A NOTICE TO ALL SPRING FISHERMEN:

The MNR has cancelled our spring fishing opportunities for most species, effective March 15 through the 3rd Saturday in May (i.e. the two-four weekend). This new law will do absolutely nothing to protect the spawning size females of all species; it only stops people from fishing for them for a couple months but come spring, it's open seasons on them again. As a lodge owner, this takes a big bite out of the income that is derived from late winter and early spring fishing. As a sport fisherman, it stops your enjoyment of the sport when the blackflies and mosquitoes haven't began yet. Your annual fishing license should be just that ... a license to allow you to fish ALL YEAR.

There are also major changes to the fishing zones across the province. Seasons have also changed. Slot sizes on some species have also changed. READ AND UNDERSTAND these regulations before going fishing!

Full details can be obtained in the 2011 fishing regulation booklet available from authorized license outlets (but not from the MNR offices; it's not their job offering this info any longer) or at the following site: http://www.ene.gov.on.ca/envregistry/027028ex.htm . I URGE EVERYONE TO VOICE THEIR OBJECTIONS TO THIS REGULATION.

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.

Ice fishing is still a popular winter activity at Northland Paradise Lodge. Lakes are usually frozen to a sufficient and safe thickness by mid December to allow pedestrian access on area lakes. Heated huts are then put on the lakes by Christmas. Please inquire about early season ice fishing conditions. Whitefish and ling (barbot) are in season at this time of year. With the new shorter fishing seasons effective last year, the winter seasons for lakers, northerns and walleye have been changed to February 15 through March 15. Depending on the year’s spring thaw and breakup, our baited huts are maintained through to the end of March for whitefish and ling.

Our spacious 6' X 8' insulated hut with 4 drilled 10” holes is situated approximately 100 yards/meters in front of the lodge in 20 to 25 feet of water, is propane heated and has padded seats as well as plenty of windows for natural light. Candles are supplied for night fishing. Tackle and tip-ups can be purchased in our gift shop while live bait is available next to the lodge. A smoker is available for a nominal charge to give your day’s catch “that little something extra”.

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.

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.

Weekly Ice Fishing Report

A weekly ice fishing report will be posted here to assist our guests in their plans for one of winter's most pleasurable activities. Ice depths, slush conditions, what's biting best, favorite lures/bait rigs and anything else associated with this sport (as it is reported to me) will be listed here.

All of this information should only be viewed as a guideline and should never be misinterpreted as cold hard facts in any sense of legal obligations. Absolutely no liability will be associated with this and all users assume all responsibility and consequences resulting from their own actions taken from this information.

2011/2012 REPORT

Friday, February 3, 2012. It's only been a week of average success for ice fishermen this past week. There were good days and slower days. Whitefish were the predominant catches with the occsssional walleye and, of course, lots of lakers that are still under the closed season clause until the 15th so they were all returned to the lake. The lakes have stiffened up after the big thaw and rains of a couple weeks ago so travel is good everywehere now. Most lodges, including ours, are full of anxious fishermen for the opening weekend on the 17th; call for reservations if you are planning on coming anywhere in the Temagami area.

Friday, January 20, 2012. Earlier this week, warm weather and 2 days of rain brought more slush on top of the slush that was already there. Huts were lifted, re-blocked and re-banked with more snow. It has now froze down to the solid ice layer below it and lake travel is a lot easier. Watch for frozen ridges still evident from before the thaw if you're sledding on area lakes. There hasn't been any fishermen here in the past week and I haven't talked to other operators to see how they've been doing. Hopefully, the fish will be hungry this weekend for incoming guests.

Friday, January 20, 2012. The ice is now around 18" and getting thicker every night. The baffling part is that nobody can figure out why there is so much slush almost everywhere as we had more than enough hard clear ice before the snow came and weighted it down. Yes, there's lots of slush. Fishing has been fair to good for the past week with catches in all species (trout were released due to a closed season for another 4 weeks) hitting well on both live bait and shiny jigs.

Friday, January 13, 2012. Lots of cold weather has only added to the ice thickness in the past couple weeks and it is now well over a foot thick. However, we've had a few heavy wet snowfalls and all that weight has cracked the ice in a few places and there's lots of slush now. Watch for sink-holes if you're on the ice with a sled or a vehicle. I can't give you much of a fishing report as there hasn't been any fishermen in the past week and I haven't had a chance to get out there myself as I'm just finishing up a remodeling job in one of the rental units. Hopefully, I'll be able to wet a line in the next week. If you're planning a fishing trip, I'm sorry (or happy) to say that we're full for the opening weekend of lake trout on Feb.17 and 18.

Sunday, January 1, 2012. We've had a lot of cold weather since the last update of about 3 weeks ago. There is 10 to 12" of clear, hard ice on most lakes now and very little snow (3 to 6") on top of that. Snowmobiles, ATVs and pickup trucks can be seen on the lakes and several people have their ice huts out now. I put mine out a few days ago and fishing has been good so far. Lake trout season is still closed but lots have been caught and released with the biggest one being in the 8 pound range. The largest walleye, again a catch and release fish, was around 6 pounds with several 1 to 2 pound eaters also caught. Surprisingly, there hasn't been any whitefish caught yet.

Saturday, December 10, 2011. Most of the small lakes are now covered with ice as of earlier this week. It would be safe to assume that the larger lakes would still have open water in their center parts. However, stay off the small lakes as the ice is not nearly thick enough to venture out on. There is less than an inch of snow on both the land and the ice so the cold weather we are experiencing at the present time is making ice both day and night. With luck, we are hoping for the cold weather to continue until we get six inches of hard clear ice ... then it can snow after that.