Rugged Dude

Better late than never. RD the Rugged Dude, visited us in May at Flindt Lake. He is a busy guy (fishing and hunting for a living) and just got around to sending us this note.

Hey Brad and Karen,

I just wanted to send you a quick note along with a few pictures from one of my recent trips. After traveling across Canada for eight years now and after taping four shows with you, I can safely say (without BS-ing anyone!) that you run a first rate outpost vacation.

As you know, this past spring we taped a show at your Flindt Lake outpost and we should have that episode edited soon. I caught two nice walleyes over 24 inches and a pile of 17 – 20 inchers. My buddy caught two really good northerns; one was 38 inches and the other 37. Oh… and, uh, um… good thing for your prop guards… I found out that they work very, very well.

One other thing… I just finished writing my book, “The Trip of a Lifetime.” It’s a 206 page book about hunting and fishing trips in Canada. The last chapter is called “RD’s Top Ten Destinations” and I included a section on your operation. Top ten isn’t too bad when you consider I’ve been to over 175 places now!

Thanks again and stay RUGGED!

RD, “The Rugged Dude”

Host & Executive producer, Officially Rugged Television

Rugged is the one drinking out of the milk carton. Being married I could never get away with that - in the bush or not.

A fall report from Metionga Lake

Why shouldn't your kids have the opportunity for a trophy fish too?

We operate our business with the idea that the fishing quality should be improving under our stewardship rather than the opposite. We encourage all large fish be returned to the lake to breed and that only smaller tastier fish are kept to eat. No trophies for the wall. Take a picture and release the fish.

Conservation has become the norm at many fly in outposts however we are proud to have been a leader in this practice for over twenty years.

Jim Pierce, a long time guest has fished many of our lakes.. actually most of our lakes. In September Jim was up with his brother and two friends to Metionga Lake. He sends this little report. Jim is a great proponent of our catch and consume policy.


Hello Brad,

Sorry it took so long to send in this year's fishing report. It has been real busy since we got back. In 10 days of fishing on Metionga lake the first week of September we caught over 2500 walleyes with 4 people fishing, and had the best year in over 20 years for catching big walleyes. We figured that we caught over 1000 fish over 20 inches, and many of those between 22 and 26 inches long. That just goes to show you being one of the the first outfitters to start catch and release many years ago that has made all the difference in the quality of fishing we experienced this year. Between the great people, excellent running boats, and well equipped cabins we could not ask for a better fishing trip. We are already looking forward to next year. If you ever need a reference just have them call.

Thanks again Brad and Karen.

Jim







Jeff W on Metionga Lake in Sept 08.



Just one of many walleye.




Jeff W with a "eater". This is the size for the pan.


As our government says.
"The future of fishing is in your hands"

Book your 2009 fishing adventure with Ignace Outposts today.

Thinking of 2009

Our 2008 season is barely over and already we are planning for 2009. One thing new for 2009 which will be required by all our guests is a Pleasure Craft Operator Card (a boat operators certificate).

This is a Canadian Law which affects anyone who wishes to operate a boat in Canada. Hopefully your outfitter has told you about this requirement.

If you live in the US you can get a certificate from your home state. Here is a web site to check out. http://americasboatingcourse.com/ For some States you can do the exam online. Others you can not but you can take the course on line.

If you live in Canada, you need a Canadian certificate. Here is one option for acquiring the certificate on line. Boater Exam . Americans can also get a Canadian cerfificate but it is advisable that you get one in your home justification.


Don't wait. Get your certificate today. Be ready for 2009.

It would be a shame to be standing on shore fishing while your buddies cruise around in a boat because you missed this one.

2008 season is over

The 2008 season has ended. All hunters are out safely, camps are closed and the aircraft have been put to bed.




It is time to start thinking about 2009. Give us a call or drop an email to get your dates set up. Forecasts are for a great fishing season coming. When times are stressful, the need for relaxation is high.

Thanks for another great year.

See you in 2009!

Sawdust time

Where does it come from?

I have posted before about the fact that we are one of the few fly in outfitters that still provide ice in ice houses for our guests. I have explained that the ice doesn't get into the ice house by itself. The sawdust doesn't either




Randy, Joe and I found a nice pile of sawdust near Ignace and the owner was happy to have us help him move some of it away.



Bagging sawdust is not actually in our job description, but getting things done is our specialty. White gloves need not apply.

Oh the joys!

October brings some of the worst flying weather in our area.

It is also in October that we have moose hunters out and are in the last stages of our season. It happens often in October that as weather patterns change, we encounter flight delays. On Sunday, Randy and I went to our Seseganaga camp to pick up our successful moose hunting party.

We had no problem getting to Seseganaga but had a small delay getting home. Hurry up and wait becomes a fall motto.

