007 Posted September 13, 2007 Report Share Posted September 13, 2007 (edited) Hi all. Well I promised a report from my Labour Day weekend trip to the beautiful Killarney Provincial Park near the north end of Georgian Bay. Here it is finally! I took so many pictures on the trip that its taken me a while to decide which ones to show you and download them all! Hope you enjoy Part 1. I hate long drives and this is surely one from Toronto (about 4-5 hours), so on the way up we decided to break the journey and stop off at the French River Provincial Park visitor centre. The recently opened centre was very interesting and informative, however the highlight was the view from the pedestrian bridge over the French River. We arrived at the George Lake campground later in the afternoon and set up camp. What with all the trips we have done this year, we had the tent up in no time at all. It was a beautiful first night - peace and quiet and a fantastic starry sky. Next morning we went exploring. First we found that there was a beautiful view of the La Cloche mountains across George Lake from the eastern end of the campground. With such beautiful weather we decided that the focus of our long weekend would be to do some hiking and some photography. First planned hike was the Chikanishing Trail. This trail winds its way over pink granite rocks and through forests along the Chikanishing River to Georgian Bay. What a beautiful 3hr hike it was. The rocky terrain was quite something with amazingly colourful rocks. The views of Georgian Bay were sublime. Here's a small collection of photos... After the hike, my wife was quiet tired so while she went for a snooze in the tent I grabbed the rod and went looking for a nice big rock to sit on and do some shore fishing for a couple of hours. The purpose of the trip was not fishing and I didn't think I would get the chance to so I jumped at the chance. I found a nice vantage point on a rock and started by float fishing with worms close to some broken rocks at the base of a peninsula. I wasn't quite sure what, if anything, I would catch as it is well documented that the lakes in Killarney have suffered over the years from acid rain which wiped out most living things. One plus side of the pollution is that the clarity of the water is unbelievable. So it wasn't long before I saw fish coming out of their hiding places in the rocks and taking a look at my bait! I had found a leaflet about fishing in the park at the park gate, which indicated that George Lake has Rock Bass and Perch in it (hence the worm bait!). However much to my 'surprise', the first fish landed was a pumpkinseed sunfish - should have guessed - they get everywhere LOL. Then next fish was a small smallmouth bass. Hang on - what happened to the Rockies and Perch I thought?! However true to form it wasn't long before I hooked a small rock bass - shouldn't have been surprised, it seems I can catch Rock Bass everywhere I go - whether it is the busy T.O Islands, wilds of Algonquin or an acidic lake in Killarney! For the next couple of hours I pulled out plenty of fish - in fact mainly smallies but the biggest was only about half a pound! I'm sure if I had tried a little longer and used lures I may have found some slightly bigger fish but it was fun all the same. Here's some pics..... Now in case any of you are wondering what the fishing is like in the rest of Killarney given the history, here's a quick guide to the main lakes that might be useful if you're thinking of heading up that way. It is based on what I read on the park leaflet. Balsam Lake - Good bass and pike fishing (closed to Lake Trout all year) Bell Lake - Good bass and pike fishing (closed to Lake Trout all year) Carlyle Lake - Pike and Smallmouth Bass (closed to Lake Trout all year) Fox Lake - Bass and Pike George Lake - Rock Bass, Perch +sunfish and smallies based on my experience (closed to Lake Trout all year) Johnnie Lake - Pike and Smallmouth Bass (closed to Lake Trout all year) In addition to these and a few others with fish in, there are 21 lakes where no fishing is allowed because they have been declared fish sancturies so the stocks can re-establish themselves. There are also a couple of lakes that are 'dead' lakes and have no fish in whatsoever! After the few hours of fun fishing I went back to camp and woke my wife. Neither of us could face cooking so we headed into the village of Killarney to sample the fish n' chips we had been told about. We weren't disappointed! I can honestly say that it was the best fish and chips I have had in Canada and it was even better than some back home in England! The chips were cooked to perfection and not greasy and the freshly caught whitefish and lake trout from Georgian Bay was just delicious. If you're up that way the 60km diversion off Highway 69 to Killarney is well worth it for the fish n chips let alone the scenery!! Well that's about it for part one. I will download some more pictures of the weekend's hiking and breathtaking scenery soon as part two! Cheers 007 Edited September 13, 2007 by OO7 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dondorfish Posted September 13, 2007 Report Share Posted September 13, 2007 Nicely done 007. I really enjoyed that and am looking forward to part 2. Don Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MJL Posted September 13, 2007 Report Share Posted September 13, 2007 Great report Gavin Love the scenery pics. Smallies of any size are great fun IMO. Can't wait for part II Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ccmtcanada Posted September 13, 2007 Report Share Posted September 13, 2007 Wow...breathtaking pictures!!! Sounded like an amazing time up there and glad to see you managed to get in a few hours of fishing. Wich scenery like that, I wouldn't care if I caught anything at all!! Great report...looking forward to part 2!