JimC

for some stupid reason I thought the Walleye opener on Nipissing was NEXT Saturday at 12:01am, in other words the Long Weekend. Duh! I guess we will be coming up for Week 3, and not Week 2 like we usually do. Oh well, maybe there will be some rain between now and May 29th when we travel up to our Camp. I hope the water (what there is of it) doesn't heat up too fast and thereby accelerate the exodus of Walleye out of shallows and into the deeper parts of the Lake. Anyone know the Lake Temp right now? I see from the online Nugget today, there is a pic that shows in the background just how low the water is; however, it also looks like there was enough to get the Chief Commanda to its docking. http://www.nugget.ca/ArticleDisplay.aspx?e=2581239 Hoping to see some pictures and reports on this forum covering the weekend and days ahead? Can't wait to go Fishing!

just looking at the week ahead weather wise, and looks like Mother Nature is not going to be helping the cause to add water to Lake Nip, anytime soon. So there is no way most private and Camp operation docks on the North West shores will be useable for the Walleye operner. gonna be an interesting spring fishing season for sure. I spoke to the owner of the camp my buddies and I are going to in less than two weeks, and he is NOT very happy at the moment. Very concerned would be an understatement.

pikeguy ... thanks for the reply. We will be very careful out around Oak Island. I believe there will now be rocks in play at the cut beside the "yellow cottage" ... many years ago, I got close and personal with one in the center of that channel. I believe the channel further up is clear of rocks if you stay in the middle, even with the lake 3ft down? If anyone knows differently, your comments will be appreciated.

coming up in two weeks and targeting Walleye ... usually fish NW Lake Nip, from Cache Bay / Veuve River area, Pickerel Rock, over to Hardwoods. So what would be the depth right now in those areas? also wondering what the water temp is at this time. Last few years it has been very cold, and although we marked lots of fish, not a lot of action was had. Concerned obviously about rocks in that entire area that have not been in play before but might be now?? any comments are appreciated.

My friends and I are coming to Nipissing (NW around Verner) late in May. This is something like the 14th consecutive spring we have come up. What I'm trying to figure out is whether the current low water situation is the worst we will have seen or not? I recall quite a number of years ago, there was very low water, and the Camp owner had to build temporary docks. Seemed like it was around 3ft below the top of the black water marks on rock faces nearby. I think we still caught a reasonable amount of Walleye during the week, but the memory fades. The last three years with higher than normal water, and very Cold, we haven't fared too well, in the Walleye dept. What's the consensus from you local folks? Is this the lowest water in memory for this time of year? Will it help or hurt the first couple of weeks Walleye (or Pickerel as I call them ... hey, I was originally from North Bay)? I'm assuming the water will be way warmer than last year, despite the cooler temps the last week or so, which usually helps the 'bite' from my experience. thanks for the pictures and updates folks. the pics of the Sturgeon Dam (close to our Camp) are striking.

well I guess 'laszlio' is fishing for the big ones at this point ... will have to wait for his report. however, in the meantime, I will be vacationing with the family in the same general area next week, and fishing in and around the Harwoods, Pickerel Rock, Cache Bay / Veuve River. Any local advise would be appreciated ... especially whether ANY Walleye, aka Pickerel are being caught in these areas at this time of year. We also enjoy Perch fishing, but have seen very few in prior trips to this area in recent years. Not sure why? Have noted large Cormorant flocks in last few years that seemed to correspond with lack of Perch. Maybe that has something to do with it? So bottom line, am I just wasting time targeting Walleye or have some of you had recent success in this area? What about Iron Island? We had some luck in August 4 or 5 years ago, but recently it has been dead there in mid August -- at least for us. Not wanting to venture that far out from Camp, unless there are fish being caught there. Any help and advise as to presentation techniques to get a couple of Pickerel to feed the 'Fam' would be greatly appreciated. :-)

My buddy is a die-hard Walleye fisherman, so we never gave up targeting the 'eyes' back trolling on the bottom, even though we were pretty sure we could have got into some nice Pike if we through in a spoon or Rap, near the surface. In fact, a bunch of guys came into camp the day before we left and did just that ... and caught a mess of Pike. Unfortunately one of them caught a nice Walleye right beside us, and kept it, even though we were dam sure it was smaller than the two we had released one day earlier. Back in camp, this dude didn't even want to let the camp owner see it, or us. we got a look at the fish hut, and it was CLEARLY in the slot ... nice 22in. fish ... if that. It's people like that who know full well what they are doing, that really pissed me off. where is the CO when you need him. Although this year sucked overall, just like same time prior year (with near identical conditions). we still had a blast, and over the years have often been able to 'limit' on those little 14" - 15" buggers. haha We shall return to try again.

Jocko - thanks for sharing that info. As an annual visitor to your Lake Nipissing, my friends and I take no chances during our spring trip, and release all Walleye that are "close" to the lower or upper slot measurement. The lodge where we stay has ruler-stickers on their boats that show the slot clearly and also how to measure the fish, so there are no excuses. I am surprised that the CO would bust your friend, if in fact as he says the "illegal" fish was only 1/4" over. Given rolling seas, and a flopping Pickerel, measurement can be challenging to nail it exactly. I always figured they would just warn a person if it was that close. Guess not. This spring (Week 2) we were faced with very challenging conditions, high water, cold water, NE winds that wouldn't stop leading to muddy waters in all our favourite spots in NW Nipissing. So six guys fishing for most of the week caught zero Walleye under the slot. In 13 years this was a first. We had one day where we lucked out with some large Walleye, and even though we were wanting a feed, my buddy and I each returned one that we measured at just over the 23.5in top limit, when we (gently) compressed the tail. We felt good about it, as these big females would likely spawn again the next year, even though their best years were behind them. And of course, we didn't want to risk what happened to your friend. Our reward came late that same day, when believe it or not, my buddy and I each landed 25+ inch Walleye. We did keep these and were able to make a nice meal for all six of us at camp. As it turned out, it was the ONLY taste of Walleye we got for our week, and $1800 vacation dollars. :-)

