Lake Wanapitei Area - Anyone Familiar?

[Sterling]

I searched this forum and surprisingly this lake hasn't been discussed at all.

 

Apparently the fishing in the area is alright, Lake Wanapitei included.

 

I'm more interested in the spattering of lakes nearby - does anyone know of a couple lakes that have decent fishing?

 

I'll be there for a whole week, so plenty of time to explore.

 

Any pointers are appreciated!

[Sterling]

So I've returned from my week-long trip and figure it's good form to update threads like these in case someone else lands here via google in the future.

 

I didn't expect much from Wanapitei given its proximity to Sudbury (less than 1 hour). I was pleasantly surprised to find the lake was VERY quiet traffic wise, with only 1-3 boats fishing in our area during prime time. The lake itself is very deep, and relatively easy to navigate since there are few bays and arms to get lost in. The locals were super helpful in helping us locate fish, so I can't disclose their spots or anything, but if you're on the lake, just look for busy areas and you'll know that's where the fish are.

 

We were successful with lakers all week long. Didn't throw back a single fish - all were 16+ inches. Walleye were tougher. We tried the north channel briefly without success. There were locals jigging near old piers and seemed to be doing okay (one guy put up 3 fingers when I asked how he was doing).

 

Lakers were found in 60ft+ of water (this is mid July). We used live bait and spoons, both to great success. Speaking of spoons, it seemed the fish were attracted to color more than anything. Our silver, gold and bronze wablers seemed useless. Blue Fox spoons and the like were MVPs.

 

One thing to note; the lake can get NASTY when winds pick up, and there's nowhere to hide. So keep an eye on weather!

 

Edit: here are a couple neat screenshots of structure we found in the North channel;

 

There were DEEP, scattered holes in an otherwise shallow channel. The water level has actually dropped a few feet, so the holes are even more noteworthy.

 

 

Here's a cool crevasse we meant to hit - never got around to it though. Curse you, weather!

 

Edited July 23, 2016 by Sterling

[Joeytier]

Cool. Seems like the lake is still healthy. I heard on CBC that lake is in the midst of a nasty blue green algae bloom, did you see any of that?

[Sterling]

Cool. Seems like the lake is still healthy. I heard on CBC that lake is in the midst of a nasty blue green algae bloom, did you see any of that?

 

None whatsoever, but the winds were blowing everything to the other end of the lake. Didn't travel that far!