NOTO Convention is coming in October

By: Jennifer Young, All-Canada Show Owner

The All-Canada Show has been a strong supporter of many provincial and regional associations over the years. I believe that we have been a member of NOTO since the beginning of the shows almost 30 years ago. Now I am serving as the Allied Board President, and I am looking forward to the upcoming NOTO Convention. We have made it shorter than in the past, and it will be held in Dryden close to lots of lodges and camp. To all the Ontario Exhibitors, I hope that you are able to make it this year.

NOTO's 83rd Nature & Outdoor Tourism Conference
October 27th & 28th, 2010
Dryden, ON
Hosted by the Best Western Dryden Motor Inn
You will find below numerous links to help you register and learn more about our 2010 event!

Tentative Agenda
Registration Form

Host Hotel Information
To book your room at the host hotel please contact the Best Western Dryden Motor Inn at 807-223-3201 or 1-888-394-2378 before September 25th to get the following NOTO rates.

$100.95 - Single or $106.95 Double(rates do not include applicable taxes)

When making your reservation tell the operator that you are booking for the NOTO Conference.

NOTO Convention Page

Allied Member Exhibits
As part of the each NOTO Conference, we invite our Allied members to participate in our Allied Trade Show. This opportunity is available EXCLUSIVELY to our Allied Members.

The 2010 conference will take place at two separate facilities over the two day event. The daytime agenda on October 27th will take place at The Centre. At this facility, Allied displays will be set up in the back of the auditorium and out in the atrium.

On October 28th, the conference will remain at the host hotel, the Best Western Dryden Motor Inn for the rest of the agenda. Exhibitors will have the option to set up their displays at the host hotel for no additional charge. Be sure to indicate your interest in this additional opportunity on the reservation form at the link below.

Please complete the form and return it to the NOTO office by October 15th, 2010. We encourage you to reserve your booth in advance of the deadline to ensure you get a spot. If you have any questions, please contact Laurie Marcil at 705-472-5552 x24.

Allied Display Reservation Form

We want our Allied members to participate in conference. Join us at meals and take the opportunity to mingle and get to know the camp operators better. Allied Members are provided with a special "meal deal". Use the form listed below to register for meals during the conference.

Allied Meal Deal Form

Sponsorship Opportunities
Take the opportunity to help your industry organization and gain valuable exposure by sponsoring a coffee break, meal, or a number of other events and/or donating items for our fundraising efforts. To review the available opportunities click the links below:

Sponsorship Levels
Sponsorship Form

We hope you will join us in Dryden in October. If you have any questions about our conference, please do not hesitate to contact us at (705)472-5552 or by email at info@noto.net

Proper Release

Joel Prunty - media manager, All-Canada Show - Catch and release fishing – especially as it relates to trophy fish – is now standard practice for anglers. And these actions are greatly improving the quality of fisheries in Canada. The likely hood of catching a trophy these days is better now than anytime in the last 50 years and the main reason is catch and release.

The next major improvement in Catch and Release to come is survival rates and how to improve them. It does no good to release a fish if it doesn’t live and we still need to make major improvements on how we handle trophy fish. Here a few quick tips for handling your next BIG fish:

NETTING - Leave your trophy in the net and in the water, remove the lure then lift your trophy out of the net. (If you bring the fish into the boat it’s going to flop around and entangle itself more.)
HOLDING – Always hold your trophy pike and lake trout with two hands with one supporting the stomach. Never hold a trophy vertically with one arm.
ACT QUICKLY – Time is of the essence. You want to enjoy your trophy and get a good photo, but act quickly. A lodge owner once told me “think of yourself holding your breath under water…that is what fish are doing out of water.” While your trophy is being removed from the net, set up your picture to save time.
WEIGHT - Never weigh a fish by haning it from a scale...weight your fish in the net by attaching your scale to the net and raising it, the weight of the net is so small the reading is still accurate

Paying attention to these three tips will greatly increase the odds of your trophy surviving to fight another day.

Lost Landmark

By: Steve Cegielski, All-Canada Show, Operations Manager

Last Tuesday Vermillion Bay, Ontaio lost a landmark business. The Village Corner burned, taking out a great resturant and tackle shop visited by many anglers / hunter traveling up the Red Lake Highway (Hwy 105). I've personally eaten many great meals in the resturant and own my fair share of last minute tackle from the Village Corner.

Sad to see such a thriving business end, but hopefully rebuilding plans are already under way. I was able to have one last visit....last week Saturday I purchased a few trout jigs on my way north to Ear Falls. Little did I know three days later the building would burn. I did capture a few photos of the damage on our way south last weekend.

Good Luck to all Moose hunter getting ready to head north....Archery bull hunters are packing, and warming up their vocal cords to call in the massive bull moose.

Tips Learned

By:Steve Cegielski, All-Canada Show, Operations Manager

Everytime I travel to Canada I'm always on the look out for new tips / tricks to add to my arsenal to create a better trip for myself and the Canada crew. Even after dozens of trips north of the border, I almost always come home with a few new ideas. Our latest trip to Sportsmans Lodge, Sask. provide multiple tips that will definitely make the next trip even more enjoyable.

