Who wants to go to Canada? Apparently, nobody.

woody-1961 wrote:

Too much B.S. on the border….and for what??? Canada is a huge money grab and their limits are a frickin joke. All they want is your money and nothing more. I quit going up there after 15 straight trips in 8 years. No firewood..No Potatoes No leaches, No minnows …money grab

.

Do you think it is a treat for us to cross going the other way. If you ever do decide to come back, pick up some of the things you have mentioned (we are taking your money for)up here and try and take them back across the border. See how far you get. I will agree that some of the limits do suck, but they are being proactive in some cases and ensuring that things are going to be sustainable and not crash.

crappie55369 wrote:

<div class=”d4p-bbt-quote-title”>Randy Wieland wrote:</div>
You didn’t ask me

X2

Well from the looks of it I am X5 or X6.

I’m working on a trip for fall, just 6 1/2 hours from Mpls, then 1/2 hour by boat.

A Little bit of everything.

Canada is something every outdoorsman should experience. Untouched wilderness is awesome. I am looking at possibly going back this year as it has been 10 years since my last Canadian adventure. First trip I made with Dad and all his buddies was 300 bucks a man (1994). That was everything, license food gas cabin. Last trip in 2005, 1100 bucks a man for same trip same lodge. That definitely had something to do with me not going as often. People don’t want to go, it’s their loss, not yours!

Randy Wieland wrote:

You didn’t ask me

Xwhatever place in line I am.

Not sure why you could not get somebody to go with. My dream is to do a Canada trip sometime.

Grouse,

Well here is my attempt to hopefully give you a little bit of optimism about younger folks. I just turned 27. I have only been in my career for 7 years. I have a house and plenty of responsibilities that most adults do. I have done the party scene, played video games and owned other technology gismos.

That all being said, my boat is the most expensive, prized possesion I own next to my house. I will be in Canada in three weeks. For the third year in a row my dad and I have been going. As long as he remains healthy enough I will be the first to sign up to go with him. Eleven hours into nowhere Canada. We stay at a small lodge that has electricity and showers, mostly for a small fan for sleeping. Nothing fancy, they own a phone and midweek I will give a brief call home to check with the wife.

We bring his boat just because he is disabled and it really helps for him to have the extra space. It still is only a 165 alumacraft classic.

I dont think there is anything me and him look forward to more. Hit the border phone stops working, another 300 miles into the bush. Get to the lake and 15 miles more by boat. Followed by six uninterrupted days of pure enjoyment.

I hope there are others like me out there but, I know that we are a minority. My generation has other priorities #igototherstufftodo #checkoutmyselfie.

To echo tonkaiceman I am 31 and just got my boat last year. It’s a 16 footer btw and I manage to survive haha.

I was going to add that my father in law organizes a leech trip every year and this year is the 27th year. Been a small decline in attendance the last 5 years and last year was the low point. Only 9 guys showed and only 5 guys fished.

I’m 34, fish 50+ times a year, and have gone to Canada 3 times between the ages of 16-24 years old. I”m not sure I’ll go back anytime soon due to a few reasons:

1. Cost
2. Drive – along with this goes with a longer drive the need to stay for a week or so to make the drive worth it. I’d take a bunch of 1-3 day fishing trips to places closer to me such as Chequamegon bay, red lake, Mille Lacs, and lake pepin.
3. Challenge/Satisfaction. This is the same reason why I usually change the channel while watching fishing shows on TV if they’re going somewhere in Canada. It just doesn’t seem like a challenge to catch fish. I remember a time on my Canadian trips I would put a dandelion on my jig head and catch a walleye as a joke, or even a bare jig head. One of the best things I like about fishing is finding fish, locating a pattern, and working hard to find success. In Canada, I don’t feel this satisfaction. This certainly isn’t a slam by any means of people who decide to fish Canada; I’d just rather fish waters closer to me that require a little more work.

phoyem wrote:

It just doesn’t seem like a challenge to catch fish.

First time I think I have seen this said about fishing… and used as a reason not to go.

I hear you, been there done that. Have tried for 4 years to add a spring trip to Rainy lake and even some retired friends don’t seem to have the time. Thought may be going to LOTW would spark some attention and dead silence when asking guys to go. Its a combination of lots of things but also add in lack of willing to commit. Its sad when we were young and had no money guys would some how make it. And this happens even though I supply the boat and the truck. Go figure?

I will throw in some more optimism. Im 34, went to Canada for the first time in 1999 as a high-school graduation present from my uncle. Skipped a few years and now have gone 10 of the last 12 years. Only missed two years ago for the birth of my 2nd daughter and might miss this year as I just welcomed children #3&4 in May, wife would probably kill me if I went in September as scheduled.

