brookieman

if you're going to be in Longlac, you should make a trip into the Steel River for a few days. Very few people venture down this river, and fewer fish it. Access is just off a logging road, maybe 30 minutes from Longlac. Once you get past the first lake or two (short portages), you'll have the river to yourself for at least 30-40 KM down to Santoy Lake. Walleye, Pike, even Specks in there...beautiful waterfalls, rapids and campsites...It's worth looking into!

My buddy made the 15 footer from the bear mountain plans last year. The boat is awesome. It's tough and lightweight. You'd be surprsed how strong these are.

I'm pretty sure the Aux Sauble river that crosses HWY 17 holds specks. Don't believe that's too far from Massey

http://www.solotripping.com http://www.myccr.com http://www.backpackinglight.com cheers!

While i agree Ostrom packas are awesome you should look at HeadStrong Packs. These packs are just as rugged as Ostrom, yet their a little less expensive (Still $ 200) and i believe their hip belt is A LOT more comfortable. Plus they look cool too! Here's the website http://www.headstrongpacks.com . Oh and their made in Canada eh!

Nice Report

hey are those Codet Wool Pants your buddies wearing?

i was looking at some pics the other day of some of the worst weather i've been caught in on the water. Let's see some pics of the worst mother natures has thrown at you guys!

Either the Katadyn or MSR products are fine. The Katadyn Hiker Pro pumps water like a champ. Super fast!

Hey he hijacked my "first post" from last year LOL!

my experience up there has shown the waters to be fairly stained with healthy populations of walleye and pike. If you're going in June, they hould be easy to locate and aggressive. At this time of year they're still fairly shallow. I know the bass season is open on lake gowganda starting in may, not too sure about where you'll be. Make sure to check the regs. Oh and if you see an aggressive walleye charging at your lure don't forget to blast him with the .303!

oh ya, as a side note....Black bears are actually very predictable if you understand their behaviour. They almost always act the same way in the same circumstance. Of course they are a wild animal so if they feel threatened, they may act different. Don't threaten them and you'll be alright. Winnie the Pooh just wants some food. If you've got none, he'll move on!

"shoot it if you feel it's endangering you" That's a very open ended statement as there's no clear legal classification as to what "endangering" is. I know we're getting into semantics but I can guarantee to you if you get caught in the bush with a loaded firearm in the middle of the summer, you are putting yourself in line for some serious weapons charges. Right or wrong, that's the law and there's plenty of prosecutors that would line up to shove it right up your arse. Not saying i agree with it but...... You can't single out individual events as the norm. If we did that, this entire society would be running around with guns in our cities for our own "personal protection". I've spent years in the bush and reitterate that 99% of the time, there is no harm. As for the mother with cubs comment....Are you reciting what you believe to be the truth, or have you actually been in a situation and seen first hand what a mother with cubs does? I've had 3 occasions where i've stumbled upon mom and cubs and in all three circumstances, mother lifted here head, sniffed the air, looked around, and went about her business. Bears don't look for confrontation. That's a last resort....so don't give them a reason to attack. As for the swipe comment, Black bears that are ticked off, will usually bluff charge you a fewe times......contact is extremely rare. Look at all the documented bear encounters with campers and let me know how many are predatory??? Not many. The chances of a black bear clawing or biting you in camp is extremely rare. Does it happen, yes. But people also get hit by cars crossing the road. Should they carry guns for protection too? The problem with carrying a gun, is again, what does "endanger" mean? I'd bet there's be a lot of trigger happy campers and fisherman as soon as they saw a bear even close to camp. The original point of this thread was about whether there's problem bears in Chapleau Crown Game Preserve. I still say NO. In populated areas YES. I'd feel more than comfortable sleeping under the stars in Chapleau area as long as my camp was clean. Education is everything, and experience counts. Educate yourself on what is true and not what popular conjecture is! Solopaddler has spent lots of time in wild areas. I wonder if he's ever felt bears were a problem in the backcountry?

