Liddle's Fishing Adventures Inc. Newsletter for Fall of 2004

A Season In Review Another fishing season is over and we are left with the fantastic memories of another year. And what a great year it has been. Many fish were caught on the water and many stories were shared in the lodge beside the fire. The cooler spring brought us some great advantages this year. There were no bugs at the lodges until late in the season. Black flies and mosquitoes did not hatch in early June as they typically do and left our fishermen alone for the first part of the season. These fishermen were able to focus on the art of fishing, and it showed. Fishing in late May and early June was fantastic on the Albany River when the walleye situate in the fast moving shallow water. Their aggressive nature made it difficult to keep them off the hook. All of our guests seemed to love the use of digital cameras that we supplied for each two people. This turned out to be a fantastic addition to our packages because people did not only take great pictures of big fish they caught, but they also took fun shots of their group enjoying the outdoors. We have a plethora of photos illustrating great fishing action, lodge adventures and the highlighted shore lunch experience. Many people were able to capture the beauty of the landscape through the camera and create some fantastic scenic photos. At the end of everyone's stay, we gave each group a CD with their party's photos on it. We have now posted a number of these photos online in the photo gallery so be sure to look for photos of you and your group. Check in the 'Guest Experience' section to find photos of your vacation and share them with your family and friends. The request for Happy Hour at Makokibatan Lodge has been overwhelming, and mid season we determined that it was time to build a small bar within the lounge. We have been offering this service at Miminiska Lodge since we began operation in 2001 and it was time to extend the service to the guests at Makokibatan Lodge. The complementary drinks that we served prior to dinner encouraged our guests into the lounge, and the fish tales and stories that were shared during this time was wonderful. Guests shared their fishing tips, secret fishing holes, and photos of their catches. We are as pleased as you are that we are now offering this service at Makokibatan Lodge. Fishing was incredible this year for all the species in the Albany River waterway, and we extend a thank you to all who joined us this season. We are honored to be able to share this wonderful natural resource with you and your friends. Fishing Untouched Water! Imagine yourself to be one of a handful of people that have the opportunity to fish an untouched waterway. This up coming season Liddle's Fishing Adventures will have its own air charter and will be setting up daily fly outs for our guests to fish outlying bodies of water from our main lodges. We have done some test trips this past season with great success. These fishing destinations have been untouched by many fishermen, and the fish are eager to bite. Around Miminiska Lake, Petawanga Lake offers incredible walleye and northern fishing holes. Guests find the river fishing to be non-stop action, and the lake fishing throughout the season to be out of this world. Ozhiski Lake offers great fishing as well, and being further north of the Albany River, this rugged adventure includes unbeatable fishing. There are some incredible trout fishing options for the adventurous fisherman around the Albany River as well. Enjoy reading the section of the article that was written by Gord Ellis, Canadian Sports Writer, to visualize the action of trout fishing in these waters. The Keezhik River is home to unbelievable brook trout habitat. This can be a challenging day trip due to the fluctuating water levels and number of rapids, but it is always a successful trip for the fisherman that understands the trout. The small river is prime trout territory and is home to many averaging 3-5 lbs. Some guests at Makokibatan Lodge have had the opportunity to fly to various spots along the Albany River that are too far to travel by boat. These locations are ideal for the guest that is interested in fishing the fast water with a guide to experience the beauty of untouched trout territory. If you are interested in this type of adventure, please feel free to contact our office and inform us of your interest. We do need to prearrange these trips due to the scheduling of our aircraft. We hope that we are able to continue to offer these exciting adventures to you and that we continue to find new untouched territory.

Catch and Release Big Fish Contest Liddle's Fishing Adventures was pleased to announce last year a catch and release big fish contest for the largest walleye, and the largest northern pike caught at our facilities throughout the month of August in 2004. The lucky anglers who caught the biggest fish in either category will receive a free 3-day fishing vacation in 2005. Congratulations to Caroline Dicken who measured a 43 inch northern pike on Miminiska Lake. What an adventure she experienced catching a Northern like that! A tie for the largest walleye measuring in at 28 inches came from Dave Melton and Tom Johnson. As per our contest rules, we held a random draw and are pleased to announce Tom Johnson as the Walleye contest winner. Congratulations on your incredible catch on Makokibatan Lake! Our staff had a great time with this contest, as there were many guests who returned to the lodge with great tales to share of their 'big catch'. The Canadian - U.S. Exchange Rate As all of you know, the US dollar has dropped in comparison to the Canadian loonie, over the past two years. This change has affected many North American businesses, including our own. We set our fishing package prices early in the year, and hope that our own forecasts for the exchange rate match the actual exchange rate late in the summer. The drop in the value of the dollar has been challenging for us, as we receive US funds from our guests, and need to cover our Canadian expenses. This explains the increase in our rates over the past two years. We plan to continue to improve our services and accommodations throughout the coming year and think that you will continue to enjoy the fantastic fishing and great service that we offer.

