Canada!

Just got back from a week long trip to Canada.  This was a first Canadian trip for John, Tim, and me...and the first in a long time for Dad.  We stayed at Andy Myer's Lodge on Eagle Lake in Northwest Ontario.  I will review that later.  We caught enough nice fish that I finally learned how to use a little HTML and embed a Google Presentation of pictures rather than simply pasting photos all over this blog.

First of all...John and I finally caught MUSKYS...BIG ONES.  Mine was a 48.5" male which was quickly followed by a 52" female that John caught.  We were guided to these fish by Steve (Herbie) Herbeck.  Both fish were caught on the same custom painted bucktail.  These are the sort of fish that people go to Eagle Lake to catch.

We spent much of out time fishing walleyes.  With a guide, Dad and I caught about 50 walleyes each in just about 6 hours of fishing, along with 15 or so jumbo perch.  This was without question the most fish I have ever caught in a short period of time.  It is not a stretch to say it is what people think of when they think of Canada.  On our own, we did not have as much success, but we still often caught 20+ walleyes per person per day, which is nothing to sneeze at.

We also caught some bass and pike, but we were not very good at catching these.  Well, small pike were everywhere, but big ones were difficult to get to.

Usually, bass are something we turn to catching when we can't catch walleyes.  We struggled with the bass.  John and I did end up finding one bay where I caught six smallies in my first ten castes and at one point eight other bass followed the one I was catching to the boat.  We were in crystal clear water surrounded by cliffs and trees and it was like a dream come true.  Unfortunately, two days later when we returned to this spot they were gone.

Overall, I loved Canada.  There was not a pleasure boater to be found, you could go hours without seeing another fisherman, and all the shorelines were filled with nature, not homes and boat lifts.  That said, it took substantial help to catch fish and it was not as easy as I envisioned it would be...mostly due to the vast 60,000+ acre size of Eagle Lake.

If you were thinking about a trip to Canada, I would absolutely recommend staying at Andy Myer's Lodge.  Below is what I loved, what I liked, and what could have been better.

WHAT I LOVED:

1. The lodge had doc hands that met you at the pier each time, cleaned your fish, and gassed your boat.  All we did was fish.  No work at all.  
2. The American Plan food was good and super convenient.  Shore lunches were amazing.  On days you didn't want a shore lunch, a cooler met you in your boat with very good boxed lunches.  Breakfast and dinner was so hearty we didn't even need to snack.
3. If you wanted to eat your catch when you got back, someone would clean it, fry it, and deliver it to your cabin.  Pretty amazing.
4. The guides were all SUPER nice.  I got to know about 6 of them and they were helpful and fun.  I am pretty sure that all of us would like to hang out with Gordy again in the future.
5. We got to know many people at the camp who were there at the same time as us, it was great to get to know them and hear their fishing stories.
6. I was able to find 20"+ walleyes by trolling right in front of the camp.  It was a great way to end each evening.  
7. The landscape was beautiful. 
8. The rental boats were big, stable, fast, and had a reliable 4 stroke engine.  

WHAT I LIKED:

1. The fishing was good but not as easy without a guide as I hoped.
2. The beds were quite comfortable and the cabin was clean.
3. Bait was available right at camp so we never had to leave.
4. Myers bay is situated fairly centrally, so you could fish both "wings" of the lake.
5. The main lodge has WIFI so you are not cut off from home. 

WHAT I DIDN'T LOVE:

1. On a lake as big as Eagle, you find yourself taking very long boat rides to fishing spots.
2. You really do need guides to truly experience what the lake has to offer.
3. I know many people who go to Canada don't want a TV in their cabin.  I am not one of those people.  
4. I am pretty sure it rains every day in Ontario.  
5. Tim caught the biggest walleye, bass, and pike of the trip.  Not me. 
6. We forgot to have some take a stinking group picture of us again.
7. A trip with the accommodations we selected is expensive.  It is not something this fisherman will be able to do on a yearly basis.