Skeeter, are you sure or exagerrating a little? Seems awefully weird to have that bad of a problem in "true Backlakes" or "backcountry". 99 % of the bear problems people encounter are camping on pre-existing, well used campsites where careless campers have left juicy smells and easy picking for bears. The bears will become habituated to these areas and keep coming back. I've never heard of a situaton you describe in the backcountry. I spent over 40 tent nights in some of the highest populated bear areas in Ontario last year and never had one encounter. Even if you did, a true wild bear that stumbles upon a campsite will more than likely show you his rear end and high tail it outta there pronto. Only campsie bears linger. A word about the .303. I used to bring my model 94 30-30 lever action with me on almost all backcountry canoe trips. That was until a CO came upon my camp around 100 KM north of Elliot Lake. Let me tell you, I thank my lucky stars that I'm not behind bars right now beacuse it's completely illegal to carry a firearm in the bush most of the year. Maybe you could say you're small game hunting and produce a licesne, but with a large caliber rifle at your side, that doesn't hold water. Don't be afraid of bears. Chapleau isa gorgeous area, enjoy it. Enjoy the bears too!

Which is a better deal. The etrex legend at BPS for $ 99 or the etrex summit at CT for $ 129?

What lake are you starting on? I'll be flying into Kenoji! Love that pre-glacial Ogoki river. Awesome walleye and pike. I've fished in a lot of remote areas, but Wabakimi in spring is about the best walleye fishing i've seen. Not the largest fish (although i did get a nice 7 pounder last year), but it's pretty easy. You get hungry, paddle the canoe 100 feet, catch 3 walleye, come back and eat. It's awesome!

Solo, i leave for Wabakimi last week if May. Should be up there for at least 1 month. Then it's either Woodland Caribou, or head south to the north shore area for some crown land bush whacking for 2 months or so. Summers are short and i plan to take full advantage of the long days. It's probably my last year being able to do so, so if figure why not. Plenty of walleye, pike, brookies and lakers to be had. We're just finished ordering all our maps so decisions will be made soon as to where exactly we'll be. I was up in Wabakimi last year and it was honestly the best place i've ever tripped. Nothing beats the Boreal forest! If only the blackflies and skitters would cooperate.

Solo, you are my hero. I'll be in the bush for 3 months this summer and i'm on a mission to find a rock like that one!

Whatever you buy, pass on the Agressor Combo. Absolute garbage. i know cuz i worked there. 75 % of them come back with the same problem. The copycat "airbail" that they didn't copy very well. i wouldn't pay $ 20 bucks for that combo. All the returns and they keep selling them?

Okay so I decided to bite the bullet and head down there today to check it out. Not too much that I was looking for, but you never know, always some good deals right??? Well all i can say is that it's pretty sad. I have no idea how they can justify this show to the public. Declining attendence numbers should be like bells going off in their heads, but to no avail. Heck it's Rogers that owns Ontario Out of Doors anyways so as long as they sell some phones at the show they don't care. The worst news of all is that i couldn't even renew a license because the MNR is AWOL. Where are they??? Hmmm i don't know. I asked the OPP booth where the MNR was and the officer said they weren't there beacuse of a lack of funding......that's crock. I'm pretty sure everyone on this board pays their license fees as well as the other 1,000 000 or so poor souls who dig into their pockets to stay legal on the waters. Where is all the money going?? We have one of the largest areas for natural resources in North America and yet there's no CO's on the water, the land and certainly not at the show. What kind of message are you sending to the people of this province if you can't stand on your own two feet with the help of our money. Sorry just had to get that off my chest.

Good post....Nothing at all wrong with it. Guess some are so sensitive that they need to criticize anything that might be deemed controversial. Good luck out there man!

Just got one the other day. Pretty cool machine, but definately takes a while to get used to. The email tool is awesome!

Sorry but I have to chime in. Aaron you said: "Lake Simcoe is more than likely the best lake in North America for tourist anglers for ice fishing which helps to drive the local economy. Many residents thrive on the local ice fishing on Lake Simcoe to provide them with their livelyhoods... ice hut rentals, guides, tackle stores, gas stations, and even the OMNR for fishing licences". So what are you trying to say? That just because people depend on a resource to pay for there SUV's and vacations that we can exploit a resource? I'm not saying you were exploiting anything at all, but your comments can be interpreted as "well i have to make my buck so it's okay" How is this any different than forestry companies being allowed to chop down our forests because stopping, would result in a loss of jobs. Aaron you work in the industry and you must remember you're on a pedastal of sorts. Comments like these walk a very thin line. My $ 0.02

Mine is up for sale...looking for $ 200. Check the classifieds, there's a picture up!

Be careful on the roads. I was driving all night on the 400 highways and saw multiple serious accidents. Freezing rain, sleet, snow......= CRAPPY ROADS