hoosier

Was there in 2012 with my sons in late July. We are headed back there in June this year. My boys were only 9 and 12 at the time so we did quite a bit of trolling with bottom bouncers. Walleyes were about 15 to 20 ft deep and plentiful in the 16-20" range. Portable depth finder helped a bunch. We caught a few pike but really not that many. We didn't make it to the portage lake but hope to this year. Cabin was very clean. Hot shower and the generator were nice touches.

Thanks for sharing your pics. Saw one on 17 a few years ago about half way between 129 and the Soo.

Laptop

Desktop

Tried the exact same brand on a fly in this past year. Did not catch a single fish on them while at the same time my boys were nailing them with worms on their jigs.

Thanks for the comments everybody.

very cool report, I'll bet you guys are flyin' again for 2013?

Not for sure about 2013 yet but 2014 for sure.

Great report, thanks for posting! If I'm not mistaken Lobo was originally just a pike lake and Hawk Air stocked it with walleye. It's nice to see the walleye population took hold.

Glad you had a good trip, but I'm frankly not a big fan of Hawk Air.

Correct on the stocking. I think the walleye have been in the lake for about 10-12 years.

Thanks for the report! Looks like you all had a great time. It reminds me of my brother and I when we were young. We're in our 40's now and we still are doing the fishing trips with our father. I am sure it will be the same for you guys.

That would be a little bit of heaven if my boys and I end up doing the same.

Two of the last three years I have taken my sons to drive to lakes. While we had a good time at both locations, I wanted to go to the next level for our 2012 trip. After looking around we decided to do a fly in with Hawk Air. After spending the night in Wawa we arrived extra early at the sea plane base. This was our first fly in so I wasn’t exactly sure what the procedure would be. To my surprise after a quick check in, we were winging away to Lobo Lake an hour ahead of schedule. Once at the cabin we hastily stored our gear and hopped in the boat to get some fishing in before the predicted afternoon storms arrived.

Our first target was pike. We only boated one tiny pike in the first two hours. With the slow fishing we decided to troll back to the cabinet and regroup. Luckily my son caught this guy on the way. It was to be our lunch.

The storms rolled in and kept us off the water for the rest of the day. As we sat around the cabin my mind started to wander. Did we just drive 700 miles and spend a decent amount of money for subpar fishing? I mean aren’t the fish supposed to jump in the boat on a fly in?

The next morning we decided to go after walleye. We did a little drift fishing with jigs and picked up a couple of keepers. Not exactly fast action but at least we were catching a few. A little later in the morning rain once again drove us off the lake. High winds would keep us off the lake until the evening.

That evening things would take a turn for the better and put all my worries to rest. We caught more walleye than we had ever had in any of our past trips including a PB of 24” for my 9 year old. The next day we discovered the world of bottom bouncers and worm harnesses and caught fish consistently the rest of the trip.

All in all a great trip. Nice clean cabin and the best fishing we have ever had.

I was up there for the first time last year with my two young sons. It was the last week of July. Stayed at the main camp so we didn't make it all the way out to the outpost. As for the bass, we caught plenty of them using worms on bottom and under a bobber. Usually dropped anchor close to any good looking rocky shorelines and it was as simple as that - 5-15 feet of water. Only had limited luck with walleye but I am sure it was more my inexperience versus the lake. Also only boated a few pike but the owners were very upfront to let us know it was not a numbers lake for pike so that was fine with me. Overall we landed more than enough fish to keep a 8 and 11 year old entertained for 8-10 hours on the water each day. I intend on going back but this year we are trying our first fly in.

Great looking deer! We may have a few more deer down here in the hills but those corn fed deer are huge.

Well done Frank! Looks like you guys had an excellent trip.

Nice boat, good looking boys, great trip........thanks for sharing.

 

Bob

Wish I had a boat like that but sadly it was just ours for the week.

Impressive! And the boys look pretty happy too! What a great area that is. Thanks for sharing.

 

ps. I winced when I saw the lad with his knee on the swivel seat and an open tackle box right below him. But I probably see accidents where there aren't any.

Never thought of the tackle box Roy. Good point. I'll keep it in mind.

Aww the falls, I was just there myself a fews weeks ago and can't wait to go back. Looks like you guys had a good time. Were you camping or did you stay down at Happy Days?

We were at Happy Day Lodge. It was our first time and we were very satisfied with their operation.

Nice, but BoilerUp! I was up at Dog Lake in June which I believe is in the same area.

Boiler up - NEVER! But seriously hopefully IU can get back up to Purdue's level and get the rivalry back to the way it use to be with both teams being good.

Awesome, Missinaibi is a gorgeous lake!

 

Any lakers?

We were actually on Windermere. Very scenic and plenty of elbow room. We did not try for lakers. A few people in camp were trying but I think they got skunked.

Spent last week fishing in the Chapleau area with my two sons. Caught most of the fish in 5 to 15 feet of water. A simple hook and worm either on bottom or under a float produced best for us. Here are a few pictures.

No luck hunting yet down here in Indiana but did get a few pictures of a "white" hen today from the house.

