Familyfisherman

I was stopped on our way home at this checkpoint. Honestly I drove by and as the original post stated had no idea if we were supposed to pull in or not. The traffic was fairly steady and I actually couldn't have made it over to pull in if I'd wanted to since I was in the fast lane towing our boat. Anyways, we were discussing if we should've pulled in or not and a truck with lights flashing pulled us over. We made it over. The CO who stopped us identified himself, asked for our licenses, asked where we'd been, if we had any fish, etc -- we had only one fish, cleaned by Steve, the owner at Chaudier Lodge. Thankfully, he had left a piece of skin on as we're supposed to, so everything was fine. He checked our livewells, the truck, etc. I was happy to be stopped and glad to spend the 10 min making sure everything was fine. Now that I know they do this sort of thing I'll be more prepared next time and won't make them chase me down He was pleasant, to the point, and imo did a fine job of a thorough check. Had we had anything we shouldn't we would have been caught I'd expect, so that sort of thing may really help people make a good decision who might otherwise just expect it won't matter to not keep proper limits, etc. Yep, I'm fine with it.

Thank you Hank Jr and Doctrt for your help and advice -- it was very appreciated! They had 3 guides if you're heading there: JP, Pat, and Billy. Billy is mostly a walleye guy, JP is a tournament guy and multispecies guide, and Pat is multispecies also, but really likes Musky. All good guys. Pat and JP are much more talkative, Billy is a quieter guy, but fantastic on the shore lunches -- all depends what you're looking for Yes, you'll be well taken care of! They even have maid service, so when you come back from morning fishing the cottage is all cleaned, beds made, etc...very relaxing time!

After much discussion and planning, and with some excellent advice and help from members of this board, our group of 5 headed up to Chaudière Lodge on the French River this past long weekend. We arrived Friday at around 5:30pm, and immediately were treated very well by the staff, who wouldn't allow us to do anything but walk up to our cabin and settle in. Actually, even before we arrived I had a great time dealing with Cole, their office manager, and knew exactly what to expect at each step of our holiday. How Cole explained things would be -- they were. Once we had our boats all docked and were settled in we went for dinner, and WHAT A DINNER!! Huge cuts of prime rib, all the fixings -- the food was definitely one of the highlights of our weekend! At each meal you would have multiple options to choose from, and everything we tried was very, very good! Steve, the owner, would stop by your table at most meals and provide advice or just ask about how things were going. The dock staff led by Peter were friendly and very helpful. On Saturday we had arranged a guided walleye outing with Billy, one of their walleye specialists! The fish were not aggressive, as the water was very cold, only 49-50...however, we still managed nearly 25 fish that morning. We had just a fantastic shore lunch, and Billy was a real wizard -- he had our fish cleaned in about 15 minutes (12 fish), and the combination of fries, beans, salad and fish was honestly one of the best tasting meals I've ever had! We also had the pleasure of watching a couple of very large musky in the shallows right beside the rock we were eating on, which was very interesting! The pictures we tried to get didn't work out very well however... Sat afternoon we tried to target pike, and although we fished many great looking bays, we only managed 5 fish. With the weather being behind and the temperatures so low it seemed the fish were deeper than normal and often suspended...not easy to catch! Sat night we went out again and caught maybe 20 fish -- not aggressive, but steady. Sunday was rainy...very rainy . We fished pretty hard, going out before breakfast, after breakfast, and tried to target pike in the afternoon, but it was raining so hard we were quite soaked and decided to watch hockey and baseball instead . Sunday night we went back out though, and that was likely our best session, catching 30 fish or so, including our largest pike of the weekend at just over 8 lbs and 36 inches. Monday we fished the morning before going, and as luck would have it near the end of the morning we did find some larger walleye -- which meant we had fish to bring home, so my family was happy! Walleye have to be over 18 inches to keep there -- I asked why it was different than most places and the answer was they were trying to protect a couple of VERY large year classes and give them a chance to spawn a few times...those fish are all 14-17 inches right now -- and man did we catch a lot of them at that size . No one knows exactly what'll happen but the idea was to allow those fish in those 2 year classes to spawn a few times, and perhaps they'll change the slot back so people can keep more "eater size" fish after that...we'll see. Anyways, overall, the lodge was fantastic -- food was great, accommodations were good, the staff was very helpful and talkative -- they really did most things for you so you could just relax and fish! Having a guide on day one was a very good idea, as we then had several spots to fish and knew our techniques would fit the current fishing. The fishing was a bit slow, and if I were to go again I might attempt to go slightly later in the season to allow the water to warm a bit more. Anyways, here's a few pictures...I should've taken more but was mostly just enjoying the time fishing...

