adempsey

Wow! That was awesome! Those are some FAT fish. You are making me re-think this whole ice fishing thing! Cheers.

Just got back from a weekender up at Lake of Bays. We went out of Dwight and South Portage Road into Whitehouse Bay. We didn't walk too far out from Dwight, just past the few huts there into 50-60 FOW. Ice was 8" good clear ice and 3" of frozen slush on top. We walked about 1 km or so into Whitehouse Bay near Seagull Island (or Pancake Island? depends on the map you use) and the ice was 4" of good clear ice with 1" of frozen slush ice. There were about 20 huts in Whitehouse Bay.

Used Skype for video calls when my wife was away for work. Was great for my daughter. Now I use Google Phone. The advantage is that it's free to call land lines anywhere in North America. Skype can do that as well but it costs money. If you use Gmail, just click on the Call Phone button on the left menu to pull up the keypad. Try it, it's pretty good!

If there is one company that is good at copying everyone else, it's Lucky Strike! Regardless, they are one of my favorite fishing tackle companies. Their products are of decent quality and very reasonably priced. Albeit, sometimes difficult to find since they have such an enormous catalogue. I am sure I will pick one of those swim baits up. It's nice to see they are still making new products too. Cheers!

Nice to have more options. I noticed they started adding "higher end" items last year or the year before (e.g., Gary Yamamoto plastics). They are redoing the fishing sections in the two stores near me as well. However, I don't see much success unless they lower their prices. They are WAY TOO HIGH. The only time I ever buy anything fishing-related from CTC is if it's on clearance or I am desperate. Although, if they follow their sale strategy like they do for their other products, I could see myself purchasing fishing gear from them. I have to admit though, the CTC fishing sections is FAR superior to that in any Canadian Walmart I've been too.

Oops, my mistake. I went by the information I obtained from the internet. I am hoping things tighten up over the next week given the lower temps coming. We all walk out, so not likely going too far anyway. Cheers!

There is one Pub that I try to go to whenever I stopover in Sudbury called Grumblers. Not the nicest looking place, but they serve the BEST suicide hot wings ever!! If you like the hottest chicken wings, try these if you're in the area. HOTTT WINGS!! You have to order the hottest they have! I also like the hottest wings from Moose Delaney's in Huntsville. So, we often eat there when we stay over in Huntsville chasing Splake in the Spring and Fall. One place that I finally tried a while back was Weber's on Highway 11. It really wasn't very good and I don't know what all the hype is about. You want a good burger? Try Golden Star on Yonge Street in Thornhill (just north of Steeles). You have to order the homemade burger (the other one isn't very good). AWESOME burger! Beats Apache hands down IMO (Although, I like the Apache bun).

I guess it's this one? Well, maybe I will make a trip there just to try it, or maybe go here since it's in Sundridge:

Nice trip! Makes me rethink heading south instead of north all the time. My wife would probably prefer that - although, that means she would be coming with me, might need to really ponder on that one! I would guess that fish is a Yellowfin Grouper. Definitely a grouper of some sort. Cheers!

I am heading up the weekend of Feb 10th-12th...massive panzerotti's you say, WHERE???? I must have one! I just talked to Bill Eden at Bernard Outfitters (SE corner of Highway 124 (old 11) and Paget) and he said people are driving ATVs and sleds on the ice, but there are still some unsafe areas; and like everywhere else in Southern Ontario the ice seems to be just being maintained instead of building up. Good luck!

Was curious about that lake myself. Couldn't find out much about it either. Was looking at a few of the lodges located on it recently.

Dang! Now that's what I call an ice fishing setup!

I've only rented a hut once for whitefish fishing. It was from Bonnie Boats. From my recollection the hut and service seemed decent enough. We didn't catch any fish though, but the area they had their huts is often a productive one. They cut a giant trough in the center of the hut. Some people like that better than four holes. This was a few years back mind you. Anyway, hope the ice is ready by then! I decided to head up to Lake of Bays and Lake Bernard the next couple of weekends, you might consider planning a trip yourself =)

This is the information I recorded on my map for Lake of Bays: Hut to Hut (705) 489-2679 Lake of Bays Ice Fishing Co (705) 788-0330 (705) 789-1642 Logging Chain Lodge has huts too. http://www.loggingchainlodge.on.ca/specials.htm I have never used any of these services or even contacted them. I don't even know if they're still in business etc. Cheers! edit: Looks like Hut to Hut is out of Minden, so not sure why I recorded that for Lake of Bays. Maybe they have huts in a few places or are a guide service.

My experience: While browsing the fishing aisle, I looked at a spool of Nanofil and said to myself "do I want to spend another $20 to test ANOTHER new line that's probably not much better than what I have?" "Nope". Of course, when it goes on sale I probably will buy some to try it out

Nice fish! Too bad I don't have the cojones to hit the deep water yet....not sure how you can feel comfortable standing on 3" of ice above 100+ feet of freezing water, lol!

Check here: http://www.timeonthewater.ca/simcoe_icehuts.html and here: http://www.ontariooutofdoors.com/icefishing/articles/?ID=327&a=read Terry Goy, Tim Hales, Floyd Hales, Love to Fish Simcoe, Casey's are all popular. I don't think there is a specific spot for jumbos (at least, that I know of...wish I did!), but people have been catching them off Gilford and Port Bolster. The guys at 2nd Line Innisfil just put huts out recently as well. Not sure what's going on in Beaverton, don't usually fish that side. Good ice reports of the Gilford area here: http://www.youtube.com/user/THEBLUEICEREPORT

Thanks for re-posting your report Pikeslayer. Your thread came up from a search on Abamasagi; and I didn't bother to search for anything on Forrest Lodge or Caribou Lake so that's probably why I missed your report. Anyway, looks like Caribou lake might be a bit too busy for my liking. Probably the case for most drive-to lodges. Cheers!

Did you end up going? Curious how things turned out.

Here's a few I thought looked good enough to bookmark. Don't have any personal experience though. http://www.clarksresorts.com/ http://www.bignorthlodge.com/ http://www.halleyscamps.com/fishing-lodges-aamp-camps-mainmenu-7/caribou-falls-landing-mainmenu-8.html Have you considered a drive-to, boat-in or ATV-in outpost? This one looked interesting to me. http://www.walstenoutposts.com/sep2.html There are many boat-in and ATV-in outposts in the area you're interested in.

Did anyone else pick Mariko? I mean, I would prefer to fish with many other hosts but who would pass that up? Lol. I mean come on: THIS? or THAT?? (no offence Dave )

Nice to see a detailed ice fishing report. Can't wait for mine! Cheers!

Yes, I read your previous post and it sounds like a good approach. The only reason I am using heavy test line is for the added stiffness for the spinner anyway. I will tie some up using your approach. I do like the idea of having the spoon or spinner further up the line.

OMG!! That is one huge fish!

The smiles say it all! Heck, even I have a big grin after reading your post. Is that last picture of an ice cabin or a cottage???? Thanks for sharing!!