Think I've picked out my next Ontario walleye/northern fishing hole

[forgop]

For the past 3 years, I've ventured up to Ontario in search of the experience only offered at a fly-in trip to the Canadian wilderness among bears, moose, loons, beavers, and bald eagles among all of the walleye and northern that lurk below. This year I'll be venturing much farther west, where water is much darker and fish stay in 8-12' of water all season, rather than lurking down to much deeper areas in July/August.

I went from a cabin with an indoor shower and running water to a cabin with an outdoor shower and the camp we were at last year was unable to finish the shower prior to our arrival so we didn't have one. All prior camps have had outhouses. This camp will have an indoor bathroom complete with indoor toilet and a hot shower. Also available is solar power to keep my phone (no service) recharged for pictures, recharging my fishfinder battery, you name it.

I'm also going to venture to another lake where a boat and motor awaits that has not been fished in over 20 years. It may be crap, but there may also be 40"+ pike and 30" walleyes that have never seen a lure before. I'm making a 17 hour drive this year compared to a 10.5 hour drive from the past 2 years.

Always looking for people who could make a group of 4 to go. So difficult finding people that can get the time (need about 10 days total), money, enjoy fishing, willing to be off the grid for a week (albeit texting is possible with a GPS device I have that pairs to my phone), and excuse to enjoy beer and cigars all day without any nagging from the wife...it isn't exactly an easy task. If a 7 day fishing herf sounds like fun, send me a PM.

[forgop]

Last year i took my daughters (then 10 and 12) and I had to explain the concept of rationing what we had. Let's just say we barely squeezed by on paper towels, dish soap, and TP. Also last year, I had no way to recharge my fish finder battery and the first one went low after the first day and a half, so I used the backup very sparingly. In prior trips, there was a generanotor or solar charging system that I could have plugged in a minimal amount of stuff.

Tackle varies. For walleye, I like to jig with twister tails and put on about 1/3 to 1/2 of a worm. Some say the worm isn't necessary, but it works. I also like using cranks to troll with ripplin redfins, scatter raps, reef runners, rat-l-traps, and a couple other stick cranks I can't remember. Northern are incredibly stupid and I'm convinced they'll hit a bare hook. They hit on everything.a walleye will and I'll bring some spoons to see if I can pull out a 40"+ northern. have yet to catch enough walleye in a single trip to personally see the walleyes in such great numbers you get tired of catching fish. The outfitter i spoke to Sunday said for whatever reason, the fish seem easier to catch than the side I fished in previously. Last year we went during mayfly hatch so it was tough. We shall see how this lake compares. The other perk is this outfitter will go out with us and get us dialed in on the fish before he even leaves the camp.

[forgop]

Quote

 

I had a great trip to Maskara Lake via Slate Falls Outposts (www.slatefallsoutposts.com)

I caught more walleye this trip than 3 prior trips by a long shot.  No biggies, but I didn't grind away on this trip like I have in years past to catch a lot of fish.

If you've ever wanted a remote fly-in experience, you can be assured you will be taken care of here. 

 

 

 

[Likuid]

Nice lookin walleye! I have yet to make a trip up to the chain of lakes but will soon be taking another trip up to the UP of Michigan for some walleye and northerns.

 

Looked like a fun trip!

[golfgar]

Looks like a very nice place for a fly-in.  Have done the fly-in outpost/outhouse in NW Ontario quite a few times and always caught tons of fish but without the conveniences you had!

[forgop]

Looks like a very nice place for a fly-in.  Have done the fly-in outpost/outhouse in NW Ontario quite a few times and always caught tons of fish but without the conveniences you had!

Yes-their camps are among the best you'll find. Even their mattresses that i found to be a nice quality mattress for home are being replaced after this year.

We could always do a FOH fly-in herf sometime. He runs a great special at Minnis beginning in july through the end of the season.

Sent from my SM-G935V using Tapatalk

[golfgar]

14 hours ago, forgop said:

 

Yes-their camps are among the best you'll find. Even their mattresses that i found to be a nice quality mattress for home are being replaced after this year.

We could always do a FOH fly-in herf sometime. He runs a great special at Minnis beginning in july through the end of the season.

Sent from my SM-G935V using Tapatalk
 

This year I went on a trip to Lac Suel just north of Dryden which included guides, all meals, and lodging where the size of the walleyes was consistently better than anywhere I've been.  Not cheap but great services and very nice accommodations.  I would be open to considering a cast and smoke trip next year.  Looked at the Slate Falls site and the prices seem reasonable and they have Beavers and Otters which I like to fly in.  The "no weight limit" is a huge plus IMHO as there are things you can't bring when there is a weight limit....such as beer. LOL.  It's true we have been on those trips with only 48 beers for 8 guys for 4 days.  Drank a lot of whiskey but it's not the same. 

[forgop]

On 8/9/2016 at 11:24 AM, golfgar said:

This year I went on a trip to Lac Suel just north of Dryden which included guides, all meals, and lodging where the size of the walleyes was consistently better than anywhere I've been.  Not cheap but great services and very nice accommodations.  I would be open to considering a cast and smoke trip next year.  Looked at the Slate Falls site and the prices seem reasonable and they have Beavers and Otters which I like to fly in.  The "no weight limit" is a huge plus IMHO as there are things you can't bring when there is a weight limit....such as beer. LOL.  It's true we have been on those trips with only 48 beers for 8 guys for 4 days.  Drank a lot of whiskey but it's not the same. 

I agree-the no additional charge to fly in more gear is a huge plus.  They advertise that they'll drop in every 2-3 days to bring stuff you ask for.  Truth be told, he only flew in once just 2 days into our trip and didn't make a return trip.  That was because I told him after he went through the hassle of putting my personal high quality seat on one of his brackets to bring in 2 days later and I told him I wouldn't need anything else the rest of the trip.  Now had we needed anything, I'm sure he would have stopped in when he was making rounds to other cabins, but I didn't want to incur more expense when it was just a group of 2 at the cabin.  I took in 2 cases for myself and it may seem like a lot on the surface, 7 beers over a 16+ hour day in the boat and meals/evenings isn't a lot.  I've flown with other outfitters that would have charged another $350 for as much as I took in for just 2 people.  That said, I take a LOT of stuff because I'm used to camps that aren't as well furnished, so I have to assume I will be without it unless I bring it.  Next time I go, I will pack far less stuff for sure.  

I'll just say for an fly-in outpost, I've stayed at far worse hotels, and the video I took shows our departure.  Mind you the shower is quite small and you don't have electricity (minus the small generator he provided for the week), the solar system powers the lights, water heater, and water pump and I don't think you'd have too much of a hot water issue even with a group of 6 if you spaced out showers.  

The prices are definitely on the higher end, but the amenities are much better than most as well.  Honestly, much of the cookware and utensils are every bit as good as I use at home.  My window next year only allows me to have 6/28 to 7/4, which is horrible, especially considering it's 1k miles for me each way.  Flying is just far too expensive I think.  I've already got a referral booking and if I could get them 1 more and could manage a group of 5-6, I think he'd give us a great price.  

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