Rich Clemens

Fantastic !!!!

Take some pics while you're out there. I really enjoy seeing other parts of your country and I'll bet Sask has some great country out there.

DH - Was this 'bridge' incident an accident or did someone actually throw something at you ? ? Several years ago, just after we cleared customs on the Canadian side, going under a bridge, some kids through something that hit my truck, just an inch or two above the windshield. One heck of a bang and left a nice little dent. Couple inches lower - it could have smacked the windshield right in front of my wife.

That's great DH. Thanks for posting and putting up the report/pics. Wishin' I was back in the area right now.

Rosti: The French River Trading Post, along Rt 69, should have a map of the French River. This will be on your left-hand side shortly after you cross the Pickeral and French Rivers on Rt. 69. It will provide the outlines of the shorelines of the entire river, shows the various camps, rapids, etc. I'm pretty sure there are no maps available that show water depths, shoals, etc., since this French is not considered a navitable water-way - or so I have heard before. I have a couple of these and gets to be quite large when you open it all the way up. If you are staying at a lodge, they may have one of their own. I stay at Wolseley Lodge and the owners have a little self-made map with some of the fishing "hotspots" marked for their general area.

Congratulations. After this one, just 6 more to catch up with me. And if my step-daughter officially adopts her foster child - you'll need 7 more.

Yes - Hope ya have a great day my friend.

Some things are simply beyond comprehension and imagination. I just can't even fathom having to go through something like this and my heart really goes out to all those who have. Kids dying from accidents, severe illnesses, cancer, etc. Just ain't right.

What a great reward. Congratulations to you both.

6 more inches ain't all that much. You're just warming up now - now go get the 50. Congrats on the PB

From the shots Ron posted, my Lowrance screens would look very similar. Contours and depths.

Art: A couple years ago I had purchased the Navionics Hot Maps Premium edition for Canada. On the card itself, it has a little white sticker on it that has ... HotMaps Premium East MSD/Premium - E8 Vol 1.22 Not sure what all they mean. If you look any catalog, Bass Pro, for example, they have these SD cards for the US (which I think there are about 4 of 5 - for various parts of the county). They also make one card for all of Canada - that's the one I have. ALl the ads, catalogs or on the internet, should specify the region. Roy is correct - there is nothing mapped west of the bridge.

Good deal. Looks like ya made the best of some touch fishing days. What part of the French were ya fishing ?

Curious little buggers ain't they. Just wonder how close momma is ?

Yup - that would be the one - right there at Wolseley Lodge. We're in cabin 1 - right next to the bridge. I'll be calling the owners of the Lodge before we go - to get an update on the conditions. They usually give me the inner-most part of the dock due to the width of our boat. I may be parking on the beach this year. Could be an interesting time with the water levels the way they are. I plan on checking out some new areas this year, so I'll have to be careful in the unknown parts of the water. Even runs I made at Lakair this past June, which were clear before, ain't so clear now. We shall see. I'll be down the North Channel for the second week at Rainbow Camp. Expecting similar conditions down there. But, being locked on both sides by rapids, I have a pretty good idea on where I can go - and where I can't. Appreciate the info. Thank-ya Bill.

Holy Cow does that ever sound tough. I mainly go for musky and it will be interesting to see what some of my spots look like now - with the water levels the way they are. Probably won't improve much for when I head up there in early September. If that's the way the fishing is, it's gonna be a long hard two weeks for me. What's the launch like there at Wolseley Lodge ?

Wouldn't ya like to be in the office when the response was read

That is the same law down here in PA. Just completed my boater safety course this past week-end, and that very issue was addressed in the course. Must have one life jacket/vest for every person in the boat. The inflatable kind only count if they are being worn. If you don't have it on - you don't have a life jacket.

If your possession limit is 4 - then ya better only have 4 in your possession at any time - in the boat, in the freezer - they all count. I brought a bunch of crappie back home a couple years ago. Make sure the fish can be counted and quickly identified. As I was removing the skin from the fillets, I ran the knife under the skin for just about the entire length of the fillet, but left that last inch still attached. Laid the skin back over and froze them that way. I filleted each one, placed the two fillets in a clear zip-lock bag, with some water, and froze them. One or two fish per bag, dependin gon their size. They were laid in flat and not stacked on on top of another. They could be clearly identified and counted if I was asked to do so. This also made it easier to pack in the cooler for the ride home and didn't take up a lot of space. When it was time for some fish, I just removed the number of bags I needed, thawed a bit, and made the final cut to remove the skin from the fillet. Yup - They was good.

Yup, sounds like what I saw on my couple trips down there. I was talking to a guy some years back that had success down the North Channel (Circling around from Wolseley), clear down at the rapids. But, in between, I hear what you're saying. I typically raise several nice fish each year, but just can't seem to trigger a reaction. I know where some hang out, so I'll be paying them a visit here in a couple months. Curious as to what some of these spots look like now - with the low water conditions. I also have a couple new places I want to check out this year, so we'll see what happens. Rich

Just the start of a trip ? Catching fish like that would make an entire trip (or two or three) for me. Thanks for taking the time to share the report and pics.

You'll always have a day like that here and there. Let's just say the "Bad Day" is behind you now .. nothing but great days ahead.

Great to see you all are involved in something you love. Your kids will remember these times for their entire lives Mike. Cudos to you.

We have a family GTG at a cabin up in the woods yesterday with about 50 +/- people there. Covered dish and man-o-day did we (I) eat. Temps yesterday were in the low 90's and not much of a breeze. Fortunately, the area is in a wooded area, so that helped keep the direct sun off us. Back home in the late afternoon and joined the pups in the air conditioning - we didn't take them due to the heat. Gonna be a scorcher here this week - with temps in the 90's and no rain in sight until near the week-end.

That's great stuff Mike. Congratulations Jade. I can see you winning more of these down the road.