Question for Canadians?

[geodebasser]

I have been on a couple of fly in trips to Manitoba through an outfitter. The only people on the two lakes we had access to were the four of us. We were the only tourist there. My question is are the number of people allowed on the lake determined by the outfitters or the government? I also understand the government owns the lakes and gives out 100 year leases? All I know is that they were some of the best fishing trips of my life. Those trips are not cheap but the quality of the recreation is worth it to me.

[Larrythedane]

Anyone can fish any lake. It’s crown property. You just have to find a way to get in to the lake.

[geodebasser]

Anyone can fish any lake. It’s crown property. You just have to find a way to get in to the lake.

Can the outfitters lease certain lakes from the Crown giving them and their customers private access? I understand that Lake of the Woods and other boundary lakes are public.

[Larrythedane]

No. Everyone has fair access to crown lands. They can lease the property, but cannot control access to the lake. I have cut trails to some “fly in” lakes. The outfitter are not super happy about you using the lake, but they cannot stop you.

[FrancoCialone]

Many years ago we went on a "fly-in" fishing trip just north of Huntsville,Ontario, our outfitter leases the crown land and fly in customers from their lodge. Our camp/tent was the only one set up on our lake, but there were many lakes around the area if you could get to them. There were 4 of us and the camp could hold about 8. They had other camps on various lakes set up depending on what kind of fish you wanted (bass, trout, etc.), but I think our outfitter set up his business 1 camp per lake.

[geodebasser]

No. Everyone has fair access to crown lands. They can lease the property, but cannot control access to the lake. I have cut trails to some “fly in” lakes. The outfitter are not super happy about you using the lake, but they cannot stop you.

Thanks that answers my questions. Near Kenora is where our outfitter was located.