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PO Box
279, Ear Falls Ontario P0V 1T0 - Your Host: Mike & Julie Hoffman (We are back!!!!)
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Several Good Reasons to consider fishing Ontario Canada walleyes. When fishing Ontario walleyes, northern pike, lake trout, or small mouth bass on the Woman River Chain of lakes, you will encounter superb angling opportunities that will fulfill your dreams. We offer Canadian fly-in and outpost trips. An American Plan Ontario fishing resort featuring fine dining & meals, modern accommodations, friendly hospitality & excellent service, professional guides, and the finest in boats and motors. An all inclusive trip at an affordable price.
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December 2009 www.canada-north.com P.O. Box 1109 Effingham, IL 62401 800-CNL-9812
Canada North Lodge Newsletter
63rd Anniversary - 2009 Winter / 2010 Spring Edition
A message from Mike and Julie Hoffman . . yes we are back as the owners of CNL
In my 2004 final newsletter after we sold Canada North Lodge I believe I said -– this is saying farewell as a lodge owner – and not saying farewell to you or Canada North Lodge. Our hearts and love for Canada North will always remain --- Little did I know how true those words would be - 5 years later.
YES we are back as the owners of Canada North Lodge and yes it is still true - - our love and commitment to Canada North Lodge and our guests remain the same as always. It still seems as if it was just yesterday when we arrived as owners of Canada North Lodge in 1978. As far as Julie and I are concerned, it has been a real adventure and experience and one that will now continue. We have been privileged to meet so many wonderful people in this business & have made so many friends both in Canada and the US. Our years at the lodge have been blessed with continued good health and being able to get everything accomplished that we set out to do.
We were saddened by the fact that Canada North Lodge remained closed for the entire 2009 season. That was something that I would never in my wildest dreams would have thought could ever happen. We apologize to all our past quests that had planned on coming back to CNL during 2009 as I received many phone calls asking if it would be possible to open. The inevitable answer ended up being NO. Completing all the legal work and so on took several months to complete and by that time the 2009 was over.
Canada North Lodge will reopen during May of 2010 and we will offer the same high quality of service, excellent fishing and hunting that we have always been proud to provide our guests. We kindly ask for the continued patronage of our many past guests and invite all of you to give us a call and hopefully we will see your return in 2010. We welcome all of our new first time guests too.
You can count on our continued dedication and our many years of experience to provide you with a fishing or hunting trip of a lifetime.
Mike & Julie Hoffman
Looking Back to 2009
All I can say is what a year 2009 has been for us.
As we mentioned above – sadly Canada North Lodge remained closed for the entire 2009 Season. It came as quite a surprise to Julie and myself. Shocked I guess would be the right word for it. Things just did not work out for Lance. Hurricane Katrina and the declining economy took it’s toll on him and his plans for CNL.
By mid June it became apparent to us that something had to be done. After lengthy consultation with Lance we both came to the mutual agreement that Canada North Lodge would return to us. This now involved several months of legal work and finally during late August CNL was back in our possession.
During the summer we were fortunate to have the support of our neighboring lodge owners. A special thanks goes out to Harald Lohn and Paul Mossip for looking in and checking on the lodge regularly throughout the summer. The only serious problem was a leaking roof on the main lodge. The two of them did a great job in getting a temporary repair in place. Other than that the resort survived a summer of being closed and overall is in great shape. The very wet summer did make the grass grow very tall. All that will be needed is a herd of goats, a good lawn mowing and lots of raking in the spring of 2010.
We made several trips to the lodge to check on things and to prepare us for what would be needed to reopen the lodge. We had planned on getting a new roof on the lodge but time ran out and so did the weather. But were able to get all the materials in place to get the job done in the spring.
We thank all our Canadian friends and business suppliers for their tremendous support in helping us get our feet back on the ground. “The Welcome Back” truly means a lot to us. |
t was my understanding that the fishing in 2009 was once again a bumper year. However I did hear many complaints about the year being a miserable wet cool year. We had the highest lake water levels ever recorded on the lake system. Well we will be back next year and things will return to normal . . HA . . I hope.
In closing I would like to assure all of you that my commitment to quality and to your hunting or fishing experience at Canada North Lodge will always remain my top priority. I look forward to seeing that Canada North Lodge remains one of the top fishing and hunting destinations in Northwestern ,Ontario. We’ve been doing it since 1947!