I waited on a small lake for a few hours and Randy in his wisdom waited at the Seseganaga camp with a nice cabin and warm fire. When the frontal system passed we were safely on our way.










As I've said many times, "It is always better to be down here wishing I was up there than up there wishing I was down here. "

At least it wasn't snow. The snow delay came on Monday. And Tuesday brought a dense morning fog and heavy frost to delay us again.

A common find

Do you wonder where fishing line goes when it is caught in the prop? It does not just disappear.

We go through all our motors in the fall to ensure everything is working well for the next summer. One of the most common problems we find with our motors is line wrapped around the prop shaft. I know none of our fisherman get any line caught around the prop but none the less the line appears every year. It is amazing how much we actually pull from the shaft. This line can cause the seals at the bottom of the motor to break and let oil out and water into the lower unit. The worst line we encounter is "Spider Wire" type line. This stuff is almost bullet proof and causes the most damage.

I tell this so that if by some unfortunate accident the "other guy" gets his line wrapped in the prop, and you are driving the boat, please don't wait til his reel is empty, take the 1 or 2 minutes to pull the line from the prop so we don't lose a motor. It only takes a second to do when it happens and you can use the time to curse at your partner. The fish will wait, as they snicker, and be ready to bite when you have the line untangled. And when you do take the line off the prop, please don't throw it in the lake. Put it in your pocket and bring it back to camp to augment the stories you will tell anyway. It is always best best to have the proof readily available.

Then throw the line in the garbage where it belongs.

Thanx










This is not a furry disk, it is fishing line!

New Web Page is active!

It is up.

Our newly designed web page is up and running. Check it out.

www.ignaceoutposts.com

One more Day!

On Monday check out our new look web page!

ignaceoutposts.com

New web page coming!

On Monday October 20 we will be launching our new Ignace Outposts web page. Watch for it.






Same address, new look. www.ignaceoutposts.com

Fall Maintenance

Do you wonder what we do around Ignace Outposts when fishing ends?

In the fall we go through all our outboard motors - all 88 of them. Every motor is tuned and checked and repairs are made or motors are tagged for trade.

John from Metionga doesn't just come out of the bush in the fall and put his feet up for the winter. He has so far gone through about 40 motors with more coming once our hunt is over. Randy, Joe and I help out too. The job is big but it has to be done.




There is nothing worse for a fisherman than a motor that doesn't work. We do our best to assure all our motors are in top shape and ready for another year of fishing.

Flindt Lake Fall fishing

Ever wondered about taking a FALL trip to go fishing?

Wes Peters and his group tried Flindt Lake just before our hunters went in. Here is a little note and testimonial.

Brad, we had a great time! Good accommodations, good fishing-likely about 400 fish in total for the 5 of us in 3 days-actually picked up about 25 between 9 and 10am on Saturday morning just around the little island in front of the cottage while we were waiting for Randy.

Nothing huge in the pickerel department-my 75 year old father in law, Ted Wright caught a 5 pounder (whatever that translates into in inches). Caught it in the large eastern Bay in the North end of Flindt after the 2 channels. My friend and I named it “Mayhem Bay” as we seemed to have snagged the same fish-lines tangled, etc..

Good success in Flett Lake-we even caught a blue pickerel and a blue Northern-they won the prettiest fish award.

Regards,

WES

Next season plan a Canadian fall fishing trip with us at Ignace Outposts. You might be pleasantly surprised.

Thanksgiving

Today is our Canadian Thanksgiving. Here in Ignace, we had our turkey yesterday with friends and family. Today is back to work and left overs. Our moose hunters are all in the bush and we suspect we'll be flying out moose soon. It has rained for the last 5 days and today looks like another wet one.

To our Canadian guests and friends, Happy Thanksgiving!

A good foundation is very important

I often have guests tell me they would like Joe's job at Seseganaga Lake. I suspect many who say this don't have a very good understanding of what a camp attendant does.

I didn't hire Joe because he likes fishing. Besides being a real outdoorsman, Joe must wear many hats. He is a carpenter, repair man, host, mechanic, all round good guy, philosopher, weather predictor, fishing expert and story teller, among other talents.



Joe's cabin needed a little foundation work this summer. Joe raised and leveled the cabin, replaced some bad bottom logs and declared it "good to go".




All this in between keeping me and our guests happy.

Fall Colors

In between running our businesses, I sit on a Provincial Working group committee for tourism. We meet several time a year with Government officials to discuss and advise on resource based tourism concerns.

In early Oct we meet at a resort between Sudbury and Sault Ste. Marie Ontario (southern Ontario to me but northern Ontario to our government).

The fall colors in the area were fantastic. We were treated to a boat ride to view the area and colors. Unlike our area where our trees are mostly jack pine which do not change color, this area boasts fantastic color opportunities. Too bad I can't take a picture as Karen can. These photos were the best I could do.

