Fishing report from Jan 1st-4th

They botched our initial booking left us wondering for a few days if we had a place to go on the opener, then eventually told us we had a cottage at idle tyme.

Day of the trip comes around and we have been on the road for 5 hours and we're 20 minutes away when they call and say someone took your cottage at idle tyme you're gunna have to go to bear creek... we had paid for idle tyme under the impression we could walk out to the huts to fish at night- they said they were fairly close. And we thought we would have wood stoves in the huts for an old guy who loves his wood stove, (instead we have broken propane stoves that barely warmed the hut) and we also booked with them for the sattelite TV advertised on their website - there were 2 Leafs Games on and the Canada world Jr match -we are all Diehard hockey fans and wanted to watch the games to go along with a great weekend of fishing, but when we got there we had one single news channel.

Right from the get go we were rushed and they were rude, we were forced to run on their schedule- out at 7am in at first dark- when we had been expecting to be able to fish throughout the night. The whole time we felt like they didn't care about us in the slightest... There were just too many people for them to worry about our one group- Even though we were to be ready for them we had to wait in the cold a lot waiting for other groups Etc... and constantly felt like a huge inconvenience. No apologies about the missing TV or wood stoves, they brushed us off it didn't matter.

After the next morning of fishing we were all upset about the whole trip so far so we expressed our concerns about how we paid for a completely different place and a different experience and since they had made a mistake we were hoping for an apology or some sort of way to make things right, we couldn't find a solution and the owner seemed more annoyed than anything and then he got angry and argued with us -we asked if there was any way we could just settle for our time stayed and leave.

We were trying to discuss with him and while we were talking he just turned his back and slammed the door on our cottage while we were trying to speak... He returned with a bill for 1200$...said we are paying for the entire weekend for 1 night of unhappy accommodations.

We ended up bartering him down a little bit gave him some cash and got outta there. The worst customer service I've ever experienced right from booking to the time we got the hell out.

We ended up staying at Big Moose Camp which is like home- had a Legendary weekend with everything we could've needed. The owners opened up just for us, set up the huts, shuttled us when we needed a ride and we could walk out to our wood stove huts right outside the cottage as well. Watched all our hockey games and caught lots of fish. They were constantly ensuring. We had everything we needed and if we had any suggestions to make the place better. Can't say enough good things about Big Moose Camp.

I'm sure some people have had great trips to Idle Tyme/ Bear Creek but For us it was a nightmare from start to finish, which is weird because I've read many good things. Don't know what went wrong.

Sorry for the lengthy post... Still a bit rattled

Apologizing for the factual post? I appreciate you taking the time to write the report!

Thanks!

Man, am I ever sorry to hear that. I know how much we all look forward to our trips away and the time/money involved in said trips.

That sounds terrible and so far from the experiences we've had staying with them.

I'm genuinely thrilled to hear you guys were able to salvage your trip in some way, even after all the BS!

Thanks for the report!

That is one beautiful wally, memory forever, bet the beers tasted pretty good that night, the boys will never here the end of it, I'am sure. Bet you rebooked already. Nice work man

Hey Gord88... what happened at bear creek ? I know a large group going there at the end of the month and would hate to see them waste their money.

A beauty of a walleye there!! Sucks to have a bad trip to a company that's supposed to cater to the guests it accomodates. Some people just care about the bucks they will make and dont give a rats a## about anyone else. Glad you posted this story about bear creek, cause if I ever get up to Nippissing I certainly would not deal with that bunch. Thanx

Thanks gord88 for the story. Good to know those things. At least Canada won Gold. Take care.

OUR GROUP HAS STAYED WITH SHAWN AT IDLE TYME/BEAR CREEK FOR A COUPLE OF YEARS NOW AND HAVE NEVER SEEN ANYTHING LIKE THAT FROM HIM OR HIS STAFF. IM NOT CALLING YOU A STORY TELLER BUT I AM TRULY SHOCKED. SHAWN HAS ALWAYS TAKEN GREAT CARE OF US ALL THE WAY.
SORRY FOR YOUR LUCK.

SO FAR WE WOULD NEVER THING OF GOING ANYWHERE OTHER THAN SHAWN'S PLACES (IDLE TYME OR BEAR CREEK)

THANKS

Agree 100% with BIGFILTHY. I understand $@%# happens and people make mistakes in any line of business but Shawn and Terra have been outstanding hosts our past few years and we wouldn't even consider going elsewhere. Sorry for your luck and I know there's always two sides to the story (and the truth somewhere in the middle) but it sounds like you did ok at the other place and they took good care of you. Glad to hear that at least.

8 Days 15 Hours til we leave for Bear Creek

I can back up gord88 weve been to many outfitters and never had a problem we were forced to try a new spot because tma kwa vacationland shut down this winter. I'm not gonna go into detail because gord hit the nail on the head but i dont want him getting a bad rep on here because he is telling the truth about our experience. Our group will never step foot at bear creek cottages again, just an honest report. Our trip was salvaged and it might of been the best one yet after leaving.

Just joined the message board, and looking forward to heading up to Bear Creek on the 23rd to 25th (sounds like a popular weekend). Always been happy with Shawn. This is our third year and he's always treated us great. Sorry to hear about the bad experience.

Was it Shawn you dealt with? Inconceivable that he would behave this way, I've known the guy 10 years.

If it wasn't in fact Shawn, I suggest you fill him in and he'll make things right by you, he's a stand up guy.

I'm just telling you about our group's experience with them. I'm sure not everyone has an experience like we did or they wouldn't be in business. We aren't dealing with them again.

wasn't questioning your account of what happened, I meant to ask if it was Shawn you dealt with or one of his guys. As I said it is extremely out of character for him.