rehsifylf

All I will say is that I fished the Elk for 10 years before the regulations and a) always had spectacular fishing (except flood year), never saw half as many drift boats as on other excellent fishing/drifting rivers (including the Bow). If fishing pressure was the issue, then the regs should have applied to all people fishing the river including locals. Does it make sense that someone born and raised in Coleman has to pay $20 a day to fish a river 15 minutes away, but a guy who lives in Vancouver pays $15 a year? But lets ask the board.

Good point - it'll make me feel better. Oh - and I've decided that I will need to avail myself of some services while I'm in BC. I'll make sure I take my trailer to the dumping station . BTW - last time I checked, my passport says Canadian, not Albertan or BCer.

Used to go down to what some described as "that river" every fall for years. But when our friendly neighbors to the west stuck it to us by implementing unfair tarrifs on us, i swore i wouldn't go back. Same goes for the St Marys in the summer. Well - after seeing some pics on here today, I just can't hold out any longer. But I can tell you one thing. I won't buy so much as a stick of gum while I'm there. Not a fly, not gas, not food, not lodging - nothing. It's not much, and might be aimed at the wrong people - but it's all the ammunition I have. I'm also going to keep track of what I would have probably spent in the province for the two nights and two days. As someone who holds a BC birth certificate - I'm still smoked over the double standard they applied regarding Classified lic. The fact that we can't buy an annual license and that one day on the river costs more than a BC resident's annual license still really bothers me. My last trip was fall 2004 - by my count - that 3 years * 2 trips per year * ~3 days per trip. This is what it cost the area, but of course they'll get $40 out of me this year. What really smokes me is editorials like this from tools that claim to be 'born and raised in BC' - but live in Vancouver. http://www.ariverneversleeps.com/backissue...5/letters.shtml. I'll wager that I have more family in the Kootenay region than he does. This guy - like many in BC - has an axe to grind with Albertans in general (Anyone who was born and raised there knows that kids are taught from an early age to despise 'Albortions"). If people in BC said the same things about a visibile minority that they say about (and to) Albertans, they'd lable themselves as ignorant racists. Calgary has 1 million people that are within 3 1/2 hours of these rivers. Name a BC city of more than 50,000 that is within 6 hours. This clown lives in Vancouver - only about a a 12 hour drive from the river he speaks of. Guess what moron - go check the rivers that are 3 1/2 hours from Vancouver and I expect you'll not find too many Alberta vehicles parked there, and I bet they are crowded. Regina is only 8 hours from the Elk and tribs. It takes about the same time to drive from Virden Manitoba as it does from Vancouver, for crying out loud. Man - now I'm all worked up about this again. I'm considering cancelling the trip.

I've had a number of reels over the years from very cheap to pretty expensive. I always found that the line i wanted to use (say heavy sink) was never on my favorite reel. So a few years back I bought two Lamson reels and 3 extra spools - so that all of my lines would be on the same kind of reel and I could have a dry and wet rod set up at the same time when fishing a lake. Those reels were Ok - but I had problems with the internals on the reels (which Lamson replaced, twice) and I found that they overspun easily unless you had the drag set fairly high. This year I went to replace the lot - and after considerable cost/benefit analysis went with 2 - Pflueger Trion 5/6 weight + 4 spools. I found them to be the best value (though I wouldn't suggest they are the best reels out there). For sure they are the best reels I've owned or used. I really like being able to swap lines and couldn't see laying our $200-400 for each real and another $100-$200 for each spool. The only knock I'd say is that they are a tad heavier than many other 5/6 reels, but I can't say as I've noticed while fishing with them. The reel is mid-arbour and is, I think, the same as the Orvis Battenkill, and the Reddington CD. No regrets on this move so far. As for Islander. While they may be good reels - I can't see how they would be good value (no offense intended - but they seem to be a 'look at me' item). While Hardy might also be pretty pricely, I think the symbolic value is high because you're buying history as much as buying a reel. There is an expression, I think, that says, "You can tell a lot about a man by his shoes". I think the same can be said about his fly rod and reel. Me - My gear says, "He wants good stuff but he is also one cheap :$*%&: "

I'd be content with being branded as a typical elitist snob - just would never want to be branded as hyper politically correct, or humourless. As far as I know, beating myself in the head with a hammer isn't illegal either, but I don't do it, cause I can't understand how anyone would enjoy that. Plumbers and Electrictians have a similar rivalry to bomb chuckers and fly fishers - and in my opinion there is nothing wrong with one making fun of the other. As for those that enjoy fishing both ways - well as a heterofisherman - I don't get that either. I'm not saying they're wrong, only that I am much better than they are. But I don't limit my superior attitude for those that like to chuck hardware, I make fun of the flyfishers I know that use 2 flies - I don't see that as sporting either (For once, I like BCs regs over Alberta's on that one). I reserve the right to mock or be mocked - without prejudice.

