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I was finally able to bear down and get the full trip report done It's a big one but I always find it enjoyable to pull it together as it extends the memories of the trip Our trip was a good one, maybe our best Full of surprises good (We saw a bear) and bad (Our flight from Toronto to Thunder Bay was a gong show), plenty of fish, beautiful scenery and best of all great company It's been and continues to be a long strange year with Covid so a week in paradise to fish was a welcome respite https://www.northernjacks.com/post/stick-a-pin-in-it-lake-st-joseph-trip-report Cheers Andrew

With the COVID 19 news today was a lay low and chill day and I finally got around to cleaning up this report and posting it. We really enjoyed Ogoki Lake - to be honest its one of the first places that we thought pretty hard about returning to. Big water, beautiful and John and Gloria's cabin was perfect for us You can check it out here https://www.northernjacks.com/post/storming-for-walleye Cheers Andrew

Back in 2014 our group made a big jump and completed our first fly in In a word it was epic and have been on 3 since then and are headed out again in 2020 PB walleye were caught, we were stranded in Thessalon and so much more A few quick shots below but you can check the full story here https://www.northernjacks.com/post/50-mission-cap-our-first-fly-in

A bit of a delay but finally got around to writing a report on our Shekak Lake Trip I was a great trip but we definitely found the fishing a bit tougher this time around Bigger lake and some crazy weather seemed to scatter the fish and it was a really light bite Full report is up here if you are interested http://www.canadafishingguide.net/forum-2/member-trip-reports-1/lake-fever-shekak-lake-with-white-river-air-aug-22-29-2016/ Cheers Gordy

The Background About 18 months ago our group started discussing a trip for Aug 2014 Leveraged many of the expert opinions on this board and those who go out of their way to post reports - I used many in my research - special thanks to Mike Borger, Fishlogic, Moosebunk and Chris Brock We looked at many options and many locations - and after many chats decided that we really wanted to try a fly in outpost experience with a few qualifiers... We wanted to be able to drive there in under 11 hours, the camp had to have a generator, running water and indoor plumbing and we wanted a numbers lake w big fish potential After chatting with many great outfitters, soliciting feedback from others and balancing that against our criteria we decided we chose White River Air and specifically their deluxe camp on Pickle Lake Pickle is a smaller lake, about 2 miles (split by a very shallow narrows) and 3/4 of a mile wide located about 40 miles from White River Air's base on Tukanee Lake The Journey We met up early on the Friday to begin our trek up - our plan was to make enjoy the ride but get to White River as soon as we could. A not so quick stop in the Sault to pick up a flat of worms at the Trading Post (thanks Adam) and score a few secret lures (very helpful gentlemen in the shop knew Pickle specifically and gave us the great tip of stocking up on metallic jig heads and harnesses due to the dark stain in the lake) Once we got past the Sault it was an eye opener for 4 guys who had never been past Sudbury on 17 - the views along Superior were incredible and the ride flew - until we got stuck an hour outside of Wawa with a crash and sat on the highway for 2.5 hours... We checked into the White River Motel @ 9:00 PM - headed to our cottage for the night, a few pops, excited discussion and it was time for bed Up early - ready to be at the Air Base for 8 - get there, pay our bill and head down to the dock to talk to Dan - head honcho at White River Air and Chief Pilot - Dan said we wouldn't be going out until 10:30ish - so we headed back into town for breakfast and one more supply run at the local gas station (we also met a fellow OFNer LocoGringo coming out from his trip - nice to meet you!) We actually were finally on the plane at 11:45 The Flight I have to admit - I was nervous about the flight- so was my brother - our running joke was to hum or sing a few lines from 50 Mission Cap to each other Our gear was weighed along with our beer - Dan had been great with us - from the get go I was honest and said as newbies I couldn't see us coming in under the 125lb per man weight limit - we wanted to know how much the overage charge was - but Dan said not to worry, he'd get us in and we wouldn't be charged. Sure enough we were well over - but Dan didn't blink - our group of 4 plus another group of two were loaded up onto the Turbo Otter and we took off Other than being a bit claustrophobic in the beginning (I was up near the front of the plane, squished between two large back and front and wedged against a mountain of gear and the window side to side) I thought it was awesome 15 minutes later we touched down on Pickle lake - and unloaded ourselves and helped the departing group load up. Pickle Lake I could go on for hours about the nuances of our time on the lake - in a nutshell it was incredible We had a cabin that had hot and cold running water, 2 generators (1 for the pump, 1 for the cabin), 6 beds plus a futon (my home for the week) for 4 guys with a