Auld Reekie - Gowganda Help

[bubbles]

Hey everyone, I'm back used to be here on a regular basis but have not been here in a long time.

 

Looking for some help on Gowganda Lake or on Auld Reekie Lodge, I have read what I could find searching though old posts but looking to see if anyone has any further info.

Seems like a good size lake, can anyone point me to some spots?

Seems like lots of small walleye, are there any large ones in there?

Seem to be better off on the back lakes as opposed to the main lake, true or false?

 

 

Appreciate the help.

Kevin

[blue pickeral]

Was at Gowganda Lake Camp first week of August. Returnees of several years report fishing a bit 'off' due to weather, but everyone was catching. Quite a few lunch sized pickeral although several 6- 12 lber's caught as well - on troll or bouncer on west side of island. Map of the Gowganda Lake is available at Angler's Atlas. As for back lakes, some did okay, others didn't - weather being a factor.

[bhearsum]

My Dad and I were there at the end of May. It was our first trip like this, and we had a great time. We had some luck in the Montreal River part of the lake - got walleye, bass, pike. We were told that the back lakes were much better for walleye but we never actually went out to them. Hanging Lake also has some trout.

 

I'd recommend this place, for what it's worth.

[addy79]

awesome resort, great bunch of guys workin there!

check out the basement of the main lodge when your there, prolly about $1000 worth of empties used to make walls, furniture, etc! lol

 

the main lake was awful while we were there! NADA! funny enough we heard countless stories of guys walkin outta the lake with garbage bags full of walters! love those stupid stories, wanna give guys a shake when i hear them!!

 

the backlakes are where it is at when visiting Auld Reekie!!

 

They have a bass lake which still stands as my fav bass lake all time, cant remember the name of the lake but it could be elkhorne?!

they had another lake for walleye and pike that rocked! near the main lodge, you portage through a river to get in.

[steve-13]

I went there on a trip a few years back with my dad, uncle and cousin. The first 2 days we were there we fished the main lake and got absolutely nothing. One rock bass I think. Other than that there was no walleye, or pike.

 

So after talking to the owner he recommended we try one of the back lakes for walleye, so we did. I can't remember the name of the lake (I think it started with an O) but we had to bring a motor in the car, drive down a dirt road for like 5-10mins, and find some boats at the end of the road. We then cruised down to the other end of the lake and did a 10 minute portage around a waterfall and began fishing at the lake we had chosen. We only got a few walleye, but we absolutely slayed the smallmouth bass. We caught probably 50-60 each day for 2 days at this lake and that was just at the bottom of the waterfall, we didn't even fish the rest of the lake, and the fish were good sized, with a few really big ones. It was so much fun.

 

We haven't been back since just because of the work it took to get to that back lake,

 

Other than that the cabin was awesome, as well as the boats on the main lake.

[Rich Clemens]

Not sure how much help this is, but I was there back around 1994. We were looking for pike and bass at the time. I fished the main lake right there for pike the entire week and caught NONE. My dad and step-mother were along and they did pretty good on smallies, but nowhere near the numbers Steve-13 was catching. If I recall correctly, looking out across the lake frmo the camp, they went down to the right, where the lake takes another right-hand turn. Along the shore lines is where they were hitting the bass. There is an island out from the camp and to the right, with some ncie weed-beds behind it. Surely I would catch a pike in there ..... NOT. We did a one day fly-in to an outpost like, which I think was called Pike Lake. Did pretty good there that day and got into some nice-sized pike - into the 30" range. Didn't do any of the portages to the local lakes that week. We were only there that one time.

[hoops12]

It sounds like the main lake doesn't produces a lot of fish? Has anyone had luck on that lake? Buddles when are you going up? We are headed there on Sept. 4. I wouldn't mind hearing about your trip.

[fish1812]

hey guys, im also heading up to reekie this week, I plan on concentrating on the back lakes as well, i found some good old posts about hangingstone, and stumpy lake, wondering if anyone has any more recent experience at either of these, or if youve tried any of the others? we only have 4 days so we are trying to narrow down which ones to try.

thanks guys!

[Golfisher]

I fished Gowganda the last couple of years, though I stayed at another resort. Back lakes are indeed better than the main lake, especially for walleye, but for smallies and pike, the main lake isn't that bad. I was there this June, and between my fishing buddy and me, we caught around 40 to 50 smallies a day on the main lake. No luck with walleye though.

