Possible alternatives could include:

• reduction in our daily limit (3 to 2 fish, for lake trout),

• slot size changes(release the spawners, all species),

• reduce the number of lines for winter fishing from 2 to 1,

• total ban on gorge style hooks (to allow for live release of some fish)

Contact (in writing) your MPP (if you are an Ontario resident) as well as the current Minister of Natural Resources. Encourage your families, co-workers and friends to submit a letter. You do not have to be a resident of Ontario to object to this regulation. The future of fishing is in everyone's hands!

UPDATE: Further information will be posted here as I receive it.

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Kyle V. London, Ontario
August 13, 2008
42 inches, 18.6 pounds
Cassels Lake, Catch & Release

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Northland Paradise Lodge is situated on a series of five adjoining lakes that stretch for 30 miles (50 km.). Snake Island, Cassels and Rabbit Lakes all have smallmouth bass, walleye, northern pike, lake trout and whitefish. Gosselin Lake has northerns and some bass. Oboshkong Lake has walleye, bass, northerns and whitefish. A short portage will take you to either Sunrise Lake for lakers, northerns and bass or to Blueberry Lake and then on to Dalton or Telford Lakes where huge bass see very few fishermen a year. It's a fly tier's dream come true! Other lakes in the Temagami area have rainbow trout, speckle (brook) trout and splake.

Begin fishing the open waters with lures for lake trout in mid May (dates vary with the third Saturday). Later and until season closes on September 30, catch up to 20 pound (10 kg) lakers with downriggers or steel line. Battle a trophy size smallmouth bass (6 lb. plus/3 kg.) during the summer and early fall. Fight a northern pike (up to 25 lbs./10 kg.) either through the ice or in open waters. Bring your favorite lure to catch a walleye/pickerel (some in the 15 lb./7 kg. range) in both the early morning mist and in the evenings under almost unbelievable colored sunsets.

    

Winter ice fishing starts after mid December (or when the ice gets thick and safe) for whitefish (season on this species is open all year) and starts on February 15 and continues through to March 15 (new opening/closing dates now in effect) for lake trout. Northerns and walleye, some up to 15 lbs. or 7 kg., are common at this time of year and their season closes from March 15 through to the May 24 weekend. Although not a common winter catch, ling are delicious either right from the frying pan or fresh out of our smoker. The season for ling is open all year but they are usually caught through the ice.

For more info on ice fishing, ice conditions and how's the fishing has been this winter, click on the ice fishing header at the top of this page.

We encourage catch and release of the larger fish of all species to retain limit catches for future generations. Don't forget the camera!

One other thing that I have noticed in all the years of owning this lodge (since '86) is that we never seem to catch many male pike. There's lots of pike here but males are far and few between. On a typcal year, we might catch 1 or 2 but for most years, there are zero males caught. I've asked and nobody has a reasonable answer to this question for me. How do you tell a male pike from a female? It is surprisingly easy to do. Probably all the pike that you have ever caught are females which are extremely slimy and slippery....and smooth under all that slime. Males are slimy, slippery ... and rough as sand paper. I urge all guests to release all of the males, irregardless of size, so that they can mate and future generations can then enjoy the quality fishing opportunities that we have today. Now wasn't that easy?

Our 14 foot aluminum boats are powered by modern Mercury 9.9 outboards and are supplied with all safety equipment required by law including anchor, oars, life jackets and safety kits. Personal fishing tackle, nets, fish finders and rain gear are not supplied. Gas is included in the daily/weekly rental fees.

From time to time, some of our guests are looking to either buy or sell fishing tackle and related items. When this happens, I try to help them with this by posting a note and picture on this website on the Items For Sale page which can be accessed from the top of this page. If you, or anyone you know, are interested in buying these items, please look here first.

Check-in times for weekly packages are after 2:00 p.m. on Saturdays and check-out times are before 11:00 a.m. on the following Saturdays. For overnight packages, the same times apply for each day. Please inquire about any variations that can be made to these time schedules.

Responsible use of alcoholic beverages is allowed on lodge property. However, we are not a licensed outlet for the sale of these beverages.

Pets are always welcome.

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Have you ever caught a tagged fish?

    

Occasionally, fishermen will catch a fish (usually a walleye in Temagami area lakes) that has a stainless steel jaw tag in its bottom lip. The first question that is usually asked is "Am I allowed to keep it?" That depends on the size of the fish; if it is in the slot size, then the answer is unquestionably "NO". However, if it is not a slotted fish, then you can legally keep it. Before you toss it into the live well or onto your stringer, please think of the reasons that this fish has been tagged in the first place. Whether it is a male or female walleye, it was caught in a trap net in a creek or river that is known to be used as a spawning area in the spring of the year. These nets are the property of the MNR and have been placed there by volunteers from the local Temagami and Area Fish Involvement Program (TAFIP) which collects the spawn and raises young walleye to be placed back in a number of different area lakes and to assist Nature in keeping a healthy population of fish for anglers to harvest in future years. This particular fish was stripped of some of its roe or sperm and then both the weights and measurements were recorded before being tagged and then released back into the lake. MNR supplied TAFIP with the tags. The jaw tag has a 6- or 7-digit number on it that identifies this fish and the year that it was tagged. If you do decide to keep it, please return the tag to TAFIP in Temagami so they can update their data on it. It is also requested that you report the length and weight of the fish as well as the date and name of the lake on which it was caught. If you'd like to keep the tag as a souvenir, that's also allowed but please forward on the info described above as well as the tag number.

The other option would be to weigh and measure the fish, record the tag number for TAFIP (705-569-3240) and then release it back into the lake. This will tell TAFIP how much that fish has grown since it was tagged. If it is caught again at a later date (possibly years from now) and the info is recorded again, it would greatly add to the knowledge base on the health and sustainability of the species in that particular lake. At the present time, only walleye in Lake Temagami and the Cassels-Rabbit lake system have been tagged.

The odds of catching a tagged fish are about the same as winning a lottery. There are hundreds, if not thousands, of fish that use a spawning area every year. A small percentage of these are caught in the trap nets. Of these fish, even a smaller percentage are ever tagged. As a volunteer with TAFIP, I helped tag about 30 or 40 fish in both lakes in 2009. To give us a good cross-section of all the fish in the lakes, both males and females were tagged and the weights ranged from less than a pound (a male) to one female that tipped the scales at just under 7 pounds. Needless to say, we had much bigger fish in the 10 to 12 pound range that we chose not to tag. The reason that these large fish were not tagged is because we are more interested in how fast they grow and younger ones will grow a lot faster than these older fish.

So ... enjoy your fishing opportunities and perhaps you just might catch a tagged fish. Recording the info and then returning it to the lake (after all the pictures are taken) will assist in proper management plans for a sustainable fishery not just for you to enjoy but for your children and grandchildren to enjoy for years to come. As for the walleye pictured above, it was a 17 inch, 2-pound male that was tagged and released back into Lake Temagami in 2009.

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Would you like to know how the fishing has been during the past week? Check out the Weekly Fishing Report page which can be accessed in the menu at the top of this page.