Author Archives: Scott

Apply Online for Remote Area Border Crossing Permit (RABC)

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We highly recommend that groups travelling to the Angle apply for Remote Area Border Crossing (RABC) permits. This permit allows you to cross into Canada by water or land without calling ahead to report on the Canpass call-in reporting system. Canpass wait times can be up to 30 minutes or more depending on the time of day and the number of customs officers working the phones. This can often delay the start of your fishing day or your return trip home from the Angle.

Currently, if you wish to do a shorelunch in Canada, you need to call Canpass and check in. Boats who are only fishing and not landing on shore are not required to call in. Any vehicle leaving the Angle by ice or land must call in as well. The RABC permit allows you to bypass the Canpass call, provided all passengers have an RABC or are covered under one.

In the past, the only options to get an RABC were by mail or in person at a limited number of Canadian Customs stations. A couple of years ago, an online application process for RABC permits became available. The online application form is convenient and simple to fill out, and the completed RABC permit is e-mailed to you within a day or two in most cases.

The cost for an RABC is $25 Canadian. One RABC will cover an entire family or a husband and wife, and is good for an entire year. Most adults must apply individually for RABCs. This might be the best money you spend on your entire trip! The convenience and peace of mind of having your border check-ins taken care of for your entire trip is priceless.

Follow this link https://cbsa-asfc.gc.ca/prog/canpass/rabc-pfre/menu-eng.html to begin (also located on our Resources page). Review what you need to get started and who is eligible, then fill out the online form. Note that there is a separate email address to send applications for the Northwest Angle area. Typically, applications get approved and permits are emailed out in a few days.

Canadian Border Closures / Minnesota Guiding

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Ontario has extended its state of emergency through July 1, so fishing access there will likely not be allowed until then.  We are hoping that Manitoba will make the decision to allow car traffic through to the Angle by June 21, when border closures are re-evaluated nationally.  Currently tourism and sport fishing are not priorities for Canadian border crossings.  Until the end of the month, everything is still up in the air, and there has been no indication on what their officials will decide.  In the meantime, we have shifted operations to the US waters on Lake of the Woods.

Currently we are running Minnesota guide trips, both out of the Angle and the south end of the lake.  Groups can get a ride or fish their way up to the Angle with us, or do day trips leaving from any point along the south shore or the Rainy River.  Shore lunches are still an option.  We still have a big chunk of the lake to cover, and the largest walleyes in the lake to go after.  Year after year, the Minnesota waters of Lake of the Woods offer the best trophy walleye odds, and this year has been stellar so far!

In a way, we are going back to our roots with this Minnesota-only angling.  We spent a lot of time on the US side of the lake when we started our guiding careers, almost exclusively at times.  Many of our long-term clients got their first taste of  Lake of the Woods fishing with us in Minnesota, and we have a lot of experience to draw on.  Working the big lake is a different style of fishing compared to working the Canadian islands, but also allows us to fish different parts of the lake and get on bites that we wouldn’t normally access.  It’s a different challenge, and we are looking forward to it!

We still have available dates for fishing in June, July, and August.  Give us a call and book your adventure!