Sudsmaster

Three Mile lake is just up the road from Windermere ...oh I'd say 5 kms ....if you want some idea just look up google map ...less than a five minute drive from my house to this end of the lake ...From Port Carling I would have to say 20-25 minutes max....oh maybe add 5 min for deer dodging as they are really active along Brackenrig Road....as for perch I really can't help you there as it has never been a fish I really targeted ...usually only just went down to the lake and let the kids have fun with them. Suds

There was someone with huts out there last yr with signs on them for rent ( I have no idea who it was just a laminated sheet stuck on the hut with a contact number) but I haven't seen them this yr... Birchdale Cottages rent a few huts on Three Mile Lake if you are looking for perch or walleye. Lots of ice in Windermere ...fishing is good...quantity not an issue although size so far had left a little bit to be desired ... Suds

I've seen some that are old in great condition and newer ones that are ready to be recanvassed ....Big thing here is to check the covering material extremely well ...check the stitching at all zippers and stress areas ...don't be afraid to ask if it was used or setup for just a couple of weeks a yr or whether it was setup all summer ....longer periods of course give you some idea of the remaining life of the canvass or covering material ....get what you can afford if you can afford the 10-12' box get it you will not regret it. How does it setup? Some are electric some are crank ...have the cables ever been replaced or serviced. Is there a outside propane connection ? This usually allows you to move the stove or connect a outside grill to the tanks on board. How was it stored in winter indoors or outside? The list goes on and on ...tires, berrings last replaced, if electric brakes ...last time serviced ...and of course then there are all the creature comforts ...fridge or ice box ....onboard water...furnace ? etc etc ...Just don't rush into anything look around there are some nice trailers out there for good prices it just takes time to find them. Make sure you see them completely setup and look them over throughly before you make an offer to purchase and of course never offer the asking price ....you can usually find most people that are selling privately have lots of room to deal as either they are getting out of camping all together or they have or are moving on up and need to get rid of the older trailer ...good luck. Oh yeah one other thing ....get the weight and tongue weight to confirm you towing vehicle has the ability to tow the trailer ....there is quite a difference from some brands to others in this area ...seems that the Coleman and Starcraft trailers are quite alot heavier than some of the others if my memory serves me right. Suds

What kind of portable fishfinder? I have a Hummingbird Matrix 17 that does all I need it to do on the ice ...I just made an aluminum T stick and attached the transducer to it with the normal screw down boat mount ....I just spread the tstick and drop in the hole then adjust the angle of the stick for the best signal return...it may not reach below the ice as the season gets on but as long as the hole is straight it works fine ...you may get a little surface clutter on the screen but after a while you will never notice it. You will not be able to use a float on a standard boat transducer as it will never sit flat in the hole ...Floats only work well with properly designed ice transducers. Suds

Well I fished all day Thurs with a buddy from down south and we caught 10 fish with the best 4 trout being over 4lbs each ...unfortunately had company all weekend and didn't get back out till this afternoon for four hours ...again I caught 10 + fish but they were all about 1.5 lbs of less so they all got to swim ....the ice is doing well and there are now a few more machines running around ...I myself am still waddling out until we get back into true winter weather. Suds

I haven't seen anyone head towards the island other than the two airboats that are running around but yesterday I did see a hut being pulled by an ATV go over to the point directly south of the Windermere House where the 80' plus water is ....I was extremely nervous for them as that ice was only a week old and it's not like we are setting all time lows right now!!!! They just cut it in and left and I never got a chance to talk to them ...I'm sitting on just over 7" right now but I'm only out 150 yds in 62' of water. I'll be out there for a bit tomorrow and hopefully sometime Sunday but we have company for the weekend and lets just say they are land lovers. LOL Suds

Bait on the Lake is just south of 118 on hwy 169 in the community of Glen Orchard ....its located right beside the Glen Orchard General Store which backs on to Butterfly Lake...it is also a beer bottle return location ...an interstate battery dealer and BBQ dealer as well ....I drop in there for my licences and bait if I'm over that way and they were always nice people to deal with ...When was it sold? Suds

Houston the eagle has landed ....put the hut out today on 7" if good clear black ice in Windermere ...unfortunately we couldn't get the atv over the bank and had to manually push it out but hey it's out ....so let the games begin. The hut is a light blue corrugated aluminum with a darker blue stripe ....wifey painted it so I best not complain about her choice of colour... so if your in the neighbourhood don't forget to knock on the door and say hi!!!! Suds

