Horwood Lake

[wolves]

Anyone been up to Horwood Lake this year yet? Heading up next week, looking for an early season report.

[adempsey]

I will also be heading up to Horwood Lake for the first time on July 2nd. We are staying at Horwood Lake Lodge. Would be great to hear how the fishing has been.

Make sure you also post a report Wolves =)

[wolves]

Adempsy,
I don't have good news for you from Horwood Lake. The operation has gone downhill fast in the last year. We've been going there for many years and were disappointed the entire time. The staff did nearly nothing to make our stay enjoyable. The fishing was tough this year, but this was due to the weather. I can PM you with details, but we'll not be going back to the Horwood Lodge again.

Wow what happened we are going up with a large group later in 2 weeks and would like to know what to expect.

[adempsey]

Ugh, sorry to hear you had a bad trip. I'd like to know what happened. Was Gary Stocking still managing it? I noticed his resume and a reference letter online, so maybe he moved on?

Jacksonie - what dates will you be there?

Originally Posted by wolves

Adempsy,
I don't have good news for you from Horwood Lake. The operation has gone downhill fast in the last year. We've been going there for many years and were disappointed the entire time. The staff did nearly nothing to make our stay enjoyable. The fishing was tough this year, but this was due to the weather. I can PM you with details, but we'll not be going back to the Horwood Lodge again.

[wolves]

Gary is no longer working there, and that seemed to be part of the problem. Stewart has been put in Gary's spot, but there is still a big hole left. The cabin we had- Animal House- was a wreck..not tuned up for use yet. And not once did any staff stop by and visit or ask if we needed anything, we had a big group and not a single thanks for coming. We had to pull teeth to get Joe and the staff to help. Joe commented to us that it was their "vacation" week before they got busy. You now pay for your gas, and Joe backed out of our 10% discount for booking early with more than 5 people, after it was on our invoice.

I hope they got the point, as one of guys sent an email after we returned, and your trip is better. I see that problem as $$ and effort from the staff. The lodge is for sale for $525,00, online so that tells the story.

Fishing was tough, 2 days of thunderstorms and a 30 degree temp drop. We caught all our fish over around the islands in the main Horwood Lake. There was also alot more logs floating around this year. Good luck!

Our group is filling the camp the weekend of June 25 through July 1. We are looking forward to fishing somewhere different and have talked to Joe recently and he said the fishing has been slow with the males still milking etc. Hopefully when we get in the females will be hitting. No place is perfect and they all seem to be gouging and nickel diming you when the fishing is slow. I bet you wouldnt of posted had the fishing been great.

[retire55]

It's my opinion that fishermen should always report less than satisfactory trips with outfitters regardless whether fishing was great or not. Fishing message boards provide an excellent opportunity to exchange pertinent and timely information about the fishing, the accommodations, the boats and motors and outfitter services. I'm cognizant that such evaluations will always be very subjective and that readers will have to separate the wheat from the chaff. Excellent outfitters should be rewarded with more business while less than satisfactory outfitters should see their business diminish until corrections/improvements are made.

[adempsey]

Originally Posted by wolves

Gary is no longer working there, and that seemed to be part of the problem. Stewart has been put in Gary's spot, but there is still a big hole left. The cabin we had- Animal House- was a wreck..not tuned up for use yet. And not once did any staff stop by and visit or ask if we needed anything, we had a big group and not a single thanks for coming. We had to pull teeth to get Joe and the staff to help. Joe commented to us that it was their "vacation" week before they got busy. You now pay for your gas, and Joe backed out of our 10% discount for booking early with more than 5 people, after it was on our invoice.

I hope they got the point, as one of guys sent an email after we returned, and your trip is better. I see that problem as $$ and effort from the staff. The lodge is for sale for $525,00, online so that tells the story.

Fishing was tough, 2 days of thunderstorms and a 30 degree temp drop. We caught all our fish over around the islands in the main Horwood Lake. There was also alot more logs floating around this year. Good luck!

I actually asked Joe about the resort being for sale before I booked. He mentioned it's been on the market since he bought it. Not sure if that's true or not, but I knew that ahead of time at least. I also knew about the gas, but I figured since he lowered his prices that paying for the extra gas was probably a given.

I talked to another individual on this board that also didn't like the nickel and diming and ended up cancelling his trip [actually, he said that his trip was cancelled for him]. He also lost his deposit. I don't agree with changing your invoice after the fact and that is something I am always afraid of. I've been in situations where owners have tried to pull a fast one on me before as well, but in the end I have always been lucky in that regard. Paying with a credit card often helps as you can challenge it.

Well, it's unfortunate your trip didn't work out as you had hoped. It's also quite bad for the resort owner, as you're obviously not returning and I am sure your feedback on here will offer future customers some food for thought. You really can't have poor customer service in this industry, especially during hard economic times.

I also hope we don't have any problems on our trip, but it's too late to consider changing it. I am definitely not looking forward to the floating logs, lol! I'll post a report upon my return.

Thanks again for the information.

[wolves]

My report from Horwood has nothing to do with slow fishing. We've had great fishing in years past, reflective of nice weather. We caught fish, just not the service we expected as in the past service was good. When was the last time you spent over $3000 and never got a thank you?

Also, males still milking is false...the spawn is well over. Joe couldn't tell us anything about where to fish, simply the bite was slow. I'd have good upto date fishing spots line up for customer satisfaction.