MrSimon

That fish looks almost unhealthily fat. Any chance there is something wrong with it that made it look so bloated and fat?

Thanks!

Nothing like getting excited for a trip that is over a year away

I'm assuming you took in your own axe? And it looks like the seating situation is pretty limited .... we can take in camp chairs - shouldn't be too heavy.

That leech is gross. I don't think I would have been so easy going about it as you.

Running a properly tuned motor at WOT isn't going to hurt a thing. There are tons of motors out there that have been running that way for thirty years without a problem.

With that said though, I like to back off a bit to save on gas .... it seems just slowing down a few MPH from top speed makes a noticeable difference in gas consumption.

But, it does sound like your boat is a bit under-powered. A nice running 25 would put a big smile on your face for sure!

It depends on you and your son.

If you want amazing fishing and a true wilderness adventure, then get an outfitter to fly you into a private camp on a small to medium sized lake. It really is as good as it gets .... but its also quite the undertaking and might not be a good idea for a 10 year old's first trip.

The other option is to find a good, reputable drive-to lodge in NW Ontario on a big lake. I recommend one that has a few bush lakes you can access for a day trip. You and your son will have a great time staying in a cabin, talking with the other guests, exploring the lake(s) etc etc.

Oh, and spending a lot of money is not synonymous with having the best experience. A "true Ontario experience" means roughing it a little bit and un-plugging for a while.

Congrats! Being on a fishing show certainly is a dream come true!!!

I've tried to watch Italo's shows on YouTube and want so badly to enjoy them, because he fishes in great locations for great fish ..... but he and his wife are just so darned annoying that I can't get three minutes in without shutting it off.

Another 898 HD SI owner here. Love it.

Also, only Humminbird units are compatible with the Minn Kota iPilot system. Maybe that matters to you and maybe it doesn't .... but my HB 898 / Terrova iPilot combo as literally changed my life

If there is one really good spot on a lake, I guarantee there are others .... and most likely better ones.

I don't watch or care about TV or anyone on it .... but if someone offered me big money to give up a great spot ..... of course I'd do it. And so would every single one of you guys who said you wouldn't. I'd take the money and have a blast fishing new and different water to find fresh spots.

Does everyone really just sit off the same rocky point all the time and catch the same fish over and over. Of course not. There is WAY too much water for a single spot to be all that important.

If we are talking really big money ($25k or more) then it would be foolish not to take it.

Yeah, we figured something like that .... since the rest of the family was so nice we figured he was just having a bad day.

Frankie, what week will you be up there in July. I'll be taking my 85 year old Grandfather and my 15 year old cousin from July 14-20. I rented an RV and will be parked at one of their full hook-up campsites.

Enjoyed it. Thanks for posting.

 

Could the "young man" who delivered fuel have been Ethan Zimmerman, son of Bob and Sondra? Dylan's brother? Ethan is the manager/owner of Prairie Bea Camp, almost adjoining Windemere. Ethan is 17 and has been guiding for a few years.

I'm not really sure, but that makes a lot of sense. I bet it was him. Super nice guy! Dylan on the other hand was pretty rude to us when we checked in .... we just figured that's the way all adolescent boys act and left it at that. You know, like he was too cool to smile and be nice.

Very nice slideshow, looks like a great time,lots of fish and and the cabin looks very comfortable.<br />What was your overall impression of the fishing and the camp ?

We were only at the main camp briefly to check in and load the boats before heading out to the outpost. While there though, we found the camp to be clean, well maintained, and run by competent and friendly people. The rental boats worked fine with no issues and the little store had an OK selection of basic stuff. They even had wireless internet you could use for something like a dollar a day. The cabins and other buildings looked quite nice. Nothing fancy, but I'm guessing most guys don't want a fancy fishing camp.

The outpost was fantastic. It was incredibly well stocked and quite comfortable. The best part was the outdoor fire pit with built in seating. There was a gas grill outside, clothes line, firewood, fish cleaning table, clean outhouse, and a clean shower house with hot water.

The fishing is interesting on Windermere. I've done a ton of research and reading about this lake, but I think I finally found the truth from two people. One guy we ran into out on the lake lives on a tiny island all summer long by himself and has been fishing the lake for 40 years. He was a character to say the least, but sure knows the lake. He even took us out for a few hours to prove he knows his stuff. He does! The second guy we talked to was a really nice young man who guides on the lake and has been fishing the area for a while. He delivered some gas to us at the Outpost and chatted for about 30 minutes. You could just tell he knew his stuff.

Both of these guys told us the exact same thing. Windermere has a TON of walleye in it, but they aren't spread out. The lake has a bunch of what they both called "walleye magnets" that hold 95% of all the fish in the lake. These walleye magnets are just your typical strucutres like humps, bumps, and rocks. But, these specific spots are SO good that most of the other decent spots don't hold many fish.

