Rod Caster

Hey, we just got phones up here. What the hell is email? The choice is yours, but a phone call is not hard to make.

Two years ago we had +20 temps in march as well. Not a good sign I suppose

The entire spring runoff period will be over by april unless we get rain. I wouldnt worry about dam control patterns just yet... We'll know how bad/good it really is before the opener on May 24th. Everybody do a raindance please

That's not safe, Bill

I emailed Jay Aspin a few weeks ago. I'll forward this as well. Thanks

That perch doesn't count yet! April 1st the tourney starts. Mine is a 7lbs Nipissing Walleye.

Good to know. I'll look at the regs again today... Does it say 80 feet from hwy 17 right in the regs? So they fine you with OOS fish if you catch it in a sanctuary? Double trouble! The MNR could clean up at the one I'm talking about... Its no secret either. Thx Randy.

The lodge owners told me the walleye fishing was "ok"....they also knew I was looking to launch a canoe...which they don't want. The walleye fishing will be good in there, I'm very sure of that...if the other nearby lakes are any indication

Olive Lake is just north of Marten River. Wilson Lake and Herridge Lake are further north by maybe 20 or 30 kms. All three just east of Hwy11. If you go to Wilson, let me know...I've been meaning to try that lake...with access The only public access is down a 30 foot rock cliff or through a swamp.

the one on roosevelt rd is. I've been meaning to hit that this year. The other one is on Wilson Lake Road, north of Gramps Bait. Lots of nearby trails to hunt grouse too.

I find the lakes in that area impossible to catch anything during the day...but the mornings and evenings are top-notch for walleye. It might be worth guiding into back lakes, or pick another nearby lodge/lake. How about Olive the Lake? Good pike in there. At least you'll catch something during the day....plus it's a bit closer of a drive. Wilson Lake cottages is another option. I have no idea what the cottages are like, but the lake gets almost no pressure from the public because there is no public access.

I've got a bag of 2 walleye (bribe) for the owners Let's hold a smelt meeting next week!

lots of good trails for partridge hunting near Herridge Lake lodge. Also plenty of walleye spots out there.

Redds have been documented less than 200M from the smelting area... that report was over 10 years ago, since then, I'm sure there are some spawning areas in the smelting zone. It's only 1-3 feet deep in most of that zone with a lot of gravel. Wouldn't the siltation and netting also affect the smolts? I bet a few guys have caught what they thought were speckled trout smolts. By the way, I contact the MNR last year just to get clarification and they said "you can't smelt there".

That's what I had read too. It seems there is a double standard or blind eye on this creek.

thanks, I assumed that was true because it's not otherwise stated in the regs. On the Athabasca river you can't fish within 50feet (meters?) of a trib mouth even though the Athabasca is open year-round. That alone kind of confused me because I used to live near it.

The Atlantics run in the fall...but people are dragging their nets right where the redds are. Considering they keep this lake closed for Lakers and Atlantics for 358 days a year to protect the Atlantics, you'd figure they put a little more effort into protecting the only river in which they spawn.

It's right beside Clear Lake and Trout Lake. Search the net and you'll get a couple hits. I think the idea should be to give people inspiration to fish, but let them find fish themselves. Searching is more than half the fun for me. If I had half the skunk suits I've worn, I'd be a lesser fisherman.

we'll be smelting soon!! I just read the regs again and it says that fish sanctuaries cannot be fished for ANY type of fish at any time (some are year round, some are temporary sanctuaries). I mention this because there is a creek I know that often gets pressure from smelters even though it is a marked sanctuary year-round. The MNR could easily bust a lot of heads if they just sat there during the two-week smelt run...but they don't, I've never seen/heard of them busting anyone. Now, I stay away from this creek because with my luck I'd be the first guy they decide to fine and they would be right to do so. I'm just looking for feedback on this. Does anybody have similar experiences?? Also, Is there a certain distance of a tributary that is considered part of "the lake"? Or, is the boundary right at the trib mouth? Unless otherwise written in the exemptions, would a tributary fall under the general Regs or would it assume the Regs associated with the lake in which it feeds, for a certain distance? I hope I've explained this properly....

Do what my Dad did for years... send everyone to a chub filled creek or burbot filled lake when they ask "where did you catch all those fish". Songis Creek must be out of chub by now because of him haha. I agree with Art's run-down. People don't want their spots mentioned and will be upset if someone else is advertising them. I try to post fishing reports that will give me the least amount of headaches by focusing on other things like lure choice, depths etc and not mentioning lake names or visinity.. Of course, the population of the south dictates that you'll get all kinds of responses no matter what you believe is right. We don't get the same amount of scrutiny up north, but I'm sure someone would snap if I mentioned the name of good speckled trout lakes up here.

I Imagine that's what the poachers (freezer stockers) said about many of the brooke trout lakes back when "there are lots of fish in this lake"... Now they are nearly all stocked in my region and the limits are extremely low. They didn't care about the lakes as long as they got a couple hundred meals out of it.

Check FishOnline for general species lists and maps. I'd say for sure the lakes will be crusted over. Certain lakes wil be open, but which ones? You'll have to check em out to find out. Aslo, some of the unplowed roads/trails might be snow covered or washed out. Good luck though, I'm sure you'll find something worthwhile

WORK! Haha. Nice fish Vince. Looks like glass out there. Them kittys are elusive are they?

Anything over +20 is nice weather...but +20 in March is something unique. Me and Pal walked the banks of the Ottawa River near Mattawa for over a km on Sunday. For whatever reason, be it low water volumes or dam control, the river's banks were exposed by an additional 6 feet. The shoreline was unforested and free for us to explore...although some places were steep and therefore we trudged through the thick forest. Look for rocks...check Find some lures...check Take some good photos...check Enjoy the day...double check Catch fish...nope

Great start to the season. I bet there are plans in motion to go out again soon. Looking forward to your next report