 

The back lake above the fall, called Hangingstone, is a bass heaven. Literally every cast produces a hit; in fact, there are so many smallies that after a while, you might actually get bored (impossible, I thought, but it can happen, lol). The size tends to be smallish in Hangingston though, and at least for us, all the lunkers came from the main lake. As for walleye, Stumpy is superb. Trolling was a bit slow when we tried it this year, but it produced the biggest walleye, and once the sun began to set, we had non-stop action jigging by the small fall/stream. Getting to these back lakes is a pita, but well worth the trouble/cost.

 

If you decide to give Stumpy a try, take with you some HJs and orginal floating Rapalas for trolling. There are sunk logs everywhere in the lake, so 3 or 4 feet is the maximum depth that you can troll without getting snagged constantly. Deep diving lures are useless in that lake. Perch pattern worked the best for me.

Edited August 26, 2009 by Golfisher

[bubbles]

Thanks to those who have added input.

 

I am heading up Sept 19th, excited to hear about the folks trips who are headed up in the next little while.

[fish1812]

soo, im all set to go up to auld reekie, and i call my buddy to find out what time hes picking me up today, and hes like "what the hell are you talking about!!" why!!! is labour day weekend the second weekend in sept this year!! i guess i should have checked the calender, but come on! had all my fishing stuff packed and at the front door, had the week booked off work! and now i have to wait another week! what a letdown.

 

p.s. if anyone else has any gowagonda stories or tips, id love to hear um, ive got alot of time on my hands now this week lol

[addy79]

get a calendar bud

[bubbles]

THAT is funny

[paulyboy83]

My Dad and I were there at the end of May. It was our first trip like this, and we had a great time. We had some luck in the Montreal River part of the lake - got walleye, bass, pike. We were told that the back lakes were much better for walleye but we never actually went out to them. Hanging Lake also has some trout.

 

I'd recommend this place, for what it's worth.

 

The Montreal River at the top of Obushkong lake is a great place fore catching walleye, bass and pike. Lots of decent fish up there to keep you busy. If you are talking about Hangingstone lake, bhearsum, it has nothing but smallmouth bass in it. Literally thousands of them and they will hit on anything you can throw at them. It's almost more fun trying to find something they won't hit!

 

 

 

 

 

 

I went there on a trip a few years back with my dad, uncle and cousin. The first 2 days we were there we fished the main lake and got absolutely nothing. One rock bass I think. Other than that there was no walleye, or pike.

 

So after talking to the owner he recommended we try one of the back lakes for walleye, so we did. I can't remember the name of the lake (I think it started with an O) but we had to bring a motor in the car, drive down a dirt road for like 5-10mins, and find some boats at the end of the road. We then cruised down to the other end of the lake and did a 10 minute portage around a waterfall and began fishing at the lake we had chosen. We only got a few walleye, but we absolutely slayed the smallmouth bass. We caught probably 50-60 each day for 2 days at this lake and that was just at the bottom of the waterfall, we didn't even fish the rest of the lake, and the fish were good sized, with a few really big ones. It was so much fun.

 

We haven't been back since just because of the work it took to get to that back lake,

 

Other than that the cabin was awesome, as well as the boats on the main lake.

 

You were probably on Obushkong lake Steve-13. As I said above it's a great lake (our favourite to fish when we are up there). The back lakes aren't that much problem getting to. Urs (owner) will shuttle you and your group into Stumpy for a small fee, Dinny (pike) is only a 10-15 min hike, Obushkong is a short drive, even shorter boat ride and a 5 min portage around the falls to the other boats. Hangingstone is by far the hardest as it is 15-20 minutes up hill over the bed rock etc etc.

 

 

 

I fished Gowganda the last couple of years, though I stayed at another resort. Back lakes are indeed better than the main lake, especially for walleye, but for smallies and pike, the main lake isn't that bad. I was there this June, and between my fishing buddy and me, we caught around 40 to 50 smallies a day on the main lake. No luck with walleye though.

 

The back lake above the fall, called Hangingstone, is a bass heaven. Literally every cast produces a hit; in fact, there are so many smallies that after a while, you might actually get bored (impossible, I thought, but it can happen, lol). The size tends to be smallish in Hangingston though, and at least for us, all the lunkers came from the main lake. As for walleye, Stumpy is superb. Trolling was a bit slow when we tried it this year, but it produced the biggest walleye, and once the sun began to set, we had non-stop action jigging by the small fall/stream. Getting to these back lakes is a pita, but well worth the trouble/cost.

 

If you decide to give Stumpy a try, take with you some HJs and orginal floating Rapalas for trolling. There are sunk logs everywhere in the lake, so 3 or 4 feet is the maximum depth that you can troll without getting snagged constantly. Deep diving lures are useless in that lake. Perch pattern worked the best for me.