Sure, But with less than three treble hooks how are those guys going to be able to yank the fish out of the water and into the boat from 30 feet away?

On the Bullshead - I've always had tremendous results with a purple or burgandy marabou leach (but purple seems to work best). Never seemed to have much luck on other rainbows, but worked well there.

Also important to note that not all 4x material is the same strength. I started using Rio Fluro Flex plus last year. The 4X is 7lb - and I find it incredibly strong (have lifted some very large logs off the bottom). Regarding matching tippet to fly - other than for size 16+, I just use the 4X. Also - I find that with the Rio plus - need at least a triple surgeons knot at the leader or it'll cut through. I see from Rio's site that for 2008 they have a new product that is 5X - 10 lb (not fluro carbon). It is a braided tippet material. Anyone tried it? Sounds pretty incredible to me. The 4X is 15 lb. Looks like Rio recommends a quadruple surgeons knot (never tied one of those) for this stuff.

I've been meaning to take my kids into Egypt for two years now. Possibly will make it in the weekend after labour day - but if not, then there is always next year. Chester and Watridge are abotu 5 km hikes off the smith Dorien. Easy one day in, fish, out. Watridge used to (and still might) have huge Cutts, and lots of them - but lately seems like the fishing has not been great (see my recent post on this). Chester lake has Dolly Varden and smaller Cutts. I've only fished it twice - the second time, caught lots of Dollys but they seemed to have large heads and small bodies. Oh - and I understand that the Green Drake Fly shop in Canmore may also rent tubes.

Doug, If you want to hike - most of the spots I know are lakes, and best fished from a tube. The Bow River at Canmore is wadable upstream from Canmore. You can check at the Green Drake Fly Shop in Canmore on where to go - we did that a few years ago and the owner was very helpful. In and round Banff, you need a Parks Fishing Lic (can get them at the park gates), for around Canmore you need an Alberta Lic. Our Alberta rates for our most welcome neighbors from BC are the same as for all Canadians - $22.50 annually, and over 65 fish for free. You'll also need a WIN card ($8 for 5 years). I hear that some provinces charge significantly more for fisherpeople from neighboring provinces, and restrict their access to certain areas - but I find that hard to believe. If you want to rent a boat - Upper Kannanaskis is a nice lake (really nice views) - about 1.2 hours from Banff I'd say. If you want an interesting drive, take the back road from Canmore (Smith Dorien/Spray Lakes Trail http://www.canmorekananaskis.com/hotels/ca.../kanspray.html) up to Peter Lougheed Park, turn right and follow the signs to the lakes (Upper or Lower). I've had some very good days on the Lower K Lake for Bull trout, but not in the last year or so - too many places to fish, too little time. The Upper used to be predominatly Rainbows, but over the past few years - seem to be more and more bull trout. Anyway - doesn't really sound like you're that interested in a boat. Sports Rent in Calgary rents boats - but they also rent float tubes and waders (or at least they used to). If you are interested in that, let me know - there are a few good, small lakes that have nice hikes to them (Chester and Watridge are two of them).

I was thinking that maybe if you used a really big bailing bucket, you could use it as an escape craft if your pontoons ever get punctured.

Worth it? This is one of the fish we ate. And yes - it tasted great. A few this size were caught but most were smaller. We had a few long distance releases that were probably larger, and I had one all the way to shore that was significantly bigger than this. For reference - the cork portion of the rod handle is 7.5 inches - so this fish is between 20-21 inches.

Easiest way to land a fish was to get to shore (but not too many spots on shore where you can stand up). You'll notice that even though it was a warm day, staying warm in breathables is tough. We wore touques some days.