Huts have found there way to the ice in Windermere ...down there today and there was a 8x8 planted on the ice and a smaller one on the wharf waiting to be put out ....checked all my stuff and my hut may just be heading down there sometime tomorrow ......they walked the hut out but I will be checking first and if the ice is better than 6" everywhere I check the machine will be pulling mine out .... Suds

Well if you can get past their looks they are actually quite good to eat ....some people call them poor man's lobster or fresh water cod ...I found that if you boiled fillet chunks in salt water they actually have a lobster like taste ...just add garlic butter and you are good to go...last year we seemed to be catching a look more than the previous 5yrs on Rosseau and if you have multiple lines down they have a tendency to get them well tangled as they kinda ball up on the retrieve. Suds

Just got back from the Windermere Wharf ....the bay is finally iced in as far as I could see with my telephoto lens on my camera ...there was someone straight out from the pier fishing today (walkers) but unfortunately they were gone before I got down there today. I didn't have my float suit or spud and had my 2.5 yr old grandson with me so I was unable to venture out myself to check the thickness ...hopefully either tomorrow or Sun I will finally be able to play with some trout ...I have a few pics that I will post a little later once I get them on my photo hosting site. Suds

Was down to the wharf in Windermere late yesterday afternoon ....still no real gains on the ice ...wind is continually breaking out any ice gains we have made with the recent cold snap ....I'm going to go down again this afternoon and hopefully snap a pic for all to see ....that is unless I get really depressed and break down and head over to Three Mile for perch ...urgggggggg Suds

I went down to the wharf on Sunday afternoon ...ice had built its way out about 100 yds ...but the damned winds were just pounding it ...I'll go down tomorrow and see if it has improved at all ....there wasn't alot of steam rising off of it so it must be ready to start to harden up .....Hell even Simcoe is ahead of us this yr ..... Suds

Well I just got back from the Windermere Wharf (Lake Rosseau) ....there is no ice ....docks are iced in but other than that the water is wide open as far as you can see in all three directions ...Damned winds....Portage Bay is closed up but no idea as to the thickness and it doesn't appear to had any walkers/sledders on it just a few deer tracks...Three mile Lake is closed up and snowmobiles are now crossing the lake ...there is one hut out about 100 yds from Northland Recreation's loading ramp ....the usual earlybird at Wonder Beach still has his hut on shore ....I didn't take a walk with the chisel so I can't tell you anything about the quality or thickness of the ice ...its going to be few weeks yet before Windermere will be ready to go ....that deepest dock is starting to look like a good spot ..LOL Suds

I got myself a SHC flip up helmet at Royal a few yrs back ...I love it ...when I'm fishing in the open on a windy day I just leave it on flipped up ....real handy when you stop for a break while riding just flip it up and everyone can hear what you are saying ....Heated visor is really nice ....mine has a removable breath deflector and some are built into the helmet and not removable ....my wife's helmet is built in and she now wishes she had gone for the removable one as well ...the flip up works great for me as now I can take the helmet off without having to remove my glasses....several times prior to the flipup I have left them on the seat and driven over them by mistake ... glasses can put a differnet dynamic to purchasing a helmet make sure you take them with you and try putting the helmets on while wearing the glasses.....make sure you try several different models/manufacturers on as we all have slightly different noggins and you need to get the one that fits best without being uncomfortable. Suds

I went down to Lake Rosseau here in Windermere yesterday ...bad news is the lake is wide open from the docks right over to the island ...winds broke out all the ice that we had last Tues and it has been quite windy ever since ...I am going to take the camera down a little later today and post a pic once I return. Suds

May I make a suggestion? With the auger on the back of the bike the tires have a tendency to throw snow up onto the head of the auger sometimes causing the recoil to freeze ( running through loose powder or slush) ...only happened once to me and we were not able to start it as the recoil and throttle controls were completely frozen with slush....Since then I just cover my auger head with a bag (reuseable shopping bag)and a elastic velcro strap and it keeps the head debris free ....works like a charm...that's a nice setup ...enjoy Suds

Well I just got back from checking Windermere and Lk Rosseau over to Port Carling ...the sad news is any ice we had in Windermere got blown out with the winds on Tues night ...basically it is wide open right over to Tobin Island....the rest of the small bays are iced in ie Pottage Bay and the deer have been travelling across those areas .....soooooo its going to later than I had originally anticipated ....may have to go fishing off those docks yet!!!! Suds

