o`sullivan lake quebec Fishing report

[trapperbob]

We just got back from our first trip to Osullivan`s lake lodge in Quebec. There are 3 in our party, my son, brother-in-law,and myself. After an 11 hour trip we arrived at the lodge expecting a good fishing trip. We go on a trip to Canada almost every year and have been to goiun res. Lac Berthelot, Kenda lodge and Ganglers in Manitoba. The fishing was good overall not great. Weather was good overall with 1 windy day making it very difficult to fish. We caught about 220 walleye for the week and roughly 60 pike and 3 small lake trout. Largest walleye was 21 inches with several in the 18-20 inch range. We have had better weeks in the past. We did have one surprise, upon arrival with having to sign a form saying we would have to pay for any damage to the props. Never had that happen before. The props appeared new on the old 15 horse Johnsons. The boats were pretty beat but didn`t leak. The cabin was equipped well and had electricity but beat up furniture. Upon checking out The owner presented us with our 2 props saying they were damaged. We expected damage to mean props that were unusable. These had nicks on the blades and sand scratching off the paint. Some filing would have easily taken care of the minor nicks. He charged us $60 dollars for each prop. After paying for them I told Russell that I wanted the props. He was reluctant but gave them to me. Later on further inspection,the props had old damage that was repaired and had been repainted. After being nickled and dimed we left in the AM and will not rebook a trip there. If you go there watch out for the prop scam. He lost further repeat clients for $120.

[lampman]

some people are so cheapp...

[gapwedge]

You are a much nicer guy than I am.

I would have been fuming at his insistence that I sign anything. I would have told him that this should have been disclosed at the time of booking. What the **** are you supposed to do once you have traveled 11 hours and are there with no boat?

Then I would have totally lost it when he sought to charge me for what sure as **** sounds like normal wear and tear. Minor stuff like what you described is covered by the hundreds of dollars he charged you to rent the boat/motor.

If you paid by credit card, I would challenge the $120 amount. In the US, it costs the vendor more than $100 to fight a chargeback.

But, hey, that's me.

[Shellback]

I think you one upped him. He probably can't buy a replacement prop for $60.00, so you got your pound of flesh from him. Not only will it cost him more to replace the props, but he has lost at least you as a customer and anyone else that reads this thread. Put the props on Ebay and get some of your cash back.

[Freytown]

If I was in your shoe's I would contact the Quebec Outfitters Federation (http://www.pourvoiries.com/) and report your experience. Let them know what happened...maybe you will prevent this from happening to someone else.

[HeHooksHimself]

We have had that issue with a prop as well and if it ever happens again, I will do what you did and demand the damaged prop. One time we knew we clipped a rock and we did not protest, however one time with a Minnesota outfitter (we go to Canada every year now) we got charged for a prop we know we did not damage because we looked. He just claimed it was nicked and held out for the additional $50. We never went back to that camp. I think the biggest scam now is becoming the gas. It is one thing to recover your costs, but 30-40 cents a litre over what they pay for it delivered seems unfair. in addition, if the location of the camp dictates that you are going to use extra gas to get to the fish, the owner should consider that. The fairest treatment we have ever had was from Paul at Woman River Camp. He doesn't nickel and dime you. What he says it will be is what he is.

I used to visit this lake when operated by an American. He was a bit lax on the upkeep but folks loved returning. Since Russell assumed operation, upkeep improved the first few years but lately the boats and motors have pretty much gone to seed and this prop business seems to me a way of having anglers (read: Americans) pay for general upkeep. Any outfitter who doesn't think that there will be some normal wear on props and skegs is kidding themselves. I agree that carelessnes and extensive damage caused by this carelessness is the responsibility of the pepretrator. On the other hand, to nickel and time people who have spent thousands to visit your lake is foolish, bad business and a recipe for future failure. My suggestion: find an outfitter who is committed to customer service and who understands the big picture. (Somehow, when your outfitter is a pleasant guy the fishing reports are generally positive, too.)

[trapperbob]

Pike223, How was the fishing the last time you were there?

Actually, the fishing's usually been pretty good. There always seemed to be plenty of eating-size walleye. Some years they ran better than others. We always seemed to catch at least one 20lb class northern and plenty of 10lb + pike and the lake trout at times could be very good, relatively speaking. In fact, if the customer service was a bit more friendly and if the outfitter relaxed a bit on the nickel and diming "b.s." we'd probably still be going there. Life's too short and there are plenty of other "good guys" out there on plenty of good lakes.

[mkress45]

we are making atrip to osullivan lake 7/12 /11 for the first time, any feedback as to the fishing at that time of the year, we are taking our own boat, what would you tell me about where to fish or what to use, we are from allentown pa. we have been going to the decellies for the past 20 yrs. the fishing there got bad.thank you mel.