Canada Fishing Trip Alternatives?

[vanish]

Wife and I and 2 friends were planning a Canada pike fishing trip this summer. We were working on a self-guided trip where we'd stay in a cabin, breakfast/dinner at the "lodge", but we were in charge of running our own boat. With the border closure, this plan is dead.

Does anyone have any recommendations for similar options in the continental US for style of trip? It doesn't have to be for pike, we'd picked that because its pretty solid action with the chance of a big fish, but we like catching most anything. What was more attractive was having things like accommodations, meals and the boat all available. I like DIY most of the time, but for once we're hoping to think about fewer things.

We're not against a guide/charter either, but we'd like to do a week long trip and that gets pretty pricey if you're doing it every day. Plus, we're all experienced fisherfolk. Some extra qualifications: Must be able to drive there. Below 9000 feet. Not southeast coast (NC to TX). Somewhere between July 20 and October.

Places we're investigating while I've got this thread posted are Lake of the Woods MN, Fort Peck MT and Blue Mesa CO (but not limited to these), but I haven't found anything resembling the self-guided package we were set up for in Canada.

 

[Pagosa]

Fort Peck doesn’t have any fishing boat rentals and the few guides are booked relatively solid. The boats at Hell Creek are either pontoons or smaller v-bottom fishing boats that can’t handle open water.

 

[NoWiser]

Renting a houseboat at Kabetogama/Voyageurs in northern MN would probably be a lot of fun and offer some pretty good fishing. I’m not sure how hard it is to get one now but it might be worth calling around.

 

[Flatbrimmer]

I’d shoot more for northwest MT toward Missoula kalispell whitefish… lots of Pike in the Clark Fork as well as other good species and can hold some real lunkers.. flathead lake is supposed to be pretty cool but I’ve never been there personally. AT LEAST a half dozen others nearby.. lodging shouldn’t be too difficult to find, you may call ahead. No idea for boat rentals. Good luck in your search, and look forward to seeing the catch when you return!

 

[ccc23454]

Flaming gorge, call buckboard marina up. Do a couple days charters and on your own few, doubt you will reget it.

 

[Gellar]

Devils lake ND. If you find a cabin or houseboat on Kabetogema or Namakan in Voyageurs National park I will be glad to mark your map. I’ve been going there since I was 7 or 8.

 

[Henry22]

My family was in a similar situation. This was the second summer our annual Ontario fishing trip was canceled due to border closure. We ended up getting a VRBO cabin on a lake in Northeast Minnesota last week. Rented a boat from a marina on the lake. Very impromptu trip and only had a few days of planning before we left. Fishing was slow for us and the locals, but still had a great time exploring Northeast Minnesota. Did some hikes, went to a state park a few days. Not a typical fishing trip but definitely a fun place to visit. Plus there’s the boundary waters area up there if your interested in that.

 

[Wallydeuce]

Think about Cabo San Lucas Mexico in October or November. Twice we've done packaged deals. 3 nights hotel and 2 days of deep sea fishing for less than $850 per person.

You want to catch a lot of big fish? This might fit your requirements.

PM me if you're interested and I'll send you the info.

 

[F250]

Ontario went to stage 2 and is opening up a little. Still hoping to be able to cross into Canada on August 6. I called our camp owner, he is planning to stay open through September...

 

[vanish]

Think about Cabo San Lucas Mexico in October or November. Twice we've done packaged deals. 3 nights hotel and 2 days of deep sea fishing for less than $850 per person.

You want to catch a lot of big fish? This might fit your requirements.

PM me if you're interested and I'll send you the info.

I love Cabo. Been twice. Doesn't fit a couple of our requirements for this trip, namely no flights.

 

[VikingsGuy]

Rainy Lake (US side) gives you a fair replica of the NW Ontario fishing experience. Big walleyes, lots and lots of smallmouth bass, big pike, big Muskies, lots of bays that are NOT ringed with cabins. Much nicer than the US side of Lake of Woods (more like the Canadian side of Lake of the Woods). There are small resorts with cabins to the east of international falls before the road ends. But might be slim pickings at this point due to demand.

 

[Steiny]

Two years in a row we've been shut down on the Canadian fishing trip.
Going to Alaska this year instead.

 

[Cammy]

Two years in a row we've been shut down on the Canadian fishing trip.
Going to Alaska this year instead.

Same here.

 

[MNElkNut]

My daughter is on a Rainy Lake MN houseboat trip right now. I can see how they do fishing, but I have been there in the past and have had great luck. very similar to an Ontario type atmosphere. I know a resort manager in Voyageurs National Park....let me know if you want go to that area and I can reach out to him.

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[vanish]

I liked the MN houseboat idea, but demand was too high this year. We couldn't find anything available in our time slots. Ended up booking a NW Angle LotW guided trip, wife said she wanted to just "show up" so it fit the bill.

 

[MNElkNut]

When are you going? Great muskie fishing there as well as fantastic walleye fishing. Mmmm, shore lunch....!

You will likely drive through the town Randy grew up in to get there...Big Falls.

When does the 2021 Journal start?

 

[vanish]

When are you going? Great muskie fishing there as well as fantastic walleye fishing. Mmmm, shore lunch....!

You will likely drive through the town Randy grew up in to get there...Big Falls.

When does the 2021 Journal start?

End Aug/Start Sept. I don't think its prime time for anything but that wasn't the point. Still have high expectations follow the eyes and it would be great to get the folks a muskie that haven't ever caught one. We have 4 days with the guide so should be able to diversify a bit.

Doesn't look like we'll go through Big Falls coming from the Dakotas.

Not sure there will be a journal this year, unless y'all really like fishing reports . I only have one hunt planned and it traditionally has ended within hours. Things are complicated round here atm.

 

[vanish]

We had a really good time on the trip. We stayed at Sportman's Oak Island Lodge and I would recommend it. The lodge accommodations were great. The fishing was solid for walleyes and saugers. Between the four of us we landed somewhere in the neighborhood of 200 over the four days of fishing. Lots of fish eaten and a limit brought home. The girls had 3 big fish on and managed to lose them all, doh!

One mistake I made was assuming our boat/guide would be equipped to target anything up there, but it was only ready to fish walleyes. We would have appreciated a day targeting pike and muskies, so we actually booked an evening Musky trip for the girls with a local that lived out on one of the islands. They didn't land any, but had a good time raising five with three strikes.

We drove through North Dakota on the way out and found it quite uninteresting, so came through South Dakota on the way home. Checked out Wall Drug, Badlands National Park and Mt. Rushmore.