We are contemplating fishing trips in Canada and would like an adventure. I told my son and his bud I would pickup $1,500 each and airfare since I have 300,000 points. So far I have taken a look at Grizzly Creek Lodge, Dave and Reggie’s remote cabin and that is first on my list but ultimately they will have a choice as well. As far north and west as the NWT and NOrth of us Quebec and the Maritimes. I am a trout guy, they like anything and everything!
Thanks in advance for your help.

Also looking at hunting trips in Canada and the U.S. My son and I are moose hunting this year in NF. We hope!! Both vaccinated so that will help i m thinking.

We have already been told that our June trip for this year will likely be cancelled. Obviously we weren't able to go last year and were hopeful that we would be able to go this year. The place we go is a remote, fly-in trip and it is the only cabin on the lake. The walleye and Northern fishing is incredible.

I am none too confidant about this falls moose hunts. Down to 6-7 months and I hear nothing about opening.

Where in Canada 160user?

NoKnees, do you have hunti planned for this year? I think I will call the outfitter today and see what scuttlebutt she has heard. I would hope they allow us in the country with a vaccination card. From what I’m reading it will likely be the protocol for traveling abroad. At least that’s what some of the travel sites are saying.

I have two hunts scheduled an Ontario moose hunt which was a push from last year, then moose/caribou in NFL. Both my guides say they are hopeful, but haven't really head anything. I hope they are not just being optimistic.

I am vaccinated and my partners for the Ontario trip are planning on it as soon as possible. My worry is that Canada is way behind us in vaccination rate, so come September most in the US who want a vaccine will have gotten it, much less sure about Canada. It maybe the Canadian vaccine #s will be the key ones. I am no expert in Ca politics but it seems to me that the national government is driving things up there and they are not very focused on rural tourism.

I have 2022 and 2023 hunts scheduled too so I can't really keep pushing things. To make this falls schedule work I am going to need to be able to travel freely in Canada, drive to Ontario, Hunt for a week and I can drive to Nfl. Its a long way from western Ontario to Nfl.

If it works its going to be a busy few weeks, If it falls apart I am not sure what to do. The Ontario outfitter will refund me, but the Nfl guy is hesitant to push a year as he is booked out in 2022 for Caribou.

It's not looking good men.

O know a real good place in Alberta out of Ft. McMurray, if the borders open. The caveat is that it is pike only, nothing else in the lake...but that lowers the cost well below walleye lakes. Wife and I caught 972 pike there on the last trip in 4 days.

Any nice pike or just little squirts like this snot rocket?

The new Northern slot in Ontario makes us release anything worth cleaning.

We always release all those big slimers anyway. We eat walleyes while we are there and don't even bring any fish home with us. Some of those northern lakes just won't handle killing a bunch of fish all summer long.

Went on a remote fly in 2 years ago. Last years cancelled. Hopeful for this year. Had a blast and caught walleye until I was sick of it. Ate one pike, was nasty. Took a day or 2 but we finally figured out how to catch them. Supposed to leave end of May, damn I hope we get to go.

I think Labrador brook trout would be pretty hard to beat for a Canadian fishing adventure. So very few places can say they have the same quality brook trout fishing as Labrador. I'm looking at 2022 myself. Just something about abundant 6-8 pound brookies nailing flies.

Been there twice and way up in NW Quebec on a remote river system for big brooks. Nothing like catching 6 to 8 lb brook trout on mice patterns on top of the water.

Big Pike are easy to catch, its finding them that is difficult

Pike eat great if prepared correctly. 3 to 5 lbs. The big ones get released

Hello, sir... I guide for Camp Esnagi in Northern Ontario, widely recognized as one of the best walleye pike fisheries in Ontario... the lake is 27 miles long and pristine wilderness. It is a remote access lake, so you have to either fly in or train in from Sudbury or White River, Ontario... I would recommend the train from Sudbury as the train ride is.a nice experience in itself. The lodge has top notch facilities and new boats with 25 hp Yamaha 4-stroke motors... I guarantee that you will love the experience. Google, "Camp Esnagi." This is all pending the USA/CDN border opening for tourism travel. Take care and have a great trip regardless of where you go. Greg.

Welcome to this crazy place Hoyt! We are neighbours! Only 345 miles apart.

