Jer

Probably the best public launch around is at the causeway on Chemong, west end across from Bridgenorth. Gives you access to the Tri-Lakes (Chemong, Upper Buckhorn, Pigeon, even Big Bald & Little Bald). Large concrete ramp, lotsa free parking, small dock at the ramp.

Nope...you got it backwards. Scugog is a spring-fed/watershed lake. No lakes of any size drain into Scugog, only creeks and a small river or two. Water flows out the north-end, through the Scugog River, Lindsay and on into Sturgeon Lake.

Hi Johnny, The lake is deep. My map shows a maximum depth of about 90'. There are lake trout. It kinda surprised me that Lookinforwalleye was there for largies, we've always thought of it as more of a smallie lake, though I did get a 4.5 lb largie there last year.

Sorry we missed you there last week. A couple of nice bucketmouths you got there. We were there Wednesday & Thursday and, much like you, found it a really tough bite. We got a few decent smallies and that was about it. Seemed we would get a nice fish as soon as we got to a spot and then couldn't buy another bite. We tried a lot of shallow structure on the first day and had very few bites. Thursday, we finally figured out to try the deeper structure (18' - 25') and my buddy caught a real nice one drop-shotting a gulp leech. Of course, a few minutes later the sky went black, the thunder was rumbling and we headed back in and ended up leaving earlier than planned.

Emerald Isle Marina is also an option.

I'll try to give you a peek... We're fishing there next week...

I had my tie-down trailering cover that came with my Crestliner converted to a snap-on mooring cover by this guy, Sew-It-All just south of Bridgenorth 705-292-0628. Cost me about $200, he did an excellent job. I don't see why any custom cover maker couldn't do the same thing, I just brought the boat to him with the cover strapped down just the way I wanted and he installed at least 40 -50 snaps and re-inforced anywhere he thought necessary. All the tie-downs are still there if you want to strap it down when trailering, I never do, the snaps hold it very secure.

I found the same thing at Mt Tremblant a few years ago. We went and stayed at my brother's condo in Sept. Dragged the boat all the way there just to find they wanted $40 to wash and $20 to launch and nowhere to park, just for a day out on Lac Tremblant. The boat never left the trailer.

I had a Stimula rod that I used for at least 12 years (up until last year, when I kicked it into Katchawanooka). It was a great rod for the price. I even had it replaced under warranty once when the tip broke.

I don't think you would have a problem...just take it slow, it's really narrow. There were a few cars in the parking. Launching any size of boat might be a challenge without 4wd.

Happy to hear she made it through alright. Something like that was my worst nightmare...we had enough food for another day (no permit but I'm sure they would have understood) and would have stayed as long as possible.

