May 6-7 Algonquin Fishing Report

[Jackie]

This past Saturday I decided in the last minute to head to Algonquin to camp one night and fish. Warm during the day but really cold 3am to 6am. Lake was very quiet -- almost nobody around. Fishing was very good, although all fish weighed less than 2 pounds. I guess that's the Algonquin laker average. It was 8/8 for the 13 hours I spent on the water. However 7 was caught within 3 hours on Sunday morning. If I had slept late and missed that window, my whole trip could have ended up with just 1 fish. Anyway here's the full report with pictures and how the fish were caught:

 

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=6941...mp;id=656631419

 

Cheers,

Jackie

[kissmybass]

very nice catch man! i'm planning on heading out there this week, after the anticipated rain fall. i've never gone before and can't wait to give it a shot!

 

i heard they dont allow boats so i'm going to rent a canoe (first time on a canoe in 10 years, uh oh lol). going to drive up and get there probably around 7-8 am... hopefully i don't arrive late!

[silveradosheriff]

Nice pics - sounds like a great weekend!

[mattyk]

some nice fish!

[Pizzinato]

Nice!

 

How were the black flies?

 

I am going north of there this weekend ... but not in the park.

 

So the trout were fairly deep. Most would have expected 15' ... not 30'. Good catch!

[Jackie]

Thanks all. It was just a very nice weekend to be out. Catching fish was a bonus.

 

Better go earlier in the season than later, while the water is still cold. I notice that early morning is always better than early evening, probably because the water is much cooler. If you're driving up that morning, try to get there around 6am. By the time you fix your canoe, load everything, paddle out to find your spot, and actually get to fish, it'd be 7am and that'd be perfect. If you haven't trolled using a canoe and 3-way setup before, you also have to get used to that. Keywords: slow and steady and quiet. Don't smash your paddle on the water or bang on the canoe.

 

No motorboats on the lake I fished. (Some corridor lakes allow it though -- check reg.) I've tried trolling using a canoe alone before (on Lake Louisa). It's a lot of work to keep the boat steady all the time while making sure your sinker/lure is just off the bottom but not snagging it (as the depth changes). Not impossible but quite difficult, can be frustrating. It'd be much better if you have two persons on the boat so that one can paddle while the other release the lines, and then vice versa. With my inflatable, it's a bit easier because two paddles can control the boat well and my rod can just slip under my leg and wedge between the soft rubber of the boat. I use a baitcaster for quicker on/off switch between release/stop. Bring a fishfinder if you have one.

 

Only a couple of fish were caught in 15 fow, most others were around 25 to 40 fow. So yes, they're already pretty deep at this time of the year, which surprised me too. That's why casting just didn't work.

 

There were some black flies. Not crazy (in a couple of weeks, they will be). But I did get a couple of bites on my ears. Very itchy. I didn't bring bug spray...

 

Jackie

[fishindevil]

Great fishing report. ..those lakers are perfect size,and they sure fight hard this time of year,and the trip looked like fun....thanks for sharing cheers

[Badger Shark]

I went up for the opener with a couple of friends, we went to several locations but no luck at all, it seems there wasnt to much action. I think we were a week or so to early, the conditions were pretty rotten, cool and wet.