Thats wayyyyy overdue in Ontario. Every time Ive fished there Northerns are regarded as trash fish, to be killed on sight. They are anything but....

We've always had a limit. It used to be six in most areas.

In northern Ontario, heck anywhere in the province, the number of conservation officers went way down, so enforcement is harder.

The Northern Pike slot in most of the province North of the French River, is six pike total, only two of which can be over 24" and only one of those can be over 34"... so you are still allowed trophy fish... and if you like eating pike (and I do), I can assure you a single day limit nets (pun intended) a whole whack of boneless fillets... and if they aren't boneless your fish station guy needs a lesson.

In the spring, when they go into the shallows, you can quickly and easily catch your limit. I am not a fan, but like pickerel. Sometimes, when fishing for them, you end up catching a good number of pike. We alwys used to end up searching for water that was moving a little faster. That isn't always easy to do, if you aren't rom the area.

Back in May 2018, I went to Lac Carriere in the La Verendrye Wildlife Reserve. We camped at Lac Carriere and fished that one by boat, along with the connecting lakes Nardin, Nollette, and Hope. https://www.sepaq.com/rf/lvy/information.dot?language_id=1

It’s only about a three-hour drive from Montreal, so, not far from the NY border.

It’s not fly-in remote, but we were the only ones around.

Caught lots of walleye and pike:





Lots of room to camp:



We brought everything, including the kitchen sink:



Gotta portage the boats about 40 ft to get to connecting lakes:

By the time walleye season opens the pike are out of the shallows and setting up on ambush structure or suspended and feeding on pelagic species. Regardless, they are very good eating. When you say "pickerel" I assume you mean walleye... chain pickerel are a close relative of northern pike, so if you don't like pike, you won't like pickerel.

Yes, but the two co-exist in many northern lakes and rivers, depending on structure.

Growing up, no one called pickerel, walleyes. In fact, I never heard the name 'walleye' until I read that in US magazines. That would be sometime in the mid 60s. I spent much of my youth in the Sudbury area. Specifically, we lived off 17 between Sudbury and N. Bay.

Pickerel taste different. I don't care for pike.

Hawk, like those PFD's!

Yes, the two coexist in most lakes, but the two are pike and walleye, not pike and pickerel.... I grew up in.Sudbury too and even though "pickerel" was a slang term used regularly, most knew that they were actually walleye, particularly because the regulations refer to them as "walleye" in the seasons and limits. I beg to differ on the flavour of pike vs walleye, I would take a 2-3 pound walleye over pike perhaps, but walleye over four pounds can have a "muddy" flavour that pike never have, regardless of how big they get. I would take a big pike over a big walleye any day for the shore lunch.

So we agree then. There are pike and there are pickerel. They taste different. There are no such things as walleye.

do you have depart at Sudbury or can you hop on the train somewhere near the Soo, or parts west?

never mind, just checked the map

Yeah, we catch some decent snot rockets;



But prefer, nice fat walleye !

Eaten a ton of large walleye, never had one taste like mud !

So have I and I don’t think I ever had a walleye that wasn’t good. Pike, on the other hand, I don’t care for, period. Maybe I ate too many growing up.

I grew up in sight of Brockville, Ontario, and we always called walleye “pickerel” even though we knew better.

I'm looking forward to the next trip!

i've eaten pike i pulled thru the ice, no problems

Uhmmm... if you say so... you are pretty stuck on your slang, so let's go with that... so we agree the taste differential is marginal and big pike taste better than big "pickerel."

I have spent more than 5 decades in walleye heartland, and eaten so much walleye my ribs turned yellow and my eyes shine in the dark... I am sure you can taste the difference between a sweet 2 pounder and a 6 or 7 pounder, just referring to that difference as "muddy," I am not saying they taste like mud... but I definitely stand by the preference for a big pike over a big walleye, but since that is entirely subjective it is not something worth arguing about, just my opinion.

Almost. Pike bad. Pickerel good.

You'll understand one day.

At any rate, it is a superb lake and fishery, top notch accommodations and service... we have folks who have been coming for 20+ years... I am certain you would enjoy the trip, but Canada is a big place with lots of options... I wish you all the best regardless of where you go. Take care and good fishing!

I understand what you understand.

I've fished NW Ontario 73 years man, and boy. As much good as the fishing is, all the friends I've/we've made over the years is a greater pleasure.