Have a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year, we wish each and every one of you the best in the coming year! Looking Forward to 2010
We are confident that 2010 will be a successful year. But a lot of work remains to get things back in order. Our first challenge will be reopening the resort after laying quiet for a year and a half. I am sure we will face challenges and that there will be a few surprises but I actually anticipate that for the most part all the equipment should work properly and we should be able to get CNL back up and running quickly and in a normal time frame.
Right after that and weather permitting a new roof will be placed on the entire main lodge building. If all goes well we hope to have the roofing project completed by the end of May.
A new 60kw generator will be delivered and installed as the primary power. For peak power demand or backup we have the 125kw unit. A smaller 30kw unit is also planned for times of low power demand and for opening and closing periods when power demand is low. These three generators will allow us to control our energy costs during various power demand.
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2010 Newsletter - page 2
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As one can imagine, a lot is still in the planning stages for 2010 after being closed for a year but our commitment is to do whatever required to provide our guests with the same top notch quality in accommodations and equipment that you experienced during our prior 27 years.
To be truthful our return was not expected but is now final. We have spent the best part of our lives in making CNL one of the best in Ontario . . you can be assured it will remain so under our guard.
Bus Fishing Trips to Canada North LodgeOriginating from Oklahoma City, OK Three (3) Motorcoach Trips from this area for the 2010 season.
**New** Special Children Rates – 17 years of age or less – 2 full fare adults required. 25% discount – maximum 2-3 children – includes extra guide, boat, motor and gas. 35% discount – if child is 3rd person in party and 3rd person to boat and share motel accommodation in same room as adults.
We have provided these bus trips for over 20 years and have a long list of happy guests, for references please call.
Ban On Hand-Held Devices in OntarioIt's now the law - the use of hand-held cell phones and other wireless devices while driving is prohibited in Ontario. The new distracted driving law makes it illegal for drivers to talk, text, type, dial or email using hand-held cell phones and other hand-held communications and entertainment devices. Hands-free use of these devices will still be permitted.
Canada Pleasure Craft Operators Card It is now required to have this card or the (equivalent from your state) if you are operating one of our boats or renting one of our boats. This card must be on your person while on the water and operating a boat. We encourage you to obtain this card prior to arriving and can be obtained by going to this web site www.boaterexam.com/ . If you arrive without one we will go thru what you need to know and issue you a Rental Boat Safety Checklist Certificate.
Non-Residents do not require an operators card if they are using their own boat and are in the country for less than 45 consecutive days. If your stay is longer than 45 days, then you will be required to have this card. |
The Conservation Fishing Policy at CNL During 1989, The Lodge Owners for Wilderness Preservation initiated a Fishing Conservation Policy on our lakes which is known as the Woman River Chain of Lakes. Our goal was to release the larger breeding size fish, while allowing take home limits of quality size fillets. This program promotes natural reproduction and development of a trophy class fishery. Year 2010 - 21 years later and the program is a success story. The secret to sustained good fishing is the number of breeding fish available for reproduction each year. The larger the number of breeding fish the more fish you are going to have. Protecting the large fish promotes just such a condition. Our lakes are proof that these methods work.
The policies that are in effect on our lakes are as follow:
Our goal is to provide each guest with an exceptional fishing trip that they will remember for years to come. As it has often been said, “memories are made of things like this”.
Confidence and Guide Service Confidence in one of your own known good fishing spots makes it easy for an angler to hold out, but it's difficult to have confidence when you don’t know a lake or only fish a lake a few days every year. The use of a knowledgeable and experienced guide can greatly increase confidence and improve your odds of success. The term "guide" gets thrown around quite loosely at times and some of our new guests arrive with more than a healthy bit of skepticism for the quality of the guide staff. Doubts quickly disappear when guests realize that our guides are experienced, work together as a team and are on the water almost every day of the season looking for new patterns, presentations and locations. First year guides should not be looked upon as questionable either as they go through an extensive proven training program with the older guiding staff not to mention that we hire them through fishery specialized colleges and have enjoyed fishing throughout their youth and know fishing and boat handling technique’s when we hire them. These so called first year guides often surpass the expectations of the guests and the older guiding staff with their abilities.