I go to the same lake that my great grandparents used to go to in the 1950s. They had small row boats with maybe a 5hp outboard if they were lucky. One time they got stranded in a storm on an island and spent the night on it. Wish I knew which island it was so I could walk around on it.

Barring any big family events I will not miss my yearly Canada trip. It is the one I look forward to the most every year. Some people say the fishing in Northern MN is just as good, then I ask them if they’ve ever been to Canada? Nope.

@Grouse: When do we leave?

That being said, I’ve noticed myself falling into that category-I haven’t been in three years now, and besides my wife I’m not even sure who I could get to join me. The time off is easy for me, the finances these days not so much. The actual time? Well, with 4 children have a hell of a time even getting the yard mowed, and time has a way of speeding up as you get older-ever notice that? Every May when the ice goes out I tell myself how much water time I’m going to get, and every October I look around and think “Where the hell did May go?”. Money-a lot of us have a lot less of it these days. Me, I’m lucky and have a decent job with great benefits, but since our move here my spouse has struggled to find work worthy of the name and completely blanked on finding anything that would even cover the cost of daycare for our two youngest. If you’re working for a loss, what’s the point? So, for now we’re essentially a 1-income family, not an easy task in today’s market. Two years ago I did the unthinkable and sold my boat-to pay for braces on the oldest. And so on and so forth…
Me, I love Canada. Border has never been a hassle for me, and the longest delays have always been on the way back ironically. I’m the one who, when it comes time to pack up and go home, just wants to wander off into the bush and hide hoping they’ll just leave me behind-except it’s usually me hauling the gear. It’s beautiful, and the rawness of the lakes and rivers in Ontario call to me. Long drive? BS. I’ve never understood the guy who’ll drive halfway across the country to fish US waters or attend a ball game he scored cheap tickets on but balk at an 8-hr drive to the border. My wife and I once drove to a lake north of Dryden via the border crossing at Grand Portage…because the MN North shore is that beautiful, and we had the time-we’re on vacation, what the hell’s the rush? Our camp host’s seemed a little pissy when we rolled in at 8:30 that night-seems they thought we’d died or something-but I figure that was their problem.
Canada…yeah, I miss it. I consider it a temporary setback, but still something to keep a very watchful eye on so as to not let much more time slip by before I’m there again. Hmm…maybe under current circumstances, just myself with a tent and the canoe would be just fine. Two weeks, spend the time hunting down isolated bush lakes at the end of the interesting looking logging road that we look down as we bomb our way to the camp? Could make for quite a memory, and a good story.
-Rev

I for one can’t stand the two faced attitude they have towards individuals with not clean records.
Say you have a fell with a DWI, well just once and for a $500 fee they will let you come. That is complete BS and proves they just want your money.

I think there are more and more people asking themselves…

I can go fishing within the state or even surrounding states 4-5 times for the time and money it takes to go to Canada once and I’ll be home that night or the next day.

I’ve only been to Lockport a few times cat fishing…so this is coming from someone that Canada has nothing to offer for me.

mark-bruzek wrote:

I for one can’t stand the two faced attitude they have towards individuals with not clean records.

It always makes me think, is it because they are a puritan society that never drinks, much less have had anyone crash because of too much to drink?

Is it because they already have enough citizens up their with DUIs and can’t take anymore?

Or is it they need to pay for other people’s stuff (Government Goodies) and well you are an easy target like taxing cigarettes?

I’ll take C.

I have been going every year for the last 20+ years with the same guys to Ontario and my dad went with them for 20 years before me. We are down to just 1 original as some of the other have passed.

Regarding DWI we have one guy with a couple and have never had a issue with the boarder we use the no ask no tell theory. We do not bring his car and he does not drive in Canada.

Regarding cost never had a issue with buying stuff up there just make sure the gas tanks are full at the boarder. The minnow bill does get a little high. We stay at a resort 4 nights fish 3 days and cost is around $550.

I love Canada keep trying to add one more trip up there a year but too many other things going on.

I went in high school as a family vacation a couple times, parents and brother and camped, we loved it. I took a few year break then started going with a group of guys around my age in 2003. The first 2 years, there were 14 of us (ages 21 thru 25. I’ve been going every year since to the same place on the English River (with a 1 year exception). We leave this Friday night and there is now only 3 of us (same with last year). My brother and our uncle (close to our age anyway)

While I agree the costs have gone up along with general interest in people has gone down, it is 1 of my 2 favorite weeks of the year.

Its a 12+hr drive to a boat-in lodge and we have close to 25mi of the English River thru 10 different lakes to find walleye, northern and smallies all while not caring what time of day it is and rarely seeing other boats.

I think cost, busy life, and lack of vacation days. I made one trip to Canada with my Grandpa for my HS Graduation Gift a number of years ago and would love to go back. But being a young guy, it takes years to accumulate a lot of vacation time. I’m at 10 days a year for the 1st 5 years of employment here. To take half of those on one entire week is tough. I’d rather take several 3 day weekend trips in the Midwest that are cheaper each year. That said, I’m jealous every time somebody gets to Canada and when everything aligns right I’d love to go back.

