2nd attempt at Wabigoon, Mile and Trap lake post(Lots of pics)

[limeyangler]

Hi All,

 

 

Well I planned to go for some trout(lakers) on downriggers with my buddy Matt yesterday. Well after him messing me around...and then finally cancelling I just headed out on Wabigoon( he did call later when i got back in to apologise again...good man is Matt .

 

This has got be one of the first times not getting everything ready the day before worked out to my advantage, cuz i was gonna pull the boat out of the water to get it to the trout lake, but i was tired and had left it at the bottom of the yard, so i was ready to roll as soon as Matt cancelled.

 

Was getting the boat ready by 8:30am .....must have been rush hour....lol....but why my neighbour cant just drive or cycle to work is beyond me ..................................

 

DON’T THINK THE GAS MILEAGE CAN BE VERY GOOD

 

 

He must have forgotten his lunch box as the wife showed up 10 minutes later to give chase...lol......

 

 

HONEY!........YOU FORGOT YOUR LUNCHBOX!

 

 

They are my neighbours , but the real story(as if you haven’t guessed already) is that they are a fly-in camp operator at the end of the bay, I don’t mind them, pretty cool to watch, but i do take exception to them taking off and buzzing 20 feet above the lawn scaring the S#!T out of my cats and rattling' the windows Anyway...lol...rant over....back to the fishing.

 

The phone was non stop this morning at home and I was finally headed out at about 11am. Needed some smokes and drinks for the day so drove the boat to town. At the shop, there's my buddy Dave buying minnows for a quick trip out with a kid. We both work with children in care....its great when you have the kids who like fishing cuz you can go out all day in the boat....tough job.....the kids love it too! So Dave suggests we just go in my boat as its right there...save him putting his in ...and besides he has a meeting at 1:30pm and cant go out for long. So off we go to our favourite little walleye spot. We had lots of bites, marked lots of fish but failed to land anything, and were headed back to get Dave to his meeting at 1pm. After dropping Dave off i headed back to the same spot as we had marked lots of fish, after another hour or so all i had managed was one little guy, so decided to try Mile and Trap lakes, which although connected to Wabigoon are much clearer lakes.

 

 

 

ALL I MANAGED TO LAND IN 2 HOURS

 

 

 

 

Mile and Trap Lakes are connected to the main Wabigoon lake by narrow weeded channels, here’s the coordinates on Google earth....................

 

MILE LAKE 49 40 54.61 N 92 46 38.88 W

 

TRAP LAKE 49 39 37.48 N 92 47 23.00 W

 

Mile is the first lake you come to off of Wabigoon and Trap is the 2nd and more southerly of the two, if you click the blue icon at the entrance to Mile Lake on Google Earth it shows a rather cool pic of a moose i saw there last summer running and chomping its way through the weed bed...guess that’s why they call them 'Swamp Donkeys'....here's some more video footage from last summer of the same moose....

 

 

 

MOOSE LAST SUMMER AT ENTRANCE TO MILE LAKE

 

 

 

 

 

Like i said, the entrance to the two Lakes are narrow weeded channels. Mind you they are only narrow and weeded in the summer, i have not ever been there at this time of year and there was hardly any weed growth at all. On the one hand it seems like it would be easier to navigate being wider, but after consideration i realised it was gonna be trickier because the edge of the weeds in the summer mark the deeper water, even then the water is only 2 to 3 feet deep with lots of stumps to hit. So i braced myself for the attempt....which i have always been told to do at full tilt with my 30hp as this apparently lifts the boat higher...apparently.......

 

 

 

ENTRANCE TO MILE LAKE

 

 

 

 

 

GOING THROUGH AS FAST AS MY 30HP WILL GO

 

 

 

 

 

 

PHEW!!>>>MADE IT THROUGH, GREETED BY THE GREAT LOOKING MILE LAKE

 

 

 

 

 

 

After not having much success for walleye all morning and afternoon, i decided to try my black fury mepps spinner, as last summer this proved deadly on these two lakes for pike , bass and the odd walleye. After my fourth cast ....lol....i was having my doubts, as in the summer on these lakes the fish hit before the lure has hit the water. My doubts none the less were there because the main lake seems to be in transition from the good ice out/spawn stage to the summer mode. That is to say all the large walleye have disappeared or are not liking my usual presentation of jig and minnow. I think i will try another bait/rig presentation next time out as when cleaning fish there is a lot of insect/ water bug type stuff in the digestive tract....match the hatch as they say.

