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Absolutely fantastic, Mike!!! Way to come through and put them on fish. Karma can be a great thing

Great intro, welcome!

Congrats to your son on the first King, Aaron!!!! Great post!

 

Like Brian, said, wild how quickly they are changing!

Wow!

 

You and Juli have posted some great reports here but this one will be tough to beat. As previously mentioned, outstanding!

 

Thanks for the kind words Chris!

SHA-MOOOO!!! That's a whale!

I have run out of compliments for your posts, so I'll just say

 

THANK YOU!!

I missed this one too, pristine water, and lakers. Be-you-tee-full!!!

Welcome to the family. Great intro and pics, you had me with the brook trout.

Beautiful brookies with a bonus salmon, "gotta" love it!!!

Congrats, Nick!!!!

Thanx for a nice report. Awesome pix. I loved the fish pix but the chipmunks R cool! Worlds most famous coffee shop, would that be the Watershed Restaurant? Loved that place been there many times. Best breakfast place I've been to.

 

Thanks! I was referring to a Timmies (Canada's most popular chain) lol

Incredible man! Paradise is right. Those pics are all outstanding, every one of them. What a great family getaway, you should be a proud papa for a good long while now.

 

Thanks, Drew!

 

This report truly put a smile on my face! Thanks for posting, it reminds me of trips up north with my two brothers, Mom and Dad. You will remember this for a lifetime!

 

Great to hear! I know we had smiles on for almost the whole time we were there!!

 

Thanks for sharing your family vacation with us. Was nice to read. Some day I might actually make it up to Lake Windermere! Place is always booked up!!

 

Yeah, the amount of repeat business they have is astounding. No need to advertise for them. The lake is fairly large (20 miles long) with lots of areas explore. As you get to know it, patterns definitely become evident. We caught fish in at least four new spots this year.

awesome trip frankie congrats

 

 

Thanks for the great report Frankie. It helped me realize how much I miss the area that I visited often from 1959-1970. Meeting the Zimmerman family, fishing their lakes and seeing how much Chapleau has changed in the past 42 years is on my list.

 

They are a classy family all the way. Passionate about their lake!!

 

Great report and pictures , the smiles on eveyones faces says it all

 

 

Looks like another fantastic trip Frank and Juli. A beautiful piece of heaven there, awesome pics.

 

Thanks, guys!!! Will, I think all of the north is a piece of heaven. I'd be more than happy to spend my whole summer in that area.

Sounds like a fantastic time. Nothing wrong with a boatload of 16-18" walleyes combined with some much needed relaxation!!

GREAT PICTURES......Looks like everyone had a GREAT time.

 

 

Bob

 

 

Wow what a great report! looks like a great family adventure!

 

Cheers!

 

Thanks for the compliments guys!

 

It was a fabulous week of fishing and relaxing... And a well overdue holiday for us all!! The loons, the lake, the cabin, the gorgeous northern scenery- I can't wait to get back already!

 

You know it "hun", We could have stayed another week for sure!!

 

Outstanding! I know how much you were anticipating this trip, very glad to see it went so well.

Looks as though you won the weather lottery as well!

 

Thanks, Mike, anticipation for sure. Nothing beats the north!!

 

Nice

 

That looked like alot of fun

 

 

Great photos and it looks like everyone had a stellar week of downtime !

 

 

Awesome! Good idea on taking the Chi-Cheemaun on the way up, too.

 

The Chi Cheemaun trip was a gift from Juli's mom...yeah, it was a fun twist to trip.

A beautiful holiday Frankie, Juli and family. Certainly heartwarming souvenirs for you guys. Thanks for sharing. Old and young alike are envious I'm sure.

 

Roy, it truly was a week of great memories.

 

 

your family is ALL smiles Even with walleye-spine cuts on their hands.

 

Sounds like this place is a family tradition in the making. Thanks for sharing.

 

LOL You noticed the pic of Juli's "war wounds" Chad

Spectacular Mike!! Some absolutely beautiful toothy critters

Good stuff Roy! Couple of nice fish

Family fun, unplugged.

 

 

Looks like a great weekend. You have a beautiful family, as well. Keep up those outings, those memories last forever!

 

Thanks, Rob and Brad. It was actually pretty much a week Brad, and, the memories are priceless

 

What a report ! you guys look like you had great fun. Thanks for sharing Frank and Juli !!!

 

Our pleasure Paul. It was tough picking only 50 pics out of around 900, plus, I didn't want to just post pic after pic of walleyes.

