Nipigon Trip

[floater]

The trip to Lake Nipigon was great. Easy drive up along highway 11. Everything I read about that stretch from Hearst to Jellico is bang on. Very boring and numbing! Last Gas station coming from the east is Geralton and coming from the west is MacDiarmid (?). The road up to the camp is a gravel road and for the most part in great shape. We were warned along the way by three different people, one being the Tourist Info guy in Longlac, that the road was in brutal shape. That is not the case. We had no issues with it at all.

 

The Onaman Camp is a great set up. With his solar power and windmill he seems to get along just fine up there with no hydro. Launch ramp is in good shape but don't leave your truck and trailer down there! As for the camping once we figured out you need to fire up the generator to get water pressure for the shower house and toilet we had no issues. Robert was a wealth of local info and very open and forth coming with anything you needed. I'm still not sure how he manages to troll in two feet of water to catch Brook Trout though!

 

We put 300 km on the boat GPS fishing along the shores of Humboldt bay. Caught allot of pike in the 30 to 36 inch range with one over 40 inches. Lots of pickerel right out front of the launch ramp including a personal best of 23 1/2 inches. Worms and jigs did the trick there but allot of lost tackle on all the submerged logs.

Also managed three nice white fish in about 10 feet of water out along the shore lines in the main bay.

 

As for the brookies we only caught four but my three were all personal bests at 22 inchers and put up a great fight. Very nice looking fish. All the brook trout were caught on spinners casting into shallow water along the shore. Best bay was the one with the fire tower.

 

I drove down and checked out Poplar Point. The camp ground looks good and they have showers and washrooms. You can't leave any boats at the launch and dock though because the seasonal campers complained it spoils their view!! The High Hills Harbor Marina is a short drive away. Good launching and docking available there but the gas pumps were out of order so fill up before getting there. This spot looked like a good place to launch to get to the Shakespeare Islands.

 

No real issues with the whole trip except on the way back. Started smelling transmission fluid around Sudbury. Stopped and topped it up every 50 km and made it too Parry Sound where the high pressure line burst right at the transmission. Couldn't get to it to fix there so we got towed back to Toronto! Good thing partner had CAA RV Plus! only cost us 100 bucks for going over the 200 km limit. Fixed line at home for 5 bucks and didn't burn the transmission out either!

 

Over all a great drive and fishing trip for first time up there. We are planning on a fall trip next time for around mid September. No pics at this time as they aren't ready yet but will post some soon.

 

 

[pics]

I can see why Rob doesn't want anyone parking down the hill because it can get crowded.. The problem I have is he treats it like he is the owner.. He is not and he can't restrict access or fishing or have you towed for parking there... My buddy was fishing the same area but a week or two earlier.. Same results with the trout. They figured it was too early..

[Moosebunk]

Do you know of anyone Rob has actually restricted from launching there? Did you yourself have problems? He's a pretty reasonable guy most days.

 

Anyhow, happy it worked out for you floater. Wanted some all new water to explore so didn't end up seeing you. Was out on the lake all week. You did just fine on the fishing for sure. Our first time there I think we only got three specks. Big area to break down but you gotta start somewhere, every trip will get better and better. Looking forward to the pics.

[floater]

Rob doesn't own the launch??? One funny thing happened first day. We asked if we could leave the 14 foot tinny in that little spot to the left of the ramp when you are facing it. We pulled it up and tied it off and all was good. A couple of hours later Robs dad came to the camper and told us our boat was 'pretty near sunk"!! I raced down and the boat was actually up on the rock pile between where we left it and the launch! I couldn't figure out how it got up there! There was no big outflow from the 'falls' and there was no way a big boat wake could cause it to climb up there! There was no damage and no water in the boat so I just moved it to another spot and all was good. Glad to hear you got some new water to explore Moosebunk. We are going to make this Lake a regular place to visit now and look forward to seeing more trees, rocks and water!

[Freshtrax]

Nice can't wait for the pics. We're headed up to nipigon again next spring and can't wait.

[pics]

Personally I haven't had problems with him but I know a few locals who aren't too happy with the threats of being towed... I think if you follow the rules you are ok, plus parking up the hill ensures that your vehicle won't be messed with...