paul sr. Posted January 23, 2015 Report Posted January 23, 2015 we're planning our july 2015 ontario trip. our group of 7 primarily wants to c & r smallmouth during the day and pick for walleye @ dusk. we are thinking of lady evelyn for housekeeping lodge. can anyone chime in if the smallies are abundant enough to keep us busy? any part of l.e. better for smallies so we know which lodge? last year we went to kipawa which was ok for that combo--but we wanna try something new. year before that was whalesback channel. also nice. any input would be appreciated.
solopaddler Posted January 23, 2015 Report Posted January 23, 2015 Can't answer your question about Lady Evelyn, however I can offer another suggestion that has great smallmouth fishing along with walleye and pike. Happy Day Lodge on Windermere Lake in the Chapleau region. Windermere is a huge lake, with excellent walleye and pike fishing. The lodge is located at the south end of the lake and their boat launch is the only means of accessing it. The MNR restricted access to lodge guests only meaning the only people you will see on this lake are guests of Happy Day. They operate a VERY nice water access outpost as well at the north end of the lake that I highly recommend! Great camp in what’s probably the best part of the lake for fishing. These guys are excellent outfitters and are constantly booked (for good reason). It may be impossible to find an opening at this late date. http://www.happydaylodge.com/chapleauoutpostcamps.htm
Steve Posted January 23, 2015 Report Posted January 23, 2015 "The MNR restricted access to lodge guests only meaning the only people you will see on this lake are guests of Happy Day." It's a private lake? or the MNR has decided the public isn't allowed to use the lake? The Ontario Crown Land Site shows a bunch of crown land around the lake (vast majority of shorelines).
c10 Posted January 23, 2015 Report Posted January 23, 2015 Didn't catch any smallies the one time I was up at Lady Evelyn, only some pike and some walleye, crazy week weather wise though, went from snow on the ground to 85 in a couple days(not trying to make excuses). We stayed at Island 10, the lodge owners have changed since then, but they didn't allow you to stay out past dark because of the amount of shoals and what not. I guess some guys had fallen out of their boats in the past at night, not really sure, just a heads up that the same policy might be in place there still and possibly at the other lodges. The place and people we stayed with were really good at Island 10, but we never went back, there are better places without as much fishing pressure in my opinion. Fishing was okay, but we had to work pretty hard for what we caught. Mind you we were there pretty early in the season, however a group of our friends went up the year after and reported the same thing. This all was a few years back now so things may have changed. This was just my experience. Very very pretty area though, was a nice trip all in all.
solopaddler Posted January 23, 2015 Report Posted January 23, 2015 "The MNR restricted access to lodge guests only meaning the only people you will see on this lake are guests of Happy Day." It's a private lake? or the MNR has decided the public isn't allowed to use the lake? The Ontario Crown Land Site shows a bunch of crown land around the lake (vast majority of shorelines). It's not a private lake. The public can still access it and use it by any means they wish - except for the boat launch at Happy Day. If anyone disagrees I'm sure the MNR will be happy to explain their reasoning. In the meantime guests of the lodge benefit greatly.
c10 Posted January 23, 2015 Report Posted January 23, 2015 This is off topic, but Mike I am curious if you would know the answer to this; If you own all the property around the lake but don't have waterbed rights (which from what I understand pretty much nobody does) isn't the only thing you can technically get in trouble for trespassing (if there are no other restrictions on said body of water)? I didn't think there were many privately owned lakes, on the access was privately owned? Again sorry not trying to make this the topic or anything just curious.
solopaddler Posted January 23, 2015 Report Posted January 23, 2015 This is off topic, but Mike I am curious if you would know the answer to this; If you own all the property around the lake but don't have waterbed rights (which from what I understand pretty much nobody does) isn't the only thing you can technically get in trouble for trespassing (if there are no other restrictions on said body of water)? I didn't think there were many privately owned lakes, on the access was privately owned? Again sorry not trying to make this the topic or anything just curious. I would just be speculating here, but yes I think you could only be charged with trespassing in the scenario you outlined. Unless of course you flew in with a plane. Regardless why would anyone bother? There's very few lakes where the entire shoreline is private and access is restricted. Fishing one without permission would be like poking a stick into a hornets nest.
