A Trip to Marshall Lake

[BassMan11]

The Trip: It had been 5 years now that I have been organizing an annual fishing trip for myself and a few close friends. We have been heading about 4 hours north from Ottawa into Quebec to stay for 4 days at a Pourvoirie in search of some big pike and possibly some pickerel. Being a little disappointed in the fishing for the last couple years, I put together a proposal for the boys to do something a little bigger and a little different this year. Marshall Lake near Nakina was the destination and 7 lakes wilderness camps would be our outfitter for this 8 day adventure. It took a little convincing but be the end of January we were all booked for the middle of September for our new adventure. Obviously this gave me a lot of time to do as much research as possible which took up most of my 2014.

 

The Drive: With a round trip of 2700km the drive was pretty long and uneventful. We spotted a large bear the morning we left between Deep River and Mattawa but that was the only animal we would see on the side of the road. We picked my one friend up in Timmins since he was flying in from Toronto to meet us half way which was a nice detour. The final stretch down blueberry road to Nakina was a breeze with the dirt road being in very good shape surprisingly.

 

The Weather: Honestly it was pretty brutal. I had not been this far north before so I had no real idea what to expect for late summer weather. It was to be colder than the average temps for this time of year and we even had snow on the 17^th of September. Also the next morning the temp had dropped to about -3 overnight and there was very heavy frost on everything. Later on in the week the temps warmed up a bit but with heavy rain and a strong north wind it was still bone chillingly cold. Water temps started out around 51-52 degrees dropping to 47-48 degrees by the time we left. Of course the following week had highs of 20 every day in Nakina. On the up side we had no bugs to deal with at all which was a plus.

 

The Cabin: Simple 1 room design with 3 comfy bunks (although I would not recommend 6 people in there) which kept you warm and out of the elements. Propane fridge and heater, no running water in the cabin but an outdoor shower with on demand heat and running water which was nice. A simple out house is in place to do your business around the back. There is a generator that powers some lights and you can even charge your phone / camera which was nice in the middle of the week. There is also a satellite phone you are able to use to call the outside world if needed.

 

The Fishing: If you ask anyone who has been to Marshall they will tell you it’s a fish factory, and I would agree with them 100%. Even though we really only got to fish the better part of 4 days and were in the middle of a huge cold front, we still caught somewhere in the ballpark of 350 pike and pickerel between 4 guys. Keep in mind this is targeting pike the majority of the time casting spoons and cranks. There were a few walleye holes we found where I am sure you could sit with a jig and worm or harnesses and easily catch 100 fish day but we didn’t want to do that the whole time. The average pike was around 25-30” with several caught in the 31-35” range. The average walleye was 20”, actually 90% of the walleyes we caught were between 19.5 and 20.5 inches. It was quite tough to find eater size fish to tell you the truth. Largest Pike of the trip was a 41 inch beauty with about 10 others between the 35-39 inch range. Largest walleye was a 26”er. All in all the fishing was the best I had ever experienced and have no regrets what so ever choosing Marshall Lake with 7 Lakes.

 

I would like to thank Mike Borger, Knuguy, Fishlogic, and Kenzy31 from the site for their time and information on the Lake. It was much appreciated.

Here are some of the pictures, enjoy!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Cheers,

 

BassMan

[leaf4]

Nice report thanks for sharing, and those are some beauty fish!

[solopaddler]

Was wondering how you made out, looks like you guys did okay! I was north of Armstrong the same week and also had snow. (Not to mention a different wind almost every single day)

 

Interesting how some of those pike almost look emaciated and others are thick and fat. They're usually all pretty girthy in the fall.

[4x4bassin]

Great trip by the looks of it guys , quite the haul of fish

[Rod Caster]

Like mike said, some pike are very thin and others are chunky!

 

Nice trip!

[chris.brock]

I have a feeling you guys are heading up the Blue Berry Road again next year?

 

Looks like you guys had a blast, thanks for the report

[solopaddler]

Looking at the photos again, is that a pontoon boat there at the landing? LOL!

The cowling was off the motor in that pic, did you guys have problems?

[BassMan11]

Was wondering how you made out, looks like you guys did okay! I was north of Armstrong the same week and also had snow. (Not to mention a different wind almost every single day)

 

Interesting how some of those pike almost look emaciated and others are thick and fat. They're usually all pretty girthy in the fall.

 

I think there are so many pike in that lake that it is a constant fight for food. We were joking that there are so many fish there are swimming around bumping into each other down there haha.

 

I have a feeling you guys are heading up the Blue Berry Road again next year?

 

Looks like you guys had a blast, thanks for the report

Maybe not next year but I will be going back for sure.

 

Looking at the photos again, is that a pontoon boat there at the landing? LOL!

The cowling was off the motor in that pic, did you guys have problems?

Yes... yes it is. There are a few other cabins on deeds island that were unused and it was parked at the dock there. It looked so out of place all week. We still can't figure out how it got in there though? Helicopter? It would be beauty to fish out of for the day on that lake though. No motor issues, the cowling was being held on by duct tape that let go during the week.

[solopaddler]

I think there are so many pike in that lake that it is a constant fight for food. We were joking that there are so many fish there are swimming around bumping into each other down there haha.

 

Maybe not next year but I will be going back for sure.