It is always interesting to hear the different regional names/nicknames for fish.

We never called them Pike. They're Northerns, Scissorbills, Hammer Handles, and Jack Fish to name a few.
My Grandfather called Northerns "pickerels".

Walleyes are walleyes, or sometimes marble eyes. Never had a bad walleye. Northerns out of a clear, spring
fed lake with a good food base(tullibees) are as good as any walleye to me.

No. I don't think you ever will. 😆



It is. We called them northerns too. Hammer handles were small, immature pike.

Very well... best wishes for 2021.

This should clear matters up.

thanks for the good words...don't mind the resident a hole

Nah, it's all good... you know that Trooper and George Straight agree... "I'm here for a good time, not a long time." LOL.

That's good.

You'll find out very quickly that super sonic enema and a few others stop in from time to time, embarrass themselves and are usually run off for a while.

Stand by and you will see what I mean.

I worked in a career for 35 years that demanded reading people quickly and accurately... I have a good handle on how the landscape lays...

Are they retarded?

MarineHawk;
Good evening to you sir, I hope the day was a decent one for you and all in your world who matter are well.

While I'm not wabigoon, I do like to fish and swim with the very best stones, so am an avid and habitual user of a PFD any time I'm in a boat, canoe or kayak.

This is the last information I was able to find about fishing folks drowning up here - it's from 2009 so likely if anything there's more folks out on the water now - but that's a guess on my part.

Here's from an article on the subject in the Globe and Mail.

"On a more practical note, it is worth observing that at the start of a new fishing season, many men also go fishing and never come home.

Fishing may be relaxing, it may be fun, or it may be work for some. But fishing is also the activity most frequently associated with drowning and other water-related fatalities.

In the decade from 1991-2000, there were 5,900 water-related deaths in Canada; of that total, 889 died fishing.

More fishers drown than swimmers. And more fishers die than power boaters, canoeists, scuba divers, sailors and kayakers combined."

Anyways sir, I for one see a PFD as part of my fishing gear and kudos to you all for taking what I believe to be a sensible approach to not becoming a statistic.

All the best to you all.

Dwayne

Yep, I'll keep a 26-30"er from cold water.

Conversely, I don't eat our perch in summer (wormy).

TFF !!

& for what it's worth, I agree with you.

in my case they had access to migrate between the lake and the big lake, looked different and tasted very good

you can always buy his comic book, order direct from Charmin

Now, now !

I'm stocked up. Been layin it away !

Piles of goodness !

When I need to poke the bear, they stay down !

Yep! I have been fishing Canada for at least 50 years including places mentioned like Brockville and La Verendrye. Early on everyone up there referred to walleye as pickerel. Now that has changed.

I also remember everyone hated pike and they killed them because they were "trash fish" and "ate walleye". I loved to catch them. How could anyone not like catching a 10 to 15 pound fresh water fish that fought like them?

I started eating pike about 20 years ago while staying at a lodge in Quebec. The operator would take 8 to 12 pound pike and debone the meat, cut it in cubes and deep fry it. Done that way pike is delicious.

yer gonna need a lot of fry oil and lemon for that

Until the border closed we went pike fishing in Alberta every year for the last 20. Its a catch and release lake but one evening you are allowed to keep one fish under 6 pounds-invariably a male at that size. The lodge owner would filet and fry them up. I absolutely won't eat fish with fins...but I made a once yearly exception for that! It was excellent. Every bit as good as any walleye I ever had back when I was eating fish.

I like to make lemonade from lemons. With the reduced pressure on fish and game for a year or two, numbers will rise. Certainly, the downside is the businesses who depend on tourism will suffer. Some have already gone out of business and more are heading down that road. Humans are resilient however. We will bounce back.

We will welcome you back soon. Keep the faith. Hooah!

Would love to have you guys abbydog. Hard to say whats going to happen at this point. The Yukon Govt announced today that 21K people have been vaccinated as of today ( March 5th) so thats a positive since our total population is only about 35K The fact that its an election year here might help as well, but the truth is, at this point we just dont know if the border will be open for the the 21 season or not. All we can say with any confidence is that anyone who has a booking with Grizzly Creek lodge for the 21 season will get first choice of dates for 22 if it comes to that. One of Yukon's best kept secrets is big pike.....real big pike. 40 plus inchers are quite common.