 

 

If you head down the west shore of Stumpy, about 3/4 of the way down is an area that we troll with Big O's and do quite well. Where the river runs into the lake on the Southeast corner is another decent area to try. The north part of the lake is full of standing trees as this is a man made lake and they never completely logged it out before they flooded it. Very snaggy but I would imagine with a bit of patience some hawgs might come out of that area.

 

I'll be up there from Sept 16th - 22nd. Look forward to hearing some stories from some of you guys heading up earlier and will look forward to meeting you Bubbles when you're up there.

 

PB

[fish1812]

paulyboy, thanks for the in depth tips, we will def give those spots a try as this is our first trip to auld reekie, I had a few questions if you wouldnt mind, I was looking at a map and diny looks like a pretty tiny lake i was wondering what size of pike you guys were pulling out of there, i mean we arnt expecting any 20lbers but somthing a little bigger than hammerhandles would be nice,

 

did you guys get most of your walleye on stumpy trolling? ive heard perch pattern big o's have been producing,?

 

you mentioned Obushkong is your fave lake to fish, what makes it your fave? and do you have any interesting spots for us to try up there??

 

you said the hike into hangingstone is by far the hardest, exactly how hard are we talking about here lol with the multiple reports of 100fish days and people saying you get bored of catching fish, we had def planned on making that our stop for the first day, do we just make the portage with our gear? or are we carrying boats as well??

 

thanks again, look for our report just before you leave to head up there we'll def let ya know how we did!

[hoops12]

Paulyboy, what was the bait/lure of choice for pike, bass, and walleye?

[solopaddler]

soo, im all set to go up to auld reekie, and i call my buddy to find out what time hes picking me up today, and hes like "what the hell are you talking about!!" why!!! is labour day weekend the second weekend in sept this year!! i guess i should have checked the calender, but come on! had all my fishing stuff packed and at the front door, had the week booked off work! and now i have to wait another week! what a letdown.

 

p.s. if anyone else has any gowagonda stories or tips, id love to hear um, ive got alot of time on my hands now this week lol

 

Dude that's hilarious.

[paulyboy83]

paulyboy, thanks for the in depth tips, we will def give those spots a try as this is our first trip to auld reekie, I had a few questions if you wouldnt mind, I was looking at a map and diny looks like a pretty tiny lake i was wondering what size of pike you guys were pulling out of there, i mean we arnt expecting any 20lbers but somthing a little bigger than hammerhandles would be nice,

 

did you guys get most of your walleye on stumpy trolling? ive heard perch pattern big o's have been producing,?

 

you mentioned Obushkong is your fave lake to fish, what makes it your fave? and do you have any interesting spots for us to try up there??

 

you said the hike into hangingstone is by far the hardest, exactly how hard are we talking about here lol with the multiple reports of 100fish days and people saying you get bored of catching fish, we had def planned on making that our stop for the first day, do we just make the portage with our gear? or are we carrying boats as well??

 

thanks again, look for our report just before you leave to head up there we'll def let ya know how we did!

 

 

Dinny is definitely a small lake but we have pulled a few pike out of there in the 8 lb range. Last year someone got one around 12 lbs. Most are hammerhandles but we get a fair number in 3-5 lb range as well. Good enough for a shore lunch!

 

We do get most/all of our walleye trolling on Stumpy. We tend to catch most of them on the Brown and Orange (Crawdad) and an old discontinued colour (tennessee shad). Also have had quite a bit of success with gumdrop jigs tipped with a minnow or a Victor spoon tipped with a minnow. We have never had the patience to try jigging because of the frequency of snags.

 

Obushkong is just a great lake with lots of big fish in it. You do get some smaller ones but it's such a long lake that there are all sorts of places to fish. Apparently, the fishing has been good in the bottom end of the lake just up from where the boat launch is. We've got a lot of decent fish from this lake and lost a huge walleye further up in the Montreal river.

 

The hike into Hangingstone isn't that bad if you don't have a bum leg or anything. It's a lake where you will portage a motor (usually just a 3 hp), jerry can, tackle, rods and cooler with the cold ones! Pack light with tackle. Few crank baits, jigs and spinners will be sufficient. We usually just throw a bunch of lures into one tray and throw it in a backpack.

 

 

Paulyboy, what was the bait/lure of choice for pike, bass, and walleye?