 

Anyway.....i did a bit more thinking about the lack of bites on the spinner and decided that although the water seemed warm enough to trigger the fish to bite a slow moving spinner, i was fishing in the same bays that in summer are reed beds. I decided that perhaps the rotted remnants of the reeds were depleting oxygen, hence the lack of fish. So i decided to fish the rocky shores which form the entrance to these little bays and within 2 casts bam....first little pike, I then hooked into a bass which while messing around trying to film it...it broke loose. I got a couple more pike before loosing my Black with Yellow dot mepps...something big bit through my 20lb flouro leader...and swapped over to my only other mepps which was a reverse Yellow with Black spots...which also caught a few pike.

 

 

 

1ST PIKE

 

 

 

 

 

1ST AND ONLY BASS.......GOOD JOB I SWITCHED OFF THE CAMERA AS SOON AS IT GOT OFF....LOL....CUZ I LET LOOSE A FEW CHOICE WORDS DIRECTED MAINLY AT MYSELF

 

 

 

 

 

Although catching the pike and bass were fun i wanted to see if the walleye fishing was different on this lake, so did a short troll round the corner from where i was fishing to a reef i did well at last year, the fishing was not fast and furious then either, but the fish i landed were much larger than the norm i had been catching on Wabigoon. After 30 minutes trolling and jigging around the reef i managed another little guy.

 

 

SEEMS THE BIG GUYS ARE HIDING FROM ME

 

 

 

 

 

 

I decided that i would now head down the next connecting channel into Trap Lake. Again the channel was not weeded as in summer, I actually found a similar picture view i took last summer which makes for a fun comparison .........

 

 

 

YESTERDAY

 

 

 

 

 

LAST YEAR IN JULY

 

 

 

 

USED ALL THE 30 HORSES TO GET THROUGH AGAIN (the outboard is 23 years old so probably closer to 25 horses....lol)

 

 

 

 

I fished for about another hour or so in Trap Lake. I had lots of follows from very small pike, which was fun, cuz although shy of biting they were not shy to sit by the boat in clear view while i tried to entice them to bite. I only managed to land one but it was the first trip into this lake this year so was good to get a fish on the maiden voyage. I wanted to stay longer but i knew thunder storms were predicted for the evening, and having to cross large open water areas on the main lake to get home i decided to head off before the wind picked up and made my journey in the 16' tinny more interesting than need be. On the way out i disturbed an Eagle which took off up the channel, i followed it for a whole mile before it took off over the trees, wanted to film but only managed a picture as i though it sensible to concentrate on navigating...lol.

 

 

 

 

1ST TRAP LAKE FISH FOR THIS YEAR

 

 

 

 

MY TRAVELLING COMPANION FOR ABOUT 1 MILE

 

 

 

 

 

Tried for walleye again on Wabigoon at the first spot, to see if it was an evening bite....no luck. So tried in front of the house before mooring up for the day as it has actually been the best fishing in front of the house....i just like getting out in the boat....lol. Whilst doing the slow troll along our shoreline i caught sight of this deer checking me out from our lawn, wish he'd stick to mowing the grass instead of chomping all our shrubs and flowers....grrrrrrrrrrrr

 

 

MOW THE LAWN>>>NOT OUR SHRUBS PLEASE!

 

 

 

 

 

As the sun started to set i tied up the boat and set up a pickerel rig from shore in a last ditch attempt at supper whilst i unpacked the boat.....once again i only got one small one just before the sun dipped behind the horizon....but boy was it a good day out...and what a sunset!!!!

 

 

 

LAST NIGHTS SUNSET......NEVER CEASES TO WOW ME!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[bushart]

Ok I'll try again once more---those last summer reefs your fishing will be really tough right now if any---those wabigoon walleye tend to recoop in those weedbeds adjacent to their spawning areas ie; The West Arm--Larson Bay and Christies island will be good this year when it opens with the late ice out---The end of contact bay in that little bay will be white hot soon so keep checking

 

Fish small jigs and minnows as wind allows and you should upscale that catch

 

Look for those mid lake humps and main lake points to turn on mid to late june---devils island always puts out decent eating eyes---fish the north east corner and follow the arm underwater arm that comes n/e

 

I trust this will help

[limeyangler]

LOLOL....Bushart....seems like your just the person i need to talk to....you local?...sounds like it. I tried devils Island the other day....no joy...by the looks of it the 2 other boats did not do well. The reefs before Larson bay are showing fish but i am either not presenting well enough...or they aint biting. I was gonna go down the west arm on yesterday, but spoke to a couple of people who said they'd been....including my neighbour......but they all said nuttin' happening. I will do as you say and try the weed beds, THANKS FOR ALL THE ADVICE. dude....dont be so anonymous...if you are local...pm me please.