kick ass patio overlooking the lake w a front seat view of sunrise and sunset Our boats for the week were serviceable 14 foot lunds with 6 horsepower Yamaha two stokes - no issues at all with the engines but there was another boat and motor on site The Fishing The fishing was also spectacular - for us at least. There is a very healthy population of walleye (mainly 12 - 16 inches) in Pickle and an abundance of snot rocket to mid size pike. We had planned to eat a lot of fish in our meal plan - and within our first our on the lake we already had 6 14 - 17 inchers ready for the next day's fish fry We didn't keep track of our numbers but a fair estimate would be 60 fish per day between 2 boats - this number dropped once we realized we could catch dinner fish or small pike whenever we wanted and started focusing on bigger fish The lake has two bays to the southwest and northwest of the cabin where you could troll down the middle w a rapala or run into the reed and cabbage beds and catch pike all day long In the main lake the deepest part was 47 feet with an average basin of 30 feet - eventually we would figure out that focusing on the steepest breaks with the wind into them was our best tactic for walleye - either jigging, drifting with a bottom bouncer and harness or trolling bouncers and crank baits Our biggest 3 walleye for the week were 27 inches (caught by me - a new personal best) - 1/4 ounce jig tipped w a minnow 25 inches (caught by my bro - a new personal best) - drifting 2 ounce bottom bouncer with a harness 23 inches - 1/8 ounce jig tipped with a minnow We probably had another 3 or 4 walleye that were over 20 inches Our biggest pike was 33 inches caught trolling a minnow bait We had another 3 pike over 30 I think there are bigger pike in the lake - but we weren't able to find them - and considering we all caught more pike in the first 2 days of our trip versus the rest of our fishing lives - we aren't experts Top producing baits for us were Jigs with 4 inch grubs and paddle tail minnows tipped w a minnow or crawler (1/8, 1/4, 3/8) in chartreuse, pink, gold, yellow and orange Crawler harnesses on 2 ounce bottom bouncers - colour didn't matter as long is it had some metallic in it Crankbaits (Trolls to 20, J 11, Cordell Minnow Diver, Floating Rapalas) Spoons (Silver Minnows, Williams Wablers, Red Devils and 5 of Diamonds) There are two parts to the lake - and since we were so busy exploring the first part - I don't think we gave the other section (getting to it was a bit of a pain as the boats didn't have shallow drive) - it has a deep basin in one bay that is 60 feet deep We did catch respectable walleye and pike in that section - but we only fished it for 4 or 5 hours max The Wrap Up Our trip out was delayed by a day – the plane couldn’t pick us up due to fog and a very low ceiling – we unpacked a bit and headed back out to fish – for fun and for dinner. We actually got onto a good larger fish bite – and my bro picked up the second biggest walleye of the trip @ 25 inches (sadly - think this is when we finally put the last piece of the bigger fish puzzle in place) We were out the next day early but alas our delayed departure wasn’t done- car trouble outside of Thessalon and a 4 hour wait for a tow, then rental car pick up, gear switch meant an expected arrival of Saturday at 11 PM turned into a 6 AM arrival on Monday I will honestly say that it didn’t diminish the trip for any of us though – yes it was a pain, added some pressure on the home front – but we had enjoyed ourselves so much it was just a bump on the road – not a trip killer Things Learned: We loved the experience - I don't think we want to do anything else now besides an outpost Wear gloves/don't get cuts/keep your hands clean -and have a good first aid kit I got cut up on 2 fingers and both thumbs in the first few days on pike and one 23 inch walleye - nothing big - put bandaids on but wasn't diligent enough - by Thurs AM my thumb had enough of an infection that I needed to open up cuts to get some iodine in it - it worked but for about 4 hours I thought I was in bad shape. Once taped up - and effort was used to get a glove on the cuts - I was fine but in future I will wear a landing glove more and if any small cut arises be way more focused on keeping it clean It is more work than a lodge - getting firewood, cooking, cleaning, fileting fish, filtering water, dumping fish and garbage all take effort The fishing was much better/easier for us than what we experienced at larger drive to lodges (Brennan Harbour) and drive to lodges (Lady Evelyn) Being the only people on the lake is special - people told us so but until that first night I didn't get it - now I do – not sure if its serenity, the quiet, sense of ownership you develop about “your lake” but it was contagious and addictive Plan for the unexpected - everything we read said take an extra meal or two in case you get weathered in - sure enough the day we were supposed to fly out the plane couldn't get in and we were there for 1 more night (we had beer and food but cigars and smokes were in high demand) People leave stuff - the 4 gentlemen before us left us with a 3/4 full bottle of Baileys, a huge tin of Folgers coffee and about 20 dozen fresh minnows (there minnows weren't ready when they flew out and their check in flight