french river lodge/fishing lower french river

[mover]

anyone stayed at this lodge recently. considering booking for early sept fishing trip in lower french river at this lodge. would appreciate any comments on the lodge & fishing conditions in this zone for walleye,bass & pike. any info would be helpful. thanks

[Bigworm]

Mover,

Just got back on Tuesday. I've stayed there before and always had a good time. River has slot sizes so you will be keeping a lot of smaller walleye if you want a fish fry. If you are going after the big boys, they are there, just need to put you time in. Scenery is beautiful. Lights out at 11:00 so bring lanterns. They are very hospitable and will help you out any way they can. Cabins are........ well let's just say they are fishing cabins. We come in from Hartley Bay marina. They will pick you and all your gear up from there and bring you to the island. Have fun and good luck. P.S There is an island right out fromt of the cabins. Nice and close and always good walleye fishing. Yellow jig and worm. If you are trolling for the big boys, there is a whole stretch of islands just out from the "s-turn" that has Canadian record written all over it. lol

 

Mark

[Musky or Specks]

If you cant catch fish in the French River you should just pack it in and stop fishing. Thats how good the fishing is.

[Jonny]

My friend and I brought our families there for a week a few years back. The cabins were basic and old, but comfortable enough.

 

The Hartley Bay ramp is steep but OK if you've got your own boat, and the water taxi service was fine.

 

There's an awesome amount of water to fish. Some spots you have to take care not to get lost. They'll give you a pretty good map. If you have kids along, they'll love fishing for panfish off the docks.

 

Some good walleye all over, some good trolling for pike in the Wahnapitae River (and a nice falls which is as far as you can go). IIRC we were told that September is good for muskie.

 

Great scenery and some steam tugboats sunk here and there in shallow water from the days when the area was logged. You might find the old boat tramway and settlement where there's a short overland connect to Georgian Bay.

 

Altogether a great area for fishing and exploring.

[F_ast]

I have stayed there several time over the past few seasons. It is literaly right in the middle of where you want to be. There cabins as stated above could use a little work, but they do the job. They are comfortable, but the bare plywood walls leave you little to look at. There power is generated with a big diesel generator that they should off at 11 and back ion at 7 or 8. Doesnt always give you that much time to charge the batteries.

 

But, you really cant beat their location... and with fishing, location is everything.

 

One of the most beautiful scenary around

 

There is an early morning pic right from the cabin steps

[Rich Clemens]

My PB pike came from Wahnipitae bay. Coming down from Hartley Bay (past Bear's Den Lodge) you'll make a left-hand turn into the bay. Just beyond the first rock island you pass (on your right), back in there is a nice bay with plenty of weeds. Caught and released a 37 1/2 Northern. Just an island or two over, a couple days later, my stepson landed a 37 - also released. Spent a fair amount of time fishing around these islands and didn't do too bad for pike.

 

You'll go a short way along the left-hand shore line then cut in through what they call the "S" curves. Thru here, another right down a channel, and you're at FRL. We've never stayed there, but have popped in for gas and snack on occasion. Impressive view from the Lodge out over the water. Pretty wooded area there and the cabins are nestled in among the trees.

 

Of note: Just out frm the 'S' curves in the bay, there is a nice large shoal just under the water. Can't recall if it was directlly out from they or a little further on up. I don't use the work nice in a good kinds of way, we hit the darn thing coming back up through. Fortunately, we were going slow since we we unfamiliar with the water, so no real damage done.

 

 

When you make that left into the main bay, you can also to right and we've picked up like back in there - back toward Frasier Bay. But - if you do venture this way, take it slow and easy. Quite a few prop killers back in there.

 

Been back to the falls that Jocko mentioned. Didn't catch anything back there, but its a nice place for some photos.

 

Best of luck to ya and let us know how you make out.

I enjoy seeing pics from that part of Ontario ... simply beautiful.

[mover]

really appreciate all the responses rec'd to the moment regarding french river lodge , fishing advice, scenery etc . this area sounds fantastic just to visit. i guess you can go further up north to supposely plug into healthier fish populations but the way this area is described, save on time , save on gas & still get the same bang if not bigger. for the buck. thanks again to everbody for your help. this trip is on ! will report back