upper french river (mouth)/ l nipissing

[mover]

heading to area lodge at mouth of french /l. nipssing early sept . new to this area . have heard walleye fishing along with other species can be very good . feedback would appreciated . this area is remote & perhaps less pressured ? all comments would be helpful. thanks

[Marty]

Tell me a little about yourself. Where are you from, how many will you be with and where are you staying? I know the area extremely well but it can be very difficult to fish. I'll share what I can.

[mover]

marty thanks for the prompt repy . our group resides about 10 miles from detroit border . all retired . welder/ pipefitter trade careers . have been to west arm of lake nipisssing mostly from past referrals but this area can be very spotty in terms of fishing results. anything you can can pass on would help. we like to fish & relax without going overboard . thanks . mover

ps why is this area hard to fish? pls explain (4) in the group & our camp is located about 2-3 miles from blueberry island! our hope is to find some decent walleye fishing action along with other fish ( pike,bass, perch etc. we have gone up north usually later in sept but foul weather & cold fronts seem to knock the fishing down . we're heading up earlier for this reason . after labour day week-end

ps was in your home town about 10 YEARS AGO with our travel hockey team . great time & reception from people there. hope to hear back!

[Marty]

mover,

 

I'll get back to you with a little more detail later. Just checkin in.

 

The mouth of the French is very deep and much different the the West Arm. Fish are found on deeper reefs that seem to be in the middle of nowhere. I'll follow up tomorrow.

[bigcreekdad]

Mover

 

I fished upper French for many years out of Casa Blanca Lodge, which is about 10 miles downriver from the mouth. I have fished that time of year also. Thefirst responder is right....that can be some tough water especially for walleye that time of year. That being said, it's sill great water. If you get yourself a goodtopo msap, it will be quite helpful, but here are a few thoughts:

 

1) Satchels Bay is not too far from the mouth and if you finds some larger weedbeds, they will likely contain some walleye. We usually just drifted nightcrawlers for these. That time of year though, you'll likely do best with a good breeze (not strong, but steady) and some overcast or rain. I found this method to not be productive without this. This will also likely produce some good smallmouth also. Satchels has also produced some nice muskie. It's a huge bay (almost a lake), with many of it's own bays and a few minor reefs, and you can spend a lot of time exploring it. Also, if it's a bright and still day, you could fish the deeper waters around the reefs at the western entrance to the bay for walleye.

 

2) I have found the reeds off of Sandy Island to be good for both pike and bass. Also,try the side of Burnt Island facing Sandy near the canoe channel for pike.

 

3) For some awesome topwater action for pike and largemouth bass head back into Marsh Bay.

 

4) Use your topo map and a graph (VERY helpful) to find the reefs coming up from deep water....there are plenty of them.

 

5) A troll around reefs and even weedy bays with some depth (>8-10') just before and after sunset with rapalas can be good for walleye, and (hang on) the odd muskie.

 

6) If you are after muskie at all, just pick a shoreline with a little irregular shoreline and pound it.

 

I'm sure the previous responder will gove you more and probably better, tips.

 

Although I've spent the last 5 seasons on the lower French (Wolsey Bay Area), I absolutely love the uper French, and wll likely go back. Beautiful water....nothing better than doing a slow troll after a great dinner and watching the sunset. Hell, sometimes you even catch a fish. You'll love it.

[steve_paul]

Mover, I find at that time of year, slow trolling Storm Hot n Tots (smaller size 2" - anything with some metallic flash) are good producers at sunset for pickerel. Troll along weed edges 10 - 15' of water and you should have some luck with them. Pike and bass also hit them throughout the day as well - worth picking up a few to try.