was delayed by 2 days) - there was also extra spices, aluminum foil, toilet paper and zip loc bags (realize this may just have been luck on our part - I wouldn't count on it for future trips) Overall White River Air was a good company to deal with - for the life of me I cant remember the name of the woman who registered us and chatted with us on the phone primarily - but she was amazing - and Dan is brief but fair. As newbies I would say our only negative surprise or peeve was the waiting around – it felt like we were told to come at 8 when there wasn’t a hope in heck that we were flying out until 12 that day. I am assuming that’s par for the course – and no biggie just that we hadn’t expected it and would have planned our schedule differently if we knew that ahead of time We do these trips every two years - so 2016 will be another fly in - maybe further north -Nakina, Armstrong, Red Lake - but we have lots of time to plan – our challenge will be we are far from roughing it – when polled we all felt like a generator, running water and indoor plumbing are a must for our group - realizing we prob limit our options that way – but that’s cool – I have already begun my research J Again many thanks to all of the members of the forum who answered questions and provided advice – special thanks to Mike Borger who sent numerous emails, offered tips - it was extremely helpful. Also Fishlogic – the worm set up in the Frabill Habitat using the Fat and Sassy pre made bedding (and the reco to use the Trading Post) was awesome Cheers Gordy Here are a few pictures of the trip: The Cabin and the Group The Plane Ride Our view off the patio in the AM and Evening Fish Pics - first 2 walleyes are our largest And finally - a dusk fish shot- my favourite part of any trip

The Plan Last year during our trip to and American Plan Lodge our crew started discussing our next trip - and there was some dissension in the ranks - I think the convo went like this: I want to try a week long paddling trip in Quetico, Umm dude that seems like a stretch - we don’t paddle, haven’t camped in 20 years and we have found stuff to complain about here - where basically everything but a$$ wiping is done for us! So - we decided this summer to embark on a 3 day, two night trip to the Algonquin Interior - actually started researching and getting input on outfitters on this very forum - and one member really helped out (Thanks Mike) The plan was set - we were going to enter at the West gate, head down through Smoke Lake and into Ragged Lake to explore, remember how to camp, learn how to paddle and ideally do some smallmouth fishing We booked our trip in February but little did we know it would change at the last minute The in Between We stayed at one of our members cottages which is conveniently located 30 minutes from the West Gate I think we all had visions of taking it easy that night - we needed to be up early and would have 3 to 4 hours of paddling to get to our destination the next day - hangovers would not be a good idea. Well - we didn’t listen to ourselves - the beers, the Scotch, the stogies and the wood fired Sauna were too tempting - so with swollen heads we headed to meet the outfitter and get ready for the trip Well - we arrived on time, unfortunately our outfitter wasn’t ready - the people working the counter weren’t even aware that we were showing up or ready for us. Turns out that the owner of the outfitter was overbooked that weekend and had sub contracted our group to another outfitting company. The bad news - we were an hour early, we were hung and slightly annoyed that even though we booked 6 months earlier, had talked to the outfitter consistently over that time - plans had changed The good news - As a savvy businessman (sarcasm) the outfitter had a deal for us - the new outfitter was a guided service - even though we hadn't planned on taking a guide we were going with one and it would only increase our cost by $55 per person - we begrudgingly agreed Turned out to be a great call The Trip Well everything had changed – we now had two guides (one main guide - Alex, and one trainee - Andrew), one who was an avid fisherman and would be able to help us with spots and tackle tips and we were not doing Smoke to Ragged but Canoe to Joe to Tee Pee through the Little Oxtongue River, a quick turn through Little Doe to our ultimate destination Tom Thomson Lake (can you hear the Tragically Hip) Here are our guides - Alex and Andrew Here’s a shot of the crew on the beach at Canoe Lake – waiting to head in A quick canoeing tutorial and then a short paddle without gear around the buoy in Canoe and we were ready to load up our gear and head out. We would be 3 guys in 2 canoes (2 of us plus a guide) and the most experienced paddlers in our group would ride tandem The paddle in was tough – probably not for experienced paddlers but 12 KM for newbies into a headwind on Canoe, Joe and Teepee was hard slogging – the portage at Joe however (400 metres) was pretty easy. The lead boat on the way in actually spotted a bull, cow and calf Moose on the little Oxtongue (sadly my boat was chasing my snag and missed it) The guides were great though – they stopped when they knew we were flagging, pointed out some interesting attractions (Tom Thomson’s cabin, The Totem Pole, the camps along the route) Once