Rod Caster Posted May 20, 2016 Report Share Posted May 20, 2016 (edited) Fishing quality for speckled trout and lake trout (and splake) can be very good in my area of Northern Ontario, near North Bay. However, what used to be pristine, fish-packed natural lakes are now put-and-take fisheries that generally need tending by the MNR every year. It's actually poorly managed and without their continuing intervention, we'd have a ridiculous number of unproductive lakes that probably could have been saved at the first onset of stress. We had some acid rain issues in the 70s, and I dont completely know the scale of damage it created, but overfishing and management surely affected the lakes immensely. Essentially, I (and others) believe that the lakes have been miss-managed and now we are left with trout ponds in lakes that should be brimming with Laker or Specks. If you are willing to work for it, you can find good numbers of natural fish, but lakes with any kind of access are generally stocked with hybrids or 5-year cycle fish. Travel across the river to Quebec: Same type of lakes, same glacial scour, same original species and no stocking. Naturals, and fairly easy access to them. Large, near-town, camp-riddled lakes have both lakers and speckles in very catchable numbers. .. What the hell. What country is this? This lake is provincially managed ..? Where are the splake, where are the huge numbers of dink perch that took over the lake? Anyway, I like my region, and I plan on finding the hidden gems, but honestly, its not even comparable, yet in the end the waters are the same waters, so something went wrong on our side and something is very right on the other side. On to the day. JoeyT and I. Lake 1 : Specks and nothing specks. The limit is ten each but we self-regulate at 8 for the two of us and I go barbless. Within a couple hours we meet our target, all 12-14 hungry and unshy fish. Four fish each and we are out of there. Lake 2 : Several kms away, Lakers and Specks all in one beautiful spot. We use a hybrid technique of trolling near shore, in 10-30 FOW, casting at log jams and catching whatever bites first. We get 4 more specks (a bit bigger) and 5 or 6 lakers, but none big enough to keep (22 min). There are very few types of fishing I enjoy more than spring Laker and Speck fishing. Oh and baby #2 has arrived! M.I.L is helping for a week so I have a bit of a free pass, but after that, it's probably gonna hard to get out fishing very often. Edited May 21, 2016 by Rod Caster Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Headhunter Posted May 20, 2016 Report Share Posted May 20, 2016 Awesome! Congrats! You sir, are going to have your hands full, but in a very good way! HH Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BillM Posted May 20, 2016 Report Share Posted May 20, 2016 That'a little bit of heaven right there! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sinker Posted May 20, 2016 Report Share Posted May 20, 2016 Very nice. Its been a couple years since I went for specks. I really miss it a lot! S. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jds63 Posted May 20, 2016 Report Share Posted May 20, 2016 Great report, and congratulations ! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steelheadphycho Posted May 20, 2016 Report Share Posted May 20, 2016 Fantastic report! I love all those little hideaway lakes in your region. Wish we had water like that here....... And CONGRATULATIONS on your new addition. It won't be too long and you will be sharing your boat with your new fishing partner! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tim Mills Posted May 20, 2016 Report Share Posted May 20, 2016 Good pics and commentary. Congrats on the new addition. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
manitoubass2 Posted May 20, 2016 Report Share Posted May 20, 2016 Congrats on #2!!! Thats awesome! Nice fishin too btw!!! Jealous Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
misfish Posted May 20, 2016 Report Share Posted May 20, 2016 That'a little bit of heaven right there! X2 Nice report dude. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
reelingMachine Posted May 20, 2016 Report Share Posted May 20, 2016 Yes, this is a fishing forum, but you should have mentioned #2 first. Congratulations! Enjoy! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joeytier Posted May 21, 2016 Report Share Posted May 21, 2016 Awesome trip, glad I convinced you to come out Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moosebunk Posted May 21, 2016 Report Share Posted May 21, 2016 Great report, love the boat pic and congrats. Thanks for sharing! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gino Posted May 24, 2016 Report Share Posted May 24, 2016 great trip, guys! good to see you had a chance to get out on the water. congratulations for the new baby! another fishing partner Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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