Ontario ice fishing???

[stjoeguy]

I've got a trip scheduled to Sunset Lodge on the NW Angle of Lake of the Woods in January. We signed up to fish MN one day for walleyes and on the Ontario side one day for crappies. This is a trip we've done for the past two years. The walleye fishing has been so-so but the crappie fishing has been very good in the past. I just noticed that Sunset's website no longer mentions the MN/Ontario combo package that was there when I made the reservation in October, so I called Sunset to see what was going on. Samantha, the manager, is not there now since the resort is shut down between seasons, and the person I talked with was vague. The explanation varied between "crappie fishing has not been that good in the past" to "we're not sure what Ontario is doing." She assured me that Sam would get back to me in the next couple weeks and I shouldn't worry about it, but since I organized the trip on the premise of the walleye/crappie combo I'd like to know what is going on. Is anyone aware of any changes for this ice fishing season regarding non-residents fishing in Ontario? Is this a remote border crossing issue? Or is this just a resort decision?

[prov1800]

Everything is the same for non resident fishing for crappies here in the Vermilion Bay area.Crappie numbers were excellent here all season so would think LOW will be good to.

[stjoeguy]

OK, thanks John. If Ontario hasn't made any changes it's probably a Sunset Lodge decision, so I guess I'll wait for the manager to get back to me.

[LOWrider]

Flag Island Resort just sent out their latest newsletter that contained this comment:

Crappie Population Decreasing

Within the last few years, the Crappie population has significantly decreased due to popularity and netting. That being said, we are promoting walleye fishing on the Canadian side, so that we can do our part in regulating the population so they can regenerate. At this time, we are not promising any guests' their limit on Crappies.


So it isn't just Sunset lowering Crappie expectations for the ice fishing season. Crappie fishing is a huge draw for some guests to the area, and it is probably smart that resorts are making sure they are informed before they make the journey. Still a fantastic area to go for ice fishing so it will be interesting what kind of winter it turns out to be.

[Bill Krejca]

Crappie expectations go down as netting increases. This is a given. My guess was this was the problem after reading the first post. Official solution to address this will be to further reduce the limit for those fishing with a rod, when history continues to repeat itself.

Bill

[v-bay gord]

Gee, that would suck if the US resorts had to fish on the US side of LOW. How many limits of crappie have they taken over the past few years. Is netting the only reason for the decline? My take is spend your money in Canada if you want to target fish in Canada.

[That Minnesota guy]

Excellent idea Gord. I love fishing rock reefs, are you open during the winter also? Do you have rental houses out?

[stjoeguy]

LOWrider, thanks for the update. The crappie fishing has been the draw to get us up there, so we'll see how this winter goes.

If anyone has a recommendation for a Canadian lodge with transport out to heated fish houses I'd like to check it out.

[prov1800]

I am not sure there is a lot of that going on here.Only place I know of with heated shacks is clarks on Edward lake.but no crappies.but great walleye.crappies are good here but would need equipment to get to them.or in some cases like on wabigoon and dinorwic lakes there are a couple camps open and would drive out to crappie holes but no ice houses.unless they have some this year.???.

[v-bay gord]

Originally Posted by That Minnesota guy

Excellent idea Gord. I love fishing rock reefs, are you open during the winter also? Do you have rental houses out?

No, I don't. I don't think putting fishing pressure on lakes year round is a good idea. In small doses, yes....but the resorts that have been built up on the US side of LOW to target fish (year round) on the Canadian side is sick, in my opinion. Not sustainable, and appears that is what is happening.