adempsey

I'd also suggest Rice Lake. It has amazing fishing for pan fish and great bass/walleye for dad! I've been up there numerous times. It's an easy drive, within 2 hours and you still get that secluded northern Ontario experience. While all the Kawartha lakes are great for fishing, I found Rice Lake to have the best family oriented accommodations so far. Unfortunately, there isn't much in the way of beaches on the lake since it's so weedy and muddy, but most places will have a pool (or two). However, many do have a small beach area with sand and a three year old won't really care. I'd highly recommend that your son always has a PFD on whenever near the water (probably don't need to say this, but it's important enough to do so anyway). You can easily fish off the dock for panfish, but if you do plan on getting a boat I'd highly recommend a pontoon boat. They are very comfortable with lots of room to move around and if your child gets bored they have a nice place to sit and play with mom while you fish. This site has great info on resorts on the lake: http://www.ricelakecanada.com/resort_finder.htm. There are many family oriented places to stay. I find Musky Bay Resort to be a very well looked after resort with great boats and good prices. I rent boats from them quite often for a day of fishing and have stayed there several times as well. It is true that in the summer most places only rent for a week, but I always managed to get a weekend rental from somewhere on the lake.

It looks like a typical pike fly to me. I just picked one up today to play around with on my next fishing trip using my spinning gear and a bubble float. It may or may not have a specific name, really. Maybe a Bunny Leach? Couldn't tell if it was made with rabbit fur or not. Can check here: http://www.pikeonthefly.com/Flies.html http://www.thefriendlyfisherman.co.uk/sect...pike-flies.html There are some videos on Youtube on how to make simple pike flies as well. Pike don't seem to be that picky.

Just an FYI, these will be on sale at BPS during the spring sale.

Of course now, the hot color of the year is going to be Hot Steel. Lol.

It's funny, after weeks of research and gathering feedback from many experienced anglers I discovered that the majority of lakes and lodges were listed on this one site, lol: http://www.ontariofisherman.com/top-5-lodges.htm Go figure! Thanks again for all the feedback folks!

There is an RC boat/fishing rod combo that is like this as well. I thought it was cool!! Lol.

I ordered from Cabelas USA about 5 times over the past couple of years. Brokerage fee was always $3.50. Shipping varied depending how much I ordered from ~$17 to $19. Also charged tax. They lost my order on two different occasions though. However, they did replace everything free of charge both times without question - and these were 20 to 30 item orders.

That guy deserved that fish. You know he really enjoyed catching (and releasing) it. Laker of a lifetime.

LoTW....yes, one of the destinations on my bucket list. I am slowly increasing the distance I travel over the years and will eventually get there and all the other amazing places in Western Ontario...and hopefully MB. The Spanish river looks great too. I will check that place out Tightline, thanks!

!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Why did I click that link. My computer is forever traumatized. Better question, how do you even know of that place? Hmmm.... Anyway, definitely inspirational story! I am sure 99% of people in your situation would have just given up. So, whenever I start to feel sorry for myself I will just think of the "Cliff Story"! Best of luck in your new career.

I always thought this place looked really nice: http://www.limberlostlodges.com/index.html I have never been there though and know nothing about it except what's on the website. You could check out the resorts on Lady Evelyn Lake as well: http://www.ellenislandcamp.com/ This resort is on the river before the lake - http://www.white-pine-lodge.ca/home.php The French River Provincial park is also incredibly beautiful. As you travel down the river you can immediately tell when you enter the park. I stayed at Wolesley Lodge last October for a weekend. Decent place. We caught primarily hammer handle pike, but there are plenty of other species present. There are a bunch of other lodges on the river system. Check out the trip planner on noto.ca Ever thought about renting a houseboat? Might be kinda neat....something I'd like to try myself. Could also consider just doing a charter on Bay of Quinte. Wish I could offer more, but I am still exploring around myself.

I'd say they are different enough. However, I wouldn't buy both colors in the same lure/size..

Any thoughts on Kabinakagami Lake? I assume it's similar to Nagagami. We have now pretty much decided on a housekeeping cottage for this trip. I think this opens up far more opportunities to great fisheries. LLPP - I considered Gowganda last year but we opted to go back to Lady Evelyn. Gowganda looked really appealing especially if you like to fish multiple lakes. Carll2 - I have read a lot of great things about Gouin. It looks like an amazing place. Huge remote lake but still accessible by "road". One of my concerns is the logging road since I don't own a truck. I am going to check out flying in though. Solopaddler - Every year I consider the remote outpost option. I love the solitude and remoteness when I travel. I think I will discuss this with my father and see how he feels about it this year. Thanks again for the suggestions. Cheers.

Sounds like a business opportunity to me =) Although, the brand new Rapala Trolls-To and Flat Rap lure series are made of balsa. So, not sure if that statement is true or not?

