jayess

trolling speed: just like trolling anything, put the lure in the water just beside the boat, start moving. if you like the action you're getting on the lure, that's the speed to use :-). if you have a sensitive tip, you can see the "bobbing" of your spoon when trolling. as a short answer, you really don't have to go very fast at all. i also would suggest doing this at early morning or evening when the water is calm. line depth: this is a bit tricky i find. if your lure/rig isn't very heavy, then it has a tendency to "plane out". for instance if you try dropping your lure right beside the boat on a lake with even SOME waves, you will find that you will be moving away from the location that your lure is dropping. the same idea goes when you're trolling -- the lure may have a tendency to be plane out rather than stay deep. solution is to keep a somewhat heavy rig if you want to troll at a significant depth. otherwise, expect to lose some depth as you move along. sorry if my explanation isn't clear. for jigging: try just jigging beside the boat. understand what the jig is doing when it's dropping -- that's typically the movement that triggers a hit as the previous poster indicated. don't jig furiously though. i would imagine something like how you might fish a hula-popper or other surface lure: jig jig, wait a bit, jig, wait a bit, etc. just play around a bit.

I've found trout to be finicky with "boring movements". For trolling, this means the odd yank on your lure to entice a hit. For jigging, not sure... I haven't done much of it for lakers. the gonk = alGONQuin park one option instead of bottom bouncers is three-way swivels with a 1oz or 2oz weight. http://www.laketrout.org/algonquin-trout-fishing-canoe.htm has some info on how to rig this up. many success stories using this rig. takes a little effort to get used to it. as others pointed out, it would be good to have a sonar to figure out how deep you should be fishing.

Used to fish Baptiste a lot when i was younger, pulling out tons of bass, pike, and the odd muskies without problem... This lake is classified as a lake trout lake, apparently. I understand it's pretty deep in the northwest end. Is this my best bet for lakers? Any suggestions appreciated. I know of some nearby lakes that are stocked but figured I'd try my hand at this lake. Cheers

I think it's a fair assumption that whenever you're flying, your belongings are getting tossed around. When you're lifting other people's stuff day in, day out I think the complacency overtakes you. I don't justify it -- it still sucks -- but I can see why these guys might get to that point.

For all of your algonquin needs, I recommend: http://www.algonquinmap.com/ According to Jeffrey's map, there are smallmouth bass and lake trout to be had in Tea L. He notes Pike and specks in nearby waters, so I wouldn't be surprised if you picked out the odd one from there. You know lakers will be deep right, so load up on your three-way swivels and wablers if there's interest. I have a depth map for this lake somewhere, but not on me unfortunately. Best of luck! P.S. Could try your question over at the forums of www.algonquinadventures.com . Great community full of people who love all things Algonquin.

Surprised nobody's recommended Oakley... I'd take them over Ray Ban or Maui Jim any day but that's just me... I use the Hijinx frame by them with their VR28 lenses. helps to lighten up what I'm seeing, darker dropoffs etc. EDIT: Oh ya, to address your other questions... they are interchangeable lenses (I took out the regular polarized grey), but you have to keep in mind that you'll likely have to negotiate scratches on your frames and possibly "loosened" lens cavities further down the road. They make the frames large enough to squeeze lenses in and out but tight enough that the lenses stay put. If you're constantly playing with this structure, it's bound to develop more play and the lenses may not be as tight. I don't know if it's true, but just something to think about.

I passed through Cache L, south of highway 60, on a long loop some time a few years back. If my memory serves me correct, there were a number of cottages on the lake but LOTS of kayakers. We were passing through in the evening and it was a gorgeous paddle... Hmm, not portaging really limits your options between those two lakes. I'd guess Cache would be the nicest paddle, lots of islands and whatnot. Both Canisbay and Smoke can get windswept, especially the latter. Enjoy!