Showlaters Fly In Service

[jimn]

Can anyone have any experience with this fly in service and the lakes they go to? Thinking about a fly in this summer with 3 -4 people. Looking for a good walleye lake where you can average @75 - 100 walleye per day per person with decnent accomodations and friendly people to book with.

[jigman 2003]

Do an "advanced search" on this forum. Appears to be plenty of info. from last year and previous years.

[Grimm]

I'm surprised at some of the negative posts. My group has used Showalters twice before and we're using them again this June. Eddie Jr. is very personable. The entire family helps run things back at the base and they are all fantastic as well. Their planes, cabins, boats, etc. are all top notch. In general, I think they have only 1 cabin per lake and the lakes are definitely NOT fished out. We almost always averaged at least 100 'eyes/person/day.

We've used other outfitters as well, and Showalters ranks among the top ones.

To the guy complaining about the outgoing group lying about catching 'eyes in the mid twenty inch range, I can relate to them. It took a little bit of searching but we were successful finding them. There were many times where several of us in our group would anchor near each other and pull in many, many 22 to 26 inchers. Other times we were into the 16 to 20 inchers but the bigger guys are definitely there.

[phishfearme]

sorry but any fishing report stating "averaged at least 100 'eyes/person/day" is highly questionable.

[Rose_Cliff Lake]

Wow, you HEARD this guy is a jerk. So let me get this straight, you've never been there yourself?

I did what was suggested and went through old posts on an advanced search. MANY have enjoyed going to Showalter's and keep going back.

I've met Ed at the shows and found him to be very kind and helpful. His booth was always busy, I was next to him. They have 11 lakes, and none of them have fish...give me and Ed a break.

[jigman 2003]

Well, maybe if you fish from 5:00 a.m. until 11:30 p.m. every day and don't take a break for lunch(or breakfast or supper or for an adult beverage) ;-)

[Grimm]

I'm actually puzzled over the thought that 100/person/day doesn't seem reasonable. When we go to Canada we're there to fish, and that's just about all we do. We hit the water early, take a short break for lunch, fish all afternoon, come back for a break, and fish 'til dark. Then we make dinner, hang out a bit, and hit the sack. Then we do it all over again. We're easily getting 10 hours per day, if not more. Nine to 10 fish per hour is no big deal, particularly when you're into them.

[jigman 2003]

100 fish days seem to be the "ruler" by which we judge a great trip. I've certainly had plenty of days catching that many, but I don't know if I've had a week where every guy in the group averaged 100 a day for the week. Like you said, 10 hours on the water is a fair number, but that would then mean for every 10 hours you are on the water you are catching a fish every 6 minutes of every hour of every fishing day of every week. Take a 30 minute boat ride one way (2 times) and now you have to catch a fish evry 5.4 minutes. Eat a sandwich and have a drink in the boat a couple times, now you have to catch a fish every 5.3 minutes, etc. That isn't easy to do. Through in some windy days, stormy weather, a week of 85 degree days without wind, etc. and that makes it even tougher. I'm sure it happens, but I would also bet that lots of guys who come home and talk about every guy catching 100 fish every day would be surprised to see that that 100 is really more like 50-60 (still a great average). If you are legitmately averaging 100 fish a day per man per week, more power to you.

[phishfearme]

jigman is right on the money. it's a common "miss-perception" that catching 50 walleye a day seems like 100 especially when our fishing lakes at home may only produce a few - or none - a day. make a certed effort next time to count fish-in-the-boat - you may be very surprised at how many 100 really is.

the other thing you'd probably get called-out on this board is stating something like "the walleye averaged 3-4 pounds" or similarly "averaged about 20-22 inches". in the northland, a TRUE 19 inch walleye (about 2.5 pounds) is about 10 years old!!! on your next trip, dig around the camp and make a "bumpboard" that will permit easy and accurate length measurements - when we did it, 20 inchers were not nearly as common as before!! it's no big deal since all men have problems exaggering length - if you know what i mean.

phish

[Obabikon]

another point, is for three guys to catch 100 walleyes per man, you will go through 15 doz minnows... when using live bait.

