Ribes Lake Outpost- Walleye Extravaganza

[RickOnt]

Planning and Prep

This started about 1 year ago after I read Mike's(Solopaddler)report.

 

I was looking for some quality Walleye water.

 

I contacted Martin from Parks Fly In to inquire about a generator, as my fishing partner uses a CPAP and we would need to charge the battery pack. His reply was 'No problem I will put a generator in Ribes'

 

I also asked about a Sat phone. His reply was ' There will be a phone and charger in the cabin'

 

Great fella that Martin!

 

OK location settled.

 

I talked to Solo about his trip and got some great info. Mike is the encyclopedia Britanica when it comes to info on Lakes in NW Ontario.

 

We searched for maps, Topos,Google Earth and anything else we could find.

 

There are 6 river/creeks that run into Ribes and 1 outflow at the west end.

 

The Lake is about 2 miles long with 2 distinct basins The East end goes to 54' and the west to 84'

 

Mainly a rocky shoreline with a mud/sand bottom.

 

 

Camp/Cabin

 

The cabin is small about 12'x12'. Great for 2 people.

It is clean and extremely well equipped.

No water in cabin but Hot and Cold to an outdoor shower.

There is a pump on site for drinking water, which we filtered with the MSR for drinking.

Also a new BBQ

On Solo's recommendation we took in a screen house, This was a fantastic idea!! We ate our meals in here and it was a great place to sit and enjoy an evening adult beverage without the mosquitos.

 

A pic of the Cabin and screen House.

 

 

 

 

 

 

View from the Cabin

 

 

 

 

 

 

There are 3 boats on site, but only one motor which is a new 8HP Merc Four Stroke

 

 

Onto the GOOD STUFF the fishing!!

 

My expectations were for some mid 20" Walleye and some mid 30" Pike.

 

A 36" Pike was the biggest for the week

 

 

 

 

 

The Walleye fishing was simply outstanding.

 

 

We started trolling and picked up a 27 incher

 

 

 

 

 

Some of Solo's 'Spots' worked and some did not But He was there in July and this was June 16 of a late spring.

 

Water was cooold

 

 

After exploring and searching out every island,bay and all the shoreline a definite pattern was happening.

 

We never caught a fish in over 14' of water, So mark off all the fast breaking shoreline.

The key was a gradual sloping bottom with rock or in one case a mud flat and falling into deeper water,

 

We caught Fish on Crank Baits, Body Baits, Jigs and worm harnesses.

 

 

The Fish were all fat and thick a 19 incher was a handful.

 

 

 

The Pics are of the larger fish but one evening we pulled up onto a shoal and were getting nothing but 15-16 inchers.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A stringer of eaters

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The 29 Incher

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Some were very Blue. We found these fish were quite aggressive and would hit like a Smallmouth Bass

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The surprise of the Trip.

 

I have kinda a look of Aw and disbelief!!!!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

To say the least it was "FUN"

 

Rick

[Basskicker]

Now that looks that a well planed out trip with some awesome fish!! Congrats

[adempsey]

Looks like a fantastic trip! Those are some nice healthy fish. Thanks for putting up that report. I always enjoy reading about other peoples experiences.

[Terry]

looks like a great time

 

I have done fly-ins with Parks and would do it again

[solopaddler]

Awesome Rick, so glad you guys had a good trip! I still cannot believe you caught a brook trout in Ribes. It's absolutely mind blowing. That's akin to simultaneously winning the lottery and getting struck by lightning. Pretty sure the MNR district bio would love to hear about that catch.

[corvette1]

awesome trip nice eyes congrats

[Joeytier]

Wow great report. Very interesting colouration on those walleyes and that brookie mustve been one hell of an awesome surprise

[northernpike56]

nice pike and brook trout

[northernpike56]

and obviously the walleye too

[can u fish]

Well it looks likes you two had a great trip i was actually speaking with Martin this morning he seems to be very accomadating i will be Flying into Abbey Lake on Sept the 6th for seven days realy looking forward to this trip it sure seems like all of the outpost camps offerd by Parks produce great numbers of walleye solely based on Mike Borgers Reports. Thanks for posting this report and photos.

 

Cheers Mitch....

[chris.brock]

great report,

 

that brookie was very interesting, I wonder if there is a population in Ribes, or she spends the most of her time in one of the creeks? the lake's plenty deep enough for them to stay cool below the thermocline in the summer

 

you see people flying in with cases and cases of water (instead of beer), good call on the MSR

Edited June 26, 2013 by chris.brock

[fishindevil]

What a trip !!!! Awesome fish for sure !!! And the suprise of getting a brookie .....priceless.....well done. Cheers. Shawn

[davey buoy]

Great report Rick. The consistent size of the fish is amazing!!!.Thanks for sharing.

[spincast]

looks like a great trip. some beauty fish

[brw]

Great report and thanks for sharing. Looks like a fantastic walleye fishery. Quick question about the CPAP--was it a battery powered one your friend used solely for the fly in, and can you or he recommend one? Looking for options for my father in law, who uses traditional (electric) one and may need to look into a battery powered one for our next trip. Thanks!

Cheers,

Brian

[fishnsled]

Mike is the encyclopedia Britanica when it comes to info on Lakes in NW Ontario.

Ain't that the truth!!

 

Looks like an awesome trip with some fantastic fishing, love the brook trout surprise!! Thanks for the report!

[RickOnt]

Hey Fellas

 

That Brookie was a 'Huge' surprise, There are several inflowing creeks/rivers. and the Lake is very deep 84'

So I am not sure where this guy originated.

 

 

4Eyes

My Bud's CPAP runs off a battery Pack, Which is your typical CTC type boosterpac.

He plugs into this with a cigarette type plug which connects thru a rectangular box about 8"x3"x1" which I assume is an inverter and plugs into the machine he uses at home.

He also uses this setup at Moose Camp.

I will be in touch with Him and get more info.

 

Cheers

Rick

[Skud]

Nice report. I would like to see those large walleye in the fall when they are fat from the feed bag.

[Barneybass]

Looks like Heaven! Love the colours of those darker walleye. Did you eat the brook trout? They taste incredible.

Edited June 27, 2013 by Barneybass

[asdve23rveavwa]

Great report Rick. Definitely on my bucket list, when the budget allows. Like others have said that speck would have been an absolutely amazing surprise!!

[Jds63]

Hey Rick, awesome report !!!

The fishing looks fantastic, and that Brookie , wow, whata bonus,

 

I see you still have the hockey stick sonar setup, LOL , brings back memories !!!

[RickOnt]

Yes Julian

 

The stick gives some backbone to my rod bag.

 

I Velcro it with some sponge to the rods.

 

 

Hey Doug

They would be heavier for sure.

 

Even the 17" were thick in the back!

[misfish]

You were talking about this trip out on the boat a few weeks ago. You were pretty stoked to get up there. I was thinking to self,,nice trip to take. Im not retired,so,I got to stay local. LMAO

 

Great report Rick. Glad it worked out for ya.

 

Now back to Simcoe pike and smallies.

 

TFS

[RickOnt]

Yes Brian 'Stoked' for sure!!!

 

It was a great trip, Lived up to my expectations.

 

Back to Simcoe and some Smallies Oh Yea!.

 

Cheers

Rick

[Moosebunk]

A pleasure to view and read Rick. Some gnarly looking dark eyes in the mix and a cool rundown on how you eliminated water to find what was only working.

 

The speck... well, that would blow the mind when you're not expecting it. Did it fight harder than every other fish you caught all week? They are stubborn.