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.

---

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.

---

2024 SUMMER FISHING REPORT.

Sunday, September 22, 2024. As crazy as it dounds, the water has warmed up again. A couple weeks ago, near freezing tempertures and snow flurries in the air, all accompanined with a few days of constant high winds, quickly cooled the water down and this drove the fish down to deeper and more stable temperatures. Walleye seemed to disapprear and bass moved into the 20 foot or more depths. Now things are back to later summer normals with bass up in the 3 to 10 foot range and walleye are hanging out in the predictable 15 foot depths. You know this won't last forever so if you want some warm fall fishing with zero bugs anywhere, get at it.

Sunday, September 1, 2024. Fishing is still good with the cooler temperatures over the past week or so. Bass are still "up" but will probably be going down to the 20 to 30 foot levels soon. Catches up to 3 pounds have been steady all summer with a few in the 4 to 5 pound rage being caught, photographed and quickly released. Walleye were spotty with no definite locations being consistant for more than a couple days in a row. Again, lots of eating size fish up to 17 inches and occasional 3 to 5 pounders for pics but none of the larger over 8 pound monsters this summer. Pike were scarce all summer but are becoming more consistant with the cooler water temps now. Lake trout are now closed for catch and keep but you can catch and release all of them for the rest of September. Thanks to everyone for keeeping a close eye on shore lunch fires as I didn't hear of any fires started by camp fires.

Tuesday, July 2, 2024. Talk about a change in bite patterns! So far this year, walleye catches have been a lot slower than normal with few catches on a regular basis. Now, for the past few days, they have really turned on. Yesterday, I cleaned 1 bass and 1 pike for guests and the rest of the catches were all nice sized 15 to 17 inch walleye and they all reported releasing as many over-sized fish as they kept. The biggest one that will be able to spawn again in future years was 26 inches long. I seen the pic and it was a beauty, for sure. Most were caught on either chartreuse & black or gold (not yellow) & black lures of any shape including spoons, body baits and plastic worms. Some fishermen added worms but just as many fished clean lures. I don't remember the last time, especially at this time of year, that walleye outnumbered bass by such great numbers on this lake. For the back lake fishermen targeting bass and pike, they were producing quite well also. If this trend continues, it will be a great year for everyone, including anyone that just wets a line occasionally.

Sunday, June 2, 2024. I haven'tbeen cleaning many fish lately.... because I haven't had a lot of fishermen. The past couple weeks have seen a lot more spring photographers, mushroom harvesters and ATVers than fishermen. This has been a great year for morels if you appreciate these delacasies. As for the fishing, pike are again the predominate species being caught and if you're too close to the shoreline, you'll be botherng the bass which are on the nest beds now gaurding their precious eggs. I insist that my guests leave the bass alone and fish in at least 10 feet of water or more so as not to bother them. The bass "own" the shoreline at this time of year and there isn't anything, even minnows, in 6 feet of water or less for the next 3 weeks or so.

Wednesday, May 15, 2024. Lake levels are at normal summer operating levels and are just starting to warm up a bit not for swimming yet. The walleye finished their annual spawn early this year so I'm expecting good catches when the season opens this coming Saturday. Wild strawberries are in bloom so morels are now up for harvesting. Plenty of rain has kept the forest damp and there's only a slight chance of forest fires here but we have seen and smelled the smoke this past week for fires out west. Caution is urged with any shore lunch fires this weekend ... and all summer. The lodge still has a few vacancies for opening weekend if you are planning a trip north. And I'm still cleaning everybody's catches.

Sunday, April 21, 2024. Here's the first report for the summer ... and there isn't much to say. The ice went off the bay this past Thursday and finally off the entire lake yesterday. Water levels are at normal summer operating levels. It's another 3 weeks before fishing seson opens here in zone 11 and I'm hoping for good catches right off the start. I still have a few openings for the May long weekend. Walleye will be finished their annual spawn, as will be the suckers, and waters will be warming slightly. Although the MNR thinks it's okay to catch bass at their most vulnerable time of the year when they are on their spawning beds in late May and the first half of June, I disagree vehemently with this policy and insist my fishermen return ALL bass until after the males leave the nests in late June. If you're catching bass, you're fishing in too shallow of waters so move out to depths of 10 feet or more. The males are there for a reason ... to protect the eggs on the nest then the new born fish for a week or so until they are able to fend for themselves. The MNR thinks that the high bass population in this lake (which I am very proud of) are impacting the walleye regeneration. My response to them was quite simple: if there's not enough regeneration of the walleye, remember one thing... it's not the bass that are setting the gill nets. No response on that yet.

