What brings you here?

[Hodgey1]

Its lunch time again and I'm not at Kipawa, so I decided to start a new topic that came to me while digitally chatting with @SgtCrabby . He hails from Texas which got me thinking  What made you decided to drive such a distance to fish Kipawa? I was going to ask him and then I thought it would be interesting to read the story from everyone "including Sgt C" what brought you to Kipawa . I'll start.

My late uncle, who I loved dearly was an avid outdoors man and loved to fish Canada and had done so for many years starting in the 70's. Typically theses trip were fly in locations into remote places in Quebec. I very unfortunately was only on one of those trips, though asked to go on many. I regret not making it happen more than once......but those trips were pricey for me at a time when I was raising a family and also low on time off having switched jobs at 30. He unfortunately passed away too young at 66 from early Alzheimer's. After he passed my cousin "his son" and my uncle "his brother" kept bugging me to take over his place as trip organizer/chief food preparer, since neither of them had the ability to plan their way out of a paper bag and also burn water  . So this went on for 3-4 years before I finally agreed to take it on as long as I could pick where to go and they agreed. That was 2016.

I began my search with google maps. I did not want to fly-in fish again  for two reasons, I was pretty certain there was good remote fishing to be had without it and i didn't want to spend a ton of money. So I began using google maps to figure out somewhere equidistant for both groups to travel to, me from NW PA and they from N Central NJ. Pembroke ON was about the same distance from both groups and that is where I began my search. Again I relied on google maps and would use key word map search using terms like outfitter. Some of the Outfitters I found were from the Kipawa region.

I then found this forum and the rest is history. I was immediately painted a picture of a beautiful, scenic place to fish called Kipawa and man were they ever right. The members here were beyond helpful and guided me through all there was to learn to have a successful trip, down to the most minute details like, bring extra anchor rope for the tinners and D shape snaps rings for the dock ropes for quick docking of the boat. I can not stress enough the importance of all I learned here and how well my first trip to Kipawa went because of it. I fell in love with the place, it was truly love at first sight. My first trip, my son in law was my boat mate and we had a blast together and great memories were made. That trip, I will never forget the one night we caught over 40 fish between the two of us, in one evening outing.

I now have 6 trips in the bag and had all this Covid crap not turned the world upside down, I would be a couple of weeks away from my 8th trip I feel like I have not only found an amazing place to fish and get away, but i have also made some really great new friends and relationships with a bunch of awesome folks from all over Canada and the US because of this forum. So thanks everyone for helping me out from day one and I am trying my best to pay it forward as best I can.

[Ozzy30]

Mine's pretty boring.  I grew up fishing Quebec and once I got older and wanted to catch the quality and quantity of fish I did as a young lad and realized that we didn't get harassed in the boats for having a nice cold drink I tried multiple places.  I really enjoyed Bryson Lake lodge but the road was so rough and beat the crap out of my equipment I looked again for another solution until I came across the old kipawa discussion board and that was 9 years ago.  Only missed 1 year due to family issues and we have been there twice the last couple years

[Jay Thomas]

My walleye fishing started at age 6 (71 years ago) with my Dad in the western basin of Lake Erie. We fished out of Colchester harbour, which was within 3 miles of our dairy farm. Occasionally, we fished Lake St Clair and the Detroit River. After some learning, I left South Western Ontario (1966) to commence my professional career in Ottawa (Eastern Ontario). During my first year in Ottawa, I was lucky enough to be invited to fish with a group of fishermen (15 guys) who fished exclusively for trout (speckled trout, rainbow trout and lake trout). Over the next 30 or so years, I enjoyed many trout trips with those guys into South Western Quebec.

However, the passion for walleye fishing I had developed early in my fishing experiences had not ebbed. I kept trying to talk some of those guys into giving walleye fishing a try. Finally, in mid Sep 2000, 5 of those guys and myself did a 4 day exploratory walleye trip to Lake Ogascanan. I chose Lake Ogascanan simply because I had talked to the lodge owners at the Ottawa Sportsman Show during the winter. As a group, we did not enjoy fishing Lake Ogascanan primarily because, in our opinions, there were too few places to fish during any inclement weather.

