solopaddler

Thanks for the kind words guys! I didn't realize Riley had posted this reply 'till this morning. She's getting pretty computer savvy. I hadn't mentioned that she'd caught the biggest fish, but yeah she did, a 32" pike. That's my girl.

It's osullivanlakeoutfitters.com http://www.osullivanlakeoutfitters.com/ Unfortunately no, there was no shower. In the summer months it's a not much of an issue imo with a beach right out in front. Still a couple of evenings I was missing one. Ironically enough I have a small portable shower that's made by Zodi. The tiny on demand heater runs on propane. The water pump normally connects to a 12V battery. I wired an AC power converter and a plug to the pump so I could plug it directly into a generator which Howard has at the camp. I SHOULD have brought it, it would've been perfect! Next time for sure. For what its worth with all the sun we had even a couple of those solar shower bags would've worked great. Just fill with water and hang them from a tre... You're most welcome Roy.

Thanks everyone, such kind words. Glad you enjoyed! I'm equally proud of both of my kids, but the way Brendan handled his rod and fished intensely all day long at the age of 4, well it almost brought a tear to my eye. Frank I can feel your anticipation. I'm really looking forward to both of your trip reports next month! Didn't see any mastiffs bud, that's definitely the same place you stopped (it's the only place LOL!) The river was very low, completely impossible to navigate upstream very far at all from the lake. Same scenario for the outflow of the river. Fishing the delta area out in front of the rivermouth was not unexpectedly a very productive spot for us. But then everywhere on that lake was good... Not heresy at all! If the kids weren't there I'd have done other things like troll for pike or some deep jigging for lakers. It definitely got a bit repetetive. The kids loved it though, it kept their interest up and it was exactly what I had hoped for. You know what buddy a combined trip where we go together isn't a bad idea at all! There's definitely enough room at the camp and I know the kids would enjoy the trip even more with other kids along.. Something to talk about for sure. Aba does have lakers. Interstingly enough all the deep water is in the N/E arm right in front of Howards cabin. The fish I marked in a couple of the holes was just unreal. I did try. Man did I try! Didn't get any though...Don't know what to say. They're definitely their though! Brookies are supposedly in the Kowkash river that flows in and out of the lake. That's where you'd get them and undoubtedly only in the spring when the water is still high and cool and the river is still accessable. Once early to mid June rolls around don't think you'd be catching any specs.

Thanks a bunch guys, I'm still on an afterglow here myself. For Fishlogic the ride in wasn't long at all, maybe 15 minutes give or take. For what it's worth I didn't mention this, but Howard asked me not to divulge the location of his trail. There's a WHOLE lot of trails all over the place up there and believe me when I tell you this one is hard to find.

On another of the rough days Brendan and I found a huge concentration of walleye right off a rock face. Tucking the boat in behind a large boulder we hopped out and proceeded to catch a dozen or so from shore. After being in the boat for a few hours it was a nice change of pace! It was our last evening, and after hopping back in the boat we kept a bunch of fish as did my dad. We needed some take home fish and a fish fry was planned for that night. I didn't mention pike, but we caught lots, mostly smaller ones like this: Surface temps were 75. If I'd have been able to troll some key areas with larger deep diving baits baits I'm sure I'd have nailed some bigger ones. Trolling wasn't in the cards though. Back at camp we lined the kids up on the dock for their first stringer shot. In short order I had our last meal of fish sizzling in the pan. Perfect capper to our last day. We did actually have one more big surprise that had the kids clamoring with excitement. Howard dropped by that evening to drop off more gas and another boat as a large group was flying in the next day. Much to our delight he asked if we'd mind flying out in the otter! No problem with our vehicle, he said he'd shuttle it around to the airbase in Nakina for us. That had the kids hopping with excitement all evening. Neither one of them has been in a plane of any kind and this was high adventure. The next morning dawned clear and cool. As I did every morning I sipped my coffee in the screenhouse I'd erected in front of our camp. The kids were still sleeping and serenity of the moment is hard to describe. After cleaning up and finishing the rest of our packing the plane arrived right on time. Were they stoked? As per usual the view from the air was spectacular: We landed without a hitch and as promised our vehicle was waiting for us at the dock. Quickly loading we were on our way home. For those that have never driven through Hearst, there's a really incredible diorama of a bull moose fending off some wolves. The kids insisted we stop for a look. I've been on literally countless trips in my lifetime, but nothing was as special as this week. Anyone who's a parent will know exactly where I'm coming from. My kids still havn't stopped talking about it. Pretty sure I've planted a major seed in both of them. For those that may be interested Howard and Elsie's website can be found here: http://www.osullivanlakeoutfitters.com/ Also for anyone who may be interested in visiting Howards camp on Abamasagi I shot a short 6 min video clip describing the camp in more detail: <iframe width="425" height="349" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/49wT2Ss-uJU?rel=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe> Hope you enjoyed! Cheers, Mike