1948 or 2008?

At two of our outpost camps we have camp attendants. Joe our camp attendant at Seseganaga Lake was caught doing his laundry on his cabin deck. When you spend the summer "in the bush" you make do without some of our modern conveniences. Joe has a ringer washer to do his laundry. It works well. Looking at a picture like this brings memories of days gone by.

How high was it?

This July we saw some of the highest water levels we've seen in years. At Seseganaga Lake, Joe filled barrels with water to help hold the dock decks down so they wouldn't float away.






Water levels have since receded to the point that the docks are now a couple of feet out of the water.

A view back in time

About 20 years ago this was one of our finest cabins. Today it is a shed. For those who may not recognize this cabin, it is on Seseganaga Lake. It is the old cabin 2. In its day, it was state of the art. It was one big room, 8 beds in the back half and kitchen eating area in the front. And the luxury was the screen porch and deck. No shower, no hot water, no couches, no bedrooms.

We've come a long way in providing some of the best outpost facilities to augment some of the best walleye and northern fishing in Canada.




Check out our new modern outpost facilities yourself. Book your 2009 trip today while there are still spots available.

Between archery and gun season

Spike bull I called out for a photo op. My only weapon, a camera.

We are right between archery moose and gun moose seasons. Our camps are empty for a day or two. Our archer moose hunters managed 2 moose taken (one on Seseganaga and one on Hilltop) and between the 2 groups they saw 20 moose during their hunt. Not bad for a week of weather not conducive for hunting - windy and wet.



The gun hunters at our north camp (Flindt Lake) where the gun season opened in Sept have come and gone without bagging a moose. They saw moose but didn't have a fair shot. A little catch and release moose hunting. Maybe next year.
The regular gun season opens this weekend and we will have all our moose parties in the bush by Sat.


Randy and I have been seeing moose almost every flight now. All indications are a great gun hunt next week.

Wild Cranberries

One week today is our Canadian Thanksgiving. Here in the north we celebrate our Thanksgiving a month or so earlier than our US friends. This allows us to consume our turkey and other fixings well in time to let it settle and digest before we start thinking about Christmas.

Karen was out for the afternoon on Sunday picking some wild cranberries.



not bad only minutes from our house





On Monday next these berries will be right beside the turkey and potatoes. yum.

As much as I like walleye and other wild game, many foods are readily available in this neck of the woods. We may as well take advantage of the bounty in our own back yard.

ps. no limit on berries and no catch and release!

Lindor tries to help

3 guesses as to what has Lindor's attention on board the aircraft.

First clue: It is not a nubile young chocolate lab named Fifi.

Second clue: Archery moose season has begun.

Metionga fall fun

Sure beats working eh guys? Unfortunately many still have to work just so they can do this.

The count down clock has started however for next fall's trip.

No doubt Sept is a great time to be fishing at Ignace Outposts.

What not to do.

OK, I am not drawing a picture of a moose. I like to add a photo or two to each blog but all I have is a story about why I have no photo (or video).

We had archery moose hunters in Hilltop lake last week. They managed to call out a 50 inch plus bull. The bull approached boldly at first but halted short of archery range. Then two cows appeared. They managed to divert his attention from the hunter who was imitating a cow moose. (Not difficult if you saw these hunters.) They watched as he courted his honeys and even tried to have his way with one. Great material for a moose video.

I asked them whether they managed any video or photos. Here is where the story becomes interesting.

They did bring a video camera with every intention of catching their hunt on film. However when they opened the camera case, one fella's wife had planted a little "love note" wishing them luck and included a little dab of her favorite perfume.

Archery moose hunters go to great lengths to mask any human scent. This hunter had washed his hunting clothes several time in scent free soap and stored them outside for weeks so as not drag human scent along on the hunt. They had bottles of "moose juice" to attract an amorous bull. A perfumed camera kind of defeats the purpose.

Not surprisingly, moose use much different perfumes to attract their mates than humans do.
The guys did manage to bag one nice 43 inch bull, but it certainly wasn't the "big guy". In any case the hunters bragged about the lost chance at a monster.

And no video to back up their claims. But I did see the scented camera and it definitely does not smell moosey.

More from Metionga Lake

Paul R. from St Paul sent up a few more photos from his group's trip in mid Sept. at Metionga Lake.

The "Boys in Blue" certainly managed a few nice fish.

Paul wrote: "More pics, what a great trip."

Of course he also added the big ones were put back. Only small ones were kept to eat.













29 inch walleye was the week's biggest.

No bones about it

A few weeks ago, I promised a video showing the proper technique to fillet a lake trout. Here's how to do it to end up with no bones.
In August my buddy, Darren Elder, our local biologist, was with me at Irene Lake and we taped this demo. Being a bio doesn't make Darren an expert filletter, but being an expert fisherman seems to.