ok I have finally read the Cormorant Study via link provided by Billy Bob ... who is just the messenger here, so don't shoot him ... and besides I think he has more ammo than anyone else. :-) so here's the thing. as far as I'm concerned, the "study" relates to the Great Lakes which is fine in itself; however, it is pretty much totally irrelevant as far as LAKE NIPISSING is concerned. Why? well, as I mentioned in my initial comment on this subject, Lake Nip is a very SHALLOW LAKE on average 12-15ft is my understanding. In fact I think unusually shallow relative to its area. Great Lakes are deeper and much larger in area. Cormorants can dive to the bottom in most of Lake Nipissing. Cormorants eat Perch, lots of them. We no longer see Perch in any quantity in Lake Nipissing, if at all. I truly believe that if left unchecked, the rapidly adapting, and exploding population of the Cormorant will deal a severe, if not deadly, blow to the Lake Nipissing and District Tourism industry. No one has commented about the First Nations taking action NOW, to protect their vested interest for food and to also sell Walleye and Pike, which I believe they can now do. Maybe they are doing what they can, like egg oiling ... but a controlled cull is also going to be needed to keep the Cormorants in check, imho. This is not just about me wanting to catch a bunch of Walleye when I want. it is about local employment thru a vibrant tourism industry, and controlling pollution caused by an out of control colony of these voracious, mainly sea-going birds. Wake up folks, before its too late. Write the MNR, the local Mayors, your MPP (yeah that will help!), the LOCAL NEWSPAPER (www.nugget.ca). I am going to get off my a** and do just that this week. It may not help, but I'll feel a heck of a lot better by trying to make a difference. ok I'm done.

well bob, no I didn't read the 'linked' report ... but have read many reports on this subject in the past. I really don't give a rat's ass about reports commissioned by gosh-knows-who. But, what I believe is that DB Cormorants are primarily a coastal prevalent species ... thus the diving capability. Lake Nip with an average depth of maybe 12ft - 15ft. just makes it an unfair fight for the Perch et al that the Lake depends on to sustain and grow the Walleye population. and Pike as well. The "slot" was brought in about 7 years ago I believe it was, to help reverse declining Walleye populations. I didn't see large numbers (or any) Cormorants back then. I believe the 'slot' helps, especially now that it applies year round, but the invasive Cormorants negate good 'spawn' years, based on real life results. It sucks when you want to bring your family to a special place, sustain a long vacation tradition, teach your kids and grand kids to fish, and catch nada.

Haven't posted in a long long time, but check this forum from time to time ... this topic is one I just have to weigh in on. I grew up in North Bay, and fished with my father and uncles as a kid. Never ever saw a Cormorant back then. Although I long ago moved to Southern Ont. I have a fondness for North Bay and think Lake Nipissing is a tremendous resource for the area. As such I have been returning with my wife and kids for 30 years to rent a cottage on NW Nipissing, do a little fishing and a whole lot of relaxing. I started bringing five guys from work to the same Camp some thirteen years ago to catch a few Walleye, and relax. We haven't missed a year, and were there again for the second week of the opener. Now here's the kicker .. we were the ONLY ONES there in Camp! Sure some of that could be blamed on the recession, but even before that. there were a lot of folks we talked to that had also been coming to Lake Nipissing for years, but were now discouraged by the obviously enormous Cormorant population and a corresponding reduction of fishing success. The last two years six guys fishing six hours a day for six days managed to scrape together enough Walleye for ONE meal, and not a big meal, each year. Now before you snicker about our prowess as fishermen, some of us definitely know how to get Walleye interested. In the early years this same group sometimes caught (and mostly released) up to 150 Walleye during our stay. We didn't see many / any cormorants then. So what's happening? Well we too spotted that 1000+ bird flock mentioned earlier in this thread, plus many smaller groups. We're talking Cache Bay area out towards the Hardwoods, Pickerel rock, etc. What hit us over the head was the lack of Perch. All week we caught ONE freakin Perch. One. In years past we would go through a full flat of worms no problem. This year, maybe two dozen worms, and some of those were due to dragging to death behind a spinner, for hours till they drowned! So what about the poor guy who invested in the Camp? ... a camp that can accomodate maybe 70+ vacationers at a time, and used to regularly. and here were the Six of us and a lot of empty cottages and idle boats. I am sure this is happening most everywhere on the Lake and Tourism is a very important resource for the North Bay, Calender, Sturgeon Falls and surrounding area. Big economic impact no doubt. I am going to have some work to do to convince my fishing buddies to ante up and return next spring to spend our tourist dollars. My Questions: 1. Why do local politicians not put more pressure on the MNR to take action and allow a controlled cull? 2. Why do the First Nations not take action NOW? Perhaps I am wrong in assuming they would be exempt from prosecution under current laws? My thinking is that they have the right to do whatever to sustain their food supply. ie. Walleye. So simply put, as I have seen with my own eyes. 1000 Cormorant flock = bad news for Perch / sunfish = bye bye Walleye and Pike. Something really needs to be done. A cull would help. It's happened elsewhere (eg. Algonquin Park) ... why not Lake Nipissing .. before its too late (if it isn't already).