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fatherof3 Posted September 13, 2007 Report Share Posted September 13, 2007 nice report and pics,look forward to part 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rich Clemens Posted September 13, 2007 Report Share Posted September 13, 2007 Great report 007 and some awesome pics. I simply loive the Canadian Shield landscape. Also looking forward to Part 2, 3, 4, etc. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mcallister.grant Posted September 13, 2007 Report Share Posted September 13, 2007 Great report 007. I really love the pics. I find it kind of sad that there are dead lakes in what seems to be a rather tempting spot to the naked eye. Thanks! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OhioFisherman Posted September 13, 2007 Report Share Posted September 13, 2007 Great pictures! LOL after looking at farm land too much rocks and water are a good thing! Glad you had a good time! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lew Posted September 13, 2007 Report Share Posted September 13, 2007 That's a gorgeous part of Ontario and you really captured alot of it in your pictures, thanks for taking the time to post them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
solopaddler Posted September 13, 2007 Report Share Posted September 13, 2007 Nice report, gorgeous scenery, thanks for posting! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dustink Posted September 13, 2007 Report Share Posted September 13, 2007 Thanks for sharing....for sure a beautiful part of the world! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Deano Posted September 13, 2007 Report Share Posted September 13, 2007 Great report, Killarney is truly beautiful. Did you make it to Silver peak, I wanted to go there this year but will probably wait till next year now. Waiting for part 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Headhunter Posted September 13, 2007 Report Share Posted September 13, 2007 Great report and pics! Having spent some time in that area, I can say that you did an excellent job of capturing some of the beauty of that area. I knew you'd enjoy the School bus fish n chips! Lookin forward to part 2 as well! HH Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
seansmith_smith Posted September 13, 2007 Report Share Posted September 13, 2007 Great photos and report. What a gorgeous part of ontario. interesting to see that there are actually some fish in killarney. I have avoided going there for the reason that i have heard there is not fishing at all. might have to change some future plans. Smitty Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tbayboy Posted September 13, 2007 Report Share Posted September 13, 2007 Great stuff, reminds us that its not always about the fishing but instead just about being out in our beautiful little slice of heaven here. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TJQ Posted September 13, 2007 Report Share Posted September 13, 2007 nice! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Smokey Posted September 13, 2007 Report Share Posted September 13, 2007 Great report and it looks a like an awesome place to get away to. Thanks for the report. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
007 Posted September 13, 2007 Author Report Share Posted September 13, 2007 Thanks for the comments guys. When I hear that people have enjoyed the pics it makes the large amount of time spent doing the pics and post worth it. Deano - didn't make it to Silver Peak but I hear the view is fantastic. Made it to a few other lookouts, though not as high - they will be in Part 2. HeadHunter - thanks for the tip about the fish n'chip van - they were delicious. 007 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mattyk Posted September 13, 2007 Report Share Posted September 13, 2007 great report, thanks for sharing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Weeds Posted September 13, 2007 Report Share Posted September 13, 2007 (edited) Some amazing scenery/photography there; I love that picture 8th from the top. Looks like an awesome spot for a beer..... In a can naturally....... Which I'd be sure to take out with me. Edited September 14, 2007 by Weeds Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fishindevil Posted September 13, 2007 Report Share Posted September 13, 2007 Nice report & great scenery pics !!!!! it so cool up there ,and the views are incrediblesounds like a great fishing/camping place...cheers Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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