Also had this guy hanging around the other evening.

Good luck to those out there chasing them.

Frankie, I hope your choice is a good one. I am heading up to Happy Day the first week of August with my 8 and 11 year old boys. I have never been to the area so don't have much to add but from what I could gather online it looks like a great place. I am pretty green at Canadian fishing but will pass along any info if my vacation is before yours.

No worries here.

 

I though it was interesting that someone with from indiana with the handle hoosiers would be such a big reds fan. Maybe there were fishing in Ohio, and wanted to fit in?

Yeah we're in Indiana but close to Cincinnati so we pull for the Reds.

My 7 year old and I hit a local river in Indiana for some fishing the other weekend. Not exactly the fast action you guys get up north but it keeps us entertained.

The boy ready to go.

Here is our ride.

White bass

Smallmouth

Not the best pics of this next fish but I think it is a spotted bass instead of a smallie.

Pumpkinseed

Scenery

The highlight of the day was seeing a bald eagle which is a rare sight in our area. Unfortunately it took off before we could get a picture.

Had some luck bow hunting on Friday. The rut is on in my area and the woods was crawling with deer. I saw 5 bucks and several does by 9:30am. A little spike came through about an hour after daylight to start things off. The woods was quiet for about 45 minute after that. I then caught movement 50 yards downhill. Probably the largest buck I have ever seen in 26 years of deer hunting steps into my shooting lane with his nose to the ground and starts heading my way. The wind was in my favor but he makes a turn and proceeds uphill. He passes by at twenty yards but thick brush prevents a shot. The big boy slowly moves farther away so I rattle and grunt. He comes close again but he simply won't leave the brush. Sadly it was not meant to be.

Not too long after that the woods exploded with deer activity. Three different bucks were pushing does around on my hill. The one buck came twenty yards broadside and I placed an arrow behind the shoulder and watched it drop dead about 80 yards away.

Shotgun season starts next weekend. Hopefully my son or someone else in our hunting party will meet up with the big boy.

My boys were in school so my daughter was my helper processing the deer.

Just got back in from the woods. Our bow season in Indiana just started today. I saw three button bucks and one small eight pointer. Not sure what you guys are allowed in Ontario but in Indiana we can only harvest one buck. However in my county you can take about 11 does between bow, shotgun and muzzleloader. Can't wait to get back out there this weekend.

I was up at Vance's in July. We fished mostly for pike out along the islands but wished we would have taken more time to fish for smallmouth. There are some real big ones out there.

Thanks guys for taking the time to answer my questions. I have a better understanding as to what is going on now.

Hoosier

John's last line was, in reality, the real meat and potatoes of the whole thing.

We all know this happens every single year. We rarely see this happening to spawning bass or walleye. Why...because those are naturally sustaining fish (the native status of bass is arguable).

In a[b] put and take fishery[/b], it is hard to justify taking CO's away from watching the deer hunt, the bear hunt and other stuff going on to protect a resource that is only a week away from dying a[b] futile death anyway.[/b] Now that doesn't make it right, but it is the facts and it is the reality of human resource allotment.

We're better off calling both the MNR and the police. The police can handle these issues, but then again you run into the same argument.

It is a terrible shame the MNR killed the Fish and Wildlife Guardian Program.

 

We should do as local communities have with high crime or prostitution problems. Erect signs saying it is illegal and that we are watching and that we will take your picture and put it all over the internet so the world will see you are a poacher.

But no one needs to be a cowboy and take on a gang of flossers or snaggers. Do not do anything that is beyond your comfort level. Grab a camera and take pics, take video...it may be all we can realistically do.

Ok I messed up my first reply. Let me try this again.

If I am reading this correctly the fish going upstream do not spawn very well? Hence the "put and take" and "futile death" references. If that is the case (not saying snagging is a good way to do it) but why aren't these fish somehow harvested and consumed by people? Do they taste bad at this stage of the process? Do MNR retrieve eggs from them as they spawn? Sorry if this sounds stupid but we don't have salmon in my area and know very little about them but am trying to become more knowledgeable on the subject.

Thanks,

Hoosier

John's last line was, in reality, the real meat and potatoes of the whole thing.

We all know this happens every single year. We rarely see this happening to spawning bass or walleye. Why...because those are naturally sustaining fish (the native status of bass is arguable).

In a put and take fishery, it is hard to justify taking CO's away from watching the deer hunt, the bear hunt and other stuff going on to protect a resource that is only a week away from dying a futile death anyway. Now that doesn't make it right, but it is the facts and it is the reality of human resource allotment.

We're better off calling both the MNR and the police. The police can handle these issues, but then again you run into the same argument.

It is a terrible shame the MNR killed the Fish and Wildlife Guardian Program.

 

We should do as local communities have with high crime or prostitution problems. Erect signs saying it is illegal and that we are watching and that we will take your picture and put it all over the internet so the world will see you are a poacher.

But no one needs to be a cowboy and take on a gang of flossers or snaggers. Do not do anything that is beyond your comfort level. Grab a camera and take pics, take video...it may be all we can realistically do.