Well, I've had almost a week now for this to sink in and honestly this trip was about as good as it gets. My kids are still fairly young, 4 and 7, and although they've had a more than their share of angling experiences at their young age, they had yet to really travel to a world class destination. A spot where catching fish is as easy as dropping a jig over the side of the boat. That was the goal of this trip, for my two kids to enjoy that kind of experience, and in every way it exceeded my expectations. It started last winter with a bit of research and a few phone calls. By all accounts Abamasagi lake just north of Nakina was a great walleye lake. Not only that but it's a huge body of water over 14km long and 3-4km wide. I'm a big fan of large sprawling bodies of water and Abamasagi is just that. Studded with islands, countless inflowing rivers and tons of classic structure, it's a fishermans dream. There's two outfitters who operate camps on this lake. Howard Meshake and his wife Elsie own O'Sullivan Lake Outfitters on O'Sullivan lake just north of Nakina. In addition they offer a slew of fly in outposts including the Abamasagi camp. It was mentioned to me that Howard has the ability to access Aba with ATV's and that if asked would bring us in via that route. For a variety of reasons that intrigued me: lower cost, no flight delays due to weather and biggest of all, no weight restrictions. A call was made to Howard and the trip was quickly booked. Yes he would indeed be taking us in via ATV. Cost for my two young kids? Nothing. That wasn't any kind of special deal I was getting either, that's just the way Howard operates, he's a good man. Needless to say both kids were pumped for the trip and we spent many long winter hours tying worm harnesses in the basement in preparation. What made this trip extra special was the fact my dad joined myself and the two kids. 3 generations were well represented on the trip to Abamasagi. My dad was able to spend a full week with his grandkids and they bonded like never before. It was a great experience for everyone. The trip started with the long drive to Nakina, made much more civilized by an overnight stop about halfway up at our camp. Normally I would've driven straight through, but we had the extra time and I figured the kids and my sanity would benefit. We daparted the cottage early Friday morning for the last leg of the journey to Howards main camp on O'Sullivan. We would spend the night there before he took us into Aba on Saturday. On a lonely stretch of highway 11 the kids saw their first moose. An unconcerned cow standing in the middle of the road. She stopped and posed for us before trotting unhurriedly into the bush. As we passed Aroland we came upon a small store in the middle of nowhere. Another of Howard and Elsie's operations we made a pit stop for ice and saw this: TJ's has his tentacles spread everywhere. No matter where I go the spectre of OFC looms. We knew we were getting close when the signage, obscured a bit by trees, finally came into view: We met Howard, Elsie and their grandson Kyle, all fine people and quickly checked into our cabin for the night: A young golden lab, Maggie seemed to hit it off with the kids and they immediately began to romp together in the cabin: My dad and I relaxed over drinks while the kids played, everyone in high spirits for the start of our adventure. We all enjoyed a relaxing evening before hitting the sack early. Howard would be picking us up at 6am... Right on time Howard stopped by to load his Suburban with our gear, ATV in tow, and off we went. It was a fairly short drive to the start of the trail and in no time at all we had the ATV trailer loaded and were off. The ride in through the bush was pretty cool, both kids loved it. Overall it was a pretty good trail and was an easy ride in, although it was pretty muddy and narrow in spots: Howard has a cache of boats and motors waiting at the end of the trail at Abamasagi. He dropped us off there and we waited while he and Kyle went back for the last two loads of our gear. In short order we had 2 boats loaded with our gear. I had both kids in one of them, and followed Kyle and my dad in another. Our first glimpse of the big lake was inspiring. Travelling N/E up the lake we entered a long narrow arm ringed by cliffs. Howards camp is at the very end of this long narrow N/E arm. Fully protected from the elements and a nice sand beach in front it's an idyllic spot. The first sight of our home for the next week prompted some excitement from Brendan. We quickly unloaded and Kyle explained the ins and outs of the camp. There are two cabins at this site, perfect for larger groups. The smaller of the two cabins is a sleep cabin which we didn't use at all. The larger cabin has a full kitchen with electric chest freezer, propane stove and a small propane fridge. Both cabins are wired for electricity and have electric lighting as well, all powered by a large generator. In addition there's propane lighting throughout. There was an outdoor fish cooker, bbq, tons of gas for both the boats and generator, we