 

looks like a really great time

 

Terry, it was just what the doctor ordered. We were overdue for a vacation.

 

Looks like you all had a great get away and the weather agreed with you this year:good: . Glad it all worked out after the long wait. Nice looking spot.

 

Rick, buddy, the weather was tremendous again. Just like last year we only had one rain that lasted about five hours. Other than that we had a couple spits in the evening twice. Campfires every night.

A year can feel like an eternity when you are waiting to return to a place that is special in your heart. For me this place is Lake Windermere. Last year in a thread titled "My Dreams" I (along with Juli's photos) told the story of our family camping vacation up at Happy Day in the Chapleau area of Ontario. During the drive home we, as a family, decided to return in 2012.

 

 

 

I contacted Bob and Sondra a few days later and this time we booked a cabin. Thus began the long wait that finally came to an end as we began our journey north on Friday August 24th.

 

 

The lake is long with many bays and islands, and holds many deep holes. Fishing pressure is limited to camp guests and a handful of private cottages. I truly believe that many spots see virtually no fisherman throughout the season. The fish may not be the largest in that area of the north, but, make no mistake about it there are walleye over 30", pike over 40" and bass over 20" to be had. The Zimmerman family is working closely with the MNR and have instilled mandatory maximum "keeper" size for all three of these game fish. By releasing ALL walleye over 18", pike over 26" and smallmouth bass over 15" they hope to turn the lake into the true trophy producing water it has the potential to become.

 

 

Our trip began with a drive up to Tobermory and a journey across the waters of Georgian Bay aboard the Chi Cheemaun ferry. A thrill for all five of us, as, Juli and I hadn't done it since childhood, and, the boys have never been on it. After a drive up Manitoulin island we stopped just north of Espanola for the night.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Since check in isn't until 3 PM on Saturday, we had a liesurely wake up with breakfast at Canada's most popular coffee shop.

This was followed by another five hours, give or take, of driving. We arrived at our home for the next six nights just prior to 3 PM. The log cabin was beautiful, and, also is the only one in camp with a loft. The loft turned into the boys personal space, they loved it!

 

 

 

 

We unloaded the truck, launched the boat, tied her up to our personal dock, and, fired up the bbq for some steak. As usual

everything tastes better in the north, and, those sirloins didn't disappoint! After supper the boys went to hang out with

Dylan (Bob's son that they had befriended the year prior) which gave Juli and I a chance to scoot out for a quick couple hours of fishing.

 

 

 

 

The next five and a half days were filled with relaxation, campfires, kayaking and, oh yeah, FISHING!!!!!! As many of you already know Juli loves taking pictures as much (well nearly as much) as catching fish. Happy to say that the twins finally caught their first ever walleyes too!

 

What follows is a small sample of some of our photos taken during the week.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Suffice to say that we are re-booked for next season, and, are once again looking forward to another week up in paradise. Once again "My Dreams" have come true for a week. Until next time I know they will again be filled with the song of the loon, the gentle lapping of waves, the rumble and whistle of the train that still travels past the camp and that tap-tap-tap of a hungry golden walleye.

 

Congratulations G! Nice fish, too

No need to ruin Rick's family vacation thread....

 

:clapping:

It's alright frank, just imagine it's a perch!

 

LOL Christopher, I was thinking more speckle trout.

I know that spot!

 

Glad you guys had a great day, that Simon guy is alright.

 

Hey Dan-O, we really had a blast. Thanks, bud!

 

Awesome Report Frank. Looks like you all had a great day, that is a great prize as well.

 

Thanks, Chris. Glad you got out with Rick that morning, too. We'll have to get together for some of those Erie smallies!

 

Great report!! Always nice to pick up a new PB, congrats!! Nice hat Frank! Mine could be a new lucky fishing hat for me.

 

Thanks, Will! That bow fought like a salmon, Juli had a great time bringing it in. Yup, love the Fishing For A Cure/Shimano cap...lightweight, and, adds great colour to photos (THANKS to Dave Mercer for that one)

 

Great morning shots, and that 29" bow is a monster! Way to contribute nearly all the fish on your team Julie

 

Hey Chad!! First off congrats!! Second, yeah, Juli really seems to be carrying that team, LOL.

 

 

 

Everyone else, thanks for the comments. Juli, the boys, and I are hitting the road north in three days. Time to shift the focus from silver to gold

Will be a moot point if the spoiled brats (owners and players) can't get their act together. I'm ready for a season of junior hockey this year.

Class act all the way

It really was a great day to be on the water! Nice going guys

Got to love finding those "honey holes"