 

Yes... yes it is. There are a few other cabins on deeds island that were unused and it was parked at the dock there. It looked so out of place all week. We still can't figure out how it got in there though? Helicopter? It would be beauty to fish out of for the day on that lake though. No motor issues, the cowling was being held on by duct tape that let go during the week.

 

I figured it was from the private cabin. With some serious sweat and a bunch of people you could pull that thing in on the trail. No way they flew it in, way too expensive.

[Tim Mills]

Impressive report, thanks for taking the time to post it

[aquarianwolf]

Those are the trips you talk about for life!

[bigcreekdad]

Great report and pics! Thanks

[Musky or Specks]

Great report and trip.

[muskymatt]

Spectacular guys, some awesome fish there. Looks like a great time you all had.

 

Love the Sens jersey!

 

[RickOnt]

Fantastic trip and report, Good fun and great memories with some friends.

 

Mid Sept weather north of Nakina you can expect everything and anything

 

Thanks for posting

[Cast-Away]

It looks like you guys had a blast! Too bad for the cold weather, perhaps early September would be better.

 

Too bad you had not liquor, oh wait, what was to the left of the sink?

 

 

[BassMan11]

It looks like you guys had a blast! Too bad for the cold weather, perhaps early September would be better.

 

Too bad you had not liquor, oh wait, what was to the left of the sink?

 

 

We needed to stay warm somehow.

[can u fish]

Looks like you boys had a great trip even though you had to contend with some nasty weather.

We were in Wawa on a fly in with Parks Fly in Fishing the second week of September and the weather was also brutal but the Walleye fishing was awesome,thanks for the report and photos.

 

Cheers Mitch...

[Moosebunk]

Looks like a tonne of fun for some buds. And man, they let you pack in alot of gear too. Nice!

 

When you said cold front I wasn't quite expecting the snow pics. Not yet anyways.

 

Good fishing dood! Thanks for reporting.

[Tim Mills]

Great report. An impressive assortment of quality fish. Thanks for including the camp and shore lunch pics. My favourite picture was the snow covered dock, with the cheeseburgers a close second. What did buddy get the trophy for?

[BassMan11]

Looks like a tonne of fun for some buds. And man, they let you pack in alot of gear too. Nice!

 

When you said cold front I wasn't quite expecting the snow pics. Not yet anyways.

 

Good fishing dood! Thanks for reporting.

I didn't think we would get snow either Bunk, it was pretty wild to wake up to that. We were able to bring as much gear as we wanted... it was just a little more work.

 

Great report. An impressive assortment of quality fish. Thanks for including the camp and shore lunch pics. My favourite picture was the snow covered dock, with the cheeseburgers a close second. What did buddy get the trophy for?

You might be the 20th person to tell me they really like that picture. A couple of my photog friends said its magazine worthy. The trophy was for the biggest pike of the week. I label the trophy with each years winners.

Edited October 9, 2014 by BassMan11

[adempsey]

If I woke up to that snow, I'd go back to bed, lol.

 

Looks like you had a pretty successful trip though. Some real nice fish. Thanks for posting it! Are there any videos from the GoPro?

[Old Ironmaker]

That's a trip you will remember for life. We've been up that far in June many moons ago. Snowball fights in the morning, suntan lotion in the afternoon, fished in daylight very late. Some of those Pike look very thin. Housekeeping boys? Man you guys brought a lot of stuff. My favorite picture is the CTC safety kit on the bottom of the boat next to the empty Pop cans, Bud????? They should revoke your Canadian Passports for drinking that stuff, Bud?

 

Looks like a blast, good going boys.

 

I'm glad to see the life jackets on. Invest in an inflatable, very comfortable, especially casting in a small tinny. Budweiser?

[BassMan11]

That's a trip you will remember for life. We've been up that far in June many moons ago. Snowball fights in the morning, suntan lotion in the afternoon, fished in daylight very late. Some of those Pike look very thin. Housekeeping boys? Man you guys brought a lot of stuff. My favorite picture is the CTC safety kit on the bottom of the boat next to the empty Pop cans, Bud????? They should revoke your Canadian Passports for drinking that stuff, Bud?

 

Looks like a blast, good going boys.

 

I'm glad to see the life jackets on. Invest in an inflatable, very comfortable, especially casting in a small tinny. Budweiser?

Yes Bud.... when you are in the USA a week before your trip for a couple days you must take advantage. Options were obviously very limited at the price chopper in Alexadria Bay, NY. We also brought a few bottles of C.C. and Forty Creek which entitles us to keep those passports I think! Life jackets were on when running from spot to spot. About 50% of the pike we caught were thin like that... no sure why though?

[Old Ironmaker]

I know what your saying about cheap US beer. My uncle from North Tonawanda used to join us on our trips, still does once a year at 81!!!!! Actually just south of Alexandria Bay. It was his job to bring the Old Milwaulkee across the ditch at, ready, $4.99 a case of 24. and the chicken wings at 5 bucks for a 10 pound bag.

 

I think you are right about the food competition in that lake, but to see Pike like that is strange for sure, they would be on the top of the food chain I believe. If there are Walleye and Perch there are small Pics and Perch.

 

We still make Boiler Makers with the cheap US beer. A shot of CC sure boosts the % alcohol of the US pony pee.