Hey sounds great -- we'll post upon returning. Appreciate the feedback, thank you! Kevin

Hey folks, Heading up for the May long weekend 19th-22nd. Just wondering if anyone has been there or has any feedback? $495 including boat, food, bait, etc...seems like a great deal for that weekend! We'll be targeting walleye and pike. Thanks, really excited about it! Kevin

Good thought -- yes, it will be superior. Thanks all!

It's a Minn Kota Maxxum from 2003, so it doesn't have a transducer built into the head - but I could clamp in to the bottom as OI suggested. Yes, agreed, temp isn't vital -- I do need something on the front of the boat anyways however...

Hey Folks, My fishfinder no longer reads temperature accurately. Other challenge is I don't have one at the front of the boat, so when I'm on the trolling motor, which is all the time, I have to constantly ask our depth, etc...not fun. So, I was thinking of upgrading the main unit, then moving that unit to the trolling motor. There isn't all that much space for this new unit, so I think a 5 inch screen is the most I can go with. I went on Ebay and found this -- NEW Lowrance Hook-5 Fishfinder/GPS Combo Mid/High/DownScan Bundle -- for $399 Cdn plus $40 shipping. Would this be a good option? I see it's about $135 off what it is in stores, without the tax also. Make sense? Not a fantastic unit I realize, but not that much money either...so it's in my budget... Glad for opinions! Thanks! Kevin

So our group of three was excited to try fishing for Walleye on the Detroit River last Wed. The day started rather cool and overcast -- you forget how cold the wind can be with the water so cold in early spring. We launched out of LaSalle -- which is a great launch with lots of parking. We fished mostly the Canadian side, upper river providing most of our fish. We caught 11 fish, ranging from 24 inches up to 28, and our biggest fish was just over 7 lbs. We were jigging with 1 oz jigs, using mostly black and "bloody mary" coloured fin s minnows and worms with stingers. Ian was an excellent guide. The fishing was tough, and many other guides we spoke with didn't have much luck. We were steady throughout the morning. We ended up keeping 8 fish -- all but one were spawned out. I'm sorta surprised they allow an open season for walleye when they're spawning like that, but I guess the population is healthy? All in all a great day -- if you're looking at a guide for the DR or St. Clair I'd really recommend Ian Jones - he was excellent, and a very nice guy as well! Here's a few pics:(the smallie was a brute, and was immediately released after a very quick pic)

Hey appreciate the comments everyone -- it's sounding like we may do well to up our price range a bit and perhaps hire a guide for at least day one to help shorten the learning curve and get us on fish more quickly. Cliff, nothing taken negatively at all -- I'm very thankful for the comments. We certainly weren't trying to blame any of the places we went -- although it's certainly more helpful if the people who run the camps are fisherman and focused mostly on fishing. I will research each of the places mentioned -- again, many thanks for taking the time to post! Kevin

Sure I can do that -- here's where we've been so far and a brief description of how it went: Auld Reekie Lodge Owner was a very nice guy, accommodations were very nice. Weather was very cold, and the fishing was extremely slow -- went May 24 weekend. Caught a few bass, some pike in a nearby lake with very leaky boats, and some lake trout. Overall the lodge didn't have much insight into the fishing -- they don't fish. There were a few other groups there that weekend and everyone struggled to catch any walleye. I think it was just a particularly tough weekend. Horseshoe Island Camp Again, owner was nice enough. Met him at the Spring fishing show. Booked a group of six. Had trouble with our BBQ and appliances. He was swamped with 3 other groups that I guess come up every year and he's a one man show, so he wasn't able to get our stuff working. The fishing was very slow -- caught a tonne of 11 inch walleye...called them "Bob", since they were all twins...no bigger fish, no bass. Everyone took their turns fishing the same 4 places with similar results...kept saying we should have been there last week...right, that's what they all say Ellen Island Camp -- Lady Evelyn Lake Again, accommodations were very nice and new. Boats were just ok (small). The owners also do not fish, so really had no advice on where to begin. This lake is very large, so it took us a lot of time to learn anything. Caught a few fish, but overall it was disappointing...it was also in Sept, so not exactly prime time...our fault. These are the most recent 3 trips. I agree Cliff you often get what you pay for, and this may factor in to our eventual choice. I'm happy with a drive-to, and I think that'll fit most people's budgets better. We're looking for 3-4 nights, and around $500 or so makes sense to me. I'd be prepared to spend more but I don't think others in the group would be able to go much more. Anyways, glad to know if you've been happy with your experience anywhere. Thank you!

Thanks guys. I'd say within 6 hrs of Barrie or less might be good. There's literally hundreds of options, and I was just thinking if we heard from some people who were very happy with their experience this might be a great place to start. Appreciate it, thank you!

