Aaron Shirley Posted July 24, 2007 Report Share Posted July 24, 2007 Last week I spent a few days of muskie fishing up north at my friend Steve's cottage (annual thing). We hit the tough waters of Georgian Bay from his cottage and boat, and we also took a drive to fish a northern Ontario back lake for muskies as well. We both had a blast fishing together as we do every year, but we really had a wild time fishing the back lake. It was something neither of us have ever done before, and we were pumped for this adventure to explore a different kind of muskie fishing altogether. Steve got a tip on this back lake and we decided to give it a try this summer with my car topper boat.... are we ever glad we did! I'll start off with the tough waters of Georgian Bay... we had a major cold front move in for our 2 days of fishing as we got there on Thursday night Figures! It never fails. Furthermore, Steve saw two huge dead muskies in his spots the week before in an already tiny population of fish. We suspect one of them was the massive fish I lost and he had follow in the past few years (guesstimate at about 55-inches). We felt sick to our stomachs about it. We were determined to make the best of it though, fish hard and have fun. Fish would be a bonus in our eyes this weekend with the odds stacking up against us. As it turns out, Steve hooked and boated a small muskie (by Georgian Bay standards), at 41-inches in length on day one. Things all of a sudden looked up. Steve with his 41" Georgian Bay muskie I got two nice carbon copy pike like this one fishing for muskies and also got a smaller one That would be it for Georgian Bay muskie action, and we didn't get to fish much on day 2 due to a major storm blowing through in the afternoon. Now for the back lake muskie bonanza report We had to launch in a small creek and make our way up the winding creek to the small lake as the creek narrowed with many obstacles like beaver dams, logs and even a waterfall! The creek at a wide section The creek at a narrow section full of trees barely wide enough to sqeeze through my 12' boat! Steve hoists the boat up a 3' waterfall so we can continue on our journey.. sure glad he is 6'4" and 280-pounds of muscle We were met at the narrow entrance to the lake by a guard.. luckily he let us through lol Finally, after many miles of rough winding terrain, we arrive at our destination back lake We set up the Humminbird sonar and down easter rod holders and began trolling to learn the lake's shoreline and structure. It didn't get deeper than 16-feet at the deepest section of the lake After we learned a bit about the lake and didn't get a hit trolling, we decided to cast to shoreline weed growth. I got a nice muskie within the first hour on a Mepps Musky Marabou, but unfortunately, we were not prepared to get a photo and did a quick release at boatside. It was approx 38" long and had beautiful colours. I had the hot hand this day, and continued to boat 2 more, lost 2 others and had another hit all on my favourite orange and black Mepps Musky Marabou and 6" Storm Curl Tail Spin Shad. I also had a few more follows. Most of the fish hit right at boatside on an L-turn or figure-8, which was awesome. I forgot to ask Steve to take his cradle and we didn't have a measuring tape, so we guessed at the average size to be from 32- to 38-inches in length Steve lost the biggest fish of the day in the mid-forty-inch range on a Storm Spin Shad after it barrelled under the boat. He also had several follows. All in all, it was an unbelievable adventure and day of muskie fishing, despite the smaller average size of the muskies in the mid-thirty-inch range. I also had this big snapping turtle follow in my bucktail! I teased it to the boat so Steve could get a pic... man are they quick... I had to pull my Mepps away pretty quickly or my hot bait would have been gone! There is no doubt that we will be returning again to visit this great Ontario back lake full of muskies and adventure. Good fishing! Aaron Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mattyk Posted July 24, 2007 Report Share Posted July 24, 2007 wow, really cool adventure and great pics. Sucks to hear about the dead muskie. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joey Posted July 24, 2007 Report Share Posted July 24, 2007 Nice looking Muskies there Aaron. Sweet report. Teasing a snapping turtle, now that's just wrong Joey Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ccmtcanada Posted July 24, 2007 Report Share Posted July 24, 2007 Fantastic report Aaron. It's too bad really that you do this for a living...LOL. Great pics...esp the one of the tight squeeze in that creek! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bowshep Posted July 24, 2007 Report Share Posted July 24, 2007 Nice report looks like a blast. Sorry though l dont have my glasses were did you say that back lake's name was. If you put it in capitals l might be able to read it. lol Peace Ken Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tbayboy Posted July 24, 2007 Report Share Posted July 24, 2007 Great stuff Aaron - nothing as fun as finding a brand new spot and exploring its fishing potential. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
