Moon River Basin

[Cast-Away]

Heading up to the basin next week and wondered if anyone has fished there in the last week or two? With the water being cooler and higher this year I am wondering if the bite is better? I plan to try a few spots I have not fished in about 20 years since the last time the water was this high.

[AKRISONER]

im guessing you are chasing musky?

 

but in pointe au baril, the water is still below 65-69 meaning the fish are still up shallow and easy to spot...weve been sight fishing smallies its been a riot.

[Cast-Away]

Actually SM bass which is what we catch the most of there and we always nail some pike. Only ever had walleye once in over 20 years of fishing there in July and they were more out on the bay.

[dave524]

Actually SM bass which is what we catch the most of there and we always nail some pike. Only ever had walleye once in over 20 years of fishing there in July and they were more out on the bay.

 

It used to be the premiere destination for big walleyes in the 60/70's. A fellow I worked with won the Molson's Big Fish Contest back then with a 17 and change fish from the Moon Basin, many others as well in the top ten.

[AKRISONER]

spooks, chatterbaits, jerkbaits and then slow dragged brown crayfish/gobys if the sun is high, cast em right on shore...they havent moved yet...keep your drag tight, theirs 5lbers sitting in less than 4 FOW.

[Reef Runner]

Iron City tight to shore this time of year; been going for the past 10 years or so. Dropshot a leach pattern close to any reeds you find. The smallies will be there and hammer-handle pike so you may be bitten off on the rig.

 

Good luck; love the Moon.

 

Reef

[AKRISONER]

Iron City tight to shore this time of year; been going for the past 10 years or so. Dropshot a leach pattern close to any reeds you find. The smallies will be there and hammer-handle pike so you may be bitten off on the rig.

 

Good luck; love the Moon.

 

Reef

 

i dont run anything less than 15lbs...i dont like losing all of my lures and the 20lb bags seem to indicate that the smallies dont mind.

[Cast-Away]

Thanks for the tips guys, I have never spent much time in Iron City other than the campsite on Sharpe Island. I usually further out towards the open bay and of course in the open water when it is calm enough.

 

This year I am fishing with a different friend who has fished Iron City a few times and uses different techniques than I do so it should be interesting!

[Cast-Away]

Back from the Moon, I was up there with my friend Warren (aka The Worlds Greatest Fisherman) who has the same name as me.

 

We went up last Friday and set up camp just before some morning rain. In the afternoon we went out to the open bay and caught a number of average size smallies in fairly rough water followed by a really nice 4+ pound SM in 26 feet of water. After supper we went to an old walleye spot where Warren caught two, one was about 1 pound and the other was about 2.5 pounds. We had a few bass and pike as well.

 

Saturday was sunny, not too warm but windy so we decided to try some of the back bays in the basin before lunch and started with an old bass spot that used to produce when the water was high like it is now. We had no luck so we trolled a pike/muskie shoal and had a few. After that we moved onto another high water bass site where Warren proceeded to nail a 5.5 pound walleye!

 

In the afternoon we moved back out into the open water again and moved from island to island catching smallies. In the gallery you will see two pictures of Bald Eagles, one adult and one fledgling. As it turned out there was a nest on the island containing two immature birds plus the adults. We did not catch a single bass around that island, no surprise there.

 

On Sunday once the morning rain stopped we packed up our gear and headed out to the open water again to my "Platinum Spot" to round out a great weekend of fishing. Warren was busy baiting his hook and turns to me and says; "so this is your best spot eh" and I said yes as I set the hook on one of many bass. We had double headers, other fish following the one that just got caught and there were many in the 2-3 pound range. What a great way to wrap up a weekend of good fishing and good friends! This was Warren's first time fishing there with me and he said that I called it on every spot i took him to except for out of about 12 places.

 

 

 

 

 

[hutch4113]

Thanks for sharing. I can never figure that area out - usually get skunked, but it might be the time of year I am there (middle of October).

[farsider]

Love that area as well. Never caught a walleye there yet.

 

Sounds like a great time!

 

Thanks for taking the time to post.

 

Cheers,

 

Mark

[Cast-Away]

Glad to share guys, no point in asking questions of people and not taking the time to share the results.

 

Tupelo, I've also been there many times in October and had nothing but the odd pike. Try fishing the islands out by the main boat channel for SM bass, you will have better luck.