Watch out for these guys! They are not afraid of us (We only had a small point and shoot camera with us - with no zoom). Over the trip these things really start to bug ya 9Good thing there was no axe at camp)

These beavers went by accross the front of our camps a few times. Good neighbors - we didn't baother them, they didn't bother us. I say bevaers, cause this is actually a momma with a young beaver in her mouth. It looks like a log, and I found it interesting that this is how she would carry it (maximum drag). We only realized it was a small beaver, when the I accidently walked into camp as she was going by. She pulled a Britney and quickly abandoned the young one - who then swam to shore and hung around our camp for quite awhile, until we got far away and the mother returned.

These were taken right from our tent. Tough to take this view every morning.

This was taken from the main camp. Very tough view to wake up to. The wind was almost non-existent every morning, ut the water felt pretty darn cool.

Fish On! Though the action was not fast over the four days we fished, it was consitent and fish were caught all over the place. You can see the kind of tube that worked well when the wind picked up.

The Chaba Crossing. About the angle the shot is taken from is the angle you cross at. A number of small channels and two reasonaby deep/fast one. Note that this was taken on the way out, so it is from the Fortress Lake sideof the crossing.

This is what the main Camp (where the fire pit is and where we cooked our food) looks like We were trying on our packs the afternnon we we're going to leave - Somehow, all of our kit grew and got heavier, even though we'd eaten about 20 lbs of food.

Regarding promised Pics - I've reduced the heck out of them and can still only get one or two per post. So instead of posting all 15 showing the various points of interest - I'll post just a few. First is the Athabasca Bridge crossing: Next is just a fishing Picture (Out of order but it was small enough to fit in this post).

I was a little worried this could get some feathers ruffled - it was not my intent - but, whatever. I find it a little interesting that orvis joined today, but everyone is entitled to an opinion. Harps - I did read Dave's Blog. I should have read it before we went, because although Dave came to see us (as opposed to us going to see him), and we told him where we were from, we didn't say who we were (then again, he didn't introduce himself either) - we were not trying to be coy, but the conversation was pretty friendly - just three fishermen talking to one fisherman - and we asked about fishing in general but really let him tell us what he wanted. I'd sent Dave a note before we went saying who I was and that we'd be interested in renting a boat for a day or two (in truth thought that's why he was coming over to see us), but in hindsight, he likely didn't get the note. Anyway - I agree, I knew who he was and probably should have done a proper intro. I do find it interesting that Dave commented in his blog on the plane buzzing them at 80 feet as being a big 'no no' - because the helicopters that buzzed us in our float tubes were lower than that, and one went directly over my head on the second pass (I waved when they went by the first time a few hundred feet to the side of me, and I waved again the second time but didn't have time to get ALL of my fingers extended). They then proceeded to land at the lodge and stay overnight. The woman in the co-pilots seat of the helicopter looked familiar also - (and I got a pretty close, albeit brief, look - although with a headset, hat, and sunglasses can't be sure). While I agree that the lodge probably does cater to the well off (okay - it definately does) - the cost of the lodge is not why we chose to hike in, and likely not why anyone that hikes in would choose that over staying at the lodge. (Believe me , one of the guys on our first trip could likley buy the lodge outright). As you point out, this isn't a 5 km hike into Watridge for a day - its a major outing that likley only 1/10 of 1% of the population would ever attempt (of course 90% of the remainder wouldn't have any desire to ever do something like it, and would think anyone that does is freakin' nuts - my wife included). As I said in my post, I was pretty frustrated when I tried to find any reliable info on what we we're in for when we went in 2006. There seemed to be lots of mis-information out there ("Bridge is out", "Bridge is there", "it's and easy hike", "it's a killer hike", "there are bears ever 8 feet", "no fish except at the far end"...etc.). My post was an effort to put some recent info out there.