bare foot wader Posted January 24, 2015 Report Posted January 24, 2015 This is off topic, but Mike I am curious if you would know the answer to this; If you own all the property around the lake but don't have waterbed rights (which from what I understand pretty much nobody does) isn't the only thing you can technically get in trouble for trespassing (if there are no other restrictions on said body of water)? I didn't think there were many privately owned lakes, on the access was privately owned? Again sorry not trying to make this the topic or anything just curious. this exact situation is happening in Merrit, BC with Douglas Lake Ranch, so yes, you can be charged for tresspassing...(although the DLR situation is riddled with interesting facts, not black and white by any means) there is no legislation which says there must be public access to a public lake, perhaps it might differ at a provincial level but not that I've heard of
irishfield Posted January 24, 2015 Report Posted January 24, 2015 (edited) Yes Mike! I understand the smallies are pretty abundant on Evelyn, like everywhere else in the area they seem to be breeding and taking over like wild fire, as nobody targets them that much. Edited January 24, 2015 by irishfield
akaShag Posted January 24, 2015 Report Posted January 24, 2015 I am not sure if Georgian Bay Fishing Camp is still operating, but it was out in Georgian Bay near the Bustard Islands, near the confluence of the Key, Pickerel, and French Rivers. Access by boat from the village of Key River along Highway 69 up north of Parry Sound. (Hwy 400 North to 69 North to Key River) It did have AWESOME smallmouth bass fishing, and plentiful walleye and pike - but again I have not been there in many years. Doug
adempsey Posted January 24, 2015 Report Posted January 24, 2015 I've been to Evelyn twice and Windermere once during the summer months. Smallmouth fishing was quite good for us on Evelyn. Just target the rocky areas of the lake and you'll land some real nice fish. We didn't target them as much at Windermere but we caught some nice fish in the weed beds when fishing for walleye & pike. On Evelyn, I'd probably stay at Garden Island since it's located centrally and you can easily access a lot of good water. It's American plan only though. Happy Day Lodge is a great place too. The rates are really amazing, so it fills up fast. The only problem is the lodge is located at the far end of the lake so you have to travel quite far every day. So, I'd recommend either staying at their outpost camp or renting the largest boat they have, and they do have a few. The owners also run Prairie Bee Camp on adjacent Prairie Bee Lake. It might be worth checking that out too as I think that fishery has potential.
solopaddler Posted January 24, 2015 Report Posted January 24, 2015 I am not sure if Georgian Bay Fishing Camp is still operating, but it was out in Georgian Bay near the Bustard Islands, near the confluence of the Key, Pickerel, and French Rivers. Access by boat from the village of Key River along Highway 69 up north of Parry Sound. (Hwy 400 North to 69 North to Key River) It did have AWESOME smallmouth bass fishing, and plentiful walleye and pike - but again I have not been there in many years. Doug It's currently in a state of flux. The old boy sadly passed away last fall and now the camp has fallen into his sons hands. There has been some talk that he'll spend some money and refurbish the place (it's BADLY run down!). At the moment he's opening the camp to some long time friends/customers next spring because he feels he owes it to them. Beyond that everything's up in the air. I do agree it's a fantastic location and has tremendous potential. Would love to see it return to it's former glory!
akaShag Posted January 24, 2015 Report Posted January 24, 2015 Mike, thanks for that information. I did not know that Dave had died (and I did not think of him as "old" but then again I am no longer young............) I caught my PB walleye there, 12 pounds, and gave it to Dave for the lodge wall. He used to take it to the Sportsmen's Show in Hogtown every spring, and I always wished I had kept it for myself. But I had kept a nice 10.5 lb walleye, had it mounted, and figured, a twelve pounder is not that much bigger...................WRONG. It was a LOT bigger. I had heard that the lodge had gotten run down, too darned bad because the fishing was really very good indeed. Doug
c10 Posted January 24, 2015 Report Posted January 24, 2015 Thanks for the responses guys! And I agree with you Mike, there are so many lakes around that are public access, no need to trespass! And hiring a float plane for such an excursion is out of my budget ahaha While we're talking about Georgian Bay, I have had good luck in the North Channel (Spanish River) for Smallies, lots of Walleye's around during that time as well! But I am not sure if there is any availability up there still...
gordy28 Posted January 24, 2015 Report Posted January 24, 2015 I've been to Evelyn twice and Windermere once during the summer months. Smallmouth fishing was quite good for us on Evelyn. Just target the rocky areas of the lake and you'll land some real nice fish. We didn't target them as much at Windermere but we caught some nice fish in the weed beds when fishing for walleye & pike. On Evelyn, I'd probably stay at Garden Island since it's located centrally and you can easily access a lot of good water. It's American plan only though. Happy Day Lodge is a great place too. The rates are really amazing, so it fills up fast. The only problem is the lodge is located at the far end of the lake so you have to travel quite far every day. So, I'd recommend either staying at their outpost camp or renting the largest boat they have, and they do have a few. The owners also run Prairie Bee Camp on adjacent Prairie Bee Lake. It might be worth checking that out too as I think that fishery has potential. We have also been to Lady twice and had the same experience - if structure looked like it held smallies - it usually did. When we were there in 1st week of September the bays with dead heads (lots of them since its a flooded resevoir) and some weeds produced non stop bass on a wacky rig Only caveat is we also went to Brennan Harbour on the whalesback and would say it was maybe not quite as good for quantity for smallies it was much better for average size
paul sr. Posted January 24, 2015 Author Report Posted January 24, 2015 ok thanks for the input. now leaning towards temagami area.
irishfield Posted January 24, 2015 Report Posted January 24, 2015 Lady Evelyn is the "Temagami area". Just about every lake is full of small mouth now... and not what 95% of the locals target.
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