Headhunter

Take a look at the large white coloured fish,those are Halibut. They come in the same way they lay on the lawn, sideways! Hence the dinner platter comment. Darker coloured fish are BC cod and considered a delicacy on the west coast. I won't bother posting the pics of their crab fishing adventures! Enjoy your trip Dan! HH

My niece taught high school in Prince Rupert for a number of years. She had many first nations friends who would take her out with them... here's a pic of one of their catches... HH

It will be like trying to reel in a dinner platter from 150ft straight down Dan.... expect sore arms and shoulders. HH

I thought Carey handled that situation as well as anyone could expect. To say that I was disgusted that the NHL would take advantage of the kid and his losing his mom in order to make themselves look good, would be an understatement. It was a cringe worthy moment. Kudo's to Carey as I think he knew that they pushed the kid too far,, he did his best to support the boy. HH

Agreed... can you imagine the uproar that the "Spotted Carp" crew would raise if they closed the trout season until well after spawn? They wouldn't be able to refine their flossing techniques or a s mentioned, toss the eggless body back in the drink. Where would the fun be? HH

But they are still on their spawn and they have to run the gauntlet to do the nasty. As a result, we end up stocking the lake so that fisher people can catch them while they spawn. Seems like a double standard to me... HH

Tell that story to the trout and salmon every spring. Why is one species open game and others aren't? HH

Yup! Hence the name Ontario Fishing Community... we talk about everything here, not just the outdoors. Probably one of the reasons this board has been around as long as it has. Hang in there, no one wants to see you fail here, just wanting to ensure that you have your duckies lined up tail to beak! HH

My talents lie in other areas Chris, as you well know! HH

Welcome to the world of on-line forums. You'll get some of the info your looking for and a lot of what you are not. You gotta weed through to find what you want. Good luck to you! HH

Charlotte is about 1km east of Hebert Shag. Didn't get an opportunity to speak with anyone who stayed there on our way out. The Tamarac folks were awesome, great service. Like I said, the fishing was good, we always caught fish, but with the late spring, I can only imagine that it would have been even better had the lake warmed up. The only reservation I would have is that 300km gravel road into Clova! HH

Some fresh Pickereye FishnSled cooked up for us on our fly in...

You on a diet Chris?! LOL Looks great! HH

Thanks for the replies folks... we did have a good time. Kinda reminded us of November fishing on Quinte with the temps and the rain. The lake was just beginning to come to life as we were leaving. Had this been a "normal" spring, we would have caught even more fish than we did, and we did alright. Yah can't control the weather. Thanks for pointing out the typo Brian! HH