Hey folks, I've gone with a group of guys (4-6) 3 times now over the last few years...each trip has been fun, but we certainly didn't catch anywhere near the amount or size of fish the places said we would. Once it snowed all weekend, so that was tough, once it was too warm they said, so the fish weren't in the usual places...and once I just don't think the lodge owner (or us) could find any fish over a pound . Anyways, if anyone has a place they've enjoyed I'd like to hear about it. We go for 3-4 days in Late May/early June usually. We like to target walleye, pike, and bass if open. I have my own boat, the others may rent one or 2. Drive to preferred. Anyways, glad to have a few options to look into -- any advice would be appreciated! Thanks, soft water is coming Kevin

Good idea! Perhaps I'll check out what might be available there...

Hey folks, Just looking for some advice. My wife and 2 of our 4 girls are wondering about a 3 or 4 night fishing getaway this coming July. They love to fish, and our older 2 girls are working at camp, so it's a great time to do it. We have our own boat, all gear, etc. Just wondering if people had some ideas of good lodges, drive-to places to go? We aren't afraid to drive 5-6 hrs or more if the fishing is worth it. We live just north of Barrie. We'd love to fish for walleye, pike, and bass mostly. Budget would be around $1,000-$1,500...depends on the options. Thank you very much! Kevin

Thank you -- it appears the fishing has been a bit tough all over as we've started into September... Good news is better days are coming

Hey folks, Just wondering if anyone has been on Pigeon recently? We're heading up fishing this coming weekend and hope to target walleye and bass -- catch and release. Often at this time of year the fish have begun to head deep, but given this year's unique weather I'd hate to venture any guesses...? Glad to have any feedback about what people are finding to try and make our time as successful as we can. Thanks in advance! Kevin PS -- wacky worms in the weeds for largies working?? Senkos have saved many slow trips for sure...

I just googled "current satellite images' and chose one of the ones that came up...it brought up a map similar to google maps and you can put in the address of interest and go from there

Aha. You may be quite right. I was looking at current satellite imagery, however for whatever reason at the level of zoom I was on it didn't show the ice. When I zoomed in a bit more it does show it as fully iced over still. I guess either way we're waiting for the ice to be gone. So when it is gone just confirming that trout are open on Lake of Bays? Thanks!

A few of us plan to go north over the next week or so to fish at his cottage -- we hope to target splake which aren't super plentiful but are in the lake. His lake isn't all that far from Baysville. We wondered about perhaps trying to fish for lake trout in Lake of Bays, and I had 2 questions: 1. Are lake trout open on Lake of Bays -- I read it as Jan 1 - Sept 30 but wanted to be sure, and 2. Is it worth trolling/casting for trout on Lake of Bays at ice out? I have no experience with it and wondered about fishing in the area near Baysville? I've fished trout quite a bit on Simcoe with riggers, etc, but never on Lake of Bays at ice out. Thanks, glad for some feedback! Kevin

It's on Big Rock Road. We figured we'd fish out front and walk out with the kids...certainly appreciate the warnings...especially this year, I'm sure the ice is unpredictable...that's why we'd hoped to be fairly close to the bay they're on to stay close and out of current. Even panfish would be fun I think with the kids...

Hey Folks, We're heading to a friend's cottage for an overnight with the kids this weekend for Family Day. We wondered about ice fishing on 6 mile lake? I've never fished it. I have a portable hut, lots of gear, etc, but I'm not even sure what might be best to target? I've heard there's pike, wondering about crappie and walleye as well?? I likely won't have live bait, so just wondering about some general tips? We'll have lots of kids with us, so hoping to keep them as busy as we can. I have lost of small jigs/plastics...I usually target whitefish and trout on Simcoe, but with the inconsistent ice this year I haven't even been out yet . Anyways, glad for any direction...the cottage is off Big Rock Rd. Thanks, have a good family day all! Stay warm! Kevin

Thanks folks for the advice. The cottage is on the east side, but not too far from Grand Island...at least from the pictures I can see it We'll work on those emerging weedlines. Anyone have any luck trolling with spinner rigs? I figured I could use this as a way to locate walleye initially. I've caught walleye there on a drop shot and crankbait, but it seemed like a one off sort of thing as we were targeting smallmouth at the time... Enjoyed the lake the one time I was there...

Heading to Balsam for a week next weekend. I've fished it once, and fished one shoal for a couple of hours, so we didn't really get around the lake. Just wondered if there are general starting points for LM/SM bass and walleye? Am I correct that the slot for walleye is as follows: Sport license possession limit of 3, under 14.6 inches or greater than 21.7? I don't expect to keep any, but if we chose to I'd like to be sure I didn't miss something. Thanks for any insight, it looks like a nice multispecies lake to fish, and our family is excited to try it. Kevin

Hey all, Looking to book a cottage for the first week of July -- wondered if people had thoughts about a good lake to choose? Our priorities are: A good waterfront for swimming -- preferably a dock to swim off of and dock my boat, and good fishing for bass, walleye, etc and perhaps a small town in the area. Any thoughts on good lakes within a few hours of Barrie? Thanks very much! Kevin