Any of you good folks can swing our way in NW Ontario if you like. 26 King Street, Wabigoon, Ontario. P0V 2W0


Heading east turn south at the Wabigoon Tavern, turn left on Railway Street, another left at King Street, and Bob's your uncle.

PS, BYOB, and tackle, AND PFD.

Opps! call ahead. PM for my number.

You mentioned you were interested in trout, I used to lead canoe expeditions in northem Ontario, Manitoba and what was the NWT, the last trip I led was 43 days in the NWT. I have seen and fished a lot of lakes and rivers on those trips so this is where my recommendations come from.

If you want to go after trophy quality Brook trout head for the God's river I caught trophy sized trout every day for a week as we traveled the river absolutely amazing Brook trout fishing. If you want Lakers I would head for Dubawnt lake, I caught 168 lakers in one day fishing a 30' x 30' foot hole in the ice. I have never found it takes more than 10 minutes to catch lakers in any of the lakes in the tundra. I mentioned ice on Dubawnt lake that was the first week in August, ice can ruin a reservation at Dubawnt as it the largest lake in the tundra and likes to hold on to its ice. The camp is in the bay on the northeast end of the lake and the bay is ice free earlier than the main lake.

For that matter I think any camp in the tundra would probably give you outstanding laker fishing and if it was close enough to the Bay and late in the season you may be able to get some Arctic Char in the rivers which would add a lot to the trip in my mind. The tundra will require soe expensive plane rides but possibly worth it for a once i a lifetime trip.

had a bud who went bow hunting for bou somewhere in Quebec. he said on a down day for hunting they would go to some body of water and cast for lakers like you would for panfish

Some great Speckle trout fishing up there too... caught many 4-6 pound specks.

Gorgeous spring weekend !







Loving this new auger !! Weighs 3lbs + drill !

Farewell to the hard shack, for the season;

Vert with envy Paul.

Catch a few for me!!!!

Paul;
Top of the morning to you sir, I trust other than the somber reflection inherent in taking the shack off the ice that all is well with you and your fine family.

We're done - or better said - I'm done walking out onto the ice here now too.

I was up ice fishing on Friday, but stood on the fishing dock, drilled the hole from there and sat on the dock in my lawn chair while I fished.

Interestingly enough, I had a pretty decent time fishing too, but it's cold without the tent!

The ice was still thick, but really punky and easy to drill so not confidence inspiring whatsoever.

Anyways my cyber friend, thanks for sharing the wonderful photos and update on your lives, I always appreciate you taking the time to do so.

All the best to you all out east and Happy St. Patrick's Day to you all too.

Dwayne

A Frazer River BC trip for sturgeon is pretty reasonable and a blast.

Great pics Ed !!

Howdy Mr Dwayner !!

Still lots of ice, but with the weather warming trend, I was getting concerned with getting it off before the the landing went to "poo" !

Will still mobile fish, maybe next couple of weekends, but will switch from smowmachine, to quads.

There was 26" at the shack, but as you can see, not much left on top, for lubrication & the cracks are opening !

Last year, we made it to Easter, won't happen this year !

You guys are the best. Pictures are great and the experiences are priceless adventures.

Ed;
Good day to you sir, I hope the day's looking to be decent down in Texas and all in your world who matter are well.

Thanks for sharing the photos of the trip with us, I appreciate it.

My long time hunting partner and I have been planning a trip to the coast to chase sturgeon for years now and were slated to make an honest attempt when the beer flu hit us.

If you'd not mind telling me whenever you're inclined, who did you book with? Please feel free to PM if you'd rather.

Thanks in advance and all the best to you all.

Dwayne

Dwayne,

Sturgeon Slayers. Their website is not working it seems.

https://sturgeonslayers.com/guided-fishing-rates/

https://chromersportfishing.com/2019/01/05/sturgeon-slayers-kevin-estrada/

Ed;
Thanks so much sir, it's much appreciated.

Gives me something to start looking once again with for sure.

All the best to you and your fine family as we head into longer and warmer days.

Dwayne

We have sturgeon in the Connecticut RIVER, but seldom do i hear of anyone that actually fishes for them. I saw one small dead one on the river bank years ago. Dinosaur fish!!