gordy28

Thanks for sharing - I really enjoyed that Best of luck with your new place - I remember when we first moved into our house - easy to think of all the things you can do but we tried to break it down into bite size chunks lol The view at your folks new place is spectacular - enjoy! Cheers Andrew

Thanks for sharing. Looks like a great trip! Definitely a lake and outfitter that are on my personal radar Cheers Andrew

Lol. When I was a kid my dream boat was this Prinecraft side console with a 70 horse Johnson on the back. It’s name was the Bassin Assassin. Think I loved the name the most

Nice! I can’t say I have named a lot of lures although I am certainly guilty of staying fixated on one lure for way to long. After one epic day on Balsam w a hot head x rap I swear I started with that lure every time I fished for smallies for at least 3 years. Then it was the wacky rig and now it’s probably the ned rig. Maybe it just makes me loyal Andrew

Took a wee bit of a holiday break but newest post is up It's a confession of sorts - I love a good fishing spot nick name. I was born the son of a spot namer and my Mom's Dad was also a prolific spot namer Post covers my lineage and some of my favorites from the Kawarthas to Sioux Lookout and even includes a video of a bear lol https://www.northernjacks.com/post/great-spots Cheers and thanks for reading Andrew

As usual very well said Bunk All the best to everyone over the holidays and for 2021 This year has felt like a grind at times but I also try to remind myself that I have much to be grateful for and yes cheers to you Bunk and all of the frontline workers out there. Andrew

Newest post is up! During the winter I find myself always on the lookout for some new outdoors content. Thought I would share the top 5 YouTube channels that I am loving right now It’s a mix of fishing trip, bushcraft and paddling content https://www.northernjacks.com/post/top-5-youtube-channels-for-the-winter Cheers Andrew

In this in between time (boats are away but so is ice and snow near the cottage) I found myself thinking about my first fishing trip to a lodge. Newest post is up https://www.northernjacks.com/post/trip-beginnings Thanks for reading Andrew

With it being Cyber Monday I put together a little list of some things I want or have enjoyed myself for Christmas I have been really digging Merino Wool, a good insulated travel mug and using the Ned Rig - plus a few others https://www.northernjacks.com/post/christmas-wish-list-for-the-outdoors-enthusiast Cheers Andrew

Sounds like you have had some great adventures Bill Overall I have never had a bad trip - each one has been awesome in its own way for sure. I am on a mission however to keep working my way towards the perfect trip - which means I need to take more trips for practice lol Years ago in my early 20's we were supposed to camp at Balsam Lake - well within 4 hours of being at the park we were asked to leave due to being "excessively loud" We ended up finding a spot to camp in a small forest on a farm with thanks to a family friend - still one of the trips that comes up often when I meet up with the guys who were there - go figure lol

Wow some great fish in that report - looks like a great year Thanks for sharing Andrew

A few years ago we wanted to get someone to come in and redo the landing pad at the bottom of our stairs Multiple times the story was: Call Landscaper - describe problem, okay - will come and take a look and then we never heard back. Finally one guy said your job is really small and its my busiest time - call me in March and it will be my first job of the year. Sure enough he did the work and we were happy. I cannot understand why any of the other companies (maybe 5) never said the same thing - re hey, can't do it now or will never do it rather than say I am coming by X date and never show - just seems silly Andrew

This isn't a post about how much weight I have gained during Covid 19 (although it could be as I am up at least 15 lbs since March) I was lucky enough to have a brother who saved every penny and at 17 bought a Lund Big Fisherman with a 25 HP Johnson Tiller I can't even count how many hours I spent in that boat but it was a lot My ode to the boat and some of my favorite stories here https://www.northernjacks.com/post/big-fisherman Cheers Andrew Me with a Haliburton Musky in the Big Fisherman

Definitely group chemistry is huge - I am lucky that to date we have not had any major issues - our system to divide work and costs is working for us so far One of the most popular posts I ever did in the early days of Northern Jacks was about "That guy" on your trip. Think most guys have a few stories about the different personalities that make up a trip Certainly we have had the odd disagreement but nothing that ever lingered

Wow - finally got a some time to digest this one Bunk Really enjoyed it Thanks for all you do on the front lines - a stressful and noble job in a regular world which I am sure is much more stressful with COVID 19 Cheers Andrew

Doug - we drove to Nakina in 2018 in a rented 10 seat passenger van. We drove through the night on the way there (planned) and ended up needed to drive through the night on the way home as we were delayed flying out. Similar to you we found it exhausting - and figured since we were looking further NW than Nakina we would try flying commerical Cheers Andrew

Thanks - great info! We enjoyed Brennan Harbour as well - we had two days of the best smallie fishing of my life on that trip - my PB (just a hair under 5 lbs) came on that trip

For the most part I spend time on the internet looking at new area's or reports or lodge sites Generally we get to a short list of 5 - 10 places that meet overall requirements (budget, distance, species etc) and then our group votes on a winner Some days it feels like work but most times its fun

Thanks for sharing - thats a great list I am interested in how you found the French compared to Brennan Harbour (as I have experience there) I have never fished the French but recently read a book that had a part that discussed how the voyageurs used to paddle the French to eventually make there way to Lake Winnipeg and I must say I am intrigued Cheers Andrew

Lol - we learned after one of our first trips to Brennan Harbour to not repeat that mistake! We went over labour day and it was 30 + degrees everyday and we were out of beer mid week! Thankfully it was a drive to resort and we hit the LCBO to replenish! On our last trip I had exactly one can of Blue left on our last day - perfect planning lol

I have been lucky enough to go on a dozen or so trips over the last 10 years Each one is special but I feel like I am still working my way towards trip "nirvana" With that I put together my top 5 regrets from our trip this summer https://www.northernjacks.com/post/top-5-regrets-from-my-recent-fly-in-fishing-trip Cheers Andrew

As I mentioned in my Helix 5 review we were a little worried about juice on our fly in We had one generator and one outlet running off the solar and lots of stuff to charge including 3 fish finders w lots of bells and whistles A few forum posts talked about the benefits of the Lithium 12 v. We took the plunge Review is up for those who may be thinking they are interested https://www.northernjacks.com/post/product-review-dakota-lithium-12-volt-10-ah-battery Cheers Andrew

One of the best set ups I have ever fished out of was on a trip to Brennan Harbour Lodge Its on Lake Huron and they had the option to upgrade to a 17.5 foot Lund Outfitter with a 50 HP Yamaha Tiller with all of the fixings (power start, tilt, RPM monitor for trolling) - it was awesome even on rough days I will say though I am not sure it would be super comfortable come the fall (our trip was in August and it was 30 Degrees everyday) compared to a dual windshield I don't own a boat currently - have a kayak and various OPB (other peoples boats) I fish out of when at the cottage and such but I have always thought that when I am ready to buy a boat I would like a tiller set up like that Lund at Brennan Harbour Cheers Andrew

Hey Scott It's tough to answer how close the cost was specifically - as mentioned in the post I used points for my flight (including taxes) and on our previous driving trip we rented a large passenger van which was quite expensive. Using points, renting car to go from T Bay to Sioux Lookout I would estimate the cost was cheaper to fly but without points I would say driving was cheaper by a few hundred dollars If you have more questions feel free to send me a PM Cheers Andrew

That’s a good one. We had a similar experience this time in Thunder Bay with fish finder batteries. The agents were perplexed at first and wanted us to put them in a checked bag until we showed them the instructions from the air Canada website showing them the packing instructions which clearly said they must be carry on