First of all, I would like to thank "TroutnMuskieHunter" for the suggestion of Crotch Lake for some remote camping, what a beautiful lake. Last Tuesday morning, we loaded up the truck, the boat, the dog and about anything else we could manage to fit and headed out for Crotch Lake. We arrived in Ompah about 3 1/2 hours later (should have been only about 2 1/2, but a last minute stop at CTC for a few things and a ton of constuction on Hwy 7 delayed us a bit) and turned down a bush road for the last 7 1/2 km, it's a very narrow road and took more than 30 minutes to reach the launch. The camping crew included me and Sandra: ...the boy, Brandon: ...and of course Mr Bear: We had reserved the site closest to the access point because I knew we had at least two boatloads of stuff to bring over. Turns out we were directly across the channel (a couple hundred yards or so). Brandon and I took the first load over while Sandra stayed back to unload the truck. Bear decided he couldn't wait and swam across after us. We unloaded the boat and I left Brandon to start to organize while I went back to get Sandra and the rest of our stuff. Bear must have figgered I had finally decided to leave him in the woods (along with the boy, it was tempting) and once again swam across the channel after me. We loaded the rest of our stuff, parked the truck and headed back over for two days of seclusion. Our site was on a point and was the only one on our side of the lake, sitting up on top of a little bluff. here we are all set up: After his double crossing of the mighty Mississipi, Bear did alot of this: He's over 11 years old so he deserved some slack...more about Bear's adventures later... We had a perfect little boat harbour: ...and the finest facilities anyone could ask for: After gettin all setup, we went for a little cruise to check out the lake. This a big lake (about 10 mile long) and in the two days we were there we barely explored the northern 1/3 of it. We were camped at the very north end at the inflow of the Mississipi river. Some of the beautiful scenery: We practically had the lake to ourselves, there were absolutely no cottages or homes anywhere to be seen, only a lot of camping sites that were for the most part empty. The largest group we saw were these kids on a canoe trip that stopped for some rock diving: Being bear country, we played it safe with our food overnight: Ended up the only animal visitor we had the whole time was this little salamander: I guess the big guy (the dog, not me) hanging around with his eyes glowing, kept the raccoons at bay: Oh ya! Fishing! To be honest, we didn't do as well as I had hoped, despite some wonderful weather. The bite was tough. Certainly not a shortage of structure to fish, I think I could fish this lake for 2 months solid and still not fish half the spots that look just awesome. My best fish was this smallie caught first thing in the morning from the boat still on shore. I was up early by myself (about 5:30, even the dog was still sleeping) and was enjoying my coffee and throwing my PopR out to the point. I got one just a little smaller almost right away but didn't have the camera handy, nothing for about an hour. Sandra was up by then and was sitting with me when this one 'palooshed', she ran to get the camera: The water is very 'tea-stained' on this lake and the fish are dark, even the few LM we caught were almost brown. The smallies were incredibly strong though, the fish above must have jumped 5 or 6 times and pulled like a tank. Apparently there are pike but we never got a sniff of one. I found this surprising as anywhere else I've fished bass where pike are present, you usually can't keep the snot-rockets away. Overall, I ended up with about 5 or 6 decent smallies, a few little dink LM and a rock bass or two. Brandon didn't have much luck, ending up with only a small pickerel and a big rock bass for his efforts. Because he couldn't catch any fish, we made him cook breakfast: On our last morning, Brandon and I went out to fish a mid-lake shoal that was a ways down the lake, out of sight from the campsite. I managed a couple more smallies, including this one: While we were gone is when the fun started (not really so fun for Sandra). She stayed behind with Bear and started to pack up as we were hoping to be on the road by 2 or 3 o'clock. There were very few powerboats on the lake the whole time we were there. Of the 2 or 3 sites in use that we could see, all were canoeists. We had seen one bass boat the day before. Anyways, while we were down the lake fishing, a smaller bass boat came up from the south end and continued up towards where our site was. Well apparently Bear saw this boat coming and assumed it was Brandon and me coming back. He snuck off while Sandra was busy with the tent and started swimming out to this boat. Unfortunately, these guys stopped still almost a mile away and were fishing the far shoreline. By the time Sandra noticed Bear was gone, he was more than half way across and she could barely see his brown head in the water. The guys in the boat by this time saw something coming towards them and, assuming he was a deer (he is a big deer-coloured dog), moved off a little ways to stay clear. Sandra was of course by this time screaming her head off "BEAR...BEAR...BEAR" (can you imagine?). Anyways, Bear by this time realized that these guys weren't me and Brandon and, probably getting really tired by now (he is 11, remember), veered off to the nearest shoreline. Once he got ashore, the fishermen (now referred to as Bear's Heroes) realized that ain't no deer (the big 'woof' might have given him away) and picked him up. Apparently they hadn't heard Sandra screaming (I don't know how, seems loud when she screams at me) but figgered he must belong to somebody close by. We were the only occupied site in sight so they came over and there was a happy reunion. Of course Brandon and I were out happily fishing throughout the ordeal and had no idea of all the commotion. All I know is I owe these guys my life, I'd be lost without that dog and could never forgive myself for bringing him along if he got lost (or worse drowned). After we got back to the site, the heroes were still fishing nearby and I thanked them profusley. They were from Ottawa and were staying at Tumblehome Lodge at the south-end of the lake (I didn't even know there was alodge there). They were happy to help they said, being dog-owners themselves. If anybody here knows these guys...tell them Jer says many thanks...and bear says "WOOF"

...apparently, you're not the boss then...

