BassMan11

Last year i had found an outfitter about 4 hours from Ottawa into the Quebec side of the boarder that was a great spot to hold an annual fishing. Last year we had a great time but the fishing was wasn't the best. I was really hoping this year with a new lake and a new cabin would produce some more fish for us.... and thankfully it did. We left Ottawa around 6 am on Aug 5th. There were 6 of us and we couldn't wait to get on the road for the beautiful drive up to our location. The packing job was one of my better ones. We stopped quickly in cassleman for a bite to eat and then it was a non stop drive to our destination of Saint-michel-des-saints in Quebec. The drive up was beautiful... its just a different landscape then Ontario with a lot for mountains (obviously) and is just a neat drive We arrived at the checkin and paid our dues for the next 3 days, were given a map with the roads highlighted all the way to our camp. The trek was about 45min away from the small town on dirt roads. The perfect way to drive in. I had done a lot of research and picked a place that had its own lake. With no cabin or people around for at least 30km it was the perfect spot. The ride in was awesome Finally we arrived at our cabin. It was a smaller place then last year and actually a little more updated then i had expected. Propane fridge and stove with solar powered lights, hot water and a shower. Also there was a bed for all of us.. no spooning means no complaints. Supplied with the cost of the place were 2 16' fiberglass boats but you had to supply your own motors or rent them if need be. We had 2 9.9 which was perfect for the size of the small lake we were on. The lake only had 2 species of fish in it... perch and pike. We were all pretty excited to see if one of us could land a big gator. We rigged up quickly and preped the boats and were out on the water. I had brought an old bottom line fishing buddy fish finder for depth mainly so we could troll at a decent depth. We trolled over to a small bay and stopped the motor to cast. Within 5 mins the first fish was caught.. by yours truly. Not big by any means but it was good to know fish were here next was Joe We caught about half a dozen fish that size in that small bay and then the biggest fish of the trip was caught.... No attawapiskat monster but for a non pike fisherman like myself... it was a big fish. she weighed 7.5lbs and i was pretty excited. We caught a few more small pike and the ones that were hooked badly we kept for the surf and turf later. At one point one of my rod and reel combos fell out of the boat.... for some reason i decided to grab the other two i was fishing with and try and snag the sinking rod. As i am doing this my buddy Adam had already fell into the water to save the rod. He comes up with the combo in hand and tells me "i think i have a trebele in me" at this point i drop the other 2 rods in the water in fear of burying the hooks in deeper. Needless to say those rods i dropped were not the ones hooked in Adam and lost the 2 of them. So he saved 1 but i lost 2.... ahh how can you be mad at someone after that effort That put the cap on fishing for that day so we headed back in for a few beverages and to relax on our beach. Dinner that night was steak potatoes corn and some fresh pike.... we ate like kings. Day 2 Since i was the first to bed i had to be the first one up so i didnt look like to much of an old man. I was up at about 7am and out on the water by myself at 715. All the other lads were still asleep. I caught 1 small one and had another good one on but lost him We decided that day that we were going to take a trip down the small river off of our lake to a small unnamed body of water that was big enough to be considered a small lake. We packed out bags and headed out.. the weather was beautiful and very hot. It was quite the journey to arrive at our destination. Driving most of the time with the motors trimmed up and even having to get out and pull the boat it was quite the adventure into unknown waters. Along the way there was a deep pool in a narrow section of the river.... Joe casted out and had his first decent pike hit right at the boat. after a few casts on we went... After about an hour of hard treking through dense weeds and bog we finally made it to the little lake... and boy was it worth it.... the first one is Joe with his pb pike and biggest fish he has ever caught... good on a Joe! The other boys did well also.... in total we put probably 25 pike in 4 hours in the boat between the six of us. The trek into that tiny lake was so tough that i bet there wasnt to many people that had been in the to fish in quite some time. I think thats why we did so well even in the middle of the day. It was a great afternoon on the water but it was time to get back for something to eat and get geared up for the evening fish. When we got back to the cabin my buddy Fitz had a nice little surprise. He had a crate of golf balls to eat out into the lake... the only problem was he was left handed.... we made due anyways as you will see. We had some lunch and headed back out on the water around 630 or so for the evening bite. We were all pumped up after a good day on the water already. A few minutes after starting to troll I see the other boat heading back into shore... i turn off the motor and yell to them "whats up?" My buddy Fitz yells back "Jer has a hook in his hand" I ask "bad?" to which he replies "hospital bad". We reel in our lines and head to shore... we are greeted on the beach by this... The hook was in deep. Jer had caught a small pike that had stuck him while flipping around in the boat. There was no way to turn this hook out the side because it was embedded straight in. We had all been drinking and a 45min bush road trip out to a french speaking small town was the option at first... not the best one but it did not look like this hook was going to t. We had a small first aid kit with some peroxide and other bandages but nothing to help the situation to much. Then my buddy Adam took charge and decided "this hook is coming out now". Jer was reluctant at first but said he would give adam one shot to pull it out the way it went in. Jer took a shot of rye and held on to Joe tight as Adam gave the hook a solid pull and....... (notice the bend on that treble) we covered the wound with peroxide and celebrated another good day out on the water with good friends and company. I wild end to a wild day Day 3 The next day i was up again at about 730 and out on the water. The weather did not look as promising as the first two days but after yesterday it really didnt matter how the rest of the trip went weather wise. A little reminder from the night before Only 1 hit that morning and nothing to show for an hour out on the water. Day 3 was something a little different we had booked out spot on another lake within 25min of driving that was stocked with speckled trout. So we loaded up our gear... motors and all and loaded them into the trucks for another adventure. The weather was rolling in fast but we hoped for blue skies by the time we got there. Before we left i noticed the girlfriend had slipped something into my bag.... i guess she thought i would forget about her continued...................................