[bushart]

No prob--I used to be local but now live 1000 miles away---thus the spots

 

Those larson bay humps will take awhile---go into the very back bay on the left---fish from the first corner halfway into the bay-say 10 feet from shore--they may still be in there.

 

This time of year remember water temps---**North shore will warm first off.

 

Anyway you can go into the west arm and catch fish when some of the spinner pullers are not--like my other post head for those two islands down in the bay-left side---there's a weedy saddle between--start at the 2nd isle east corner and work the breakline off that weed ridge back to the other island--Usually 5-9 ft--on the north sides of those islands---green/chart jigs good option

 

Recognize this water colour--Larson Bay

 

 

[fishindevil]

Awesome scenery & wildlife clips too !!!!!.. .well too bad you didnt get any nice size eaters,but it sure looked like a nice day to be out fishin for sure !!!! thanks for sharing,a very good read....cheers

[johnnyb]

breathtaking sunset shots, Limey....keep the reports coming

[tibbs]

Exellent Report!

 

Great Videos!

[limeyangler]

No prob--I used to be local but now live 1000 miles away---thus the spots

 

Those larson bay humps will take awhile---go into the very back bay on the left---fish from the first corner halfway into the bay-say 10 feet from shore--they may still be in there.

 

This time of year remember water temps---**North shore will warm first off.

 

Anyway you can go into the west arm and catch fish when some of the spinner pullers are not--like my other post head for those two islands down in the bay-left side---there's a weedy saddle between--start at the 2nd isle east corner and work the breakline off that weed ridge back to the other island--Usually 5-9 ft--on the north sides of those islands---green/chart jigs good option

 

Recognize this water colour--Larson Bay

 

 

 

Priceless info there Bushart...will give it a go...hope i'm not late for them...lol...always next year god willing....and yeah nice pic....the Goon certainly is murky...but lots of fishies . By the way....its all cabbage along the shore of our bush, its growing all the time...even there under the ice...as ive pulled up green stuff in winter...so i tried your weed fishing advice as soon as i read the post....well only got little guys.....but i discovered where the perch are!!!!! holy man...about 10 in 1/2 hour.....did not stay long as wind full on in my face and driving rain, hence no pics...already froze a camera to death on the ice this year...dont wanna drown one now...not at $400 a shot!

 

And Johnny these sunsets are really wild....glad you enjoyed...me too....guess thats why they call this area 'Sunset County'.

[mikeh]

great report.... maybe one of you can help me because I can't see the videos, when I click on the picture it sends me to the photobucket login and does not go into the video.

[Sinker]

great report.... maybe one of you can help me because I can't see the videos, when I click on the picture it sends me to the photobucket login and does not go into the video.

 

 

Same deal for me Mike........can't get the vids.

 

Otherwise a great report. I'm quite jealous that you can just tie your boat up to your front lawn.... ......you've got it made!!

 

Sinker

[b2kptbo]

Nice read and pic's, thanks...

[bushart]

Limey---there's lots of weeds along those shorelines---key here is close to spawning areas and flat north shore mud bays combined to those spawning areas-----west arm will still be good--you have not missed it.

 

Remember if winds are light fish smaller baits

[limeyangler]

Thanks Bushart....will try that out....will head up west arm as soon as i get the hell out of winnipeg.....on a school outing for work.....god i hate cities...much rather be out in the bush.....on the ice....or in my boat with the occasional necessary trip to walmart in dryden ....lol...will be back on the water tuesday evening...will try west arm and larson and let ya know how i get on....

 

 

 

And the guys who cannot get vids ...maybe you need to register with photobucket, might help with the vids.

[mikeh]

hi Limeyangler, I have a photobucket account but am not able to see the videos.

[bushart]

Yeah Portage & Main is a far cry from easin down The Bear Narrows Road --one hand on the wheel the other arm hangin out the window and not really worried about traffic but really looking for fresh moose sign

[mepps]

great report!