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Hello all!
I've been charge with planing a 3 day fishing (Trout/Pike)/exploring loop around June 1st, and was hoping for some suggestions/tips.
I'm mostly concerned with fishing my other friends are mainly concerned with being secluded. Ideally we are looking for a secluded 3 day loop( medium pace), that's fairly easy to navigate, and has pretty decent fishing-So pretty much the perfect trip.
We're considering access points 3 and 4 with Canoe lake, Smoke lake and Cannisbay as starting points/stops.
This will be my 3rd time visiting the park, first time planning. I'm sick of mid-august Bass trips in lakes/routes that only Trout......
Any help would be greatly appreciated!
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I really like Booth Lake out on the east side of the park. Bit more of a drive, but it's easy to get to and spectacular. Good pike have come out of there, and I've heard there's trout but never seen one.
AP 3 and 4 are good too. Daisy lake is nice, close, and good for fishing, which you could loop up to Ralph Bice for a night. You could also to Rain lake to McCraney, then Islet and out.
Let us know how it goes!
Don't know about fishing. but by June 1st everything in Algonquin becomes as secluded as it gets. Choose any loop you like and have fun.
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If you want pike it’s either Sec lake, or access point 17, Shall lake, to get you into Booth, etc. Thankfully those are the only locations in the park with pike. Everything around access 17 is due to introduction- like the rest of the park it used to be pure trout territory (all bass are introduced). There are plenty of areas with good bass fishing, although it looks like access points 2&3 put you smack in the middle of strictly trout territory again. Check Jeff’s Map for fish details- you can be pretty sure about accuracy in the bass icons.
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Thanks NVM for the advice- I'd be more than happy to fish a sticky trout like start of June, I image they would still be relatively shallow?
I've fished Sec and Booth before, only caught small pike at Sec.
Thanks again!
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I should have said access 3 will be just trout. 4- Rain lake, is a good bass zone.
I’ve caught some nice bass in Tea and Smoke.
Early June- I couldn’t say where the trout will be, I haven’t fished that late into the spring season in Algonquin. I expect you’re right however.
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Early June the trout will be transitioning to deeper water but should still generally be accessible without any special deep-water tactics. Especially early morning and evening - run lures at depths of 5-15 feet and if they are hitting, you should be in business. The recommendation for Booth Lake is probably a good one...you can hit Northerns there and do day trips through Rumley and Godda if you'd like to try for some trout.
I would recommend you come prepared for an onslaught of bugs (as Eddy Turn hinted at) - black flies will likely be voraciously feeding at that time (staying in open water or windy points may help) so bug jackets and repellent are highly recommended. Mosquitoes will also be highly active. After a trip like this you may yearn for August Bass again. Bugs. Serious bugs. Not just annoying.
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Papaddler, Thanks!!... The trip might not be early June any more, bugs bugs bugs.
Mid may any better?????
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Cloudy15 wrote:
Papaddler, Thanks!!... The trip might not be early June any more, bugs bugs bugs.
Mid may any better?????
Mid May there should be very little in the way of bugs given the later than normal spring.
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But pike (depending on your dates) and bass are closed. So I would steer clear of lakes with those species.
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Yeah, mid-May would likely yield the best opportunity for trout in the park. Some routes that might fit your bill:
1. Opeongo water taxi to either Big Crow (OK for fishing, but Crow River should yield fish and could trip to Hogan for a workout and chance at Lakers or big Specs) or Big Trout Lake (rivers around there include Tim below Shippagew and the outlet below the dam of Big Trout or could day trip to Lake la Muir)
2. Cedar Lake to Catfish Lake - could fish the Petawawa river for specs as well as the lake
3. Smoke lake through Ragged to get to Big Porcupine and Bonnechere - the other lakes around Bonnechere hold lakers and the occasional spec - not much river fishing around there though.
4. Rock to Lake Louisa - mostly lake fishing in that area
5. Magnetawan through Ralph Bice to Little Trout and Queer
Three days makes your desire a little tough to match. Usually it takes a day of travel to get to the best fishing destinations. In general, lake fishing isn't quite as productive as the river fishing but the trout in the rivers are generally smaller. Please pinch the barbs on your hooks and practice catch-and-release with delicate handling if at all possible.
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Thanks again Papaddler, Well certainly give it some consideration,
I'll make a point to pinch my barbs, and I always catch and release, so we are good there.
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Three days? Why not do the Wendigo Clamshell route? I know I've mentioned this before to someone recently, but it's such a nice easy trip with lots to see and do. Lake trout, brook trout, walleye, and some very nice campsites along the way.
That's my .02
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In principle, the May long weekend could be a good balance of trout still being shallow, pike being open, and bugs not being too bad yet (usually). The problem is that within Algonquin there's basically no such thing as a 3-day loop with pike. Pike are very limited in the park and nvm has said what lakes contain them; the only actual "chain" of lakes with pike is Tip-Up down to Shall, off access point 17, and it's not really part of any appealing 3-day loop. I would probably just focus on trout.
(nvm -- just for trivia's sake -- bass are native in the lower Petawawa and in the Amable du Fond system in the northwest corner of the park.)
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I didn’t realize they were native to AduF. I thought I had read that they were introduced to Kawawaymog by cottagers looking for a little more fishing action in the summer. Thanks for the info!
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Tanks Dan,
Trout it is! And really hoping the bugs aren't to bad!
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With a slightly later than normal ice-out you can hold out hope that the bugs will also be slightly later than usual. Generally they start getting aggressive in the second half of May with pockets of greater activity/hunger in various areas. Keep your fingers crossed, but definitely be prepared.
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