Expectations vs Reality

[gordy28]

By no means are myself or my group fly in "veterans" like Chris Brock or Moose and so on

I did find that there were a few things I expected or worried about leading up to our first trip that I thought I would post about  - things like 150 fish days or getting dinged for overweight 

Anyway - new post is up

https://www.northernjacks.com/post/expectations-vs-reality-on-a-fly-in-fishing-trip

 

Cheers

Andrew

Nice walleye from our Ogoki adventure

 

[captpierre]

Great read.   Never been on a fly in trip. Approximately what would you pay for a trip where they provide a tinny, motor, fuel and housekeeping cabin for week? I’m guessing 4 guys and 2 boats?

I do pretty well on the Kawarthas at a comfortable cottage and nice boat that I own. No 25 fish days but potential to catch 5-6 lb eyes and 50 inch Muskies. Not stuck with potential bad weather. 

Wondering if it’s worth it to take my 3 sons.   It would be an unforgettable experience, I’m sure. 

[gordy28]

1 hour ago, captpierre said:

Great read.   Never been on a fly in trip. Approximately what would you pay for a trip where they provide a tinny, motor, fuel and housekeeping cabin for week? I’m guessing 4 guys and 2 boats?

I do pretty well on the Kawarthas at a comfortable cottage and nice boat that I own. No 25 fish days but potential to catch 5-6 lb eyes and 50 inch Muskies. Not stuck with potential bad weather. 

Wondering if it’s worth it to take my 3 sons.   It would be an unforgettable experience, I’m sure. 

Thanks Capt!  Glad you enjoyed it

So that is such a hard question to ball park because there are a lot of variables - re how far are you willing to drive and so on.  I would say on the low end it would be about $1000 - $1200 per person for a fly in and on the higher end about $1500 - $1800 

Anyway - if you want to shoot me a PM with any questions happy to help

Adam Dempsey also has a great site for searching for fly in outfitters and it should give you an overview as well https://fishingoutposts.com/

Ontario Fishing Network as well - https://ontariofishingnetwork.com/ 

And Mike Borgers site https://www.canadafishingguide.net/

Cheers

Andrew

 

[AKRISONER]

Capt. I think you should consider the fact that being on the kawarthas vs being on a remote lake are soooo different. Regardless of the fishing, being at a camp with your boys would certainly be a totally different experience.

[squirrel761]

Time of year can make a difference as well when planning a trip. We have been on 12 fly ins and have been to one lodge in particular 5 times. The lodge is the Old Post Lodge on Lake St Joseph near Pickle Lake. It's a higher end lodge and we fly right from our town. We usually go the 2nd week of July but last year they had an opening on the plane the last week of May. We decided to go and I'm glad we did. We always have great fishing up there but it was insane last year. The Lodge is located on an island and I had a bunch of minnows left over from the days fishing, so after supper I headed to the back of the lodge to pass some time and fish for awhile. Being the Walleye were just coming off their spawn and still in shallow, I didn't have to cast off shore very far. No word of a lie, I caught and released 35 Walleye in an hour and a half and they averaged 19-21". and fat. Told the rest of the group and the next night we all went back and had a great time catching and releasing Walleye until we ran out of minnows and it got dark. This is NOT the norm for fly ins but we have been to others on remote lakes and if you can find the honey hole, you are in for a real treat.

[gordy28]

On 5/5/2020 at 1:08 PM, AKRISONER said:

Capt. I think you should consider the fact that being on the kawarthas vs being on a remote lake are soooo different. Regardless of the fishing, being at a camp with your boys would certainly be a totally different experience.

Agreed - there is something magical about being left alone on "your" lake for a week.  

 

 

1 hour ago, squirrel761 said:

Time of year can make a difference as well when planning a trip. We have been on 12 fly ins and have been to one lodge in particular 5 times. The lodge is the Old Post Lodge on Lake St Joseph near Pickle Lake. It's a higher end lodge and we fly right from our town. We usually go the 2nd week of July but last year they had an opening on the plane the last week of May. We decided to go and I'm glad we did. We always have great fishing up there but it was insane last year. The Lodge is located on an island and I had a bunch of minnows left over from the days fishing, so after supper I headed to the back of the lodge to pass some time and fish for awhile. Being the Walleye were just coming off their spawn and still in shallow, I didn't have to cast off shore very far. No word of a lie, I caught and released 35 Walleye in an hour and a half and they averaged 19-21". and fat. Told the rest of the group and the next night we all went back and had a great time catching and releasing Walleye until we ran out of minnows and it got dark. This is NOT the norm for fly ins but we have been to others on remote lakes and if you can find the honey hole, you are in for a real treat.

Thanks for sharing - Lake St Joe was almost our destination for 2020 as the outfitter we chose has outposts there - after reading this I am sure it will rise again for our 2021 or 2022 consideration

 

[pics]

I'd love to do a fly in but finding 3 other people that are reliable enough to commit could be a problem for me.  Not to mention the cost.. my trips consist of drive-to locations but there are a few gems where we can get into fishing that would rival a fly-in. Total costs for a week with food, lodging and gas are around 400 each but the level of work involved is much higher..

[squirrel761]

We are in the same boat. Non of our friends like fishing enough to commit to a fly in. There are still some that will cater to 2 people but they charge you more. As Gordy said there is nothing like being the only one on a lake miles from the rest of the world. Just sitting on the deck of your cabin and listening to the wind in the trees or going out on the lake at night with the stars out is an amazing experience. The wildlife that you float by while fishing don't even care you are there. It's definitely something every one whose into fishing should try.

[pics]

All the Lakes we fish up north are empty besides us so it feels like we're on a fly-in.. one day I will try to bushwhack into the lake that produced 60 or 70 fish for three of us in just over a couple of hours..the MNR thought it was wise to start restricting access to some of the Old Logging roads so they took out 13 culverts and bridges but you can still get in by ATV..

[gordy28]

Pic's sounds like you have some great access and a handle on some good drive in lakes

I really enjoyed our drive in and boat in trips as well - Lady Evelyn has a lot of lodges but we found a few area's to fish where we felt like we were the only people on the planet

Cheers

Andrew

 

[pics]

We can almost drive to the fly in lakes.. the roads and trails are actually gated during the summer fishing season but you can fish the off season.  It's a long drive better suited for an ATV than a truck... we aren't as ambitious as we used to be and if you want your honey hole to remain great you don't tell a soul about it... that being said a fly-in is a whole lot less physically demanding..