Incredible CANADA

Joel Prunty, media manager – I just returned from Regina, Saskatchewan from a meeting of the Tourism Saskatchewan Marketing Advisory Council upon which I am a member. Part of the meeting involved a review of their advertising campaign for 2010.

These advertising materials included a direct mailer, lure pieces, full-page ads and a video, plus www.sasktourism.com…much of which spotlighted fishing and hunting. I’ve been in this business for 20-years and I am still captivated by a well told story of the Canadian wilderness including pristine lakes, the living sky, majestic moose and incredible fishing opportunities.

Canada is so vast and so remote every angler and hunter needs to get out there and experience this unique destination over and over and over again. Is your adventure planned for 2010? If not, get started by visiting the official site of the All-Canada Show AllCanada.com. Enjoy your travels.

May is around the corner - here comes "Spring Trip"

By: Jennifer Young, owner of the All-Canada Show

The Spring flew by with some weird weather, hot as August then cold as December. We never really seemed to get our Spring in stride and now May will be here in a few days.

Rodney is driving up to Ontario for the All-Canada Show version of "Spring Trip" (nothing like the college version). This consists of traveling North and visiting over 100 camps, lodges, and outfitters in a week. Rodney will be attending the annual KDCA (Kenora Disctrict Camp Association) dinner http://www.kdca.ca/ on Friday night, April 30th.

Then he will travel up to Red Lake for the annual Red Lake Sportsman Dinner. www.tourismredlake.ca

Not only is it fun to control the satellite radio and jam out to his own music for a week, Rod will also not have anyone (mostly me) telling him what to do. Best of all he will get to see our show exhibitors face to face and visit new potential customers and see how they have their camps set up. He will also discuss their marketing plans with them. As a final bonus, Rod should be able to fish for some huge pike on Saturday. He will be posting photos very soon. I hope that he catches a big one!

Spring Trip 2010

By Rodney Schlafer Show Director – All-Canada Show - Spring has sprung and the Walleye opener is only a couple weeks away and the lodges have had great weather allowing them time to get their camps ready for their upcoming season. Each spring we travel to NW Ontario for the kick off of the new season. I will be attending meetings and dinners in Vermillion Bay KDCA and Red Lake for the annual sportsman dinner. I will also be stopping at various lodges along the way to say hello and see how they are doing. If I am lucky I might even get a chance to wet a line, and catch some of those early season Pike.
Bill and Maureen Pryndik of Golden Hook Camp enjoy the Sportsmans Dinner Red Lake
Me and Tim Kobelka at Shoal Lake with an early season Pike.

I will post pictures hopefully of a 40 inch northern pike and a report when I return…to be continued!

Canadian Traditions

By: Steve Cegielski, All-Canada Show Operations Manager
Hopefully by now most most Canadian fishing trips are well into the planning stage. Your adventure was book thru the All-Canada Show this winter and now it’s time to prepare the equipment, tackle and food lists to complete the perfect Canadian vacation.

As with any annual event, you develop traditions over the years. Traditions are what we all look forward to each year. As a Canadian fishing group we have developed our own traditions including Steak night each year. My mouth is watering just writing - Porter House Steak. The steak tradition was started over ten years ago by my cousin Kurt on our first trip north of the border as a group, and now it’s just like Christmas….you bank on the last days dinner treat….steak night!

I’m sure most Canadian trips revolve around traditions, like where you stay over on your travels north or where you buy bait. Traditions are important…..give steak night a try this year.

Always looking for new ideas in my Canadian travels….give me some ideas of traditions your group does annually.

GET ORGANIZED

Joel Prunty, media manager - In a few short weeks thousands of anglers will head to Canada on fishing adventures. According to our research, most of you will primarily fish for walleye (72%) and your most likely secondary fish will be either northern pike, lake trout and smallmouth bass.

A big part of any successful adventure begins with an itinerary. An itinerary clearly communicates the key elements of your trip to everyone in your group and loved ones back home. Here is the key information the All-Canada Show includes in our itinerary:
• Complete details on lodge destination including contact info
• Cost of package including deposits paid
• Incidental costs each person is expected to pay
• List of key documents each person should bring
• Contact information on each person on trip
• Departure and travel details

Likely you have more information on your group and adventure to include, but this will get you started. Our website AllCanada.com has an itinerary for to get you started here is a link our ITINERARY. If you have any good ideas on how to improve this form post a comment. Have a great adventure!

Don't Forget Your Card

Joel Prunty, Media Manager - U.S. residents 18 and older are required to purchase a Outdoors Card to fish in Ontario. You may have purchased the card last year – which is good for three years – if you did do not forget to bring it along on this years trip.

If you have never had an Outdoors Card, you can purchase a "Non-Canadian Resident Temporary Fishing Outdoors Card and Application" from one of more than 1,800 licence issuers across the province. The Non-Canadian Resident Temporary Fishing Outdoors Card and Application does not include the fishing licence tag. The fishing licence tag will be a separate paper permit.

The temporary Outdoors Card and paper licence are effective immediately. Your plastic Outdoors Card will be mailed to you by year end, and is valid for three calendar years (including the year of purchase).

