I am going on a fishing trip up to Great Bear Lake in the Northwest Territories region of Canada, above the arctic circle, in a little over a month from now.  The main purpose of this trip is fishing but I will taking along the camera gear I own and plan on documenting the trip throughly as well as getting some great shots of the area up there.  I am not very experienced in photography but I have used my equipment a little bit.  I haven't gotten beyond using the preprogramed "idiot settings" on the camera dial on the DSLR.  Here is the breakdown of what I am bringing:

-Canon EOS Rebel XSi DSLR
-Canon EF-S 18-55mm 1:3.5-5.6 IS lens
-Canon 75-300mm EF 1:4-5.6 III USM  lens
-Extra cards and battery
-Tiny tripod

-GoPro Hero(comes with waterproof case)
-GoPro adjustable length stick
-Various GoPro mounts(chest, head, suction, etc)

-iVue Horizon 1080p video sunglasses

The main purpose of this trip is fishing but I want to throughly document the trip as well as take some great shots of the scenery, landscape, and wildlife up there.  My game plan so far is to use the DSLR to do photography at the camp/lodge, on shore during the shore lunches, and in the boat if/when one of our group lands a trophy fish.  The GoPro I was going to use with the stick to take some great underwater video of the fish in general, of fish being reeled in, and of fish hitting the lures.  The water at Great Bear Lake is evidently extremely clear.  I was also planning on using it for general in boat photography/video of minor things due to its durability and waterproofness.  Using the DSLR in these small boats is risky so I was only going to take it out for important pictures.  The iVue Horizon video glasses I was going to wear full time and turn them on when I get a big fish on the line.  The lodge/camp has generator power so I can charge everything at night and I'll have a USB battery pack during the day in case the GoPro or iVue need a charge during shore lunch.  There is plenty of room on the microSD cards for a long day and I'll be dumping them on my Macbook Pro every night as well as backing them up to a thumb drive.

Any advice in general as far as other equipment to buy/bring for the trip?  Weight and space is limited so bringing a full size tripod is probably out of the question.  I also can't drop a ton of money on equipment so anything major like a new DSLR body, GoPro Hero 4, or like items are not an option.  I know I need to learn how to adjust settings on my DSLR but learning everything there is to know is not possible in this timeframe so maybe targeted things to focus on would be helpful.

Breaking questions down by equipment:

DSLR
-any filters I need to bring/buy besides polarized?
-individual settings I should get to know for certain shots?
-advice on pictures of the northern lights if I get the chance?

GoPro
-should I buy the adaptor and some filters for the underwater photography?  I see some people with filters called CY, CYD, SWCY, and GR?
-Any advice on what might look better underwater, 1080p30fps or 720p60fps?

Thanks for any advice you can give and I'll try to post a bunch of the pictures here after the trip.

I would try your best to get a solid tripod you can bring.  Maybe one of the Joby models.  They are great and work in all sorts of situations.

Maybe an ND filter also.  I have a 10 stop for shooting water, I love it.

I was lucky enough to photograph the Northern Lights in Iceland a few years ago. Your best bang for your buck would be to bring a decent tripod. Not sure what you have as far as a "tiny tripod" goes, but there are several decent full size travel (collapsible and light) tripods out there that won't break the bank.  Due to the long shutter times, handheld shots of the Northern Lights are pretty much a no-go.   Be sure to set your lens to it's widest opening.  I would try to manually pre-focus the area you are shooting as trying to Autofocus the sky at night is troublesome.  Shoot in RAW, not JPEG so you have more options during post-processing.



FWIW I used a Canon T2i with a 16-35mm F/2.8 L.

The "tiny tripod" I was referring to on my list is just a small tabletop tripod. Definitely nothing special but it would provide some stability it I set it on a bolder or outdoor table for long exposure northern lights shots if the opportunity arises.   I have a friend that has a very nice tripod and head that I might be able to borrow. It is pretty lightweight but I don't know if I'll have the space in my bag. Here is it pictured below.   I'm told it's a very nice set up

I am not sure what all those gizmos are attached to the top of that, but Manfrotto tripods are gtg.   If you can manage to take that with you, I think it would serve you far better than a tabletop tripod.  



 

I think it's just a nice lightweight tripod with a very nice ball head on it which is adjustable by gripping that handle on the side and squeezing it to release the friction. That thing on the very top is an adjustable mount that allows you to use it as a gun rest and tighten it on the forearm of a rifle so that you can use it for long-range shooting. That's what he uses the tripod and head for.

Your chances of seeing the northern lights that far north in August are slim to none. You'll be lucky if you see stars, maybe some planets.

Since you said it's mostly a fishing trip, I'd keep your gear as simple as possible. Traveling with all your camera gear in addition to you fishing gear is a pain in the ass. Plus, fussing with gear you are not used to on a trip in unfamiliar territory, while your supposed to be fishing is a good way to miss fish, shots and annoy the people you are with. Ditch the video glasses, you should be wearing polarized glasses on the water, use the chest mount and maybe get a head mount for the GoPro. I'd also get a lightweight but sturdy selfie stick/monopod for it so you can get it down in the water from the boat, as trying to do that with your hands is going to be really awkward. Forget about the filters other than a polarizer for your camera. You don't need any colored filters for your go-pro since you are going to be moving it in and out of the water. You only need 60 fps if you are planning to do some slow-mo.

Thats the same tripod I use.  Literally the exact one.  I even have a Hog Saddle for long range shooting.  Its a great set up!

 

Best advice I can give you is double and triple check the expected temperatures for your trip and the relevant operating temperatures of your gear.

Cold weather can freak out some electronics. Battery powered stuff, cameras, flashes, etc.

Make sure your stuff can survive the trip.

IMHO...
1) Enjoy the trip.  If it comes down to enjoying the trip or making photos, take snapshots and video just as a means to jog your memory later in life.
2) If you are going to have the time to concentrate on photography, I'd suggest grabbing a copy of Understanding Exposure (or the field guide, or the Understanding Photography field guide) by Bryan Peterson.  Some time spent with one of those books (or equivalent videos on the webs) before going, will allow you to get away from the program modes.  The field guides are small enough you might feel comfortable packing one with you.
3) Rain sleeves/ plastic bags and rubber bands, maybe some extra desiccant packs to help keep the gear dry - check with people who have gone there before and see how wet (rainy/ humid) it will be.  Dry bag/ pelican case to store the camera gear when not in use while on the water?
4) Might want some industrial strength bug repellant.
5) Enjoy the trip.

 
 
 

Thanks for the advice guys.   I'm going to do a little research on exposure and aperture etc. before I go to get better at setting them.  On the video glasses, I'm definitely bringing a extra set of standard polarized glasses but the lenses on the video glasses are polarized so there shouldn't be any vision issues with using them on the water.   I should be good to go for temperature ranges. It's too far out to get an accurate forecast but for that time of year, the low temperature could be around 33°F at night and the high up to the  80°F  during the day.   Likely it will like a low of high 40s, low 50s at night and a high of high 60s to high 70s during the day.

This.

Go practice with your equipment now in a variety of situations (dawn, noon, dusk, landscapes, night sky, etc.) so you're as familiar as you can be with what works and what doesn't.