I haven’t been to Canada in probably 8 years and I’m having withdrawals :(.

I was supposed to go last year but my friend had a baby and it derailed the whole trip. I just wish people could be a bit less selfish about having babies and stuff. Like, couldn’t they have waited another month to get pregnant so we could go on our trip?

FishBlood&RiverMud wrote:

I want to go to lockport…But not sure my 11yo DWI will let me.

Soon as my 2 yr old can sit in the car long enough I’m heading there too!

I’m curious as to the whole costs thing?

Its always been one of the cheapest trips for my group, and that’s why they do it. Ain’t nobody rich.

Their resorts that much more?

Beer and bait will add on an extra bill or two but not much. Licenses are to be expected from some frenchies. Other than that what’s so expensive?

I agree, there are some barriers to going to Canada that were lower or weren’t there in the past.

Obviously, the cost is high and clearly non-resident anglers are viewed as a cash cow that Ontario wishes to milk hard and often.

I will also say that I quit going for almost 10 years when Ontario banned non-resident camping and effectively closed off vast areas of wilderness to non-residents. This was obviously a money grab cave in to the interests of resort and lodge owners who weren’t extracting enough money from Americans already.

My interactions with the MNR have also left much to be desired. They make little effort to hide their obvious anti-American attitudes and if I were to sum their attitudes in one sentence it would be, “Every American’s doing something wrong and it’s my job to catch them.”

So I can completely understand why some wouldn’t want to go, but in general it seems to be more about either massively overloaded schedules or just a general loss of interest in fishing.

I was talking to another forum member last night and he said back when he was a kid, he would have dropped anything/everything had the opportunity to go on a Canadian trip come up. Kids sports? Skip them. Nobody will die from missing t-ball.

Now it seems like everything is done to the Nth degree and it’s all like a prison sentence. Youth soccer is 3 games per week with practice in between. Before football season you’ve got the conditioning workouts in June, followed by speed drills in July, followed by pre-season playbook study sessions in August…

Leaving Thursday after work, will pick up dad in the frozen tundra of Northern MN, drive to Frostbite Falls on Thursday night. Then it’s into Canada.

Guys are probably right, it’s dying out and that’s a damn shame, but I’m going to keep doing it until I’m the only one left. Be a shame though.

Grouse

As far as the cost goes, where I go, the charge is $75/day per guy if you have your own boat. If you use their lodge boats, it is $100/day (they supply 5gal of gas).

Additional costs are $53 for the 8 day sportsman license (plus another $10ish if you need the outdoor card), bait can vary – you can bring your own as long as you follow the regulations or get it up there.

As far as gas goes, we bring 35gal, plus the tank in the boat is full (20gal) and we end up getting another 10gal from the lodge on the last day. With only 3 of us going this year, its 1 truck and 1 boat and gas in the truck is split

Beyond that, the other costs are whatever food we bring and the beer.

In the end it will about around $800/ea total for 5.5 days of fishing up there. For us, we do whatever we can to make it work and have no complaints.

This is not a 5 start resort, the first few years, we had a shower but outhouses rather than toilets. We cook and clean the dishes we use. We would rather do everything on our own as opposed to a place that does everything for you

.

I’ve been to Manitoba Canada at least 30 times. I’m 63. My dad took me when I was 10. I took my son when he as 7. He went until school interfered too much. Wants to go with me now but doesn’t get enough vacation time. We live in Michigan and 2 adults can drive straight thru and its a 30 hour drive. We pike fish and the challenge to us is there is always a bigger one out there. My son has never fished in the US, so the fishing up there can spoil a guy. We have nothing but good memories of the fishing, wildlife and crazy stuff that has happened on a trip. My dad was about 75 before he gave it up. Couldn’t cast all day anymore but sure liked watching his boys catch them. It’s too easy to make excuses to not go. My buddie and I have never canceled any kind of fishing trip in 30 years. Those are the guys you need to find. I was lucky.

tbro16 wrote:

We go up for 4 full days where we camp out on an island in the middle of nowhere with nothing more than a few tents and a few boats. Absolutely no phone service, AC, Wifi, or any of that nature out there! In the last few years we have been able to find a few radio stations but thats only well into the night.