This is a hard lake to get info on - but, I been there and done that...twice. So if you're interested, here is some as much info as I can remember. Some might get upset about this, but I know how frustrated I was when I wanted to do the trip and couldn'f find info. I've both biked (you can really only bike to just past the half way point) and hiked to this lake. First time we biked to the Athabasca river crossing, then hiked the rest of the way. It was July long week-end in 2006. This year we hiked the whole way and went for a longer trip - July 15-21st. Biking - Sounded like a good idea. But then, your pack will likley weight between 55-70 pounds. If you do alot of mountain bilking, you might be okay, but with the weight in back packs - it is tough to bike (can't stand up to go up hills, your butt will be really sore, and going down some hills you could go over the handlebars (two of us did)) - you break a bone up there and it will be a big problem because there is very little traffic on the trail. The first 15 km of the trail (to the Athabasca River crossing) is a pretty easy trail to ride; but, although you may save 1-2 hours, I really don't think it is worth it. Hiking - this year we hiked the whole way and broke the hike into two sections - first 15km to the Athabasca, second 15 km (it is 15 km to the Fortress Creek campground, which is where you want to stay (5 km less to the East Campground, but you are miles away from any good fishing)). On our intial trip we left Calgary at 2:30 a.m., drove to Sunwapta, had breakfast, then biked, then hiked to the east campground - a pretty long day. This year we left work at noon, drove to Sunwapta, hiked the first 15 km and camped at Athabasca, then got up next morning and hiked the rest. This was a much easier way to do it. Trails - first 15 km - old forestry road - very easy hike. Gradual down hill for first 3-4 km then moderate elevation changes to the Athabasca. From the Athabasca to the Chaba river crossing, tougher trail (guys have biked it, but would be tough with much kit), fairly good climb right after you cross the Athabasca Bridge, then up and down, then down a long hill to the Chaba (you'll notice it more on the climb back out!). After the Chaba, fairly easy trail (read flat) to the East Campsite, then you pretty much follow the lake to the Fortress Creek campsite. You may be tempted just to stop at the East Camp - but don't. You'll spend most of your day in your tube kicking like a bugger to get down the lake, and then back - not worth it. The first year we were there, another group of hikers showed up who had biked further than we did. They had panniers for the bikes, so seemed to work better. They camped down at the Fortress Creek site. River Crossings - At the 15 km point you cross the Athabasca. There is a bridge (some have said it washed out - BS -it is there and it is the same bridge that was there two years ago). The bridge is not right at the junction of the Athabasca and the Chaba - it is several hundred metres up the Athabasca. If you continue to hike southwest from the campground you come out near the junction and the bridge is not really visible (might be why some have said it washed out). So from the campground - take the trail that goes to the left (southeast) - it'll save you a few hundred metres plus an uphill/downhill. Tough to say because the trail winds, but it is about 6-7 km of hiking to the Chaba crossing. The Chaba is glacial - that means in the summer the lowest levels are int he am - if it is a hot day, the levels rise fairly steadily during the day. If you try to do the entire hike in one day, it'll be a little tougher to cross. Where you crass the Chaba - look for a yellow crossing sign on a post, right near a bush with a bunch of shoes/other offerings tied to it. The Chaba is broken into numerous channels here and the total distance to cross is probably 300-400 meters. Look upstream on about a 45 degree angle from where you start and you'll see another yellow sign showing where you finish the crossing. Head on a line that is roughly between the two signs. In 2006 July long week-end the river was pretty low at about 2:00 pm (when two of us crossed) - but much higher at about 4:00 pm when the second group of two crossed. On the way out, we decided to fish most of the day and then hike out - by the time we got to the river, it was probably 6:00 pm - and the crossing was pretty exciting - but still manageable. This year we also left around 6:00, and although the river looked alot higher, the crossing was pretty easy. We took water shoes/socks to wear for the crossing and used them when tubing as well. The water is a tad chilly - when you fist step into it you lose feeling in your feet. After a few days of tubing in Fortress however, which is abnout 1/10 of a degree warmer than the river - you don't even notice the cold on the way out. Overall - the River is pretty easy to get accross - especially with 60-70 lbs on your back to keep you grounded. If need be, lock arms and put the tallest guy upstream to break the current and have the others walk beside him downstream (if that makes any sense) Campsite - As I said, wouldn't waste your time at the East End site. Head for Fortress Creek (there is a site in between but it's also pretty far from the fishing). Interstingly - when you cross the Chaba you are less than 4km 'as the crow flies from Fortress Creek site - but it is about a 7-8 km hike - and reasonably tough. The East End site did have a Bear Pole (as does the Athabasca Crossing site), but Fortress Creek does not. We put