we got to camp we quickly settled in – the tents, tarps and hammocks were already set up – we unpacked our gear and explored our site – it was beautiful, a windy point with a great swimming spot, places to cast a line off shore, a huge fire pit and a thunder box (this was a pleasant surprise for me – I figured we would be really going back to nature) The guides started getting ready for dinner while we cast a few lures, had a swim and did a firewood run The Fishing Tom Thomson has lake trout and smallmouth - Alex our guide thought we were better off targeting bass as the lakers were still deep – after a nice dinner of steak, green beans and spaghetti (weird combo but really good) we headed out for the evening fish Alex had a bay he wanted to hit at dusk but on the way he wanted to target a few of the shorelines where there were weeds and lots of laydowns The fish pics are of me only - only fish that made it into the boat were mine First fish We headed into the bay and the smallies were rolling everywhere – we had to missed fish and then I went to an old faithful - a floating rapala – cast it out, twitch it on the surface and then begin a slow retrieve – 3rd cast this guy smoked it on the surface That was it for the night – in for a camp fire, adult bevvys and cigars – great first night The next day we were up early - breakfast prepared for us and then we headed out into the canoes for a morning fish – we targeted a different area of the lake – still focusing on shorelines with lots of cover - the sun was high and I thought we were wasting our time but coming around a corner I got this guy on a wacky rig – a beautiful smallie pushing 4 lbs We hooked up with everyone for a shore lunch at an empty camp sight, collected some firewood for the evening and then fished our way back to camp, no more fish boated but my boat partner had two smallies jump off at the canoe - same pattern logs/laydowns but the key was they needed to be very close to deep water (tough to pattern in a canoe though – what I described would account for 70% of the shoreline and we would have had to keep checking every area as access to deep water was the key)– most of us were ready for a siesta We headed out again that evening – tried a few spots to end up in the same bay that I had success in - our boat was skunked with another lost fish and one of the other canoes lost a monster on a topwater right at the boat We didn’t have nets for the canoes – and it requires some patience, trust and skill to land a big smallie in a canoe without a net – the key was to take your time and at the boat let the fish make as many little runs as he wanted to let it exhaust itself Total fish count (for 6 fisherman) - 10 smallies boated, lots of other lost, a few perch for about 6 or 7 hours of fishing time Back to camp for a fire, more adult bevvys and stogies – the trip was winding down and tomorrow we would be up, east breakfast, pack up and head out The next day the guides gave us the option of fishing our way out and taking it easy – but with a 3+ hour paddle and a drive of a similar distance we just wanted to get on our way. We did stop at the Lookout off of Joe Lake to have lunch and take a breather – it was awesome Here is the crew on top of the lookout Thoughts The guides were awesome – both because they were nice, easy going dudes but once they realized that we were interested taking this up, doing it again they were constantly pointing things out to us, making recommendations about spots, gear and food. And they were accommodating to our endless questions (re why hang the barrel there, why do you use that stove, those pots, make meals like that, why a gravity bag filter instead of a pump) – im sure they felt like I do when my 4 year old gets on a tear I’m not going to lie – I was definitely a tad worried about bears or other large creatures attacking us at night – no such thing and after doing the trip you realize that the prep and maintenance of your sight and common sense go a long way This is something we will do again – ease our way into it, not buy all the gear but get some, try it again without a guide I think we would all like to get a little more remote – Tom Thomson was a beautiful lake and the campsite rocked and while we couldn’t see anyone from our spot – we could definitely hear them (never mind the group of teenage girls who paddled by our site during the afternoon singing a Smashmouth song at the top of their lungs – awaking me from my nap in the hammock) I am fine with fishing at dusk or early in the AM for an hour – I’m a pretty big guy at 6”3 and after an hour or so in the canoe casting and paddling my legs and back were done. I want to catch a trout – next trip may involve brookies or lakers in the spring or fall when they are shallow Good gear is worth it – we were in 2 Scott Swift Kevlar canoes and a Souris River Kevlar canoe – I paddled both and found the Souris to be much more stable (guide mentioned it was the style of the gunnels) For a trip that started dicey it ended up being an absolute blast and highly educational. This type of trip won’t replace an annual (or bi-annual) fishing trip for me where it’s all about the fishing but I can definitely see most of our group if not all trying to do one of these weekend trips every year A few more random shots Cheers Gordy