were set. In short order we readied the boats, Riley and my dad in one, and Brendan and myself in another. First to strike paydirt my dad, took about 5 minutes... The first afternoon was very much exploratory but I did manage to pinpoint a couple of shoals that were absolutely loaded with fish. Both kids had a riot. Brendan experiences the agony of defeat here. <iframe width="425" height="349" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/-D7fA8vrCb0?rel=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe> Here we are on a fish filled shoal. My dad always wanted to keep everything we caught, I had to hold him back LOL! Listen for his comment here, almost every time I filmed him he said the same thing LOL! <iframe width="425" height="349" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/wv4t3f2qsK0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe> The agony of defeat once again, then success! <iframe width="425" height="349" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/6uAqU7zGiH8" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe> We kept a few for dinner and stumbled onto an absolutely amazing little island where we stopped to clean the fish. It came complete with a picnic table, fish cleaning table and a perfect sheltered spot to beach the boats. We'd use it several more times throughout the week for shorelunch. Back at camp opa played with his grandkids down at the dock while I prepared our feast. Pretty much a perfect first day! The next day was incredibly windy. As mentioned the beauty of Howards camp is its protected location. What I didn't mention was there's a small inflow just to the right of the camp. If you lift the motor and pole your way through the long N/E arm continues for several more km's. In two more places it narrows down to a boats width then widens out again and continues. It proved to be a great day trip full of exploration and tons of fish. As we passed through one of the narrow sections Brendan and I heard a tremendous splash. Just ahead of us two young bull moose were swimming across the narrows. It was a pretty big thrill for my little guy. Brendan and I caught a lot of fish that day. Not too many pictures of daddy though (camera skills aren't Brendan's forte ). All was good until for unknown reasons my dad got stuck in a marshy area and couldn't get the motor going LOL! After rescuing my dad and daughter I quickly got their motor running and we headed back to camp. Another outstanding day. The balance of the week was a blur of happy faces, suncreen, countless fish and a gauzy haze of firesmoke that hung over the lake like a pall. This video clip we're sitting way out on a mid lake shoal. Probably our most productive spot. Firesmoke covering the sky and catching walleyes hand over fist. <iframe width="425" height="349" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/Nzk0ImDIK0Y?rel=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe> At the far end of the lake we found a beauty of a beach. Although the beach in front of the cabin was great, this one was just outstanding. Most days we'd head over there after lunch to swim and play for awhile. On the way back from the beach one afternoon we stumbled onto another hotspot and filmed this short clip. (Pretty much everywhere on this incredible lake that looks as though it should hold fish does ) <iframe width="425" height="349" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/WuF1uv_zMOQ?rel=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe> My kids not too surprisingly hated trolling. They much preferred to jig with light tackle and I can't really blame them. My daughter complained like crazy anytime daddy wanted to troll. In this clip at the 28 second mark she asks me "are we trolling?" If I'd have said yes she'd have thrown a fit just because LOL! <iframe width="425" height="349" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/F1ly0hzhDH4?rel=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe> Here we are on another incredibly productive shoal. As you'll see near the end of the clip Riley was counting our fish with a paper plate and crayon LOL! At that point the count was 40 and if memory serves was around 9am. I'm not much into numbers but that day I easily put 150 fish in the boat mostly myself. Honestly I have never before experienced such crazy numbers of fish in my life! <iframe width="425" height="349" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/0LeKOZqT1p0?rel=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe> We had a couple of afternoons where the main lake got pretty rough so we confined our efforts to the protected waters close to camp. In the first clip my daughter shows her competetive side right near the end.(I have no idea where she got it from ) <iframe width="425" height="349" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/xahPF3TOuxM?rel=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe> <iframe width="425" height="349" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/7NG0tTCHPcY?rel=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe> CONTINUED....