a bear pole up (ran a log between two trees) and put all the food up - but that was about it. In addition, the East End site came with a large Maul (Axe) that we used to chop up the plentiful firewood that was at the site. In 2006 the lodge provided the firewood. This year, there was no Maul/Axe and no firewood at the Fortress Creek site (of course the first time we took a saw with us, this year we did not). Not sure if the rules have changed (lodge supplying firewood) or if they just didn't do it - but it was a bit of a pisser. Other than that, the site is pretty good. Because there was no Bear Pole we cooked, ate, and stored the food at the main site (by the fire pit) and then set our tent up about 75m further down the path on the beach. Although it looks like the beach site would be exposed to the wind - it was really protected - and probably the nicest place to sleep. Dave Jensen came by in a boat one day to say hello and indicated that the parks folks were looking to put up a no camping sign at the beach (I guess because of the huge amount of pressure the site receives!) - but it worked great for us. We also kept out float tubes and rods there - but put them up in top of a bush at night (see below under 'Critters'). Weather - we had fantastic weather in 2006, and pretty good weather this year. No rain on either trip. The wind this year was really strong and predominantly blows from West to East down the lake. Mosquitos seemed rough the first day - but 100% DEET fixed that (imported from good old USA). Temperatures were warm, but with the cold cold water and the wind, it got chilly out on the lake when the sun went behind the clouds. Fishing - Right, that's why we were there. In 2006, as I said, we spent a good portion of our trip going back and forth between the East End of the Lake and Fortress Creek. That year the only decent fishing was out in front of where the creek comes in. We fixed that this year by staying right at Fortress Creek. However, the fishing was not as good at the creek this year. It is a huge lake, and Brookies are likley in large schools wherever the water temp is right. But - there are fish everywhere in that lake. Our luck this year varried from no fish for one poor lad to a several fish landed per day for another. This lake is not Catch and Release, although I think the lodge does practice that. But trust me, you are burning major calories up there (see Food tips below) and are perpetuually hungry. We ate fish everyday - and they were spectacular. Best fish I have ever tasted. As for size, I have a picture of the biggest fish landed and will post later - but most of the fish were about as fat as I've ever seen brookies and almost all were 2-4 lbs +. Tip - Bring a freaking net with you! One guy had a net and when we were all close, we could share it but, of course, you never hook the monster when you're close to someone else. Tip - Make sure the freking net is Big (deep). The largest fish hooked played and lost (within inches of landing it on shore) had to be at least 10 lbs. No exaggeration here - it was huge. My heart is beating faster just remembering it. According to Dave, the fishing varies from a few fish per day to 30+ per day. He indicated the lake was pretty popular with Float Planes from Ice off through all of June (Lake altitude is about 4500 ft I think). Regarding the question about fishing the rivers - Chaba and Athabasca were very silty when we went through. Perhaps later in the fall they would clear up. They are in Jasper, so you'd need a Park fishing license. Fishing Tips: What worked? Well, we fished long and hard for quite a few days. The first few fish were caught on a Red Doc Spratley. The most successful fly was a green Half Back (not sure that is what is is called, but that is what it looked like - not the kind with peacock herl body). Tough to describe - I'll check to see if i still have one. However, the fly didn't seem to matter as much as the line. I had two sinking lines with me and type 6 super fast sink and a clear intermediate sink (that I had never had much luck with). As the lake is in BC - you can fish with two rods, so I had both going. With exception of 1 fish, every fish I caught was on the clear intermediate sink. My partners didn't have this type of line with them (and my rental rates were not acceptable to them). For most of the trip I just used one rod (after some fun and excitement when I had one on and then hooked another, or bottom, not sure which). Again - landing a big fat Brookie in your tube is very tough without a net (about 35% success rate) - getting him in the tube is not that hard, keeping him there is. As I said, the fishing in front of the Creek was good in 2006 and not as good this year. However, trolling out from shore (get a good ways out) way up the lake produced fish and many hits. Trolling close to shore or casting and stripping produced lots of snags. I would simply go a ways out from shore, troll up the lake slowly, and read a book - every now and then strip in a 20-30 strips (one fish took my Spratley 2 feet from my tube as I was pulling it in to see how the fly looked in the water). Fishing Kit - Float tubes - Has to be light, but also, the donut kind makes it very hard to go up the lake against the prevailing wind. I had a Caddis Navigator (two pontoons) and was able to move around pretty easy. Don't leave your float tube out at night (see critters below). We had breathable waders - and it was chilly. But neoprenes would be too heavy. My advice is to bring some long johns and waer your rain pants inside your waders - that was pretty good. Feet were okay. For this trip, I purchased some lightweight fins from Cabelas (they were fantastic and incredibly light - but do not ever try to walk forward in them). I used Water socks instead of boots and again no problem. Rods - I brought a dry line, and some fish were rising, but didn't really use it much. Intermediate Sink Clear line worked best. We used a 4X 7lb tippet - (Fluro Plus) - the fish get big, and also when you hook branches on the bottom, you might get your fly back (and if only one fly is really working, you don't want to lose it). And did I mention - Bring a Net? A Big net. Boats - I had sent a note to Dave J before our trip asking about renting a boat off of them, but didn't get a response. That doesn't mean they won't but I don't think it is likely. A boat would definately make the fishing better - but not completely necessary. Don't leave your rod on the ground or leaning against a tree at night (see 'Critters' below). I get the impression the main mission of the Lodge might not be to make money - most of the owners seem to have plenty of that already (see the note about the brand new helicopters below) - so if boat rentals encouraged more people to use the lake, they might not see that as a good thing. Sure doesn't hurt to ask though. Other Kit - Backpacks -The first time we went in, we packed everything up the week before - except for a 'couple of minor things' and the packs were 45-50 lbs. The night before we left we loaded up and weighed them - 60-65 lbs each. And we were really hungry. This year we bought a bunch of light weight gear and loaded up on more food (we ended up with more food than we could eat) - packs weighed 60-70 lbs (including lots of water). If you can do this trip with 3-4 guys, all your food, fishing gear, tubes etc and keep it to 45-50 lbs - you are doing well - but I bet you'll find yourself needing for something out there. I wore a Camel back full of water on my front this year and that worked great - highly recommend it. Obvioulsy get a good 60-70 litre pack - and, do some training with the pack on. If you plan on doing the hike in one go - it will be a tough one. Cooking - A plastic Bodum coffee maker and 2 lbs of Starbucks coffee were well worth it (it would have been even better is someone hadn't left the Coffemate in the car). We tried tons of different dehydrated food and by and large it was all very good. The important thing is if it says serves 4, it'll be about right for three guys. Bring lots of food. Bring lots of Fuel. Bring some spices (we had Mrs Dash garlic and lemon - put it on everything - it was outstanding on the fish). Water Filter - Likley no issue with drinking the water from Fortress creek, but we filtered everything. This year we had a gravity feed filter (big 10 litre bag that you hang) versus the pump by hand type - no question it was named "New Piece of kit of The Year" (tied with Bodum Coffee Maker) - worked incredibly well. Critters - We saw no Bears on either trip. We did see lots of Skat this year - some very fresh. Never been too concerned about bears, but we all did have bear spray. We made lots of noise (mostly our old bones creaking and incesant complaining about hills), so not only didn't see any bears but saw no deer or elk on the trail either. However - at the campsites, there will be porcupines. Guaranteed. They will eat anything. On our first trip we had an Abel rod eaten, and one guy's tube was chewed right at the valve - he got to fish a total of a few hours. So put everything up. For some reason, they would not look under a tarp we had out. Not sure if that will always work, but we put a tarp over the cooking stuff etc, and the porcs never bothered. This year they got toothpaste, two leather gloves, and probably some other stuff we just never missed. You will grow to despise the porcs if you go - so make sure you put your tubes, waders, rods etc up on top of a bush (not in a tree - they can climb like crazy). Two legged critters - It is an amazing lake. The scenery if awesome. There was more activity on the lake this year than last time with Lodge traffic and one private plane that came in. As I said, Dave J came by once to check on us, other than that we didn't see any of the boats form the lodge (think they head to the far west end). The Float plane for the lodge came in twice, as well as two private helicopters that flew into the lodge (after ripping down the lake at high speed and dangerous levels over the water). If whoever was flying that helicopter is reading - juts like to say that as a former Flight Safety Officer I was not impressed with you screaming directly over my head at full speed and only 50 feet off the deck - that was just irresponsible and dumb. My buddies who were down at the other end of the lake were also not impressed when you buzzed them. The private float plane that came in, moored at the beach where we were camped. We had a good visit with the pilot while his two sons fished for a couple of hours - what a great set-up (Hey Brad - what happened to the case of beer you were going to bring us?). Summary - This was well worth it. After the first trip, we swore it was a one time thing, but wanted to go back and catch a huge Brookie. No question a boat would make the fishing better/easier - but this trip is as much about 'Can i do this?' as it is about fishing. Not many places in the world you can do it, and likley won't be able to do it at this lake, in this way for much longer (Just a Guess on my part). I'll post some pictures from this year's trip when I get a chance.