Got the call back in February that CCMT (Cliff) is turning 50 this year and a fly-in trip was on the books. It didn't take long for me to be "in"! Four of us would be heading to Clova Quebec, using Air Tamarac https://www.tamarac.ca/fishing-charlotte-features.php After much planning and messaging back and forth, it was finally here.... departed "The Shwa" on May 30th, 6:30am. Two vehicles made for a much more comfortable ride up with stops in Mallory Town, a quick drive around Ottawa and across the swollen Ottawa River via ferry, we were pointed north with our next stop being Mount Laurier. Lunch and a flat of worms in the very good outfitters shop in Laurier and we were back to heading north. Here's where thing got "interesting".... About 50kms north of Laurier, we hang a right and make our way to a "town" call "Parent". Parent is 189kms of gravel/sand road, mostly used by logging trucks. We drove through periods of rain and sun, that made the drive very much like driving on slush. Blind turns, nasty hills kept our attention on the road for the 2 /12 hours to Parent. There's a gas station/grocery store in Parent, but they don't advertise price per litre cause, well, where else are you going to re-fuel? From Parent, it a short 79kms west to our destination, Clova Quebec. This "highway" is called the "Inter Quebec Highway" and was by far, the worst road on the drive. Sand, gravel and large rocks make up this converted logging road. They weren't that frequent, but there certainly were logging trucks using the road and that meant that you really had to pay attention throughout the entire time on the gravel. We arrived in Clova at approximately 6:30pm. Checked in the Air Tamarac and was directed to the multi-use facility, the train station/restaurant/hotel front desk. We had made arrangements to have two rooms booked into the "hotel" as our flight out was on Friday, May 31 at 11:00am. The hotel is a converted school house and was filled with fishermen from all over North America. At $25 per night per man, it was clean, comfortable and even had a TV for us to watch the first Raptor/Golden State game. Sure it was in french, but was a fun watch. Up early on the 31st, a quick walk over to the restaurant for breakfast (food was excellent here!) and off the Tamarac. Here's a pic of the train station/restaurant/hotel front desk! Upon arrival at Tamarac, we were told that our flight was on time and we could start the weigh in dance. We were a little over and after a small extra fee, we were ready to take off for the 45 minute flight to Lake Charlotte. I must say that our pilots both in and out were fantastic. We couldn't really tell when we left the water or when we touched down. Fantastic flights! Our flight toke us directly over the Guin Reserve, known as a world class pike fishery. It's freakin huge! Here's a pic taken after we had already flown over 1/3 of it! Everything you see in the pic is Guin. Our destination is north of the hills you see on the horizon. Approaching Charlotte. the large body of water on the left side is there other outpost lake, Herbert. Apparently, a Pickereye factory. Charlotte is just barely viewable on the right. Approaching Charlotte from the south. Docking up at our cabin.... The cabin Sorry for the sideways image! The fish cleaning hut... A few shots of the onside of the cabin.... this place is rated a "3 star" by the outfitters. I can't argue that as it had the following as standard... 12 volt system to run lights and RUNNING WATER in both the fish house and cottage. Propane powered on demand hot water in kitchen and SHOWER/BATHROOM sink! Propane stove, Fridge/freezer and chest freezer, propane lights and wood stove. Brand new Merc 9.9 on Princecraf boats. LUXURY ! After a quick load in and rod re-assembly, we were on the water by 1:30pm. Now, I haven't really mentioned the elephant in the room, but mother nature had a big impact on our trip. It was cold and it rained, every day. Temps only reached double digits the one afternoon the sun came out for a few hours. Most mornings were below 5C. We were prepared for the weather and on the up side, we say now bugs the entire stay. So, on to some fish pics. We decided that the two boats would head in opposite directions to scope out the lake. Ken and I picked up a double header of 20 inch eyes on the first pass through the island pass. More fish pics.... As I mentioned, we had one afternoon when the sun came out. the main lake was sitting in the 42-44F, but the bays were slightly warmer. FnS suggested that we hit the bays for pike, hoping that the warmer water would have them in the shallows... well, he was dead on! Found a large by, water temp was almost 49F. We were in two ft of water. Tossing a Sliver minnow with grub, I had a couple of follows that got the blood pumping. Banging the Sliver Minnow of the shore line, I must have banged a few right off the head as they were exploding in the short water and b-lining it out to deep water. Then I got hit hit hard. Felt it take the lure, dropped my rod tip to let it take it, then set the hook. All hell breaks loose in the skinny water, it flet like top water bass fishin, for 40 inch fish! After a couple of runs, FnS grabs it by the tail, into the boat, and the lure falls out of it's mouth. My new PB pike! Measured 39 inches. A few pics and measure up and back she goes. Had a smile on my face for the rest of the trip! One thing I neglected to mention, the ice went out on this lake on May 24th, a full three weeks beyond normal according to the outfitter. Had we had warmer weather, we would have put a real hurtin on those pike, they were everywhere in the shallows warming up. A few random pics.... CCMT managed to grab this shot with his cell phone... pretty incredible if you ask me! Here's a pic of the thermometer the morning of our departure.... pretty typical really.... Arriving aback at Tamarac for a final pic, before we start the long 11 1/2 hours home. Conclusion, we would not hesitate to use Tamarac again. Sat phone in the cottage was a nice touch, but everything they said they would provide or do, they did perfectly. Nice people who really did a great job of making our trip first class. Can't recommend them enough. Hit me questions if you will, happy to answer! HH

I agree Sinker. We continually make rules that play to the lowest common denominator in the general public because obviously, we need the overlords to protect us! HH

Was on a fishing trip for the last four days in northern Quebec. It snowed. Report to come..... HH

Just a heads up for those who know and more importantly, those that don't, that in the 416 region, those "microsoft support people" are hard at it this week. Once last week and twice this week they have wanted to help me with my computer. If you don't know, Microsoft will NEVER call you, that's not the way they work. These people are trying to sabotage our computers in order to steal and extort us. I work from home, so I am home all day dealing with telemarketers and scammers calling the house. But these scammers tend to hit the most vulnerable of us and I just wanted to let everyone know that they are hitting our region pretty hard these days. HH

I'll be cheering for the Blues as they remind me of the long plight of the Leafs, 50+ years! Must be pretty easy being a Boston fan! HH

Just added this to my band's set list.... a toe tapper for sure! HH

Yah, if only we could get those pesky volcano's around the world to contribute to the carbon tax, our prices would lower overnight! HH

It's a Pickereye! HH

Not park info per say, but I spoke to a fella up in Espanola yesterday and he told me the ice just went out on Georgian Bay on Sunday. HH

Just wait until you hook up with a 100lb+ Halibut! It'll be like trying to reel in a 100lb serving plate from 150ft! HH

The folks living on the island in Toronto harbour are going to in for it again! HH