 

Pike up there will hit just about anything but do tend to hammer on the artificial frogs, blue and silver hammered spoons or white spinner baits. My biggest (12 lbs) came on the aforementioned crawdad coloured Big O.

 

Walleye can be caught on big o's, wally divers or try the Victor Spoons. Urs (owner) will let you know what's been working if you ask him and they do have a few lures in the lodge for sale. Reasonably priced as well.

 

To be honest with you, we tend to stick with the Big O's for the most part. It's what we've caught most of the fish on.

 

Here's a little taste of 4 hrs on Stumpy with 3 people fishing.

 

Enjoy guys! And don't forget to mention to Urs and Dianne that you got your information from Paul in Woodstock! They'll know who you're talking about. Make sure to take pics and post a report when you get home!

 

PB

[hoops12]

Paul,

 

Thanks for the amazing reply. U got me jacked up for our trip. How long of a drive from Woodstock? One last question, is the water a tea stain or clear?

 

Thanks again Paul, greatly appreciated

[bubbles]

Paul,

You the man! Hunt me down when we are up there and I'll buy you a beer!

 

Thanks for all the help.

[paulyboy83]

Paul,

 

Thanks for the amazing reply. U got me jacked up for our trip. How long of a drive from Woodstock? One last question, is the water a tea stain or clear?

 

Thanks again Paul, greatly appreciated

 

 

Hoops,

 

It's about 7-8 hrs depending on traffic etc. from Woodstock. 735 kms approximately. The water is tea stained in all but one lake I've fished in up there. There is one lake with brookies in it that we washed lures in one day and it was clear but the rest are tea stained. No problem catching walleye in the middle of a sunny day in 10-15 ft of water.!

 

 

 

Paul,

You the man! Hunt me down when we are up there and I'll buy you a beer!

 

Thanks for all the help.

 

 

I will take you up on that Bubbles! See you there.

You guys driving straight through or stopping for the night somewhere? We are heading up mid-late afternoon so we should get there around midnight.

[bubbles]

I will take you up on that Bubbles! See you there.

You guys driving straight through or stopping for the night somewhere? We are heading up mid-late afternoon so we should get there around midnight.

 

 

We are going to North Bay Friday night and headed up to camp when the sun comes up. I think it's about 3 hrs from Northbay so we'll be there mid morning.

 

Can't wait, counting the hrs........

[paulyboy83]

We are going to North Bay Friday night and headed up to camp when the sun comes up. I think it's about 3 hrs from Northbay so we'll be there mid morning.

 

Can't wait, counting the hrs........

 

 

Yeah about 2-3 hrs from North bay. Watch your speed about 30 kms south of Temagami and 30 kms north. Cop hot spot there. If you get to Northbay early enough there is a strip bar there if you are so inclined. It's called Fanny's (or fannies) and it's on the right hand side as you come into Northbay.

 

Also watch for cops as you come into Elk Lake to make the turn to Gowganda. They like to sit in along there sometimes.

 

See you there.

[fish1812]

sittin up here in the living room of our cottage at auld reekie today, who knew they had wireless internet,!

 

had a great day today on dinny lake, the walk in was harder than we expected but once we got there the fishing was non stop, lots of smaller pike and a few around 30 inches, fish fry tomorrow!

 

tommorrow we hit hanging stone,

 

pauly urs says hi right back hes looking forward to seeing you, and your tips have been dead on so far, main lake slow during the day getting a few walleye at night, we were gonna go out after dinner, but most of us have been up for 2 days, so tommorrow for sure!

 

lets see what tommorow brings at hangingstone!

 

will post a report with pics when we get back

[paulyboy83]

sittin up here in the living room of our cottage at auld reekie today, who knew they had wireless internet,!

 

had a great day today on dinny lake, the walk in was harder than we expected but once we got there the fishing was non stop, lots of smaller pike and a few around 30 inches, fish fry tomorrow!

 

tommorrow we hit hanging stone,

 

pauly urs says hi right back hes looking forward to seeing you, and your tips have been dead on so far, main lake slow during the day getting a few walleye at night, we were gonna go out after dinner, but most of us have been up for 2 days, so tommorrow for sure!

 

lets see what tommorow brings at hangingstone!

 

will post a report with pics when we get back

 

 

Good to hear that you're having some luck all ready. If you thought the walk into Dinny was tough you are in for an eye opener tomorrow! lol

 

Tell Urs I'm expecting him to have a few jobs for us when we get there and not to get the broom out when we arrive!

 

He won't have a clue what I'm talking about right now but will get the idea when Chris and I show up!

 

Good luck tomorrow!

 

PB