Consequently, my research for a new walleye location continued during the winter months. Luckily, I came across the original Kipawa fishing message board while surfing the net. And like many others, I met lots of helpful fishermen via that message board that helped immensely in learning about the fishery resources in Lake Kipawa. As well, I received a plethora of great information to help us select an outfitter for our first trip to Lake Kipawa. That outfitter was 3 Seasons Camp. Back in 2001, Jerry Bouthillette was the owner. Then Reggie Beaudoin bought 3 Seasons Camp some years later.

I did 17 one week fishing trips to 3 Seasons Camp over the next 13 years. Two of those trips were with Captain Crappie and Commander Bluegill â€" two great fishermen from Ohio. Over those 13 years, I met some great fellows. RHYBAK and his crew come to mind immediately. I met T-Bone and some of his crew at the Auberge during breakfast one year. And I had many very enjoyable conversations with Oarin at the Auberge. There were so many wonderful visits with other fishermen over the years that it is impossible to mention all of them. And of course, the scenery on Lake Kipawa was a very big draw for our group and there were so many places to fish during inclement weather.

Sadly, my last fishing trip to Lake Kipawa was Sep 2013. Our group just simply grew impatient with the smaller walleye being caught and the lack of any harvest length limit to protect the breeding stock. So we moved on to fish in other nearby lakes.

While interest in the first Kipawa fishing message board faded primarily due to lack of functionality, thank goodness Nancy stepped up and created the Kipawa Fishing Forum. With the participation of so many great members on the Kipawa Fishing Forum, the forum is a daily must visit for this retiree. Thanks everyone.

Jay

[Nancy]

@Hodgey1 , I have to say that I just love this topic. If everyone participates, it would be great. I am a little pushed for time right now, but will be back to address the topic at hand. Thanks Hodgey!

[Gary S]

 In 1973 I got out of the Navy and two class mates got out of the Army so with some advise from one of dads friends the 3 of us planned a trip to LaVerenderie park in July of 74 in my "motorhome" which was an old bread van with bunks. After that I started a long run of tent camping trips to LaVerenderie with my dad and brother and usually 3 of dads friends in another boat. After about 20 years dad got tired of tenting and we tried 2 fly in trips to Gouin and a train in trip. Several years I made two trips one with that gang and another canoe trip with scouts. About 99 we tried Kipawa staying at Huard who I saw at Harrisburg, PA sports show then went back there thru 2002. My parents health stopped my brother and I from then until last year when we went to Ogascannon. We were thinking about Taggert Bay this year but you all know about that. All told I think 32 trips and the only bad one was this year because it didn't happen.

[Greg]

Pretty simple for me... One of my son's best friends (they met when they were 4 in junior kindergarten and are still friends now at 25!) invited him over one day when they were young and his father had a boat in his driveway... I started talking to his father and eventually ended up buying his old boat (my first boat).  He took me to Kipawa my first time - three boats and six guys went up for a long weekend and stayed at Corbeau lodge (which sold a few months after our trip I believe) and it goes without saying I loved it.

I have been up to Kipawa almost every year since then, and stayed at Alwaki most if not all the time.

Greg (...40 days)

[Oarin]

