fishing rosseau

[flatbottom]

I'm going to be in a cottage in Rosseau during the month of July and am looking for fishing advice for Smallmouth or Walleye on Lake Rosseau. I'm from Arkansas and am open to any and all advice for fishing on this beautiful body of water. Thanks in advance for any advice I can get.

[johnnyb]

Big lake, doesn't get a TON of fishing pressure, but there is lots of boat traffic. I don't know how easily you'll find Walleye, but there are plenty of smallmouth bass. It's a clear, rocky lake, and just about any point or rock pile will hold fish. What I have found though, is that the fish seem to be picky as to which spots they'll hold to. I've fished 3 or 4 identical looking spots, but pulled fish off of only one. When you do find them, you'll usually hit decent numbers. Calm nights are great for slow retrieves with Jitterbugs. Good luck, it's a beautiful part of the country. If you use the search function on here, you'll probably find a reasonable amount of useful info

[flatbottom]

Thanks Johnnyb,

Smallies are my main objective. I have been on Rosseau before but was fishing for Lakers with a buddy.

I will have my bass boat with me so I'm willing to travel or go into lake Joe or Muskoka if necessary to find some good

fishing while I'm there.

 

Just trying to figure out what equipment, I.E. jigs or plastics, to take with me but expect to buy most while I'm there.

can't wait to get there in that area, I love it up there!!!!

[flatbottom]

Thanks Johnnyb,

Smallies are my main objective. I have been on Rosseau before but was fishing for Lakers with a buddy.

I will have my bass boat with me so I'm willing to travel or go into lake Joe or Muskoka if necessary to find some good

fishing while I'm there.

 

Just trying to figure out what equipment, I.E. jigs or plastics, to take with me but expect to buy most while I'm there.

can't wait to get there in that area, I love it up there!!!!

[JohnF]

Be sure to check around rafts and docks, but you already know that. I've seen nice sized smb's hiding under virtually every raft I've ever been around in Muskoka. Of course I wasn't into fishing in those days. And I can remember a whole bunch of weedy little bays that just had to hold pike - or something. Between the aforementioned rocks and the rafts, ya oughta have fun. Wish my buddy coulda stayed married so we'd still have his cottage to go to.

 

JF

[johnnyb]

If you've got a boat and can run around...head for the Little Joseph River...connects you to Lake Joe. I can think of at least one large channel marker (the big white square on top of a pole, not the red/greeen buoys) that is placed on a big shoal...nice healthy weeds on the shoal, and drops into 20-30 FOW....get some leeches/leech imitations down there...and if you're bringing any pike/muskie gear, work the wood along the shoreline in that channel

[musky66]

Troll deep for mega pike- if you find bait holding over deeper bays ( suspended over up to 40' or so) the big mamas will be nearby. Any crank bait will work but my best has been a Berkeley Frenzy deep diver in crawfish pattern- not a very solid lure however. Troll stick-baits in the evening as well- along shorelines and rocky humps or points- there are more walleye in the Muskokas than people realize.

[backbay]

Hi Flatbottom:

I can't speak for Rosseau, but I fished Lake Joe for a number of years, and it can;t be that different. In the summer, I used to fish structure, like off the side of cliffs, for suspended fish that were about 20' down. Slow presentation, almost jigging, Powerbait worms. That was in the afternoon. In the evening, anything goes. Find a quiet bay, and go topwater. It worked for me, hope it works for you.

That was for smallies, never caught a walleye there....

Edited June 17, 2009 by backbay

[camillj]

Good luck ... lots of BIG fish in Rosseau, lakers, pike and even Musky ... Any roccky shoal will hold Smallies .

 

Which part of Rosseau you at ? They do still get walleye over towards Windermere (I understand) ... if you drop a boat into Brandy or Three Mile you will find plenty of walleye there too

[flatbottom]

CamillJ, I'll be in the town of Rosseau. I have fished on the lake before but mostly for Lakers with a friend of mine that lives in Port Carling. This is the first time that I will have my fishing boat with me and set up to fish for smallies.

I hope to get to fish some of the other lakes while I'm there as well this trip.

 

Thanks to everyone for all your advice and news, maybe I'll see you up there.