The cumulative experience and knowledge of the guiding staff is another tool that consistently successful anglers use to improve their odds. The guides know where all of the good fishing spots and big ones were caught that season and the seasons before. Areas that attract trophy class fish at a specific time of year tend to draw big fish every year. Confidence based on the guide's knowledge and experience keeps anglers attention focused on a good fishing spot even when volume is down. Confidence in their abilities are further reaching than just fishing, they are unmatched when it comes to knowing the shore lunch spots, filleting your fish and preparing a delicious meal of freshly caught fish. Their ability to navigate the lakes and their knowledge of hazard spots is very important in a day of fishing. |
2010 Newsletter - page 3
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Fishing Regulation Limits and License Fee Ministry of Natural Resources – Size and Limit Regulations Walleye – Possession Limits – Opens 3rd Sat May 4 walleye possession limit - Regular license 2 walleye possession limit -Conservation license Northern Pike – Possession Limits – Open all year. 4 Northern possession limit – Regular license 2 Northern possession limit – Conservation license Lake Trout – Possession Limits – Jan 1 to Sept 30 2 Lake Trout possession limit – Regular license 1 Lake Trout possession limit – Conservation license
Non-Resident License Fees – Effective January 1, 2010 A Non Resident Temporary Outdoors Card is now required in addition to License Fee’s – Valid for 3 years - $9.00 Regular Seasonal Fishing License - $69.50 Conservation Seasonal Fishing License – $42.75 8-Day Regular Fishing License - $44.50 8-Day Conservation Fishing License - $25.75 Small Game Hunting License - $99.25 Moose Hunting License – 396.75 Bear Hunting License - $198.25 Your Outdoors card and Licenses must be on your person while fishing and hunting. License Prices are Quoted in Canadian Funds.
We have a safe water system!!! Everyone has heard and read media coverage about problems with water and water supplies. One of the most frequently asked questions is where do we obtain our water and is it safe to drink.
Canada North Lodge has a water treatment system that delivers safe drinking water to every water outlet throughout our resort. The water system includes water storage tanks, a chlorination system and three large filtration systems. The final filters are absolute filters, which remove everything, including Guardia and Crypto. The result is completely safe drinking water. Inside the lodge itself we take one additional step, we remove all the chlorine, providing excellent water for our dining room coffee and drinks, and a place for our guests to refill their water bottles for the day with plenty of pure, good tasting water.
But, there is always a downside to everything. The filters must be changed periodically and the largest problem is that we never know when the flow rates are going to decrease because the filters need changed. Occasionally this happens during peak water demand and we then have no choice except to shut down the water and change the filters. The maintenance is a very small price to pay for ensuring safe water.
Summer / Fall Bear Hunting Season The Ontario Bear Hunting season is August 15th of each year. We have found that the August dates present our hunters with excellent bear hunting which is as good or better than the past spring hunt. Some positive points about the summer/fall hunt are
We consider the time period between August 15th and Sept 7th to be the prime time for a successful hunt. Our bear population is excellent and has never been over hunted.
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Passports Now Required Passports are now required for anyone entering Canada or the US. Apply early. Your local post office can assist you or go online to www.usps.com/passport/welcome.htm
Anyone bringing underage children that are not their own must have on their possession their passports and written permission from the parents along with the parents address and contact information.
Ontario Boating Liquor Laws Ontario has very strict driving and drinking laws which apply to boating the same way as if you were driving your vehicle. Transportation to your outpost cabin is allowed providing all of it is sealed and not opened. Expensive tickets will apply if open liquor is found in a boat. In a nutshell here are the regulations.
a) It illegal to consume alcohol in a moving boat. b) It is illegal to consume alcohol in a boat unless it is also a residence. c) It is legal to carry alcohol on boat as long as it is either sealed or stowed away in a closed container. d) It is illegal to operate a motor boat while impaired on alcohol. Federal criminal code penalties apply. e) Ontario Highway Traffic Act penalties for a federal conviction for operating a boat while impaired do not apply.
.We suggest leaving the alcohol on the bank and no beer or liquor in the boat.
2010 “Tagged Fish Contest” During 2010 our guests can participate in the “Tagged Fish Contest”. These rules are required to qualify:
Look closely at your bigger fish before releasing them. The tags are often overlooked as they have been covered with moss and film over the years. Winners prize - Plan 1, 3-day fishing trip for (1) person.