solopaddler Posted July 24, 2007 Report Share Posted July 24, 2007 My kind of trip, awesome report! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Roy Posted July 24, 2007 Report Share Posted July 24, 2007 Another super report Bud. Man, that Steve guy looks amazingly like the Bedarf fella. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JFR Posted July 24, 2007 Report Share Posted July 24, 2007 A great report Aaron, thank you for sharing your adventure. John Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rich Clemens Posted July 24, 2007 Report Share Posted July 24, 2007 That is truely a great report and would have loved to be there with you guys. Sounds like a super great trip. Appreciate you sharing it with us. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
muskymatt Posted July 24, 2007 Report Share Posted July 24, 2007 Absolutely fantastic adventure One of the best posts I've seen here yet.(Except Moosebunks...maybe) Thanks. Matt Clay Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Handlebarz Posted July 24, 2007 Report Share Posted July 24, 2007 nice report that plce looks mighty nice Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rizzo Posted July 25, 2007 Report Share Posted July 25, 2007 Awesome report! Nice that you were able to get all the comforts of home to the back lake too (the motor is a nice start!) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pigeontroller Posted July 25, 2007 Report Share Posted July 25, 2007 Great report Aaron! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shaun Rickard Posted July 25, 2007 Report Share Posted July 25, 2007 Great report Aron, sounds like fun mate Thanks for sharing. Cheers, Shaun Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dustink Posted July 25, 2007 Report Share Posted July 25, 2007 Awesome report.....just awesome! dk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tacklebuster Posted July 25, 2007 Report Share Posted July 25, 2007 what a great adventure! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dsn Posted July 25, 2007 Report Share Posted July 25, 2007 I love this shot Looks like hes popping out of the photo.!! dsn Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fishboy Posted July 25, 2007 Report Share Posted July 25, 2007 Great report and pics-thanks for sharing the adventure. Cheers Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scuro Posted July 25, 2007 Report Share Posted July 25, 2007 Getting there is half the fun. What angler hasn't looked for new water and felt doubly rewarded when it produces? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kennyman Posted July 25, 2007 Report Share Posted July 25, 2007 WOW!!! Awesome report. Maybe I'll find a lake like that sometime. Incredible! I'm not asking where it is, but how did you find out about a lake like that? Word of mouth or did you just find it on a map and go? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aaron Shirley Posted July 25, 2007 Author Report Share Posted July 25, 2007 Thanks guys, it was a lot of fun, and the adventure of exploring a new area and getting there was half the fun for sure. Kenny, my friend Steve Bedarf got a tip on this back lake through word of mouth. After I had an idea where the lake was, I searched for it on Google Earth and found it. I looked for the best access point, then mapped outor route and printed the page off with directions to the access point Ya gotta love Google Earth! While I was searching, I found several other lakes close by that we intend on trying as well. The OMNR stocked many of Ontario's back lakes with Kawartha strain muskies years ago, and many lakes that were stocked were not even documented, so there are a lot of small gold mines in Ontario. Check out Google Earth and give it a try... you will never know what you may stumble onto. Cheers, Aaron Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Johnny Bass Posted July 27, 2007 Report Share Posted July 27, 2007 Never mind the muskies, thats a huge pike!!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bassmaster4 Posted July 27, 2007 Report Share Posted July 27, 2007 awesome report i once caught a snapper on a trout spinner accidentaly it was way out there and i felt the weight so i set it not knowing it was a snapper on the end of my line but it wasnt hooked very well so it got off and i got to keep my spinner Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fishnsled Posted July 27, 2007 Report Share Posted July 27, 2007 Never mind the muskies, thats a huge pike!!!! Ill second that! Great report! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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