Regan Thompson

Hi IronMaker - Booking Danny was a good call. I strongly endorse him. He has guided several times for us this year and all of our guests have been thoroughly impressed. I can tell you as a Musky guy myself, no one (at least not that I know of, except maybe Lew!) knows Musky fishing better on Nipissing than Danny. He's studied the lake in great detail and is prepared to travel long distances for fish. As noted by Lew, Nipissing is known for size not numbers; Danny manages to find them if and when they are on. If nothing else, you are guaranteed to learn as much in a day about Musky fishing as you would in several years. Also, your best odds at a trophy and this is a great time of year for it. BTW - I almost forgot to mention. Make sure you check your Navionics card to make sure it has the West Arm of Nipissing on it! For some reason the earlier cards didn't have the West Arm. If you don't have it, you can go to the Navionics webpage, insert your card and download an update for this. I can also try to do it from here at the lodge as I've done for several other guests in the past. Look forward to having you up! Regan

Restoule is a great little Musky lake that not allot of guys know about. Not a huge lake but holds some big fish. Another good lake (connected by a river) to the North, is Stormy lake. I've also stayed at Martin's Camp and it's a great place. The owner, Bing, is a great guy.

I actually just purchased the Musky Mojo 8 ft H/H.. I had the Legend Tournament Pro in my hand and changed my mind at the last minute.. It all comes down to dollars and sense, but for half the price, I absolutely love the Mojo. It's still a quality St. Croix rod and comes with a 5 yr Warranty (LTP is lifetime mind you). I have it coupled with the new Shimano Calcutta D and 80 lb Tuffline (I would recommend not using power pro counter to it's popularity, it fray's easily and digs into the spool). Daiwa Samurai is also an excellent line. For trolling, if you don't want to break the bank.. Go with Shimano TDR rods and Okuma Convector 30 (line counter) reels (100 lb test). I've been running for of these for 5 years with no problems. Many guides use this comby as well. From what I remember the rod and reel combo is about $175, not bad for a decent setup!

Hi Dutch, If you decide on the West Arm, my wife and I own a lodge here. The Walleye fishing can be hit and miss in the summer, however in late Sep/Oct there is a fall migration that occurs from West Bay to West Arm. Fish move off the large fertile weeds in West Bay and migrate to the deeper waters in West Arm for winter staging. Things can really turn on in the neck downs if the timing is right. We'd be happy to put a package together for you and I would even offer to take you out myself for a night and show you around. Feel free to give us a call. Cheers,

Headed down to the dock to give it a try, thanks!

Thanks Margarine, I know exzactly what you mean.. You were actually faster than me googling LOL!

Hi All - Anyone have an Opti that can help me troubleshoot this? Just after adding more Optimax oil to my reservoir I started getting warning beeps (4 of them) every two minutes. The owners manual says this means low oil or water in gas. I'm sure it's no coincidence that it started happening after I just added oil so just wondering if it's a sensor or pressure thing? Anyone out there ever get this and/or know what to do? Much Thanks

Sweet video!

Looks pretty sweet TJ... Soak it in before your busy season starts!

Done, but I must warn you... By that time this revolutionary and unorthodox new form of Muskie fishing will have taken hold and you will need to sell all your gear yourself.

Thanks Johnny and my mistake, thought you meant Callander initially!

Agreed with Thread Killer, I have HDS 5 GEN 2 and have had no issues with it. Although wish that screen was a bit bigger! especially when you want to add side/structure scan, which as Art noted is only worth it if you're in deep water. Personally, I would go with HDS 8 to give you the flexibility to add more units, etc. down the road and not box yourself in. Another note is make sure you calibrate it correctly! Art actually calibrated my unit when he was up here (wait did that sound weird???), and since then I'm seeing things allot more clearly.

I would go with Art's feedback on this one.. He is a Sonar/GPS wizard and actually calibrated mine properly for the first time since I had it. I have HDS5 Gen 2 and have had no issues at all, even in torrential downpours getting very wet. I only hope that Navionics picks up there game and releases more detailed contour maps. As for the down and structure scan, as Art said it's great for fishing deeper waters! Also allot of fun to see what's down there and gives you feedback to cross reference your sonar. If you're in a shallow lake don't bother though. Also, a number of other companies are really starting to pick up their game including Raymarine and Lowrance. Now that these other big players are entering the market I'll bet the technologie makes leaps and bounds in the next few years.

I had NO clue there were Muskie's in New Brunswick! how many lakes/rivers are they in there?

The fact is there are likely hundreds of fish over 65 lbs roaming all of these waters, so why then has one not been caught since the 80's (although one can argue this)? It's probably no coincidence that the disputed record (and many other large fish) have been caught by anglers targeting other species. One has to think that conventional Muskie fishing tactics are not conducive to catching these super tankers because similar to monster pike, their habits are very different. These larger, slower slobs may be feeding on smaller forage maybe? That's it! I'm selling all of my Muskie gear and targeting these beasts with bottom bouncers and minnows LOL!

Couldn't agree more about LOTW. Great fishery, but way too hyped up for some reason. The one thing St. Lawrence has going for it is current. Muskie in these waters go to the gym 24 hours per day while the fat slobs of G-Bay and Nip sit around eating. Muscle weighs more than fat but a big enough slob may win!

General PITA - Love the Scucog reference. I lived on the Kawartha's and everyone (who doesn't fish for Muskie that is) says that Scucog holds these monsters, LOL. I kid you not, this is a true story... I was getting some stuff at BassPro a couple of years ago. The salesperson helping me seemed to know what he was talking about, until he told me that he had the potential world record Muskie on the line in (you guessed it) Lake Scucog! It got away of course and is still roaming the waters! I immedetily left BassPro and have not been back since!

For size and numbers together, St. Clair might take it.. Sooo many fish and big.

Out of all of these Dinorwic/Wabigoon are definitely the most under fished, that's for sure. Just not sure they are big enough and hold enough forage. If I had to pick one, I'd say the North Channel of G-Bay. Hardly anyone fishes it. Very treacherous water and few places to stay. Plenty of massive tankers cruising around in there that have never seen an artificial bait.

Noted Cave Man, French very well could have been on this list!

Awesome report lads... A big change from the Kawarthas eh!? Great photography BTW, makes a big difference...

Ok, fellow Muskie nerds (I include myself in this term BTW)... I'm sure this may have been posted before, but interested to get your top 5 list on of lakes which are capable of producing the next world record Muskie... I remain unbiased on this debate as a lodge owner on Nipissing BTW (for real), but think it belongs on the list. Anyway here is mine, let me know your thoughts... Georgian Bay - Home of the famous O'Brien fish on the Moon (which I still fish each fall) and capable of producing another anywhere from Moon, Sevren, North Channel, Pointe au Baril, etc. St. Lawrence River - already a potential record and still producing Ottawa River - no brainer Lake Nipissing - Catch and release world record already lined and MNR reported a netted 72 pounder on netting survey Kawartha Lakes - HA, just kidding! Great for numbers but it ends there. Lake of the Woods - Not sure it could produce this size but possible. Certainly a great fishery Other notables - Lac de Mille Lac, Wabigoon, etc. Thoughts????

The pleasure was our's guys! And yes, the new sonar is working great! Seeing things clearly for the first time down there.

Roger that... Let me see how our week is looking and I will get back to you

Great having you up as always Joey. And great photography once again. Which reminds me, you still need to teach me how to use my camera out of auto mode! Looking forward to seeing you guys again in the fall.