I've always stayed dry in my Guidewear.

IMHO, there are better choices that provide "more bang for the buck". Cabela's is selling the FishMark 480 for $175. You'll get 480 X 480 pixels in lieu of 320 X 320 with the Humminbird 535. Just my opinion.

I don't believe you would experience any freezing in 6 hours. These Xtreme coolers work because their design slows down the rate of heat transfer. In your case, the heat is on the inside of the cooler instead of on the outside of the cooler. The rate of heat transfer isn't going to be any different because of direction. I have one of these Ultimate Xtreme coolers and I can attest to the fact that it can keep ice for 6 days during summer trips. The manufacturer probably has someone on staff who can respond to your question. If you opt to use your Xtreme cooler to transport some groceries, I'd appreciate hearing how well it worked.

Our group fished Lake Ogascanan in mid Sep 2000 for 4 days. Unfortunately for us, we were weathered out and there just were not many places to fish during the inclement weather we endured. Scenic lake, great hosts and good accomodations. Bush Country Camp is very close by on Lake Sasseginaga. I believe Bush Country Camp imposes his own walleye max length limits that can be harvested while at his camps. You can fish Sasseginaga without those restrictions by staying with the other outfitter on the lake - Lake Sasseginga Outpost - see http://www.sasseginaga.com/ Do a search here on OFC or on walleyecentral.com for more comments from fishermen who have visited these lakes. Our group has fished Lake Kipawa the last 7 years.

Morning Lew: A happy, healthy and prosperous 2008 to you and all OFC members.

For the last two years, I've been trolling either Sutton 71 flutter spoons (treble hook) or Double Flutter Spoons (siwash hooks) made by Ken's Custom Tackle for lakers - see http://www.kenscustomtackle.com/trollinglures.html My success rate catching lakers improved the more I used the double flutter spoons. The minimum length limits for lakers translates into releasing many lakers. I would estimate that I've had better success releasing lakers caught on the double flutter spoons (with siwash hooks).

Santa treated you well Lew! I think that you will really be pleased with your new Canon A720IS. I bought the identical camera for my wife and gave it to her before Christmas (3 weeks ago) in order that she would be all set to take lots of pictures of our new grandson (5 months old) during the holiday season. Its a breeze to use, provides great pictures and shooting a movie is a snap too. I put a 2 GB SD memory card in it. Once the soft water fishing returns, you'll have to let us know how well you like the Lowrance X510C. Santa looked after me as well. A Cabela's gift certificate for the "fisherman's candy store" and a hefty cheque towards the purchase of a new navigational GPS unit for the SUV.

Season's Greetings Lew: My fondest memories of Christmas's past are when I was a young lad (1950s). My Dad's family and his brother's family would always celebrate Christmas dinner at my Grandparents home. Fifteen of us would enjoy Christmas dinner together at one big table. We always had cracker napkins and we wore the funny hats inside. It was all about family and fun. I've never fogotten those happy days. I'm going to revisit those feelings in a couple of days when nineteen family members will sit down for Christmas dinner at one big table in our home.

I'm on the same page as Wayne on this one. I'd have gladly signed a petition to retire Simon from any type of organized hockey after his attack on Hollweg. Collie Campbell tried to justify the 30 game suspension partly because worse things happened (without any suspensions) when he was still playing. Bob McCowan suggested this afternoon that team owners get fined (up to a million dollars for such egregious acts) in addition to the player being penalized.

It seems to me that the Ontario MNR "speaks with forked tongue". On the one side, the Ontario MNR preaches about protecting our fishing resources. And on the other side, the Ontario Fishing Regulations are written in such a way that our fishing resources are not protected. As examples, under previous regulations, being able to continue fishing once a limit was retained, certainly provided the potential for needlessly killing fish. Under the new 2008 rule for catch and retain, which allows anyone to cull fish from livewells, also provides the potential for needlessly killing fish. If the Ontario MNR doesn't have the intestinal fortitude to step up to the plate, then the fishing fraternity should become more active in promoting fishing ethics. Sorry for the vent!

I've been using an 8 HP 24 inch wide path Toro (with a set of chains) since I bought it new in 1981. Touch wood - it's been running great. Two years ago I had the local snow blower shop guy pick it up for an overhaul (second one in 24 years). When he returned it, he asked for first dibbs on it if I ever decided to sell it. That, and my 26 years of experience with it, represents a pretty good recommendation for a Toro.