My journey to Kipawa began in 1990. My good friend Mark, AKA Capt. Guy, may he rest in peace, took our first trip to Quebec to the Gouin Res. at a camp called Martins. We traveled the old road to Hanna, which was 7 hours of pure heck to go 100 miles. We did OK and Mark actually won a free trip for the largest pike, a 46 inch monster. The road was so bad we decided to find another place for the next year. We went to the Harrisburg Sportsman show and found Lac Matchi Manatau, near Sennetere. It was a small lake but we enjoyed it a lot. The cabins were rustic and there were no docks for the 14 foot boats with 9.9's but we were still young. Well, after a couple of years the camp began to get run down. We were afraid it would go under, which it did, so we went to I believe was the Hamburg, NY Sportsman Show and found Taggart Bay Lodge. We liked the easy drive in and the amazing cabins. At that time Tom and Linda Miller were the camp pros and guides. Tom has since died, but he and Linda were a wealth of info. Unfortunately Mark and I thought we knew what we were doing from our experience on other lakes. We were wrong!! For the whole week we maybe caught 10 fish. We were pissed to say the least, but one night near the end of our stay we realized it was us, not the lake and we decided to come back again and this time listen to Tom. Also, on the old board I think it was Rybak or T-Bone who got me onto slip bobbers and it doubled my success. Low and behold it worked and we were catching lots of eyes. We continued going there until Mark unexpectedly died. Before Mark died I started to take my son, Jon, on a trip there too. He loved it as much as I do. Wish I'd had taken him sooner. We switched to the Outpost cabin and absolutely love it. The people on this site have been so helpful, from Rhybak, T-Bone, Jay and others. They suggested ways to fish, bait to use, anchors to buy, rod holders and much more. Thanks to Nancy for this site. I've never met her, but consider her my friend. I really miss my time at Kipawa with Jon. We'd be there right now. It sucks!!

[Netman]

My Canadian adventure started at age 14. I was lucky enough to have a great uncle who happened to own a cabin on a small lake north of Peterborough Ontario. (Mud Turtle Lake).  I was also fortunate to have a grandfather who was an avid fisherman and took me along as often as possible. I was able to hitch a ride in my great uncles float plane on one of his trips to the cabin with my grandfather. We fished primarily for musky, but walleye and small mouth bass were also pretty abundant.  Those early trips got me hooked on Canada and the quality of the fishing and beautiful natural lakes. Years later after moving from the Pittsburgh Pa. area to Cumberland Md. I meet a guy at work that went up to the Kipawa area most every year in the spring for walleye and Pike fishing. They gave me a trial trip, and I passed the test and have been going back ever since (25+ years). When we were young we were pretty nomadic in our fishing. We stationed ourselves on Booth Lake (just south of Mungo Bay) and fished the surrounding ZEC lakes focusing primarily on ZEC RESTIGO.  Over the years my fishing partners turned from coworkers and friends and neighbors to one solid fishing/hunting friend and our children. Watching my son catch his first large pike and reel in a 9+ pond walleye warmed my heart in ways I cannot put into words. As we have aged are nomadic tendencies have been reduced dramatically. We have focuses our attention with the help of Outfitter Jimmy Constant on Grassy Lake. The adventures I have been a part of while traveling to and from Canada or while dragging boats almost a mile through the bush to fish a remote lake for Splake are so numerous I could write a book. Occasionally while sitting around a camp fire in my mountain Maryland home, one of my sons will say “tell us a Canada story” and the hole adventure is replayed in my mind and for my family. I have traveled the US for work and pleasure and there are many places that are just as beautiful and remote, but the Kipawa area will always hold a special place in my heart and soul. This year was to be the first trip for another one of my sons (my wife and I raised 4 Boys) I was looking forward to introducing him to the reality of truly getting away from the crowd, and all the beauty and peacefulness of a remote Canadian lake. I cannot wait ‘til next year to (if COVID will allow) resume my therapy, hear the loons, smell the fresh cool air and feel the subtle tug of a walleye picking up a jig!

[Netman]

The bottom line is KFF and its predecessor have been a valuable resource to keep up with what is going on in the area. Info on bait, gas groceries, rule changes etc. As well as sharing a common appreciation of the area with like minded folks is what drew me the the forum. I applaud the members and especially the moderators in keeping the forum a safe and enjoyable place to share and learn, while avoiding the nastiness that I have witnessed on other boards. Thank you all!!