2023 SUMMER FISHING REPORT.

Wednesday, November 8, 2023. It's been a warm and unusually late fall this year and the hardy fishermen that I have had, all reported good catches of lots of bass and decent catches of both pike and walleye. Everything has left the warm shallows and have followed the bait fish down to 30 to 40 feet of water off of shoals and shorelines. Tube jigs of kool-aid (light purple) or motor oil (gold with dark flecks) on white lead-headed jigs have produced the most bass while walleye still prefer the usual black & gold (not yellow) Rapala divers and, as always, pike eat anything with chrome, yellow or black on it. Warmer weather in the plus digits are predicted through next week and although I have pulled the boats out of the lake, they can easily be turned over again if you just have to have a few more days of excellent fall fishing opportunities. Bring a gun as there's still lots of bush chickens to see as the grasses are all down on the ground from recent frosts and light snows.

Thursday,October 5, 2023. Although it's been mostly bird hunters here at the lodge lately, the few fishermen have all enjoyed the fall fishing opportunities. The regulars were more interested in bass than walleye and they said it was some of the best fall bass fishing they've had in years witht he 2 of thm boating over 100 fish in 2 days and returning all of them to play with again next year except for the 6 they took home and the 2 they gave me to eat. And they were tasty! All of them were caught in around 20 feet of water at the bottom of drop offs at any time of the day. We still have a good month or more of open water so there's more opportunities to put some in your live wells too.

Friday, September 22, 2023. Now that the water is cooling off, the bass have left the shallows and are hanging out in deeper waters of 10 to 20 feet depth. There are still a few small bass, under a pound, to be found in the summer shallows but even they are scarce. Walleye catches have increased significantly over the past couple weeks with nothing else coming across the cleaning table on some days. Even the pike have taken the back seat to walleye. This past week has seen less fishermen now that bird season is opening as well as an increase in international tourism for hikers mostly from Europe and a few photographers hoping to catch that special shot of the fall colors that are beginning to peak. Most of the walleye have been caught in the last 3 to 4 hours of daylight or after 4pm by trolling in the 10 to 20 foot depth range with either black and gold (not yellow) or black and white non-jointed Rapalas. Some guests preferred worms while others just ran bare lures. Vacancies are available after next Tuesday for anyone wishing to wet a line again before cold weather starts ... and it isn't that far away.

Saturday, August 26, 2023. It's been another week of great fishing with walleye being the main target species again. It was a real close toss-up between pike and bass for second place. Most bass have left the shallow waters of 10 feet or less already and are heading into deeper autumn locations. Small bass, usually under a poun, are still being caught in the shallow areas. It won't be long now until their fall favorite colors of motor oil, a goldish speckled rubber tube with dark flecks in it and a purple rubber tube called kool-aid with darker purple flecks will be the main attractants for bigger bass. Pike are still predictably hitting anything that shines and moves but yellows, red & whites and chromes are their favorite colors. Water temps are also cooling off a bit and the surface temp at the dock yesterday was 68 F or 20 C. There are still raspberries & blueberries for anyone wanting to get out of their boats, stretch their legs and find a sweet snack to munch on.

Friday, August 18, 2023. Walleye again continue to be the main fish caught lately. Water temps are just starting to cool down slightly and this could be the reason that we're seeing more of this species. There's still good counts of both bass and pike coming in also. I'd like to remind any trout fishermen that there's only a couple weeks of fishing left for catch & keep lakers then in September, it will be catch & release for that month before season closes for the summer. Sufficient rains have kept the ground moist for shore lunch campfires but, as always, caution is urged especially on windy days.

