That's really cool.

Hardly anyone in the reserves hunt and fish anymore.

Isn't that the truth Bernie. Poaching moose is as close as they come, but I speak of areas a couple hundred miles farther up than this.
Also, used to be on every water connecting point or portage there were signs of marten trapping. Can't remember in the last 20 years or better seeing a native trapper in northwestern Ontario. I know there are some just not like the old days.

Osky

The Cree here hunt,especially geese and moose,and net fish for consumption.There are several in each extended family that provide for the elders and young and those that don't hunt.Some familys still trap but not near as much as in the past.
Everything is shared.Feasts are common for any special occasions.

Every year on our way to Lac Seul we stay at the River View Lodge which is just across the crick from the paper mill in Dryden.
The River View is partially a log structure that was a home to the superintendent for a logging company from 1910 I think that moved into the Dryden area.
It has a fireplace that will rival anything you have seen. She will take a 4' log with room to spare.
Dryden is a really interesting city and we learn more about it each time we stay there. Go Ice Dogs! (that is the name of their semi pro hockey team)
Wabigoon is a huge lake and would be hard to comprehend size wise for many folks. My good friend and neighbor here has 80 acres on the river that
his Grandpa bought back in the 20's.
He never goes there because the fishing sucks. lol
On the other hand there are huge white tail deer in that area and the trapping opportunities would seem to be limitless for a fellow willing to get off his but and work.


Zim

I just ate 3 meals of fish from the Wabigoon River system on Clay Lake, last week. My buddy did mention that the mercury levels were elevated in these fish but I thought he was kidding. We didn't eat anything over 14'' though as those are the best for the frying pan! Beautiful country, great fishing, sad story about the pollution.

There are many trappers in the Dryden area that produce over 100 marten/ line a year on their RTL lines. Back when marten were at a high there was many $ 25,000 cheques going out after an auction. One trip with a Grader showed them the proper way of forming and the sizes went up a size overall to many trappers, back then it was 80$ difference in the sizes..130 to 210$ ranges

Nothing still do the same thing dump at knight

Pickerel are pickerel,,walleyes are walleyes.Canada land buddy of mine kills me when he keeps calling walleyes pickerel.LOL

They don't have pickerel in most of Canada, and walleyes all across western Canada are called "yellow pickerel" in some places they don't know what you are talking about if you refer to them as walleyes. Just a localized name for the same fish.

I eat a lot of walleyes out of the wabigoon river each year, and I know a lot of people are eating walleyes out of the English River system each year as well. Bigger ones of course have more mercury, but if you take the dark bloodline off the sides, you remove almost all the mercury.

The process has changed in the manufacture of the paper in the last 40 years.

Our walleyes are call " Green backs " that shinny Irish emerald green all the way.
Maybe 49er has some proof what they look like.

Removing the lateral line has nothing to do with removing the mercury contamination. sorry you have fallen for that line

is there anything to do except cutting off the fat ,skin and eat smaller fish to try to avoid the mercury n of 50?

The lateral line is on the outside of the skin. I'm talking about the dark, fatty tissue on the outside of the muscle. It's where most of the contaminants settle.

Greenbacks are found in some parts of eastern Manitoba, pretty localized populations.

It seems you keep hearing about lakes in Canada that are strictly "catch and release". If the fish were contaminated from that lake, wouldn't it still have been a great fishing resort and thrived that way? A really sad situation for such beautiful country. For as long as it has sat vacant, it's surprising it hasn't been vandalized.

I had friends who operated a fly in lodge our of chapleau ontario.....its still there under a new ownership(mache kino lodge) I remember fond memories as a young man catching and smoking pike and walleye there. They always planted alot of turnips for hunting snacks. The closest neighbors were cree indians(about 7 miles) Sad to think people of today have to worry so much about contaminants

Catch and release fishing wasn't really on most people's radar in the 1970's. Very few fish were returned to the water; shore lunch and fish fries were a vital part of the culture of these resorts back then. Still are in most places. Most people would think if you couldn't keep what you catch, why bother?

This. As a camp boy starting out in the late 60’s you better believe everyone wanted full filleted limits to take home. Catch and release only happened after the propane freezer was full and dinner stringers were dangling at the cleaning table. Out of say a 4 day trip we ate shorelunch walleye and dinner walleye every day but one, when usually pork chops were made.
Ball lake lodge was the real deal, we only had plywood floors with a wall tent on top. The cook/eating shack was plywood sides with a tent top due to bears. I think Ball lake employed most of the natives of grassy narrows, men and women. In the camps I worked in I was it. I did everything but the breakfast and evening cooking.

Osky

It is my understanding that the Wabigoon river from Dryden to at least Clay Lake is still on the "0" consumption recommended. If you go to the LCBO (government booze store) and ask for the list of contaminated waters, they will supply you with one. Last I heard, as of a few years ago anyway, Wabigoon R & Clay L were still on the list.

One theory I have heard is that the mercury traveled downstream from the mill in the Wabigoon R to Clay L where a lot of it it settled in the Lake due to the deeper, slower moving water. Now the fish contaminated in Clay Lake, travel up and down the Wabigoon river, so there is no way of knowing what fish are heavily contaminated and which are not. This type of contamination is cumulative so the longer the fish lives in contaminated water the worse the contamination. So eating smaller, younger fish is considered safer than older bigger, fatter fish.

Very cool thread to me. Like the vids Bernie, looks like you had her to yourself opening weekend! Good for you! (I wasnt too sure, lol)

I wouldn't eat a fish out of that area.
I don't know why anyone would.There are hundreds of thousands of lakes and rivers that are pristine in Ontario and you could live off the fish and never worry about stumbling around like an alky from mercury poisoning.

We deer hunted that area (Kenora) many years. Its beautiful up there. Old gold mines also.