3 years ago I was invited to go on a similar trip and I went. Mind you, prior to this my version of “camping” was staying at a Holiday Inn Express instead of a Radisson this was a HUGE shock and carried a high level of uncertainty for me. Honestly, I had never even camped in a camper or a tent in my yard!
The ONLY reason I did this trip was because of how prepared the other guys were. I mean, these guys even had an electric bear fence they brought with (DC powered) to put around camp! I thought they were joking when they told me that, NOPE. LOL
Anyways, this year marked my 3rd year and I would do it multiple times a year if I could. I also took my oldest son with for his first experience and he cannot stop talking about it.
We caught 519 walleyes in 3 days and a few hours of fishing. My son caught 2 of the biggest fish including the largest and his PB on this trip.
Regarding cost, sure, if you go and stay at one of the big resorts they are PRICEY! I wanted to take my family of 5 up there, but the rates are out of this world IMO.
This trip we take though literally breaks down to about $200 per person for food, gas. Camping permits and licenses are on top of that so add another $100.
For $300 you cannot do much of anything anymore.
Don’t get me wrong, I don’t want “my” area crowded with people, but it certainly isn’t that expensive. Mind you if I had to do this trip on my own, I am not equipped for that because I don’t have all the camping supplies, tents, etc so I would have to invest in that.
I don’t think I would be too interested in fishing in a small rental boat at this stage in my life. I have invested thousands of dollars into my boat with electronics, etc and the comfort of fishing in it in any condition imaginable is more important.

tbro16 wrote:

but if you’re going up to Canada on a fishing trip with a few friends, camping is the only way to do it.

Good idea for some, bad idea for others. Everyone has circumstances that ultimately dictate the accommodations they will need. As I have aged a little, I am noticing my friends have gotten a LOT older. The days of crashing out in a tent (even with an air mattress) are ending. Blown ACL’s, excessive cartilage in the back, screen tents, wearing mesh suits…. all have altered my way of thinking. The trade off of paying for a very basic cabin with screens in the windows has become very much worth the price.

As for Canada being greedy for our money…..has anyone traveled to a major city within the USA lately? I have trade shows I attend in MN, WI, TX, AZ, FL, & NV. At $125 to $150/ per night on hotel, over priced meals, nearly raped on taxi fees, and screwed on incidental items at near-by stores to convention centers. What I spent at the last show in 4 days in Dallas/Fort Worth would have paid for a fly-in trip to a remote lake or another trip back to granby, Colorado

philtickelson wrote:

I haven’t been to Canada in probably 8 years and I’m having withdrawals :(.

I was supposed to go last year but my friend had a baby and it derailed the whole trip. I just wish people could be a bit less selfish about having babies and stuff. Like, couldn’t they have waited another month to get pregnant so we could go on our trip?

One year in Canada my wife was 7 1/2 months pregnant. You gotta want it!

I’m with @Randy Wieland. Price is what you’re willing to pay, and by my estimate you can get off pretty cheaply if you take some time to research and plan. The camp we stayed at for many years wasn’t posh, but was also pretty clean and modern compared to camps of my past. I mean real beds, ample kitchens and a hot shower every day are nice…for this we shell out in the neighborhood of $400/person +bait & gas bringing my own boat-usually another $100 to me. They’ve raised their rates since I was there last(just looked). It’s now $470/person bringing a boat(no dock fee) or $590/person w/boat included(unlimited fuel). This is 7 days. The boats are 16′ and set up comfortably w/20hp(25?) Yamaha 4-strokes. Considering the cabins are quite nice and the comfort and convenience of not really having to leave camp for anything all week(maybe a 2-mile run for more eggs or whatever) we really considered ourselves spoiled. If I wanted to pitch a tent or drag my camper there and rent a boat from them it’d roll in under $300-but why do that?
Go find a hotel anywhere near a lake you want to fish for 7 days in the states, then go ask around about renting a boat, etc. etc.
Yes, it’s a cost. But to me, the cost/benefit ratio is a pretty good curve. Heck, I’ve spent considerably more getting to/from the Caribbean-and didn’t even get to fish while I was there!

-Rev

P.S. @TheFamousGrouse – Where/when do I show up again?

OK, Can’t resist. Just started my Canada Fishing experiences last year, and went again in late June, and chomping at the bit to go again in September. Number 1 attraction for me has been the chance to fish for fish I can’t catch here in Minnesota, big Specks (brookies), the fact that I can catch tons of walleyes and northerns is just a side benefit. As far as cost, the single biggest cost for me is GAS, I bring as much as possible, but still end up filling the tank once in Canada. I take my boat and my pickup camper and it costs $15 per day per person plus food, license and bait. So far my biggest problem has been getting people to go there as well, so if anyone is interested in a trip the 1st half of September, PM me.

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for those who do not see a challenge in fishing in Canada…. you may be right if you sit and jig in 18-22″ walleyes until your arms fall off… but leave that honey hole and go after a 28″+ fish. Or the guy who hucks lures all day reeling in 30-38″ northern pike until your shoulders both dislocate… leave that bay and go get a 44″+. When you get bored of the challenge of catching 28″+ walleyes and 44″+ northerns, then you can tell me how you’d rather fish a local lake with them slot eyes and hammer handle slimers…