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After spending too much time poking around topics here, I've decided that I'm going to take a May trip into the park and try my hand at landing some trout. Albeit later than ideal, I think the earliest I'll be able to swing it would be the May 20th weekend.
As per some of my previous posts, I've only every really focused my time on smallies and pike, so I've got no experience targeting trout. I've got a theoretical grasp on how to target them (bottom bouncers, three way swivels, spoons, EGB's, Williams Wabblers, Dressed Mepps etc) but I'm lacking on rod time and where to go.
Can anyone help out with an area to target? I don't expect anyone to give up their honey holes, but if deciding between the area north and north east of Opeongo vs a river system on the west end vs any other areas, where would be wise to start? I have no problems making a deeper trek into the interior.
In terms of depth, I have a spinning and baitcast setup with braid, how deep will I need to present? I know in the summer it's 40'+, but with no thermocline will I have success 10-15' down?
If I'm fishing river system, what's the strategy? Is casting spoons into pools a smart way to spend my time? Or is a fly setup the only thing worth while?
Please feel free to shoot my a private message if you'd prefer. Any help is much appreciated!
Cheers
Last edited by basilthegood (3/29/2017 8:11 am)
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The big lakes north of Opeongo are classic destinations for trout. Lavieille, La Muir, Hogan, Big Trout, Burntroot, and Catfish for e.g. In lakes of those size you really won't need any fancy gear at the end of May as the surface waters will still be pretty cold. Just throw on an EGB or Williams and troll nice and slow, you only need the lure to get 5-10' below the surface at this time of year. If you want to use a lighter lure, split shots or other varieties of clip on weights work great.
Troll parallel to shore in areas that you think are anywhere from 20-40' deep and you should catch trout. Islands and rocky points can be good places to focus.
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p.m. sent dude
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Without being specific, find a route with a couple medium sized trout lakes at least two portages from an access point. Generally avoid any lakes that have bass (bass outcompete trout and bass lakes are usually indicative that fishing pressure has been high in the past).
You shouldn't need any special equipment to catch trout that time of year. If using braid be sure to use a mono / flouro leader. 6-8lb test is more than enough.
IMO trout fishing only gets better until the bugs make it unbearable to be out. Bring a couple of deeper diving (10-15') crankbaits in case you want to try a little deeper. Keep only what trout you would like to eat fresh (one or two per trip is good for me) and release the rest. Barbless hooks help with successful releases. Bring Bug Spray. Have Fun.
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Agree with the above, you don't really need to worry about depth in May. Cast spoons near steep shorelines, retrieve slowly. Wablers, EGB, Len Thompson... they all work. Even from shore. I've done alright for lake trout casting from the campsite on the Victoria Day weekend. If you notice minnows congregating on a certain part of your shoreline, cast there in the evening/early morning. As far as river fishing goes, find a nice deep pool at the bottom of rapids/falls/swifts and dance a small spinner through it for brookies. Or a baited hook and sinker under a slip bobber, if you can manage bait (packing in worms, finding leeches etc). Plenty of people do well for river brookies in Algonquin without fly gear.
One trick I've heard though haven't really tried is if you're on a brook trout lake and there's an insect hatch going on, and you can see the ripples of trout rising for them, troll a fly along the surface, with just enough line out that the whirlpools of your paddle strokes disappear before they hit the fly.
In terms of locations: yeah, D Smith named some of the great trout lakes north of Opeongo that you might take a water taxi for. And if you want to focus on rivers there are some good ones in the west of the park. Less remotely, the whole chain of lakes basically from Bonnechere to Harness and south to Louisa is good for lake trout numbers-wise. One way to get a bit of a sense of how various lakes and rivers stack up is to read the backcountry trout fishing survey results for 2009, 2010, 2011 and 2012... bearing in mind that responses are from volunteers of various skill levels and it's not a systematic scientific effort.
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Thanks for the insight everyone. Got some really good information from you guys here as well as from another trip planning thread.
Just booked a Big Crow/La Muir/Merchant loop. Should be a trolly good time. If anyone else will be in that area May 19-22 maybe we'll bump into each other.
Cheers.
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