South Bay Lodge

[pikeseeker]

Thinking of booking a trip to South Bay Lodge. Has anyone been there and how was the pike or walleye fishing, guides, service, cabins, etc.?

[Roger Osborne]

Pikeseeker, as you probably already know I own South Bay Lodge. I would be happy to email you referrences or photos of cabins etc....If you are seeking Big Pike your odds of boating a 40"+ fish are very good for a weeks trip. We sponsor a catch and release contest each year and encourage our guest to release all trophies by giving away free trips. We will be attending the "All Canada" sport shows in 11 cities during the next few weeks (St Louis, Indy, Chicago, Madison, Wilwaukee, Grand Rapids, Columbus, Omaha, Des Moines, Green Bay ,Minneapolis) I assume you have seen our web site already www.southbaylodge.com and realize how remote we are. We boat-in 3 miles so we have the seclusion of a fly-in location without the airplane. Our lake is also known for large numbers of Lake Trout, which is unique for most lakes in Ontario. Walleye fishing in one of our portage lakes is even more secluded...boats/motor/gas are already there, you would boat to the trail accessed only from our lake and walk a short distance to the small lake. We are very protective of these lakes because they are small and the quality of the walleye there is very good as a result. We also have lakes that can only allow guided guests to fish, because of our agreement with the Ministry of Natural Resources to release all fish caught in them. Our cabins are comfortable, clean, restored log cabins. All have toilets and showers, new beds and propane wall heaters for warm heat. Peace and quiet like this is what a Canadian fishing trip is all about!

[toprod]

Hey Pikeseeker. I've been to South Bay and it's pretty good fishing, but just know there are much better places up there than that for about the same money. There were guided groups catching 3 or 4 fish per day, and even we only caught around 20 to 30 fish per day (unguided). Compare this to the hundreds we've caught per day at other lodges. Your chances of boating a 40" are good, but no better than most other places. There are no walleyes in the lake, and if you spend an entire day in a portage lake if your lucky you may find enough walleyes for a meal. We were even frowned on for eating what few walleyes we did catch. The hospitality wasn't that good (as "Eyesticker" mentioned) but that may just be because we went on the housekeeping plan. For being as remote as a fly-in camp there sure are a lot of private cabins on the lake. Good luck no matter where you go, but just make sure you know what your in for.

[River_eye]

My Uncle used to work as an ontario conservation officer in the area, and he had a cabin on Confederation lake. I've never fished there, but I remember it's a nice lake, although maybe he wouldn't have sold the place if the fishing was really good.

River_eye

[Wpg River Dude]

Just a thought for you. I might be a bit biased, but maybe input from others on the board may help.

WRD