Up here the trout seem to be chasers ...I catch the majority of my bigger fish with a jigging rap/williams about 6' off bottom ....watch the finder and if the fish either comes up or moves down towards the bait I start pulling it up as fast as I can ...they will usually hit it on the way up if not let it drop fast and reel it up again ......herring will hit it also ... we do get alot of pan sized trout off bottom with either set lines or a spoon rigged with a minnow ....a little different from the way I used to fish on Simcoe but it seems to produce here in Muskoka. Suds

I'm actually just on the outskirts of the village of Windermere ...two driveways before Longhurst Rd on the left side as you come down the hill ....used to be Twisted Acres Bed & Breakfast as few yrs back ...our family has owned this property for the last 30 or so yrs and I moved up full time just over 2 yrs ago ...Have never fished Three Mile in the winter but do wet a line there through the summer months ....spend the majority of my time on Rosseau either in the perm hut or touring with the auger and portable if conditions permit ...drop by if your in the area as I'm always looking for company to fish with. Suds

Yeah I haven't posted alot here as I am usually pretty active on several other boards ....me bad!!! I'm keeping my eye on Rosseau ...most of the bays are closing up but it will be awhile yet before we will be able to wet a line although I have been known to go down the dock a knock out a hole .....I usually put my perm hut directly out from the wharf a hundred yards or so ...its corregated aluminum light blue with a darker blue stripe around it ...I'm out there quite abit so drop by and say hello ... I'll try to keep this board up to date on the Windermere side of the lake anyways .....If we get lucky and keep these temps without any winds/snow the lake should be ready to go in just a matter of the week or so ....Here's hoping Suds

I think I can help you out here ...the big lakes by me Muskoka, Rosseau and Joseph did not have any ice other than a little shore ice in the shallows prior to the big snow dump. Yesterday with the lower temps and no wind allowed most of the bigger deeper areas to skim over but it's going to be a while before I would even consider considering an ice adventure. Three Mile Lake was just iced over prior to the big snowfall ....unfortunately this did stay up and will do nothing but insulate the ice .... Suds

I live in Windermere and just put my hut out on Monday (5x8 brown corrugated aluminum straight out from the Lion's Club Pavilion on the concrete dock)...we have got about 5-8" of black ice with a layer of crappy stuff on top ...fished both Tues and Wed this week and landed well over 30 fish each day...one being just over 5lbs.... we even caught a few Ling...you only need to walk a couple hundred ft from the dock downtown and you have 50 to 70 ft of water...I have not checked out any farther than around where I planted the hut and I am riding either my ATV or Skidoo Grand Touring on the lake to the hut ... with all this new snow it is pushing water up and making slush I will be walking or using the snowmobile for the next little while. If you do plan on touring around I would suggest chiseling as you go. I usually use a minnow set line wih two or three hooks tied directly to the line 6-10" apart with either a bell sinker or a bottom bouncing type lure like a Meegs, Bad Boy or even a 3" jigging Rap...You don't have to but I jig this very lightly at times when I see fish hanging around on the finder and I find it helps to entice them to bite.... my jig line if I even have time to use it is usually a spoon...Williams, Swedish Pimple, Mister Champ etc tipped with a decent sized minnow ...for some reason over here the trout will take the spoon better if it is tipped. If you do decide to drop over to this side of the lake and anyone is at the hut drop over and say hi..I usually have on a ABU Garcia Float suit with my nickname on the right hand pocket. Hope this helps, Suds

Lake Rosseau had 4-6" of black ice with a layer of snow on it about 5-8" deep on Sat morning in the Village of Windermere (north east side of the lake) ...we walked out about 50 yards from shore in 62' of water and the fishing was great ...I travelled around the local area today and huts are now starting to be moved out onto the lake via snowmobile at the end of Dawson Rd and over on Pottage bay on Brackenrig Rd. The main part of the lake has just refrozen as it all broke up with that wind storm so ice travel with machine requires caution ....I'm putting my perm hut out on the lake tomorrow in Windermere...as for the west side of the lake you would have to check with the locals over there. Suds

I remember that bear ...his name was Bart ...big Grizzly....trainer even stuck his head in his mouth while he was wrestling with him ....pretty impressive ...I have noticed the shows have gone down hill in the last few yrs as there are now shows for everything ....and more gates to collect my hard earned dollar ...I really have a problem paying to shop and really don't like fighting my way through crowds to do it ...with todays technologies one can check out just about anything online ...both the product and pricing and get a good deal locally with some subtle negotiations... Suds