Wednesday, August 2, 2023. For the first time this summer, walleye have been the main fish being caught. On some days, there weren't any other species coming in to be cleaned. This has happened in the past but this is earlier than I can remember it happening in any year. Bass are still #2 and followed by pike. I haven't have any trout fishemen lately. For anyone interested in other things to enjoy, blueberries, although scarce right around Temagami, are plentiful north of here. Suffucient rains have shown good results starting to happen for mushroom foragers in this area. Currently there are not any fire bans but, as usual, caution is always urged with fires when having shore lunches.

Thursday, July 3, 2023. The fishing has really picked up this week with good catches of bass and pike. Walleye weren't all that far behind them but they have a much smaller "bite time" in the couple hours before sunset so there's less pressure on them and hence, few numbers caught. Like most of North America, we have had some serious heavy smoke days over the past week or so because of the forest fires north of here and in Quebec so people haven't spent as much time on the water. For the last few days, the air quality has improved significantly. And like the rest of northern Ontario, there is a complete fire ban on open fires which means there are no campfires allowed anywhere for any reason. I was in the bush this past week and there is very little greenery anywhere and a complete lack of wild orchids & mushrooms to be found. Black flies are gone now but we still have mosquitoes and deer flies. The surface water temperature this afternoon was 80 F as per a customer's fish finder. Unless we get some serious rains, blueberries won't be much of a crop this year. If anybody is looking for accommodations, I do have openings here and there for days, weekends or a couple full weeks yet this summer. Call for further info.

Thursday, June 22, 2023. Fishing has really picked up over the past couple weeks. All the bass have finished spawning and the little guys have disappeard from along the docks and the lake front. The water temps have risen significantly also with the heat wave we are enduring. As usual, bass will strike at anything you throw at them from live bait such as worms and leeches to spinners to diving assemblies to top water splash baits. Pike have also been active, mostly in the bright sunshine with reds, yellows and lots of chrome being the most productive. Walleye still prefer live bait such as leeches and worms and are the hungriest in the last couple hours before the sun falls below the horizon. It has been brutally dry here for well over a month now and very litle precipitation has kept the total fire ban (that means no campfires allowed anywhere) and there's no indication that it will be lifted in the foreseeable future.

Sunday, May 28, 2023. Fishing has been slower than expected so far this spring but the predominant winds have come from the east and that is not condusive to good catches. We have had fair catches of pike so far and with the late spring and walleye spawn, these fish aren't really in the feeding frenzy as of yet. Today, I noticed the first bass starting to make the annual nesting spot for the female to lay her eggs in shortly. Water is at normal summer opperating levels and the water temperature is rising but still chilly to swim in. We have had a decent amount of rainfall so forest fires aren't a threat yet but with the high temperatures predicted for the coming week or so and low chances of more rain, please be careful with any shore lunch camp fires.

Sunday, May 7, 2023. Although the fishing season doesn't open for a couple weeks yet, I thought I'd menttioon that the ice went off the bay earlier this past week and the main lake opened up on Wednesday or Thursday. The water is still cold at 4 C or 40 F and we are at normal full operating levels already. Most of the snow has melted in the bush but patches can still be found on the north-facing slopes in some areas. Some of the locals have had some luck catching whitefish (with open seasons all year) from the shorelines with anything that is small, white and chrome. When season does open, I'd expect to find lake trout in the shallows or in front of beaver houses where they will be looking for minnows. If you're planning on trolling over big water, bring chrome & blue Cleos (plain or hammered) and run them basically in the prop wash not more than 30 or 40 feet behind the boat at a moderate trolling speed. Then hang on tight. For anyone looking for splake, speckles, rainbows or lake trout in stocked lakes, remember that the season for stocked fish is open all year and they would also be top feeders right now. There are still some accommodations available for the opening weekend in 2 weeks. Emails always work but if you would rather phone, call after dark any night as I'm probably outside most days.

---

Send mail to paradise@onlink.net with questions or comments about this web site. Effective immediately, we are only accepting payment by cash, certified checks or e-transfers.