The old crusty island dude was bragging to us that he had 98 spots saved in his GPS that he could pull up on at anytime and catch walleye. In a friendly way we told him he was full of it. That's when he took us out to three different spots within a 5 minute boat ride of his little island and he caught two or three nice walleye on each spot in less than five minutes at each spot. He would pull up to each spot, putt around for a few minutes looking at his graph, throw out two anchors, and then drop a jig/half crawler straight down and catch fish. At one spot all the fish were less than 12". At the other two spots they were all between 16 and 18. We were impressed to say the least!

So all that to say .... if you can locate these walleye magnets, you can catch all the fish you want. If you can't find these spots, you'll catch fish, but it won't be too many. A good walleye angler who has good electronics will do quite well here.

The other interesting thing that the younger guy told us is that when the camp owners had a biologist come out and study the lake, he came to the same conclusion about the fish magnets. The biologist cautioned the camp owners that since these spots aren't really that hard to find, the lake is quite susceptible to over harvesting. You could essentially sit on these spots and catch fish all day everyday. For each fish that you pull off these spots, a new one will move in until eventually they are all gone. Fortunately, the lake doesn't get that much pressure and the camp owners have an excellent approach to conservation. Max size limits and conservation license incentives initiated by the camp owners means the fishing on this lake will just get better and better.

The smallmouth bass fishing was excellent! You can just troll the shorelines (the rockier the better) and catch tons of them.

Pike are definitely around, but since the lake doesn't have a lot of weeds, its hard to really zero in on them.

The bush lakes were straight out of a fishing fairy tale. Mostly for bass and pike, but we did catch our biggest walleye out of one of the bush lakes. One lake in particular was purely idyllic .... filled with big fat aggressive smallies, tons of structure, beautiful, and hardly ever gets fished. I mean seriously, what more could you want.

I posted this over at WalleyeCentral as well, but its a fun slideshow of pics from our trip to Chapleau this past August.

I'm not sure if this helps my cabin fever, or makes it worse.

So I looked up the Hanover Cabin ..... awesome looking place, but its a 23 hour drive from my house and about 7 to 8 hours further than Embarass Lake. Those last few hours would be horrible, especially on the return trip. It seems like for our group, 18-20 hours is the absolute max .... anything over that and guys just don't want to go. The Nakina area sure looks awesome, but the fishing South of Wawa and Chapleau is plenty good enough for us.

Thanks for the tips though, I really appreciate the help.

The private cabin rental is a neat idea. I will look into that. Thanks.

Mike - The Embarass Lake cabin has been on my short list for a while. From the pictures I've found, it looks like the ATV trail might be ok for a 4x4 truck in dry weather. I'll give them a call and see what they think. Taking the boat in is my big concern.

The Hanover lake cabin in Nakina looks incredibly promising .... thanks for the tip. I imagine its only three or four hours further, which isn't terrible.

Already answered your same question on walleye central.

 

Not sure of your user name on that site, but none of the recommendations I've gotten over there are actually drive-to outposts. I looked into all of them and they all require either a boat or ATV ride. If you know of anything that I can actually drive right up to, I'd be all ears.

Hi guys,

I'm looking around for an outpost in central ON (within 5 hours of Salut Ste. Marie) that I can drive my truck and boat right up to. I've found lots and lots of really great looking boat-in and ATV-in outposts, but none that I can drive right to and park at.

I'm looking for decent fishing for walleye, pike, and smallies. But even more important than fishing is seclusion and scenery. We also have an adventurous side so portage lakes and the like are a big plus.

Do you guys have any suggestions.

Thanks!

Thanks!

Do you mean Crotch Lake that is just west of Clarendon Station? If so, we fished it a few years ago. It certainly is a gorgeous lake, but there are no outpost cabins and very limited pike habitat. The smallmouth fishing was incredible though.

Crotch lake, Algonquin. Oh and welcome to the board!

Hi guys, me and my group of buddies take an annual fishing trip north .... just like most of you.

We like to bounce around from place to place fishing new water, but for next year we have a very specific set of criteria. I was hoping some of you might have a recommendation for us.

1. We want to stay at a private outpost cabin. No fly-ins. Boat or drive-in only. Solitude is a must.

2. We are looking for something that is a MAX of 5 hours from the Thousand Islands bridge.

3. We love love love to fish shallow water for pike (or bass/walleye too). We love to cast lures and are pretty bad at jig fishing. So we are looking for a lake that has lots of weedy bays and other good pike habitat.

4. We also really like the adventure of portaging/hiking into bush lakes.

Any ideas?

We would most likely go in late summer.