Thanks to you too Lincoln, and everyone else as well, I didn't realize. Really glad things worked out for you guys! Cheers

I'm home now.

Just a public shout out to Will (fishnsled) for his generosity. I received a gift in the mail today from Will that was unexpected, unnecessary, but very much appreciated! Thank you my friend, I'll be tipping a glass to you in the near future.

Some great memories from everyone! Last week was easily the best fishing week of my life, can't wait to write a full report for you guys. Here's a couple of short vid's of my 4 year old son Brendan having the time of his life: <iframe width="425" height="349" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/-D7fA8vrCb0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe> <iframe width="425" height="349" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/Nzk0ImDIK0Y" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

Horwood lake is close as far as I'm concerned. Anywhere you can drive to and drop a big boat in that's less than a 7 hour drive from home is almost a day trip.

Over that last few years I've sent 4 Compre spinning rods in for replacement because the tips broke on each and every one. Thankfully warranty is good. I don't use Compres spinning rods anymore though.

A wife who despises long drives and 4 and 7 year old kids who get antsy in the back seat.

I'm surprised so many people are recommending driving 17 all the way to Wawa. Yeah it's scenic in spots north of the Soo, but it's also a lot slower going that route. A lot of small towns with traffic lights and transports that are impossible to pass.. My main priority is always getting there as fast as possible LOL! The Sultan road is by far and away the shortest route. That said when I fly out of Hawk Junction next month I'll be taking 17 to 129 then 129 to 101. I'm overnighting at a small lodge (renting a cabin) just east of Hawk Junction and won't even step foot in Wawa. The drive along the first half of 129 is also incredibly scenic as the road hugs the Missisagi river. That route to Hawk Junction is almost exactly 40km's shorter than 17 to Wawa then east to HJ. Not "that" much shorter distance wise, but waaay faster because of less traffic.. Just my 2 cents.

Havn't had that much luck with them myself, and I've used the rig a lot. That's not to say I havn't caught any on a slow death rig, but I still catch more walleye with a simple live bait rig. Slip sinker,long light leader, single hook and an air injected whole crawler.

I used to fish the Pickeral a LOT for muskie back in the day. I trolled 90% of the time and the only lure I needed up there was a perch colored Believer. Can't help you beyond that bit of useless info. Have fun on your trip, no matter what it's a very pretty area.

Fantastic Doug, very glad your trip was a success! Those are some big fish for Horwood, you guys obviously know how to catch walleye.

It's a great learning experience for sure. Congrat's to you!

Nice pike TJ! I'm really curious how well the ice maker worked. How long did it take to make a bunch with the generator running?

Ryan that is truly remarkable. What you've accomplished here is inspiring.

Nice bunch of walleye, they look fat!

I've flown with those guys many times over the years, definitely cool neighbours you've got! They run a great operation and have some really outstanding outpost camps. Say hi to Danny for me when you see him.

Nice spot to camp! If there's a season for sturgeon in that part of the Ottawa it'd make for a pretty interesting trip. I concur about the heat last week. It was beyond brutal where I was too.

Welcome!

Looks like you're having a great summer Cliff!