Life Jackets: Canadian Coast Guard regulations require that you must have one approved life jacket on board for each occupant of the boat. The life jackets must fit the person and be readily available. Even though the law states that they do not have to be worn we encourage everyone that does not swim or feels uncomfortable on the water to wear the life jackets. This is very important in the case of children. Boat cushions are not legal for life saving.
If you have your own life jacket USCG approved life jackets are legal if you own them. Any color is acceptable provided it has the coast guard approved tag. We have ample life jackets to go around, but many guests prefer their own personal lifejacket. If so - bring it with you.
Bear & Moose Hunting Information: Our brochure does not provide ample space to address all the information about these hunts. For complete information on these hunts please call 800-CNL-9812. We prefer to discuss these hunts personally with our hunters to ensure all their questions are answered properly. We have individual brochures about the bear and moose hunts and will forward them to you by mail or you can visit our web site and access them immediately. Canada bear hunting lodge at CNL
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2010 Newsletter - page 4
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Trip Payment–Cash, Checks, Credit Cards
Cash or checks is our preferred method of payment
As a convenience and courtesy to our guests we accept Visa and MasterCard. We are now able to accept your credit cards in US funds without having to convert the amounts to Canadian Funds as we are allowed as a Canadian Merchant to have a Merchant Account for Visa and MasterCard with a US Bank. This is especially good news as the previous method was time consuming, confusing to our guests and often led to final charges being higher than the original amount.
Hunters must Register Firearms Canadian Law requires non-resident hunters entering Canada to register firearms. Complete information about the legislation and the registration forms can be obtained on the internet at http://www.rcmp-grc.gc.ca . Hunters at CNL do not be concerned. In brief here is what is needed and is easy to download and to complete.
A trigger lock must be used on each of your firearms and cased properly. |
Travel Information - Commercial Air For those of you that prefer to fly Commercial Air we suggest either International Falls, MN or Winnipeg, Manitoba. Distance from International Falls is 240 miles, a 4.5 hour drive Distance from Winnipeg to CNL is 320 miles, a 5.5 to 6 hour drive. By Vehicle – We are 240 miles north of International Falls, MN. We offer several maps on our web site which we encourage you to print. Go To: http://www.canada-north.com/travel.htm
Propane Cooking Stoves As owners of Canada North Lodge for the past 25 years, we have always known that forest fires present a very dangerous threat to our lake system, surrounding forests, and our business. The threat of forest fires is always in the back of our minds and we live in fear of their happening. It has always been known that forest fires are often started with “shore lunch fires.
“Propane cooking stoves” are in place at all shore lunch sites. We no longer allow open wood fires in any form. . guest or guide built . . the risk is not worth it.
Fishing tips that can apply to all months.
Woman Lake Outpost .The Woman Lake Outpost is located 15 miles north of our main lodge on a scenic point on Little Woman Lake and is accessible only by water. Little Woman Lake provides our guests with excellent fishing for walleye, northern pike and lake trout. To the north of the outpost is Big Woman Lake to the south is Big Bear and Middle Lake, all within 10 miles of the outpost.
The outpost has been completely remodeled, inside and out, is a very clean modern accommodation. Included are: kitchen cabinets, sink, thermostatically controlled propane heat, hot and cold running water, solar electric for interior lights, propane refrigerator, propane cooking stove w/oven, a bathroom with shower and vanity, cooking & eating utensils, and bunks with foam mattresses. You need to bring your own food, towels, personal items and bedroll.
Included are 16’ boats with Mercury 25hp motors and 5 gallons of gas per day per boat. The boats are kept at the lodge for your pickup and are very clean, dry, well maintained and comfortably fish 3 persons. The boats are complete with swivel seats, depth finders, paddles, life cushions, landing net and minnow bucket. Your trip to the outpost will be assisted by one of our guides. The return trip is not assisted.
The outpost is booked for 4 to 6 persons on a Saturday to Saturday basis, a full 7-day fishing trip, or any portion thereof. Other options available include guide service, additional boats, and evening meals booked at the main lodge. If you are looking for a housekeeping plan where you can do it yourself, have good fishing, and be in an isolated area, this is your chance.
For complete information about the Woman Lake Outpost - go to our web site at: http://www.canada-north.com
Wishing everyone a successful fishing year.
Merry Christmas & Happy New YeaR |
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Phone: 217-259-6101 |
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E-mail -getinfo@canada-north.com |