Non-Canadian resident hunters can also fish under the authority of their Outdoor Card (hunting version) with the appropriate fishing licence tag.

You can also get more information on the Outdoors Card by calling the Outdoors Card Centre at 1-800-387-7011. This toll-free number works from all of North America, from Monday to Friday, 8:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. (Eastern Time). Or visit the Ontario MNR website.

Canada Bound

By: Steve Cegielski All-Canada Show Operations Manager
It’s the time of year I call the “lull.” Inland fishing is still closed, I’m tired of the river, and my Canadian trip is still a few months away. I can’t stop thinking about that first Canadian walleye. Our office discussions revolve around trips that we’ve all taken, past adventure stories that will live on forever. Over the past 28 years All-Canada Show staffers have taken over 150 Canadian hunting and fishing trips….every type of trip imaginable. Everyone has their favorite type of Canadian adventure. We all share the common bond to Canada, but each see the perfect trip differently. Some enjoy the remoteness of a outpost, while others relish in the service of an american plan lodge.
There are so many variable to the perfect Canadian trip to discuss with your group that sometimes fisherman get overwhelmed and give up. Don’t give up…just break down your trip priorities by answering three simple questions and act. Fly-In, Boat-In, and Drive-In should be your first decision -- affects price most drastically. Then your level of service desired….American Plan, Housekeeping or an Outpost trip. Lastly what’s your favorite speicies of fish….Walleye, Pike, Smallmouth Bass, Muskie etc.
You can answer all those questions quickly and AllCanada.com can help you search out the camps that best fit your dream Canadian adventure. Make 2010 the year you act on your Canadian adventure….just plan the adventure and you’ll find fellow anglers to help fish.

Gear Up for Walleye Opener

Jennifer Young - General Manager, In a few short weeks the inland walleye fishing season will open in much of Canada…which means your Canadian fishing adventure can’t be far away. The All-Canada Show is extremely proud of our partnership with Cabela’s and The Worlds Foremost Outfitter is running an online walleye opener special.

Visit Cabeas.com today because there’s no better time than the present to get ready for the 2010 fishing season – good luck!

Vacation Prize Winners Drawn

The All-Canada Show has drawn our 2010 Vacation Prize Winners and letters have been sent to 11 lucky show attendees. A winner for each show receives a fabulous trip for two to Canadian lodge. If you attended a show this year check your mail box to see if you might be a winner. Here is a list of the great lodges winners will visit:
St. Louis – Camp Quetico - Atikokan, ON
Chicago – Temple Bay Lodge, Eagle Lake, ON
Indianapolis - Pipestone Lodge, Emo ON
Milwaukee – Cat Island Lodge – Ear Falls, ON
Madison– Evergreen Lodge, Eagle Lake, ON
Green Bay – Indianhead Lodge, Sioux Narrows, ON
Minneapolis – Whitefish Bay Camp , Lake of the Woods, ON
Sioux Falls - Big North Lodge, Minaki, ON
Des Moines– Separation Lake Lodge – Kenora, ON
Omaha – Goldsand Lake Lodge – Lynn Lake, MB
Dallas - Aiken’s Lake Wilderness Lodge – Winnipeg, MB

Pike -- Muskie??

By: Steve Cegielski, All-Canada Show Operations Manager
Back a few years I had the privilege of fishing the waters of Shoal Lake. Shoal Lake is connected to Lake of the Woods near Kenora, ON. We stayed at Shoal Lake Lodge and harassed the Northern Pike and Smallmouth Bass all week.

Bass were not feeding the first half of the week, so we trolled the depths of Shoal Lake looking for active Pike. Many 35”plus Pike took the 9-13” Grandma baits that week including my heaviest pike to date – 25lb monster.

Even though Muskie are common on certain parts of Lake of the Woods we didn’t hook any that week, unless you consider the picture of an unusual looking fish my friend Jeff caught, a Muskie? Strange looking Pike, we figure it’s some sort of cross between a Pike and a Muskie?

I’ve asked a few locals to the area about the fish and nobody can give me an explanation or reason for the unusual fish. This fish was released, so I hope someone has the chance to land this unique trophy in a larger size this summer.

Record Ice Out Northwestern Ontario

By, Rodney Schlafer Show Director – All-Canada Show - It is official … reports from Northwestern Ontario as far north as Red Lake are saying the ice is on the move, setting record for earliest ice out ever . Bill Pryndic from Golden Hook camp sent me these photos of the ice moving out (April 11, 2010) of the bay in front of his camp on Gull Rock Lake.


Allen and Audrey from Fireside Lodge posted a video on their FACEBOOK page of the ice moving on their lake near Sioux Lookout Ontario. You can actually hear the ice moving.

Enid and Hugh from Viking Island Lodge posted a video on their BLOG of Hugh taking off on ice and landing on the river. Very cool to see a Float Plane taking off on the ice.

Well it looks like things are shaping up to be a great spring…if you have not already booked your Canadian fishing trip, check out our WEBSITE with over 300 of Canada’s best fishing and hunting lodges.

Ice out Pike here I come!

