Cast-Away

I see you found your way out to the main boat channel. If you fish the islands and shoals out there in the clear water you will catch tons of Smallies all year long and the bigger ones in September and October.

I'm sorry but if you are not on hard water why wouldn't you just go ashore? How would you feel as a nearby cottager and have that wash up?

Icefishingjim, people usually start their very first post here with an introduction so perhaps you could do so within this tread or with a new thread? As for your question, there are many pike caught in Cooks Bay and also in Lake Couchiching. Rental huts are plentiful.

There was an airshow in Kingston on the weekend and the F-18 was part of it.

Very original!

I remember fishing and camping near the lodge back in the 1980's and it was certainly remote and not easy to get to by boat. You either had to traverse down the the French River and Bad River and shoot the rapids or take the rough boat ride out the Key River and through the open bay. Fishing the bay was tricky because of all of the shoals and with the open water it was often too rough to fish or if it was cloudy you couldn't see the shoals.

Remember that St. Louis is the state of "Misery", so you can't expect happy people walking around with little white poodles called Fifi!

Funny Akrisoner I said the same thing to by buddy when we spotted them. They were nesting on an island out past the main boat channel.

Glad you had fun bud! I saw a bald eagle nest further up the bay back in July. There were two that had just fledged from the nest.

WElcome aboard Rockhard99. You can read a report I posted about the area a few weeks ago here: http://ontariofishingcommunity.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=84809

I would launch at Honey Harbour and head out to the islands around Minnicognashene Island. Troll around them with crankbaits until you find where they are hitting and then drift that area with live bait. If you can find a place where there is a quick drop-off into deep water you will usually find the bigger SM Bass. As soon as the bait goes out of sight they will hit with a long slow pull.

Wow Drew, another adventure of a lifetime, wait until your kids are older and want to tag along. The memories will be even better! The rock formations have a real vertical striation to them like the lake was at one time the centre of the mountain. In central Ontario they are almost always on an angle indicating that the rock formation is out from the centre of the mountain or volcanic activity when they were formed. Thanks for sharing your latest adventure bud!

We did the white water walk last weekend and could smell sewage coming from a concrete tunnel under the boardwalk.

Yes I remember reading about the spawning habitat rehabilitation s few years ago on the GBay cottage association website so hopefully this is the payoff.

Glad to share guys, no point in asking questions of people and not taking the time to share the results. Tupelo, I've also been there many times in October and had nothing but the odd pike. Try fishing the islands out by the main boat channel for SM bass, you will have better luck. Farsider, it is only the second time getting walleye in the last 25 years. Both times there had been rain on and off for the previous few days and cloudy the day of the catch. The guy I was fishing with said that he heard the walleye are making a comeback on GBay.

Back from the Moon, I was up there with my friend Warren (aka The Worlds Greatest Fisherman) who has the same name as me. We went up last Friday and set up camp just before some morning rain. In the afternoon we went out to the open bay and caught a number of average size smallies in fairly rough water followed by a really nice 4+ pound SM in 26 feet of water. After supper we went to an old walleye spot where Warren caught two, one was about 1 pound and the other was about 2.5 pounds. We had a few bass and pike as well. Saturday was sunny, not too warm but windy so we decided to try some of the back bays in the basin before lunch and started with an old bass spot that used to produce when the water was high like it is now. We had no luck so we trolled a pike/muskie shoal and had a few. After that we moved onto another high water bass site where Warren proceeded to nail a 5.5 pound walleye! In the afternoon we moved back out into the open water again and moved from island to island catching smallies. In the gallery you will see two pictures of Bald Eagles, one adult and one fledgling. As it turned out there was a nest on the island containing two immature birds plus the adults. We did not catch a single bass around that island, no surprise there. On Sunday once the morning rain stopped we packed up our gear and headed out to the open water again to my "Platinum Spot" to round out a great weekend of fishing. Warren was busy baiting his hook and turns to me and says; "so this is your best spot eh" and I said yes as I set the hook on one of many bass. We had double headers, other fish following the one that just got caught and there were many in the 2-3 pound range. What a great way to wrap up a weekend of good fishing and good friends! This was Warren's first time fishing there with me and he said that I called it on every spot i took him to except for out of about 12 places.

Switching your lure out for a 1 or 2oz weight and casting it at his boat would give him the message.

Very cool shot! I did not know you could do time lapsed photos with a GoPro in video mode.

Thanks for the tips guys, I have never spent much time in Iron City other than the campsite on Sharpe Island. I usually further out towards the open bay and of course in the open water when it is calm enough. This year I am fishing with a different friend who has fished Iron City a few times and uses different techniques than I do so it should be interesting!

Actually SM bass which is what we catch the most of there and we always nail some pike. Only ever had walleye once in over 20 years of fishing there in July and they were more out on the bay.

Heading up to the basin next week and wondered if anyone has fished there in the last week or two? With the water being cooler and higher this year I am wondering if the bite is better? I plan to try a few spots I have not fished in about 20 years since the last time the water was this high.

Funny I was on that lake for many years and had very little luck fishing for bass.

I would get a second opinion for sure. Paul at Topgun really knows his stuff but not good at returning calls.

Some very nice bass Mike. The body of water you are fishing looks very similar to the Moon River Basin on Georgian Bay.

Amazing report Bunk, you should be a writer, oh wait, you are! Good thing you don't smoke if you were belching gas. How long was the boat ride from the marina to your campsite? Nothing like a waterbed on a camp site and no air mattress, well until you find the patch kit on the last day! One lost lure in a week is pretty incredible.