That's averaging about 2 fish per minnow, which would be a heck of an average.


Aside from that, people on this board tend to "call out" posters about what they believe to be a lie. You weren't there... just enjoy the post. I got a lot of flack last summer for posts about how great the fall walleye fishing was.

[Grimm]

OK, those are all fair comments. One of the points of my original reply was that Showalter's lakes are definitely NOT fished out, regardless of whether or not that means 50 per day or 100 per day. When I go back in June I'm taking a clicker and will record every one I catch and then I'll report back on this thread : -)

I should mention, though, that when my buddy and I start running into a slow period we head on over to the dams or honey holes just to keep the action going. That takes the challenge out of it a bit, and we take grief from the rest of the guys in our group, but it definitely keeps the numbers up.

[Frankm]

I guess I'm one of the minority. My small group started getting away from letting the fishing dictate the sucess of our trip. Fishing is still a big part. I really don't want to be in the boat for 10 hours straight. The last couple years we started enjoying the outdoors and taking a break from our everyday lives. We enjoy cooking good meals and relaxing in the cabin. A couple years ago we had bad weather and the fishing was slow to say the least. We got so worried that we continued to try and came up short. Everyone was on edge and cranky. We were getting in late with barely enough time time to cook/eat dinner. To say the least it wasn't fun or relaxing. Of course the weather broke and we located the fish and had great success. We then realized we needed a change. My group is only 3 people and we are all on the same page together. The last couple years have be very fun and relaxing. So for me those 100 per day is still a blast but not a requirement for a successful trip. That being said every group is different. I always say "All I know is I'm 900 miles away from my everyday life."

[jigman 2003]

phish-yep, most "regulars" try to play nice.

I do apologize to you Grimm if you felt I was "attacking" you. That certainly wasn't my intent. Just to point out that fishermen as a group tend to "stretch the truth" a little. I bring up the point because I used to think the same - 100 fish day on average. Then I started counting a few days and realized we were not doing that. I hope you guys do count this year and you report back that you averaged 120 per day per man.

I do think the first two posts that appeared on this thread were a little too negative. There is nothing wrong with posting a factual, negative PERSONAL experience (though as most regulars here realize I choose not to do so publicly), but posting heresy is probably not the best idea.

[REG]

Well said.

Some days are better than others, but they're all great. I don't have a problem with anyone counting fish, as long as they keep it to themselves. I don't allow clickers in my boat.

Back to the original topic - I can't comment on Showalters, but if you want an alternative, Rob and Nancy Rowe at Snake Falls Camp just about a mile farther north have a plane and a couple of great fly in cabins.

Rich

[REG]

Well said.

Some days are better than others, but they're all great. I don't have a problem with anyone counting fish, as long as they keep it to themselves. I don't allow clickers in my boat.

Back to the original topic - I can't comment on Showalters, but if you want an alternative, Rob and Nancy Rowe at Snake Falls Camp just about a mile farther north have a plane and a couple of great fly in cabins.

Rich

[lassh]

I've been on multiple trips with Showalter. They run a good camp. The cabins are nice and the lakes I've been on or others in my group have been on are good Canadian Shield Lakes. I've flown with 6 other outfitters over the years and Showalter ranks in the top 2 overall. I have fished with people who have been to Apps, Action, Severn and Hammerhead. They are all good walleye lakes. My experience is on Hammerhead. Yes, there are times when you will catch 75 -100 walleyes in a day. There are also times when you will catch 15 in a day. I do not recall ever getting skunked in a day. You will catch lots of 19 and 20 inch fish. This has improved since implementing the slot limits. You will likely catch some 23 inchers. Typically, you will need at least a 27 incher to win the big fish contest for the week. If you want more info, shoot me an email.

LASSH

[lassh]

I've been on multiple trips with Showalter. They run a good camp. The cabins are nice and the lakes I've been on or others in my group have been on are good Canadian Shield Lakes. I've flown with 6 other outfitters over the years and Showalter ranks in the top 2 overall. I have fished with people who have been to Apps, Action, Severn and Hammerhead. They are all good walleye lakes. My experience is on Hammerhead. Yes, there are times when you will catch 75 -100 walleyes in a day. There are also times when you will catch 15 in a day. I do not recall ever getting skunked in a day. You will catch lots of 19 and 20 inch fish. This has improved since implementing the slot limits. You will likely catch some 23 inchers. Typically, you will need at least a 27 incher to win the big fish contest for the week. If you want more info, shoot me an email.