Unbelieveable

All depends on what you want to spend and how much data you are actually going to use.

Heading to Black Donald Lake near Calabogie. Cant wait

So i have finally put some money aside for this spring and have decided to buy my first boat for the 2011 season. Just a little 14' with a trailer and a evinrude 9.9 for a very reasonable price. I am picking it up next week but am having a problem finding a place to put it because i live in an apt building and the property owners will not let me store it in the covered and locked parking lot. Just wondering if anyone knows a place close to Ottawa (nepean) area that has a reasonable price? Its only about 20' total with trailer and really dont want to pay an arm and a leg to park it somewhere fairly safe. Any suggestions on what i should do? thanks BassMan

As a 25 year old reading all these replies i am horrified about the future. How will i ever first pay off all student loans then buy a decent home, pay property tax, pay all my bills, drive a decent car let alone at some point have children and give them a good start in life. O and thats if you get a decent job right out of school. Maybe by the time I am 40 i will have enough money saved to start all of that?

toy boat .... 5 times fast ..... its a tough one

GSP...... not even close

Those are some hawgs... great report.

Actually the only incident was the emerg kill switch on the motor broke about 30min out on the water... but we fixed that quickly.... and the PBR was the "pass the ace" punishment drink.

The site is http://www.pourvoiriedumilieu.ca/en/ Sorry for using the word limit..... we could have actually kept 30 (10 each) Ya sorry about the loading...... first time posting.... i wll have to work out some kinks.