Brook Trout Heaven! We had a writer from a major Canadian outdoor magazine sample a few of our fly out options. He focused on the brook trout fishery but we have many opportunities for outstanding walleye and pike fishing as well. Sections of an article that he wrote for the Chronicle Journal has been rewritten below. 3 Days in Brook Trout Heaven By Gord Ellis The Albany River is one of Ontario's great watersheds. It drains a huge portion of Northwestern Ontario wilderness, before emptying its contents into James Bay. Earlier this month, my friend Gene Balec and I spent three days fishing this great river and one of its tributaries for brook trout. Here is a short diary of our experiences. Day 1: We're greeted by lodge manager Steve Liddle, who will be our host and primary pilot for this adventure. We stow our gear in a lovely log cabin, have a bite to eat, and then get ready to go fishing. "We're going to fish for trout in the north channel of the Albany," says Liddle. "Bring some casting spoons." It's a quick ride down Makokibatan Lake and soon enough we're into rapids. "There are trout all through this water," says Liddle. "We'll just slip with the current and cast." Rain is starting to fall again as we work the endless whitewater and runs. Gene latches onto the first trout, a fat 16 incher which he quickly releases. We work some beautiful looking water and pluck out a dozen trout, four walleye and a couple pike in four hours. Day 2: We wake up to a gorgeous morning at Miminiska Lodge. The plan today is to fly into a small lake north of the Albany and then canoe down a six-mile creek fishing for brook trout. We get dropped off at the canoe, and guide, Murray Waboose steers the canoe to the outlet of the lake where we wade and fly fish. Murray knows this water well and points out a couple of nice runs. The rapids has some lovely specs from 12 to 16 inches, but it's in the first big pool that we get a taste of what this creek has to offer. Stripping in a bead head Woolly Bugger, I feel my line stop. A snag? The fly comes loose and I cast again. Stripping the line back slowly, the "snag" returns and I tug the hook home. There's a red flash in the pool and fly line starts to zip through my fingers. Trout! It's a big one fore sure, and fights deep and slow before slowly surrendering line. Then, horrors, the fish heads for a sunken tree and gets wrapped up. Gene and I try to free the line, but the trout flashes a football shaped flank and breaks off. I'm crushed. "Don't worry, we'll get him down stream," says Waboose. After a few casts into the main flow, I flip the brown Clouser minnow upstream and drift it trough the rapids. There's a hard strike and a fish bolts downstream. It seems too heavy to be a trout, and my 5 weight Sage rod loads up in a perfect arc. The trout finally boils on the surface and a blood red tail is revealed. It's a monster brookie. Gene and Murray quickly canoe across the bottom of the pool as I play it in. As the trout passes by my waders, I reach down with a wool glove on and grab its tail. Suddenly, I'm holding a gorgeous, heavily colored brook trout that's so big it's surreal. The tape measures 23 inches and we guess 6.5 pounds. After some photos the trout is carefully released. Gene follows that performance with a steady string of brook trout that measure from 18 to 22 inches. Each one is deep and heavily spotted. It's hard to move on, but there is still about 5 miles of river left. Day 3: It's going to be hard to top the second day's adventure, but Steve seems eager to try. We fly east out of Miminiska Lodge, and then onto a section of the Albany well downstream from Makokibatan Lodge. Here we meet Lindy Baxter, who has driven his 16-foot Lund boat nearly 50 miles up the river from Ogoki Post just to guide us for the day. It's another glorious day and Gene and I drink it all in from the boat. We cast spoons at Tom Flett Rapids, and Gene hooks into a nicely colored 17-inch spec. For the third straight day we have no net, so I spend about two minutes trying to grab the fish. Baxter seems to enjoy the show. We land several more specs, and some lunker walleye, including one eight pounder. At noon we have a shore lunch at Martin Falls. It's a spectacular scene as we gobble up fried walleye, beans and boiled potato with a roaring backdrop of white water. The highlight of the afternoon is a trip to Kagagami Falls. This falls is an impressive sight, and features one of the few boat portages on the lower section of the Albany. Fat walleye and big pike live everywhere below this tumult, and Baxter tells us there are sturgeon around as well. Our afternoon of fishing over, we say goodbye to our guide and fly out of Caviar. The trout fishing portion of our trip has ended. As we fly back toward Makokibatan Lodge, Gene and I peer down at the sun-dappled rapids of the Albany, and take one last look at brook trout heaven.

Northern Fishing with a Fly The Albany River waterways are becoming very popular with our fly fishing guests. Great trophy action starts at the time of the spring thaw when the shallow water pike are patrolling the backs of bays and mouths of creeks. Once the big females have finished their spawn, they patrol the previous years vegetation looking for a meal. Using a fly at this time of year offers some incredible advantages. First of all, keeping sound to a minimum is key. When a fish is in deep water and they feel threatened, they have multiple ways of moving away from the threat. They can dive deeper, come toward the surface or head off in any direction. When a fish is in shallow water, between 1 and 2 feet, their vertical escape option is removed. As well, a shoreline can be restrictive and leave the fish in a threatened state. Once a northern pike hears an unfamiliar noise, it will instinctively flee the area. Every fisherman should use small baits when fishing these areas to keep the noise down. However, a fly fisherman has a distinct advantage because even casting a larger fly upon these waters will not make much noise and is less intrusive. In the spring time, large northern are moving very slowly and this can work to an advantage for the fly fisherman. If ice has left the lake within the past couple of weeks, the water is very cold. The fish metabolism is at a much reduced pace from what it would be in the summer months and subsequently they will not exert much energy chasing prey. A spring northern is an opportunist and will feed on what is available. Knowing this, a slow presentation is crucial for spring fishing, once again giving the fly fisherman the advantage. This past spring we had several fishermen having a lot of fun catching large northern on the fly. But early season fishing is not the only time to be successful fly-fishing for northern. Fly rods can be used in the open lake fishing the same locations spin cast fishing techniques are used. At each lodge we have quality fly rods equipped for northern fishing and they are available for a no charge sign out to all of our guests. We have staff on hand that are knowledgeable in fly fishing techniques and can offer instruction to novice fly fishermen. It is just another great experience that is available at a Liddle's fishing lodge.