gordy28

We leave for a week at Brennan Harbour on Sept 2-getting pumped! As usual Mikes tips seem to be bang on with everything we have read or has been sent to us We have also upgraded our boats to the 17 foot lunds based on feedback from people who have been to the lodge and will also be using a guide for a day Not sure when you are going buts let's exchange info when we/u return Will also post a report when I get back Cheers Gordy

Thanks guys Will follow instructions and contact retailers-will post how I make out-ideally post trip w a fish filled post

The thread for Hamilton area got me going on this but I didn't want to hijack (if etiquette of the board says I should have posted there my apologies) We are going on a trip in September where bait is not included-most reading has led me to believe worms on harnesses is the primary walleye tactic. Feedback seems to be that bait is expensive via the lodge I bought a large worm box w food and artificial bedding to take with us to use out in the boat (will hold up to 12 dozen) Love to get a flat of worms in the Sauga area instead of buying 12 dozen so from Lebarons at $2.50 a pop Does anyone have any recos? Also interested in any tips for prepping and care using artificial bedding (if instructions on package are the way to go-cool I can follow direction) Thanks in advance Gordy

My post goes against the grain and perhaps we have just been lucky thus far but.. We have an 18.5 foot tracker targa-anniversary edition-no hull or major problem thus far A few things though-things like cup holders, rod storage etc were cheaply made-they fell out etc-not if you'd have the same issues with a Lund etc Customer service at BPS service (where we bought the boat) was bad- enough that my Dad lost the "heed" as we Scots would say and we have never been back. Boat does however run amazing and is a smooth ride even in rough water Cheers G

Can definitely happen anytime I grew up driving boats on Balsam lake-since I was 6 or so we had our own little skiff w a 4 HP-know the lake intimately About 10 years ago we drove up for a days fish-lake was brutally rough-but after a 2 hour drive we said-hey-we will just fish the bay Very similar to the attached story... Someone got snagged-turned the boat to chase it and in 60 seconds it went from my bro saying boys we need to bail to boys we are going down-grab your stuff Boat flipped-a 16 foot lund deep hull, none of us were wearing life jackets Luckily we were very close to shore and outside of losing some gear, a big loss of pride we were fine Got home that afternoon and to hear that 3 boaters died that day - one on Simcoe and two on Lake O-all capsized in a storm Very sobering-ever since I never go out w/o my life jacket on-spent the $200 for a mustand auto and I have a much healthier respect for the water

Since I live in Mississauga I typically do my shopping at JBs, Lebarons or BPS I'm an avid golfer as well and play lot in the Niagara region. On my way home last week I stopped to get gas in grimsby, happened to see a sign for grimsby tackle and thought no one's expecting me homeyet-may as well check it out. Was not disappointed - great selection, fair prices and the staff was very helpful. One of the younger guys saw me looking at swim baits (for our upcoming Brennan Harbour trip, based on this month's in fisherman . He offered tips, thoughts etc but not pushy at all just helpful. Even pulled me over to show me his go to multi species killer bait for the Grand Anyway great shop-will be stopping there for gas a lot my more on the way home from golf. Cheers Gordy

Hey there I'd consider Balsam my home lake-I've been fishing there since I was 3 Only focused on musky the last 3 years though For numbers deep weed edges near rocks have been good usually we use big single or double bucks and large spinner baits When there's a good chop we have done well fishing some of the many shoals casting stick baits 2 biggest musky I have ever seen on Balsam were caught trolling in the main basin Our best time of day has been between 1 and 3 pm seems to be the witching hour for us and others Enjoy it beautiful lake in my opinion Cheers Gordy

Agreed - food is okay - but heavy and that with the dicey water made for a bad combo! Ive done Ellen Island - good cabins - but our challenge was - huge cold front, first time on the lake and the folks at Ellen were not much help re spots, tips etc. other challenge was that its just outside the river (closest lodge to the dam) so for our good spots it was a long run in a 16 foot boat with a 20 horse Have heard good things about Red Pine - right near our best walleye spot for numbers of eaters

Nah - Ive fished and done lots of weekends- just no lodge trips for a week!

Awesome report Making me change my thinking on outpost versus American Plan Also makes me think my dream trip with my brother, niece and daughter is a possibility! Finally makes me think differently about targeting brookies or trout in general when we hit Lady Evelyn again

A little- actually two things - food was okay - but not great, heavy, pre packaged and limited selection and the water - out of the 5 guys 4 of us had bad stomachs the first few days from the drinking water - once we started ignoring water and having beer or gatorade we were fine. Ken was good - but for most of the above he told white lies - I specifically asked about flexibility with meals, did we need to bring in our own water and pop etc - we were told no - eat when you want, water is fine and we have pop... Ken was great - but next time I"ll pack differently knowing the true score But as you say little things based on the price - and the location - I like that you can fish both sections of the lake with relative ease Not sure which road we accessed from - basically they pick you up pon the Montreal River at Mowats landing and they boat you in Cheers Gordy

