Lake Joseph report

[Dan668]

Went to Simcoe instead last week. Iced a few lakers, Drove the truck out, got stuck once.

 

Have never ice fished these lakes before. Not looking for specific fishing spots, just good access points. Would prefer to fish for lakers/whities.

 

If anyone is going out Monday and needs an extra let me know. My two friends are stuck at work (construction, no holiday for them).

 

Thanks

Edited February 17, 2014 by danbob

[EC1]

I'll save you some google work.

http://explorersedge.ca/stories/public-boat-launches/

 

Walk is pretty awful, hope that the spot you choose has some snowmobile tracks.

Lakers will be found as shallow as 30FOW. No clue how to find whities. Look at the maps and definitely fish structure. I'm not very successful on these lakes, but I enjoy fishing these lakes much more than fishing something like Simcoe. Lots of small trout, and I don't know how to pattern the big trouts. And as far as I know, the simcoe "chasing" technique doesn't work very well there.

[Dan668]

Thanks. Thats exactly what i was looking for. Im thinking of just going to Foots Bay, a bit closer.

 

The Simcoe chasing technique has worked rather well this year. Just have had to stay away from the crowds.

[Dan668]

Ended up on Joseph. The walk wasn't bad at all. Went 4 for 6. Lakers between 14-16 inches. Would of liked to hunt bigger guys but thought i did well for my first time on this specific lake.

 

Was good to see the MNR out checking.

 

Lots of marked fish. All came from 60fow. 2 off swammers, the other two off minnows on a jig head using my rod and mr jigger combo.

The fish would constantly follow half way up and drop back down, i would drop back down, they'd come back up to it. Most seemed interested but did not want to commit at all.

 

No pics as they were not pic worthy lol. Also forgot my ofc sign like usual.

Edited February 17, 2014 by danbob

[farsider]

So, you went out of Foots?

 

Did an ice road get put in this year?

 

I have heard there is a ton of snow(12-24") with slush on the bottom, were you able to walk on a crust layer near the top or did you walk in sled trails?

 

Did you see any quads out there and were they having any trouble?

 

How thick was the ice and how much snow was on top?

 

Thanks in advance, my buddies and I are trying to get out for our bi-annual Lake Joe trip sometime this week and this condition information would be greatly appreciated.

 

Mark

[BillM]

I doubt you'll be seeing quads out there with that much snow. 12-24inch with slush makes it hard for sled travel. I'll wait until things have firmed up.

[Dan668]

Yes Foots. No ice road. Lots of snow and slush. Walking out on the sled trails made it easy. If you veered off, in some areas it was bad. Seen a bunch of quads. If they followed the flattened trails they did ok. Did see two get stuck crossing the bay but they were ok. Where i fished, it seemed to be 9 inches of good ice. 8 inches of slush and than snow on top. Don't drive your vehicle onto the ice unless they fixed the launch area (for parking). Seen a few broken bumpers and trucks having to be pulled out with tow straps because they couldn't make it back up.

Edited February 17, 2014 by danbob

[BillM]

Sounds like last year, lol.

[Acountdeleted]

One of my fav ice fishing lakes. Glad you were able to nab a few.

[farsider]

Yes Foots. No ice road. Lots of snow and slush. Walking out on the sled trails made it easy. If you veered off, in some areas it was bad. Seen a bunch of quads. If they followed the flattened trails they did ok. Did see two get stuck crossing the bay but they were ok. Where i fished, it seemed to be 9 inches of good ice. 8 inches of slush and than snow on top. Don't drive your vehicle onto the ice unless they fixed the launch area (for parking). Seen a few broken bumpers and trucks having to be pulled out with tow straps because they couldn't make it back up.

Thats awesome! Thanks for your report.

Cheers,

Mark