[NortonJoe]

My Kipawa area (we fish Watson Lake a bit to the east) adventures began 32 years ago with my father-in-law.  He had been going to Canada with his father and uncles/cousins all his life.  They found Watson Lake by just seeing the signs on the way back to Lac a la Truite southeast of Belleterre and decided to drive back one time.  They began fishing there in the late 70s.  He and I, just the two of us, first went in late June of 1988, barely a month after his daughter and I had gotten married. We arrived at camp and were the only ones there, not even the camp owners had arrived yet.  The roof of cabin we chose leaked, the mosquitos were horrendous and the black flies almost carried me away BUT I fell in love with the place lol.  The next year we again went in June and then again in August (which was when I decided it would no longer be June fishing for me).  God must have made it possible to go twice in 1989 because he passed away that November. The cabins were rough, propane fridges that barely worked, electric for only about three hours from sunset to when the generator ran out of gas, bathing in the lake...well you get the picture. Much has changed since then (although the cabins are still a bit rough), but I still get that same feeling of anticipation as departure time draws near and that same peaceful feeling as we pull into camp. We now have a pretty stable group of guys who make the trip.  Some of us every year, some every other and a few just now and then.  It's a great time of camaraderie.  It will be especially good next year I am sure!!

[Hodgey1]

I am enjoying reading every one of these stories!

I applaud the members and especially the moderators in keeping the forum a safe and enjoyable place to share and learn, while avoiding the nastiness that I have witnessed on other boards. Thank you all!!

@Netman I could not agree more. The people here are a great group and the thing i like the most is that it lacks the nastiness that plagues most other forums.

[CaptainCrappie]

I was fortunate to have a dad that grew up in a small rural town where he loved to fish. Wading small creeks and fishing with a tree branch with some type of black cord was tied to a homemade hook. Red worms from some cow manure pile, grasshoppers, or crickets were used to catch anything that would bite.  When I came along about 30 years later, dad would take me and younger brother Eddie back to his boyhood home to fish those same waters. My first outfit was a 10' cane pole with some black line, store bought hook and a bobber. Bait was mostly parts of garden nitecrawlers. I loved it.  Brother Eddie, not so much.

As I grew older I got into bass fishing, and when spin cast reels came out , I thought I was in heaven. Gone were the days using the old bait caster reels that were prone to backlash.  Dad would allow me to buy one of the outdoor magazines providing my grades kept up. There was Outdoor Life, Sports Afield, and Field and Stream.  I would usually buy the one that had bass articles in it.  I soaked them all up!  I started spending my paper route money on tackle. I still have some of that stuff to this day and reminisce a lot whenever I see that stuff.  The articles concerning Canada and the fantastic fishing found there soon became a "Some day, day dream" that I hoped to fulfill.

After about 15 years of life after the Navy, getting married, having kids, being divorced, and getting remarried, this time to a GIFT FROM GOD, who happened to like to fish, my dream of a Canada trip started to materialize.  A friend at work fished a small lake (Collins) north of Kingston, Ontario.  Every year he would bring in vacation pictures of his family's success catching limits of bass from Collins Lake.  One thing led to another and in 1982 wife Faye and I headed north to Collins Lake.  That trip spoiled me!  The excitement of planning the trip, the excitement of finally going to Canada and the excitement of catching many bass took over my thoughts.  Well, the lake and the fishing was all it was cracked up to be.  We had a blast the next several years and we began to take the kids with us. Many memories were created.

Here in Ohio friend Commander Bluegill (Larry) would spend most Saturdays on local lakes trying to outsmart and do damage to the crappie population.  I was christened "Captain Crappie"  by him because, "If Captain Crappie ain't catchin em, they ain't bitin!"  I've had a lot of fun with that nickname over the years.  I tell the grandkids how famous I am.  Grand daughter Madison went bananas once when she entered "Captain Crappie" on the internet and a picture of me popped up!  It was from a posted pic from a Commander Bluegill trip report that was on the old Kipawa site. Commander Bluegill and I would also venture to Lake Erie where we would rent a charter or fish with someone who had a boat big enough to fish it.  Walleyes were what we were after.