Hey there As a new poster but frequent reader I thought I would post a report about a trip from 2009 My first and last big trip (shortly thereafter I was married, then came my daughter) We stayed at Island 10 Lodge on Lady Evelyn lake Trip was the first Saturday in September - unbelievable weather - maybe not the best fishing weather but amazing summer weather in Sept - average temps of 26 - 29 degrees, sunny but with enough breeze to avoid being uncomfortable - put it this way - every night before dinner we swam right in front of our cabin to cool down I'd give Island 10 an 8 out of 10 and would (say will) go back in the near future Island 10 is a great lodge IMO - nice cabins, good boats, good food and unbelievable dock service 5 of us went and we had a huge cabin with two showers that made getting ready in the AM a breeze Id give - limited pictures I was opted to fish solo for most of the trip Onto the fishing - Ken was very helpful - we found walleye fishing tough in the high sun but did find one great spot for the daytime within a few hundred yards of the lodge We mainly focused on bass and pike during the day and fished walleye at night Had two excellent spots for walleye at dusk (not many huge ones but a limit every night if we wanted of fish outside the slot - worm harnesses trolled with a few split shot above the leader was by far the best walleye bait Tons of bass spots - the lake is huge, stump filled bays, deep main lake structure, huge weedy flats - best bets for bass were wacky rigged senkos, tube jigs and bomber fat free shads in crayfish patterns (also lots of incidental bass on the worm harness For pike - any weedy, stumped filled bay proved productive - best bets were spinner baits, jerk baits and weirdly enough our biggest (34 incher) came on a rubber frog - again lots of incidentals on the worm harness Funny - I brought tons of worm harnesses based on the lodge owners advice pre trip - say 15 or so - so did the other guys and by our last day we were all sweating our favourite We loved it -getting pumped for our trip this September to Brennan Harbour Lodge on the North Channel of Lake Huron -4 of the last group going Here's some pics: [im]http://i1056.photobucket.com/albums/t367/gordy28ca/IMG_0083.jpg[/img]

We have a 2010 Santa's Fe that we are very happy with 6 cylinder model- not bad on gas, compartment to others in its class it has the most cargo room I don't know/have experience with 2005/2006 thiugh

Hey there We are booked to fish at Brennan Harbour on Sept 1 We researched both Vances and Brennan and chose Brennan; Read/received nothing but great feedback about the lodge, hosts and fishing Reasonable upgrades available for boats Was told that by September most fishing (walleye especially) is done in the Whalesback channel Few good threads on both here and there's some links to reviews etc on Brennans site (under check this) Anyway we are going American plan, boat upgrades (17 foot lund explorers w 40 or 50 4 stroke yammys) guide for a day for around $1000 a guy Cheers Gordy

X2 I got one for Christmas-rugged and the gps feature is cool.

My best baits for muskie in order have been Dick Pearson Grinder-white and chartreuse 1 ounce Mepps Sassy Shad 8 inch Believer in Perch pattern Just started throwing Cowgirls and topwaters last year but have yet to connect...

Thanks everyone for the very helpful tips - will definitely check out the post on using spinners and will definitely switch it up per the feedback Ideally I will have some steel pics this fall! Gordy

Hey there With all of the steelhead reports on here in the fall and the spring its got me thinking I live a 5 minute walk from a well known river in Mississauga that gets a spring and fall steelhead (and salmon I think) For years I have sporadically fished it with spinners, kwik fish and roe on a 11 foot spinning rod. I have 10 lb flouo mainline with a 4 lb floor leader I have yet to catch anything but I know it's not for lack of fish! Especially the last time I fished it when I caught 0 fish in an hour and another angler who was fully rigged (float rod, waders, vest etc) asked if he could share the drift and caught a 4 lb trout in 5 minutes So... Am I just useless? Wrong set up? Is a float rod with roe mandatory? Help is appreciated- since my little one was born heading north to fish for a day is tough to do but running to the river for a few hours isn't. will also try for smallest this year further south of my place. Never tried that either but fished small mouths in the Maitland river for years so I'm a bit more familiar with techniques Cheers Gordy

Another option is Sandy Beach Trailer court on Balsam lake The have docks or pull up spots $395 for a dock $80 for a pull up Access to the docks is limited and it's safe Our family has had boats there for 40 years without issue Can't comment on availability though Gordy

Both my brother and I bought new crankbait rods at the end of last year - and so far are very impressed I bought a 7 foot St Croix Mojo Bass crankbait rod - got it at JB's Fishing Depot in TO for $99 My brother bought a 7 foot Shimano Compre Crankbait rod at Bass Pro for $114

Thanks It was fun The boat has a 150 optimal on it. Typically you can't get it to troll at less than 3 mph. Today with the wind, when heading straight into the chop she hit 0 mph and blew backwards. It was tough boat control lol we didn't even bother with the bowmount Balsam can get nasty Cheers Gordy

Well we only managed to fish for an hour and a half by the time we opened the boat, raked the leafs, cut the grass and other chores. Balsam was super windy and rough. We have an 18.5 foot deep hull boat and coming in we could only manage half throttle and still got a sore but and soaked. 1 eye about 17 inches or so, caught trolling with a flicker shad (Gary parsons doesn't lie lol) Couple of small perch as well No pics - forgot good camera in the car and cell phones were locked in the glove box to avoid ruining them Cheers Gordy

Hey there Opening up the boat and doing a spring clean up at the trailer tomorrow Hoping to get out for 3 or 4 hrs after lunch for a walleye fish Forecast is for clouds with some rain and a good wind - so perfect I think Plan is to target to key areas: One main lake weedbed targeting outside edge in 9 - 11 feet of water with stick baits and/or crawler harnesses Other spot is a main lake reef with weeds on the edge and a quick drop to 18 - 20 feet deep - will use cranks or potentially drift with jigs or harnesses My challenge - on our lake my walleye results are spotty unless fishing at dusk, and typically later in the season - which we dont have the luxury of Any thoughts, tips areas of improvement on the above plan? With limited time want to make sure we maximize high percentage areas for this time of year Cheers Gordy

Update-special at Lebarons right now for $109 (7000i was correct)

I have a Abu Garcia 7000i (red baitcaster) I use it for both casting and trolling. Its a 4:1 gear ratio I believe. I love it and I think they are $130 or so at Lebarons. Can handle big lures and not break your arm but I can also burn smaller lures as well.