seansmith_smith Posted August 27, 2007 Report Share Posted August 27, 2007 My Girlfriend and started a 7 day canoe trip on the Magnetawan river on August 12. We started on Wahwashkesh Lake at the government dock. Our first day was interested, getting throughly lost and receiving a tow from a friendly cottager, for about 30 minutes directly in to strong winds. Day two - we started with a 2300 meter portage from Wahwashkesh Lake around some rapids and back to the river. along the way we passed this guy. He might be difficult to see but he's a rattle snake, i'm assuming the Massassauga Rattle snake. The portage ended at a bridge that crossed the river. We met some people from a nearby hunt camp who told us they had just seen a small bear. This is the view from the bridge. We paddled a fair distance that day and ended up on Trout Lake. along the way we found this waterfall just off the main river section. We made it to our campsite and set up for three nights. The water was 4 to 5 feet lower than usual, and although there were plenty of beaver lodges, most of them didn't reach the water, and there were no beavers to be seen. These pictures show just how low the water was. you can see the holes the beavers usually use to swim in and out of the lodge a re completely above the water now. The area was logged 80 to 90 years ago, and there were plenty of visible logs from the era and logging artifacts like these ones at our campsite. We made a few day trips to different part of the river, and small lakes with short portages that we were able to locate using Google earth images of the area. We caught a few pike, lots of smallmouth and even found one lake with largemouth as well. Here are some of the pictures. This is the biggest smallmouth I caught. only 18.5 inches, but really fat. And it had two similar sized fish swim with him during the fight! I guessed his weight at 4.5 - 5 lbs...any guesses?? We ate fish one night...here it is cooking up. We finished our trip one day early because the protected bays were filling up with smoke from a probable forest fire, and with the dry conditions and heavy winds we were taking no chances. We stayed for 3 nights at a lodge just south of Temagami and caught these four nice smallmouth there. Great canoe trip and fantastic fishing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bowshep Posted August 27, 2007 Report Share Posted August 27, 2007 Nice post great pics. Peace Ken Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fatherof3 Posted August 27, 2007 Report Share Posted August 27, 2007 great report and pics Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
solopaddler Posted August 27, 2007 Report Share Posted August 27, 2007 Awesome report! I've paddled the Mag myself a couple of times, exact same route starting at Wawashkesh. Did you guys run Canal rapids? I had a blast running those rapids both times I was there. Mind you the water levels were higher and most of the hazzards were burried underwater, so it was basically just throw out a brace and hang on . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lunkerbasshunter Posted August 27, 2007 Report Share Posted August 27, 2007 awesome adventure! That smallie was fat! I would say 4.5 pounds although most 4pound plus i have seen are longer then 18 inches but it sure is a beefy fish! Cheers! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fishindevil Posted August 27, 2007 Report Share Posted August 27, 2007 Very nice scenery pics.!!!!!! and great fishing/canoe trip for sure,thanks for sharing cheers .. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
seansmith_smith Posted August 27, 2007 Author Report Share Posted August 27, 2007 (edited) We didnt try running the rapids....but i dont think there would be enough water....just soooo low. We portaged the 2300 meters around them....and then lined the graves rapids, which were very low as well. i think if i were to go there again i would go in from the south. less portaging....more paddling... ya when i was looking at the fish i thought it was longer, and figured 4 to 5 lbs...but it was really fat. Edited August 27, 2007 by -Smitty- Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
discophish Posted August 27, 2007 Report Share Posted August 27, 2007 Great report! Just like home! You guys obviously had a blast! Some cold nights, eh? I spent my entire life on the Magnetawan system throughout cottage seasons. Love it! The system is beautiful, even when the water is at low levels. It must have been terrible to pass the boat through many sections. When the river is at higher levels, the paddling becomes almost world class. It's easy to make a fatal mistake. I severely dislocated my shoulder while white water kayaking upside down in a wave in a section a little east of hwy 69. Managed to paddle a couple km's with one arm downstream to the highway, drive 30 km's, and stopped to have an ambulance take me to Parry Sound. Did you come out at Harris Lake? That's a massive smallmouth! At what section of the route did you notice the smoke? Did my cottage catch on fire?!!!! Disco Phish Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
seansmith_smith Posted August 27, 2007 Author Report Share Posted August 27, 2007 We put in at Wawashkesh Lake....paddles down to Trout Lake and decided to do day trips from there and head back out the way we came. We were going to do a loop and come in the south end of Wawashkesh again....but decided not to. We noticed the smoke on Trout Lake, but it was extremely windy, and as far as i know...the knoly forest fires burning west of there at that time were in Wawa, and although i've seen smoke from several hundred miles away, im not sure that it was from the Wawa fire. I hope you cottage was ok...pretty sure it was. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joey Posted August 28, 2007 Report Share Posted August 28, 2007 That was a really good read, thanks. That one smallie is just enormous. Great catch Joey Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ccmtcanada Posted August 28, 2007 Report Share Posted August 28, 2007 What a great report! I'm not quite ready for a canoe adventure like that yet...LOL. Looked like a great time...lots of great scenery, fish and relaxation. Thanks for the pics! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Golfisher Posted August 28, 2007 Report Share Posted August 28, 2007 Great report; looks like a blast! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
discophish Posted August 28, 2007 Report Share Posted August 28, 2007 knoly forest fires burning west of there at that time were in Wawa, and although i've seen smoke from several hundred miles away, im not sure that it was from the Wawa fire. I hope you cottage was ok...pretty sure it was. I think that the Wawa smoke would have dissipated over Huron before it reached Sudbury, if the winds were from the north. I haven't yet heard of any fire, so I will assume that all is well on the lake. Thanks for the heads up. We will be back again to Wawashkesh for a week trip. Fishing is tough on that lake. Hopefully we can get into some laker action if we get the riggers on the boat in time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
danc Posted August 28, 2007 Report Share Posted August 28, 2007 Now that's a great report. Thanks!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
highdrifter Posted August 28, 2007 Report Share Posted August 28, 2007 Well done Smitty! Up close and personal is the only way to go.. Thanx for posting! tight loops HD Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TJQ Posted August 29, 2007 Report Share Posted August 29, 2007 Nice trip... cool logging stuff, i love finding stuff like that... this has also been the worst bear season on record.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aaron Shirley Posted August 29, 2007 Report Share Posted August 29, 2007 (edited) Awesome canoe trip! That's a great report. I love exploring new lakes and rivers myself, very cool. Thanks for the report, and congrats on the big smallie, it's a hawg! Aaron Edited August 29, 2007 by Aaron Shirley Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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