The Commander and I used to go to the annual Cleveland's Sportmen's show held at the IX Center in Cleveland.  We never missed it.  We would travel the isles of new equipment, new lures and collect a ton of brochures, especially from the outfitters from far away places.... such as Canada.  The rows of outfitters with a pics of giant walleyes , pike. and lakers were many.  How do you pick one?  How do you separate fact from the heaping mounds of steaming cow poop that those outfitters spew forth?  We talked to several, then while we were listening to this wiry dude (Jerry) from 3 Seasons Camp located at an unknown lake (Lac Kipawa), a connection was taking place.  We began to like his smart, crazy mouthed, attitude.  He was talking to us like we were old friends, kidding us, treating us like we were imbeciles.  He was absolutely correct but only 50% correct! So we bit the bullet and scheduled a trip.....  For the next year because he was boked solid in 1996.

We never regretted sticking with 3 Seasons. It hasn't changed over the years.  That Lake has an everlasting effect on most people.  The beauty of that lake stays with you and the desire to experience that beauty, over and over again, cannot be ignored.  The people met during our trips have been a bonus.  Shooting the bull, a beer, and sometimes even the cabin (Jay and the Americans) has added to the experience. Rhybak's motley group has been a lot of fun and when you can place a face to a web site member, that's another bonus. There's a common denominator here and it's Kipawa.  The fishing is another bonus.  Those fish fries with just caught walleye....  Nice, eh?  OK guys, tell the truth.   How do you feel on that ride out?  Does a twinge of melancholy enter your being?  Just like in the movie "The Godfather"  Just when you think you're out, Kipawa pulls you back in.

C.C.

[limacharley]

Really enjoying these stories guys...

My story is not so exciting: I fished a lot of lakes in and around North Bay and one time a friend invited me up to a lake an hour north (1994). He found it on a canoe trip. Four Bass Lake.
I went to this lake several times catching walleye mostly, pike and lake trout. There are 2 ways into it: the long way thru Haileybury or down Rabbit Lake road then about 9 miles of rough road to the opposite end of the lake. That end had a nice landing to launch and a great camping site. I must've camped there a dozen times. My cousin and I even brushed the whole road one fall just to make our access a little easier on the paint job of the truck.

There's a few cottages on the lake but one I admired was set back in a the lake trout bay we fished. One year I noticed a guy on the dock as we were trolling by-said HI and we struck up a conversation. He invited me in for a coffee, showed me his camp etc. His name was Harold Young from Ohio. He sold insurance if my memory serves. He told me that he was getting on in years and his kids didn't appreciate the solitude of his camp anymore because they now had kids. His grandkids weren't interested in going to a camp in the middle of nowhere. I asked him if he ever wanted to sell to give me a call. Well, I continued to fish the lake and put out feelers that I was really interested in buying his camp.

One day out of the blue he called me up and asked if I was serious about the camp. I told him I was. He said he was going to ask his 4 kids one last time if they wanted it. I never heard back from Harold but around 2010 I heard there were new owners of his camp. Turns out, years before he had promised to sell it to a group of retired firefighters from North Bay. They had a very run down shack on the lake nearby and always wanted to upgrade. They had looked after Harold's camp over the years so I guess he owed them first dibs. Well that was it for my dream camp.

That's when I started looking in Quebec for a camp.....Lake Temiskamingue was my first choice then Kipawa. I placed a google search and found a few. One in particular caught my attention. "Leblanc cottage for sale on Kipawa" in google. I went to look at it several times, placed an offer, they accepted and the rest is history.

[fishtildark]

Hodgey, great idea..
My Canadian fishing started as a kid when the family vacations brought us to various locations. We had trips to the French river, West arm of Nippissing , Pickerel river and finally several years at Pigeon lake in the Kawarthas. Dad loved fishing for Muskie and back in the 70s there was a fair population of walleyes also. My mother didnt mind as we stayed at a place called camp Cleveland which was American Plan, so a break for her. My last trip to Pigeon was probably in 1975 and then things like jobs , family and golf took me away from fishing as much. Then, one day in the late 80s, at one of my ex wifes women club outings a buddy asked me if I would like to go to Canada with a group the following spring on a fly in to Bush country camp. With encouragement from the ex that this was that "once in a lifetime trip that i had talked about"" , I accepted. Fell in love with the place and have made every year except three. two I missed because of family stuff and then of course this year. It is now referred to as the annual "once in a lifetime fishing trip" and A number of years we went twice. Over that time I had the pleasure of introducing my son to the experience and re introducing my dad to the Canadian fishing. He went along several years and enjoyed the three generations being there. While I fish Sasseginega, the water and scenery is the same as Kipawa. In fact, tracing the outflow , it eventually connects to Kipawa through Ostabonique(SP?).  I am really missing the experience this year and when i looked for other options south of the border was disappointed . So, looking forward to next year..