If I had to do it over again, I'd look into skilled trades as well. I spent over 10 years in University, still have over $20K in school debt and was recently laid off after 5 years of working at a biotech company. From my limited understanding, make sure to pick a trade skill where you will be able to find someone to apprentice under. It seemed to me that it can be hard to find an apprentice position in some of the trade skills. Nursing is a good career too. Ya, don't laugh, I know there aren't many male nurses but there are so many options after you get your BScN. Not to mention the female to male ratio is like 50:1 at school...that alone is worth it. Don't forget, there is money available to help with tuition costs. Grants and loans of all sorts for aspiring students, both from the Government and the banks.

Looks like a great place, but not sure I can afford it. Sure it's only a $300 more, but $1500 is already pushing it for me =) We might actually opt for a HK fly-in lodge instead. Expeditions-North is at the top of my list now. I am pretty bad at packing as I tend to bring every thing I own, lol. Not sure I am capable of bringing food and fishing gear on a fly-in within the weight limits!! The Ara and Meta lakes area also looks promising. Thanks for the feedback, much appreciated! Cheers.

Thanks SoloP. I have been considering expeditions-north based on a lot of good reviews. I will check out the others you suggested. Cheers!

Trying to gather info on a few different lake destinations I have selected for a week long fishing trip in Ontario or Quebec. Primarily walleye fishing. Looking for quantity with a decent chance of netting some over 24". Other species (trout, whitefish, perch, pike) would be a big bonus. American Plan, <$1500 per person. Rental boat. Drive-to lodge within ~12 hour drive from Toronto. Places I am investigating: Ontario: Ivanhoe Lake Lake Nagagami O'Sullivan Lake Lady Evelyn Lake (been here the past 2 years) Quebec: Trout Lake Gouin Reservoir Cabonga Reservoir Berthelot Lake Poutrincourt Lake Lake Kipawa It's always a tough decision because you want your precious 1 week per year to be as good as possible. ANY information would be most helpful. Thanks.

Not sure if this helps, but I did see some Minnow Raps in the bargain bins at some of the exhibitors at the Fishing and Boating show today. I have no clue what colors, nor do I recall if there were a lot. Not sure if you are headed there or not this weekend, but best of luck!

No offense, but has anyone seen a pipe bomb before? A homemade and some store bought fishing rod holders kinda look like a giant version of one. So, I don't think it was over reacting considering the Olympics and where it was found. Reminds me of the time I went to a somewhat shi shi golf resort a couple of years ago. I was there spending time with the wife, but also to do a bit of fishing. Keep in mind, people here do not fish. They golf and talk about real estate. Anyway, I had my rods in a rod holder and was carrying them from my room to the dock. Some people thought I was carrying a gun since my rod holder somewhat resembles a gun case. I was wondering what all the funny looks were for.

Pretty much as expected. Almost identical to last year. Didn't see that many outfitters there, but it's not really the best show for that I don't think. Deals at the tackle booths were meh. Probably better if you want to buy a ton of lures/plastics, as many of the sales were of the "buy 4 get the 5th for free" variety. Lots of variety though if you are looking for some new things. I saw a couple of new smaller companies that looked interesting. There was a Russian lure manufacturer that had some interesting retro-futuristic looking lures that looked like machined metal. I also got to eat some sausage made from kangaroo and camel meat. Where else can you get that!?!?!? I didn't stay for too long and didn't watch any seminars, although I probably should have. As ColdH20guy said, a good place to get lost for a couple of hours.

Instead of mayo or ranch dressing try Tzatziki sauce. It's that yogurt based sauce they put on Greek food like gyros or souvlaki. Quite healthy and tastes great. I also salt-bake fish, but usually of the ocean variety. However, it shouldn't matter. Basically, you mix some eggyolk into a bowl of kosher salt. Then you completely cover the whole fish with this and bake it. It's basically like clay baked.

It's probably important to keep in mind that not all lures are going to behave the same even though they are the exact same model. Some just have that extra bit of movement or something unique that gives them that performance edge. I remember reading once that some pros get large number of lures to try from their sponsors and test them to find just the right ones - even though they may all be the same model. I don't know if that's true, but I don't doubt it. Anyway, this isn't quite the same, but for me it was my Len Thompson Canadian Flag spoon. I used it for several hours on Canada Day last year trying to land a pike or walleye. Unfortunately, I got hung up on a deadhead and my lure is now in a watery grave. Was rather disappointed. However, I will not give up! I will purchase another this year and give it a whirl on Canada Day 2010!!! Hopefully I can find one. As for the Storm, I haven't used many of the plastics yet. I bought a ton of them when they were like $1 a bag. I have used the Kickin'Minnow with success, but haven't even really tried the swim shads much.

Is it consistently not visible? I find with my flasher that if the transducer is not level I can have problems seeing my lure. So, I found that I had to fiddle with the flasher location sometimes to get it to pick it up. There have been times that I couldn't see my lure but I could see my buddies who is in the hole 3 feet away from me even though the transducer was right above my line! Of course, I can't say for certain that there isn't something wrong my flasher since it's my first one Good luck!

I am very close to booking my week trip at Red Pine lodge on Ivanhoe myself! I have had a difficult time finding much information, although what I have found seems to indicate that it's a decent fishery. Good luck!