...1977 Olds Cutlass Salon...

...well now someone from here is gonna follow you around just to freak you out...

Thanks for the link, that place looks awesome. I've got a few questions...I'll send you a PM. Thanks again.

Hi everybody, My girlfriend, her son (15) and I are hoping to do a 3-day, 2-night camping trip in mid-July, Tues-Thurs or Wed-Fri or something like that. I'd like to find a place within 2-3 hours of Peterborough on a smaller, less-busy lake with docking for my boat. A smaller park (something like Lakair, but closer, would be perfect). I camped in a lot of Provincial Parks as a kid and don't really want anything where driving to the dock is necessary. I also grew up in the burbs of Mississauga, and alot of PP campgrounds have the same kinda feeling. Sandra would be up for a boat-in site, but I'm not sure if we have the equipment necessary for remote camping, nor be able to take all our stuff in one trip (1 or 2 miles from the launch might not be so bad). The thought of my boat beached on some rocks, banging around all night really doesn't appeal to me either. But the remoteness is certainly appealing. What happens when you get out on a lake with crown land camping and all the spots are taken? I would also need some sort of a decent ramp for my 16 foot Crestliner. Any recommendations or experiences are welcome. PM if you don't want to give away all your favourite spots to all that lurk. Thanks.

I bought a new 70 hp Johnson from them in 2000...by far they were the best price, by as much as $1500 if I remember correctly. Never had a reason to go back, thank goodness. I've heard alot of similiar stories as above since.

I have to agree with the general concensus... Why would you leave markers out unattended?...talk about a safety hazard!

The kids were swimming on Buckhorn all day yesterday (including a 1 1/2 and a 2 1/2 year old). Water temp at my dock was 72 in the morning, 78 by late afternoon. I'm on a fairly shallow bay, 5' to 6', and have noticed the surface temp can vary hugely day to day depending on the weather and is rarely as cool as the main lake.

I'll be picking up a 12 foot tinny (from Brighton to Ennismore) for my girlfriend's son on Friday and am wondering if I should bring my rather large (for a 12 footer) boat trailer or if I can get the boat in the back of the truck. Truck is a 2001 Dodge Dakota clubcab. The box is 6 1/2' I believe, with the tailgate down, probably 8'. The trailer is a 2100# EZ-Loader rigged for my 16' Crestliner and would look pretty silly with a little tinny. I don't know the beam of this boat, might be too narrow to fit on my bunks.

Having lived (and fished) on the Tri-Lakes for over 12 years now, I'd say the crappie population is still increasing. Every year, we get more and more incidental catches of crappie while targetting other species throughout the summer. Every spring, we find more and more spots holding crappie at the opener. When I moved here, I didn't even know what a crappie was, hardly ever saw one the first few years.

My last boat was 16' 8" with a 72" beam. Newer boat is 16' with an 83" beam. There is no comparison as far as stability, the wider the better. Although a little bit slower, the added stability (and roominess) of a wide beam is well worth it. My regular fishing partner is a pretty big guy (well not that pretty), 280 lbs or so. In my old boat, if he would lean over to pick up a rod, tackle box, whatever, he would darn near pitch me off the boat if I wasn't paying attention. In the new boat, he could be dancing a jig and the boat hardly rocks at all.

Nice boat! I have a 2004 Angler 1600SC, very similiar boat, I don't think they make the Angler as such anymore. I bought mine 'hull only' for $7700. Put my own 70hp Johnson, trolling motor and just recently bought a new trailer for it. I'm sure I have as much or more invested then the price you were quoted. I get about 37 mph with the 70. Quality with Crestliner is top-knotch. I'm just starting my 4th season with the boat, and can honestly say I have had absolutely no issues. What are your plans with the trolling motor? I'm still using an old 33 lb Minn Kota that just doesn't have the juice necessary in the wind. I want to stick with a 12V unit, so 45 lb thrust would work for me.

One of the best things I ever bought for my boat...