Guided adventures allow access into dedicated guides way of life...tricks they've been using for years, so I pay close attention. I watched and learned cooking techniques, boat manuvering, fish cleaning secrets, and maybe the most important bird's nest removal.

Anyone who has ever casted a bait casting type reel knows how demoralizing a good birds nest can be....watching your buddy hit some amazing water while your out of the game with twisted line. I've mastered the bait caster, but still 3-4 times per week I forget to change the tension after switching lures and the next cast isn't pretty.

We'll last week after one of those so called bad casts I found myself alone holding one of the best bird nest's I've ever created. After a few minutes I located the problem loop and all I needed was to pull the loop free and get back fishing. But the problem was the loop was buried in the spool and my fingers were to big to reach....Here comes the best tip of the trip....The guide tapped my on the shoulder and handed over a special line clippers with attachements including a small hook and pointer. Wow, I've got to have one of those....I think I saved 10 minutes of fishing. One quick hook of the loop and I was back in business.

I'm happy to report I've found just the tool this weekend at the local sport shop, now I'm ready to battle the birds nests.

Making memories and living life

By: Jennifer Young, All-Canada Show owner

This summer has been so fun. My family has made so many great memories together. As I get older, I am starting to appreciate people in my life more than ever. I recently had a friend who died of a heart attack at age 41, and his facebook page had pictures of a cruise that he took with his wife and daughters last year. I am certain that his family is so glad that they didn't wait to take that vacation.

When money is tight, people sometimes want to give up things that they should keep (family vacations) and keep things that should be given up (wasteful spending - daily cups of coffee from Starbucks, fast food, extra vehicles, interest from credit cards, etc). If you want to discuss more ways to save money for your next trip to Canada, please email me at jennifer@allcanada.com

When I look back on my life, I can remember the sights, smells, sounds from trips to Canada and other places much more than I remember other childhood memories. My youngest child is 9 and my oldest is 13, and it seems like yesterday when they were born. They all remember our trips together to Canada, and it is such a great tradition - way better than going to Disney World! Take your kids with you on your fishing trip to Canada - it is OK for them to spend some time at the camp or lodge without video games and all of the other entertainment that they have at home. Kids love to spend time with their parents, and they love it when your cell phone is turned off or not usable! Parents love their children, and we want the best for them. The biggest gift that you can give your children is your time. Enjoy them now while they are still young.

I am laughing out loud (lol) in the boat. It is an unusual picture of me, but it makes me smile every time that I see it, so I wanted to share it with you.

Saskachewan Lake Trout

By: Steve Cegielski, All-Canada Show, Operations Manager
Traveling north of the border with three other hungry Northern Pike fanatics set the competition bar high. I knew I probably had the least experience when it came to tangling with the toothy monsters of Saskatchewan. I've chased my fair share of large pike, but I'm truly a walleye fisherman that dabbles with pike. Don't get me wrong I love the pike beasts and desired the trophy as much as the next guy. But on this trip the Veteran skill prevailed just like I could have perdicted. I did tangle with quite a few nice pike, but left the heavy lifting to the veterans. As a group we boated 10 pike over 40 inches...not bad for a 4 day trip!

So if you can't beat them at their game switch gears and try something new. I'll be the first to admit I have limited knowledge of Lake Trout and their desired habitat, but I'm learning quickly. Lakers have intrigued me for the past year, I've trolled the depths of lakes and landed my share of Lakers, but jigging in 100 ft of water has peaked my attention.

Well that's where I found my self last week....we were between pike honey holes and the guide took the oppurtunity to float drift over a Laker hang out. Quickly with light walleye gear I tied on a heavy jig with gulp attached and lower to the depths. Not 5 minuites into the drift I hooked a large 30" - 10lb plus healthy Laker that wanted nothing to do with the waters surface. With 6lb test mono I had my hands full to pursuade the Lake Trout to the surface....what a fight, my forearm still aches after that fight.

Now the fire has been fueled with alittle sucess. I need to study the Laker and their tendencies, so I"m prepared to target them on my next trip north to Canada.

New Shore Lunch Recipe

Joel Prunty, media manager, All-Canada Show - I’ve eaten a lot of shore lunches over the years…and traditional fried walleye, potatoes and baked beans is still my favorite. A fishing trip to Canada isn’t official until I’ve eaten one.

There are many varieties of shore lunch in Canada including fish chowder, which is great on a cold rainy day, stir fried fish and vegetables is awesome too – plus you have every kind of baked fish imaginable. But on our latest adventure to Sportsman’s Lodge in Saskatchewan this month we had something new and so good it is now my second favorite shore lunch.

After frying up some walleye our guide drained the frying pan and added a ½ bottle of zesty Italian salad dressing. Then he pan fried northern pike fillets in the dressing, boiling off the liquid and searing the pike in what remained…just scrumptious!

On my next adventure to Canada I will defiantly be trying it out for myself. If you have a favorite shore lunch recipe…pass it on to us.