Drive or Fly to your fly in

[gordy28]

For our trip this year we did something different - flew commercially to Thunder Bay and then drove a rental car to Sioux Lookout (our jump off point)

This was a hotly debated subject leading up to the trip as we had always driven the entire run in the past

I put together a list of the pros and cons and what our groups new preference would be and put it up on the blog

https://www.northernjacks.com/post/driving-versus-flying-commercial-on-your-fly-in-fishing-trip 

 

Thanks for checking it out 

Andrew

[BillM]

Flying into TBay is nice, especially when flying out of Tbay, lol.   

[gordy28]

1 hour ago, BillM said:

Flying into TBay is nice, especially when flying out of Tbay, lol.   

For sure.  I did that once going to Miminiska  Lodge w Wilderness North.  Was a sweet way to go.  They picked us up at the airport took us to the hotel and then got us in the am to go back to the airport to fly to the lodge.  Sweet but was expensive 

[irishfield]

NICE NICE NICE.. I love flying out...

[wkrp]

Single Otter  Turbo. Wow what a fly in!

[DanD]

My brother and I flew from TO to Thunder Bay. Picked up a rental car for the 3-3 1/2 hour drive to Nakina. Before leaving TBay we went and picked up your fishing gear at Purolator. Found it was cheaper to have that stuff couriered; then pay for oversized (One piece rods for example) on the commercial flight. We decided to fly, due to my bother's cancer. There's no way he could have handled the 16 hour drive from London to Nakina. Stayed the night at a small out fitter there and then up early for our flight to Beteau Lake and 10 days of what was the best fishing/time I have ever had on a trip.

Was it cheap no; but the time savings kelp my bother rested enough for him to enjoy the trip.

Dan.

[gordy28]

Glad people are enjoying

Dan - we looked at shipping as well but ended up coming up w a plan where we only had to pay for 3 over sized packages between us which was almost the same price as shipping 

As I mentioned in the blog  we all knew we would be flying about 15 months ahead of the trip and signed up for new credit cards and then slowly racked up the points - I was able to cover my flight cost via points (including taxes/fees) and so did the other guys which helped with the cost 

Cheers

Andrew

 

[SmokestackLightnin]

We flew, and as always, there is a funny story to tell.  A number of years ago, 20 I believe, we flew from Pearson to Thunder Bay and then rented a van, grabbed supplies and drove to Nakina.   There was 4 of us with my brother in law and his buddy as part of the group.  Didn't realize they had not flown much but when we were going through security my BIL's carry on gets flagged and security opens it up and pulls out a hatchet.  He thought it would be safer if it was in the carry-on.  And then he had to walk back through the security area with the hatchet to have it put in the baggage compartment of the plane.  Things you wouldn't see in an airport today.

[gordy28]

21 hours ago, SmokestackLightnin said:

We flew, and as always, there is a funny story to tell.  A number of years ago, 20 I believe, we flew from Pearson to Thunder Bay and then rented a van, grabbed supplies and drove to Nakina.   There was 4 of us with my brother in law and his buddy as part of the group.  Didn't realize they had not flown much but when we were going through security my BIL's carry on gets flagged and security opens it up and pulls out a hatchet.  He thought it would be safer if it was in the carry-on.  And then he had to walk back through the security area with the hatchet to have it put in the baggage compartment of the plane.  Things you wouldn't see in an airport today.

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

 

[Scott S]

Thanks for the report Gordy!! I am looking to do a trip next year and was thinking exactly what you posted.

So how close was it flying as to driving cost wise. I am looking at Sioux Lookout , Dryden area. Haven't picked a lodge yet, still trying to figure out one that suits all our needs!!

Thanks Scott

[gordy28]

16 hours ago, Scott Speer said:

Thanks for the report Gordy!! I am looking to do a trip next year and was thinking exactly what you posted.

So how close was it flying as to driving cost wise. I am looking at Sioux Lookout , Dryden area. Haven't picked a lodge yet, still trying to figure out one that suits all our needs!!

Thanks Scott

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

 

[akaShag]

Three of us flew out of Nakina.  We drove up from southeastern Ontario in my F250 diesel Super Duty extended cab with an 8 foot box.  Lots of room for cargo, but...........  I would NEVER make that drive again, unless I had a minimum of three days, preferably four.  It's too hard on the body, and even with good buddies, all that time cooped up in a truck is hard on the nerves.  And an extra night or two in a motel, with meals on the road, adds up as well.

The extra few hundred bucks to fly would have been well worth it.

Doug

[gordy28]

On 11/15/2020 at 5:30 PM, akaShag said:

Three of us flew out of Nakina.  We drove up from southeastern Ontario in my F250 diesel Super Duty extended cab with an 8 foot box.  Lots of room for cargo, but...........  I would NEVER make that drive again, unless I had a minimum of three days, preferably four.  It's too hard on the body, and even with good buddies, all that time cooped up in a truck is hard on the nerves.  And an extra night or two in a motel, with meals on the road, adds up as well.

The extra few hundred bucks to fly would have been well worth it.

Doug

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

 

[akaShag]

6 hours ago, gordy28 said:

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

 

We were three, of whom one had no driver's licence and the second (as it turned out) was a TERRIBLE driver and was falling asleep after two hours in the saddle.  Driving through the night would have killed all of us, I am sure.

 

BTW I don't plan to go on a major fishing trip with either of those guys EVER AGAIN. 🙄

[410001661]

Man that is one beautiful Otter.  Although the PT6 is an amazing upgrade for them I love the sound of the old 9 cylinder radial

[Moosebunk]

Nakina from Ottawa is a picnic at 15 hours one-way. lol

Actually, it's the limit.  Enough a tour for one sitting. 

[akaShag]

12 minutes ago, Moosebunk said:

Nakina from Ottawa is a picnic at 15 hours one-way. lol

Actually, it's the limit.  Enough a tour for one sitting. 

Says the guy who is working 24 hour shifts right now.............

a PICNIC?  Maybe a picnic where you are attacked by a mother bear and her three yearlings..........😉