So this is my 2nd attempt at putting together an annual fishing trip with a few of my good buddies from the Ottawa area. I know that Ontario has a lot to offer fishing wise but the price, fishing, and location on the Quebec side looked to good to not to try it out. Last Year I had tried to set up one of these fishing trips but we ended up in a spot more like Muskoka, which is an awesome place but just not what I was looking for. Something just a little more rustic and in the middle of nowhere is what I was looking for. We started out at 7 for our 4 hour trip to the Town of Saint-Michel-Des-Saints which is North east of Montreal. Myself and two other buddies had my truck loaded up and were on the road with anticipation for what type of place we were going to get into. We made it into town at about 11 and check in to the Pourvoirie. Upon arrival the people from the check in give you a map with directions to the cabin you are staying at. We hit the road towards the cabin and as soon as we jump onto roads of this kind... i knew it was exactly what I was looking for : There was some awesome views on the long road in... After about 45min on the dirt road (which only got better on the way in) We get to our destination..... And let me tell ya she was a beauty This was exactly what I was looking for. Build in the 1930's, she was still holding up fairly well. No electricity, it had solar power, propane fridge and lights, a wood stove, and a cook stove which I couldnt wait to use for all of our meals. The Cabin came with an endless supply of wood, and 2 boats which we brough our own Motors for. There were only 2 other camps on the lake and only saw people 1 of the 4 days we were there. After getting all settled in.... rods rigged and a cooler packed for the boat we headed down to the dock and were ready for what the Lake had to offer. The fishing wasnt as crazy as i thought it might be and we worked hard for a few hours learning the lake until we got into a few smaller smallmouth. I had on my Zara spook puppy later in the evening and i was getting explosion after explosion on it but no hook-ups. I watched one small bass leap out of the water 5 times in a row but just couldnt seem to take the lure under. Finally my buddy Fitz hooks into a decent 17" which was the caped off the night.. fishing wise that is. The next day I was up bright and early with my one friend not close behind. I didnt want to wait to long and miss to much of the morning bite so out went just the two of us. On the agenda today was getting into some decent size pike, which is what the lake had most of. The lake was glass and had some awesome views with crazy reflections off the water. The Lake was very strange to me.... not a lot of weed beds, but very deep and very sandy... I was not really sure where to look for the fish, I was a little out of my element. So i put on the williams and started to troll. About 5 mins in i get a good tug on the line... FISH ON! I fought it for about 10min before she even came up and when she did OH BABY it was a good one. We get her right to the boat.... probably about a 38-40 incher....... then... she spits the hook. I was devistated... biggest pike i had ever had on. We continued to troll until it was time to go back to the cabin to meet the other 3 guys that were on the way up. Finally once everyone arrived it was back out on the water. Finally my boat got into some fish. A few pike this big and a couple smaller........ then I land my best fish of the weekend. All in all it was a good day and all the boys met back at Camp with some fish to clean for sunday nights Fish fry The next day it was up early again but before we headed out we sat down to a good breaky on the cookstove For today we had booked a boat on another lake that was about 10km down the road on a small lake that was stocked with spec's. We jumped at the chance to fish the lake and we headed out right after breakfast. The road in was even better then the one to the cottage. Finally we got to the 100 meter walk into the bush down to the lake.... wasn't to bad of a trek down to the water even with the 8 horse merc. The weather was a bit crappy with a light rain all day. But it was all worth it for this lake. Once we got into the boat and set up we set out and tried to figure out the fish.... once we did it was crazy. We caught about 50 fish in an hour and a half. Well worth the soaking wet and the trek in... here are some pics... The action was so crazy i didnt take a lot of pictures... on the way out i set up the camera and took a picture of the 3 of us and our limit. We headed back to camp and had a bit of fish cleaning to do for the fish fry. Later on in the evening we had both the propane and cook stove going to prepare the feast for the camp. It was a little damp in the cabin so of course we had the wood stove burning hot. And of course a few drinks were in order... The next morning was not a very early start and we had just enough time to get the cabin cleaned out and get all packed up for the long road home. The 2nd annual fishing trip was a success....... until next year. BassMan, sorry for any spelling mistakes or poor grammar... this took a lot long then i thought.

i caught 2 about 10 years ago in back to back casts on a zara spook puppy in about 2 feet of water between 2 islands.

Every post from this place just gets better and better..... great report from the river as usual.

nice report... hopefully they are not as hard to find in sept.

Ah Tuborg Gold is a pretty good one. But you can't go wrong with anything cold. But don't forget the drink order of any fishing trip. Baileys/Coffee then a Ceaser, beer all day, then a few ryes to finish the night off.

The trip of a life time. I would love to get away that far into the bush. Great report

Got mine the week of Aug. 21st. JUst recieved it in the mail yesterday. Its just a cash grab really.

Zara spook frog colour. nuff said

Really only that much? After reading your post i decided to do my own research on possible outposts. The majority of them are close to or over $800-$900... for the week. I would love to "stumble" onto a lake like that one day. Great post.

I have had both the V8 2 wheel drive and the V8 4x4. They are almost the exact same on gas. Towing that boat with a V8 4x4 will be a breeze.

great pictures. nothing better then an anual fishing trip. Is that one fish the the little guy is holding up by the scale a bass? If it is that is a monster!!!

About 4 years ago my dad and i walked a canoe back into a lake/pond where we had never been before near 9 mile lake. Fishing was great, catching LMB hand over fist when a storm came out of nowhere. We paddled to shore to take cover under a tree (only option). I bolt hit about 30 yards away right in front of us. shook the ground and we were able to even see the width of it. Closest i ever want to be. But at least the fishing was good

Zara spook all the way... never fails me.