 

Farsider, it is only the second time getting walleye in the last 25 years. Both times there had been rain on and off for the previous few days and cloudy the day of the catch. The guy I was fishing with said that he heard the walleye are making a comeback on GBay.

[AKRISONER]

Thanks for sharing. I can never figure that area out - usually get skunked, but it might be the time of year I am there (middle of October).

 

October Georgian Bay smallies are a real pain in the you know what...they are spread out and in clumps...you can spend all day looking for them but once you hit a pocket you will put 20lbs in the boat in minutes and then sit skunked the rest of the day.

 

to be honest my focus in the fall usually switches over to eyes for this reason. dont get me wrong we still go for smallie runs but skunks are the norm...and thats from a local.

 

This time of year though, sometimes i basically feel like any spot that looks ok will produce, its just a matter of trying to find size. Georgian bay can be tough to get the big big ones...but the 2-3lbers keep you busy all day so no one complains.

[Reef Runner]

Nicely done Cast-Away! Thanks for sharing the results.

 

I'll be trying my hand there in August for a few days, cant wait.

 

Congrats on the eyes! I could count on one hand how many I've picked off there in the past decade. Story has it (heard it from a local, don't know if it's "scientifically correct") that late 80s early 90s new dams had changed the current flow on the system resulting in the walleye drop off as the usual migratory baitfish had changed their run with the current. Rejuvination projects of the spawning beds around Arnold's and the falls have been taking place past few years. In the spring you can see the MNR undertaking netting surveys close to the falls. Hoping the system will come back to the Molson Big Fish glory days (hehe)!

 

Reef

[Cast-Away]

Yes I remember reading about the spawning habitat rehabilitation s few years ago on the GBay cottage association website so hopefully this is the payoff.

[Cast-Away]

Back from the Moon, for my annual trip. This time i was there with two other friends Warren (aka The Worlds Greatest Fisherman) who has the same name as me and Bruce.

We went up last Friday and set up camp around lunch time. In the afternoon we went out to the bay and caught just a couple of average size smallies. The evening was not much better.

Saturday was rainy until around 2:00 in the afternoon and by then we were desperate to get out fishing. Not much luck again the afternoon. After dinner it was fairly windy but we took a chance and headed out to the open water again to my "Platinum Spot". We were not disappointed even in the 2 - 3 foot swells. We were catching one after another and even had a really good size pike up to the boat which Warren figured was around 15 pounds.

On Sunday we moved back out into the open water again and moved from island to island catching smallies. It was a good way to end what was otherwise a slow weekend of fishing. We did have a great time at the campsite in spite of fire ban. We did get a good laugh at this on the thunder box: Comfort!

Warren's Best

My Best

 

[Reef Runner]

Some clean looking smallies.  Thanks for the report!

[BillM]

On 7/19/2017 at 8:47 AM, AKRISONER said:

 

to be honest my focus in the fall usually switches over to eyes for this reason. dont get me wrong we still go for smallie runs but skunks are the norm...and thats from a local.

 

You're missing out on the best smallie fishing of the season if you aren't fishing them in Oct/Nov.   Wolf packs of giants are a riot, but you've gotta find them.

[AKRISONER]

34 minutes ago, BillM said:

You're missing out on the best smallie fishing of the season if you aren't fishing them in Oct/Nov.   Wolf packs of giants are a riot, but you've gotta find them.

thats what drives me insane lol we fish all day for a flury of 10 minutes where we catch 20+lbs and then thats it for the day. Every time ive caught a smallie in October or November, ive caught at least 4 in a row and then thats it.

[dave524]

I fished that late fall smallie fishery Port Colborne/ Crystal Beach, fish were deep, 40 foot or so, never did it again , inflated swim bladders when releasing, I understand some guys use a hypodermic needle to deflate the bladders when releasing , I'll pass on that sort of thing and wait till next summer, unless you like eating bass.

[hutch4113]

Nice looking fish.  I might be up there again in October (long weekend usually).  I did find a lot of smallies out in the Islands last time, so if I am there will probably focus on that area again.

Though I will still try for a Musky...that hunt will also continue.

[BillM]

16 hours ago, dave524 said:

I fished that late fall smallie fishery Port Colborne/ Crystal Beach, fish were deep, 40 foot or so, never did it again , inflated swim bladders when releasing, I understand some guys use a hypodermic needle to deflate the bladders when releasing , I'll pass on that sort of thing and wait till next summer, unless you like eating bass.

If you get the fish back quick they're fine, or you have to fizz them.