LASSH

[Curbis]

We (group of 4) have used Showalter's for 4 years. The quality of service, fishing, etc. could not be better. While Ed is sometimes a little short on patience, Eddie is now running the show and he is very personable. I would highly recommend Showalter's.

[Curbis]

We (group of 4) have used Showalter's for 4 years. The quality of service, fishing, etc. could not be better. While Ed is sometimes a little short on patience, Eddie is now running the show and he is very personable. I would highly recommend Showalter's.

[pike50plus]

Grimm, you should not have to defend your post when trying to help someone looking for advice, imho.

[pike50plus]

Grimm, you should not have to defend your post when trying to help someone looking for advice, imho.

[pike50plus]

Grimm, some go to fish some go to relax? Your schedule sound like a real fisherman's one, my kinda guy!

[pike50plus]

Grimm, some go to fish some go to relax? Your schedule sound like a real fisherman's one, my kinda guy!

[freeatlast]

i fished Cochran and Butterfly lakes with Showalters back in 1995.

There was two cabins there. The experience was wonderful.

I can not remeber the counts but we were pulling em in all day.

Most were in the 17 to 19 range as we were a little ahead of the spawn that year.

I enjoyed flying in the co=pilot seat next to Ed in his twin tail Beechcraft.

[Hammerhead Herb]

Our group has been using Showalter's since the mid 80's; I personnally have been going since '91 (except for 3 years). This goes back to when Big Ed used to fly for Ross. Those folks give excellent service. Ed sr. and his wife are slowing down and getting ready to retire. Ed jr. and his wife are getting ready to take over (if they haven't already). Both Ed's are excellent pilots.

Big Ed only got cranky when people were doing something stoooopid.
One fellow rode one of his boats over the falls. Another one brought 20 cases of bottled water to take to the lake for 6 people. etc.:fishhit:

[longbear112]

We have done multiple trips with Showalters and have enjoyed everyone. We do the Carrol lake camp. I would not hesitate to recommend them to others. They run great camps. They stopped in and visited to see how things were going and brought us some additional adult beverages. I know Ed sr is not mr outgoing however he is a very nice guy and he is a great pilot as is Ed jr. I have never been concerned when flying with either of them.

[ksboy2]

we used showalters in 06
i don't think a hundred walleye a day is an unreal expectation...
we stayed at apps lake and caught lots of small northern and lake trout. there are no walleye in apps
you have to portage to meddick which is full of walleye...
no need for live bait... we trolled crankbaits in 14' of water and caught loads of fish
we also jigged them with powerbaits and caught many nice fish....
this was the middle of july..
showalters is top notch

[Grimm]

> When I go back in June I'm taking a clicker
>and will record every one I catch and then I'll report back on
>this thread : -)
>

Well guys, we got back a few days ago from our Showalters trip. We stayed in the Severn River cabin. It seemed that winter must have lasted longer up there this year and it appeared to us we were 2 to 3 weeks behind where we were two years ago when we stayed in the same cabin.

We still caught a lot of fish but not nearly the same numbers. Last time I really believe we caught up to 100/day but this time it was much closer to 35 to 50/day. The group that stayed the week before us made the same comments.

We had to work harder for the fish but most of them were good size, in the 16 to 18" range. We caught only a few small ones and only a few over 22" We noticed that unlike our prior trip, we didn't have many cases where we caught them one after another, although we could occasionally pull in 10 to 15 in an hour. On occasion the bite would entirely shut off, but would generally pick up again an hour or so later.

Regardless, it was a fantastic trip. As always, Showalters ran a first class operation. Their plans, facilities, boats, and motors are kept in great shape. The entire staff was very friendly and competent and I highly recommend them. I have a hard time finding any complaints or areas for improvement.