Canada fishing opener will be HOT

Norm McCreight, All-Canada Show spokesperson - It wasn't long ago that I was heading north to Winnipeg thru North Dakota and Minnesota admiring their snow cover. Every year the flood waters of the Red River Valley seem to haunt us. This year they had lots of snow, but nothing compared to the past. Right now the river has ceased rising and flooding isn't going to happen…great news.

NW Ontario ice-out is going to be early…in fact the Fort Francis Times is reporting Rainy Lake could set an all-time record for early ice-out, so ice will be all gone well before normal. This is a far cry from last year’s late ice-out.

Yesterday my friend Stan and I went for a run to the east side of Manitoba. The rivers are open and have been open for a while and the lakes have candled and are ready to go as soon as the wind blows. Northwestern Ontario is in the same shape.

This spring though looks like one of those no brainers…the fishing should be HOT everywhere. Early ice-out means an early spawn and quicker spawning period. We can have a true spring opener with walleye and northern in a consistent pattern just like I say in my seminars. My first three trips will be in Northwestern Ontario; two in lakes and one river system. I’ll use soft baits for the walleye and faster plugs and spoon for the pike. I’ll probably start off with medium size baits.

A slow presentation is my preferred starting point and then I’ll speed it up and see what the fish react to the best, and that should get me results quickly. All my reels are back from the repair shop all cleaned and ready to go. Next up though is our annual turkey hunt…gobble, gobble, gobble!!!

FREE E-Newsletter

Joel Prunty, media manager – Four times a year the All-Canada Show sends out an E-newsletter to our opt-in list of over 25,000 avid anglers and hunters. These updates contain feature articles on Canadian adventures, timely tips on planning an adventure, how to chose a destination, Updated information on the All-Canada Show, plus informational links.

Right now we are preparing the spring E-newsletter that will go out at the end of April. To receive your FREE edition go to our website www.allcanada.com and sign-up on our home page.

If you are interested in planning a Canadian adventure AllCanada.com has everything you need to make it successful including the ability to advance search over 300 destinations.

Portable Depth Finder

By: Steve Cegielski, All-Canada Show Operations Manager
Walleye fishing usually revolves around contact with the lake bottom. With that in mind the single most important tool while walleye fishing in my opinion is the depth finder. I would venture to bet consiously or subconsiously the average fisherman peeks at the depth finder over a 1000 times on a day walleye adventure.
Of course my boat is set-up with the highest quality depth finder units I can afford, but my fish finders must travel when I venture north of the border on our annual Canadian fishing trips. I've experimented over the years with portable depth finders. I've gone from a homemade wooden box with board and c-clamp to hold the transducer to a lighter weight pack and suction cup transducer model made by Cabelas. The new case and suction cup model reduces the ever important weight issue on a Canadian Fly-In adventure. I'll admit I was a leary of the suction cup, but if you clean the transom and place right at the water line you'll struggle to remove at weeks end.
As the boats captain, my hand is on the tiller, a quick glance at the depth finder confirms the depth. Of course my fishing partner is always guessing, and I got tired of the questioning all day long "How deep is it?" My solution was to rig up a second depth finder for my partner. Don't worry the driver still holds the upper hand, because the transducer is still located on the transom. The passanger is always fishing old water, but at least the depth questions stop. Now I have fellow Canadian travelers asking to partner up for a days fishing. Be the hero this summer in Canada and rig up dual finders.

Canadian Lodges who like to Blog

By, Rodney Schlafer Show Director - I love reading blogs…it is such a great way to keep up on what is happening in your world. In the past year some of the lodges have started to blog about their everyday happenings. I find some lodges keep up on weekly bases some even a daily bases. And some start them and just do not write at all. Blogs in the summer time are great so you can keep up with the bite. Lodges that do blog on fishing reports gets the blood pumping for their anglers adding to the excitement of their upcoming trip!

This spring is especially been fun reading the blogs to keep up with Ice conditions and by the sounds of it we may be in for record ice off in towns like Red Lake, Ontario. Some of the locals are predicting “Ice Out” to be April 19th…and that means great ice off pike fishing the first of May. See my picture above of me with an early Ontario spring pike 2008 Gull Rock Lake near Red Lake…

Here are some links to some of my favorite blogs:
Viking Outposts
Vermillion Bay Lodge
Ignace Outposts
Thunderbird Lodge
Rainbow Point Lodge

If you have any other lodge blogs email me rod@allcanda.com so I can check them out!

Duct Tapes saves the day!

Joel Prunty, Media Manager - We found this article in Nestor Falls Fly-in Outposts March newsletter…During a private "fly-in" fishing excursion in the Alaskan wilderness a chartered pilot and fishermen left a cooler and bait in their bushplane while fishing. A nearby bear smelled the food and bait and decided to tear their plane apart to get at it.

The pilot used his radio and had another pilot bring him 2 new tires, 3 cases of duct tape, and a supply of sheet plastic. He patched the plane together, and FLEW IT HOME!

Now Dave Beaushene, owner of Nestor Falls Fly-in Outposts says he won’t second guess all the fisherman packing Duct Tape this summer!