[T-Bone]

Great thread Hodgey...

Waaaay back in the day, my grandfather, with my Dad and uncles and a few friends, would travel “up north” to do some fishing. I could be wrong by a year or two, but I believe their first trip was in 1951 to a lake called Marion Lake a bit northwest of North Bay. I recall the stories about how it took a whole day to get there from Cleveland, and how they’d throw a “string with a worm” overboard and caught all kinds of large fish…I’d imagine pike and walleye. As the trip took so long back then, they started looking for closer waters and settled in the Kawarthas area…specifically Stoney Lake, Rice Lake, Balsam Lake, and finally Pigeon Lake near Bobcaygeon, Ontario…which is where they stayed for many years…and served as my first and lasting destination for some time.

My first trip with the group was in 1974 as an impish 9-year old. I recall those early trips with my grandma and grandpa Ross, her sister great aunt Liz and my great uncle Murph, and a few of my cousins (Marco, of course) and 2nd cousins mixed in. As kids we mostly played around the camp all day…catching frogs and crayfish, and always going out in the evening for ‘pickerel’. Back then it was a June Bug spinner and nightcrawler on breaks that caught the most fish. No jigging…no lures…no bobbers. We caught our fair share of fish too as I recall my grandma and aunt cooking up fish every day. Great trips were had through the years with mostly my Dad, my uncle Ernie (Marco’s dad), Joe Van (family friend), and other great uncles and cousins mixed in.

I missed a few years while in college in the mid-80s, but took the lead as primary organizer and started back in 1989 with a few of my buddies and Marco, my Dad and uncles, and other assorted ‘old boys’ friends of Dad and uncles. In 1993, we ventured toward Kipawa and went to Lake Nosbonsing just east of North Bay for about 3-years. It was ok, but we ended up heading back to Pigeon Lake until our 1999 trip when we said farewell to that location for good (well….almost) and looked for better waters north. There was a great trip up to Lake Wabitongushi in 1997 (Chapleau area of Ontario) that was our first outpost adventure. I’d go back there again in a minute…but it wasn’t easy to get and required a train trip to get to the camp. I found Corbeau Lodge on the internet in late-summer 1999, and we stayed with Bernard and Eunice through 2004 when she passed away and Bernard sold the place. Great fishing, great times, beers in the boat, and a beauty unavailable anywhere south of that. We were all hooked on Kipawa and have been going back ever since…mostly in the Lac Sunnyside area with two trips to Taggart Bay Lodge (before smallmouths were introduced…errr…found their way into the lake), and one trip to the Lac Grindstone Outpost via Miwapanee Lodge. It’s simple to say we love the Alwaki Lodge experience best, and we all look forward to going there like it’s a second home in the north.

I’ve met so many people, both from the Board and independently, and cherish every memory and every experience we’ve had. Rhybak razzing me during our first meeting in the old IGA as we shopped for provisions. Yes…he has been giving me the business from the start. Chatting with Jay in the Auberge restaurant. Ozzy bringing me and the boys butter to the Lac Audoin outpost and staying for a beer and some horseshoes. Spending the same week at Alwaki with Greg and his kids…when they were still kids. And of course, Hodgey and his crew most recently. I look forward to many, many more experiences with everyone. But no matter what, I always think back to my first trip on Pigeon Lake in 1974 and being wholly consumed by the Canadian experience. As I did in 1974 and every year after that to this day, I count down the days until my next Canadian adventure starting the moment I get home from every trip.

More than anything, it’s the people I’ve shared the time and stories with that make the experience so great. Lake Kipawa will eventually be my final resting place, as that…to me…is as close to heaven anyone can ask for. 



T-Bone on Pigeon Lake, circa 1974