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Posts: 112
| Hey all,
I still haven’t broken the 50” mark. Are there any NW Ontario lakes that you’d say has the best chance at a 50” in say, a weeklong trip? Really don't care about getting a good total number of fish, just looking to break that pb. Was thinking Lac Seul, Wabigoon, or maybe Eagle. Open to all techniques- deep trolling, spinnerbait trolling, jigging, casting, etc so a variety of lakes types are on the table. If you’d prefer PMs that’s welcome too! Only requirement would be that we’d bring our own boat (so no fly-ins).
I’m sure this has been discussed before (tried my best searching previous threads), but size classes can change over the years. I appreciate any input!
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Posts: 166
Location: Alexandria, MN | The 3 lakes you mentioned - in that order. Lac Seul can be spendy and difficult to get to, but there's big fish. Casting late summer or trolling in the fall. Wabigoon probably gets less pressure than you'd imagine given it's ease of access and proximity to Dryden. I think a lot of people are scared off by the murky water, but there's some dandies in there and they tend to hang shallow. Eagle is a magnificent piece of water and easy to get to as well, but it gets pounded pretty hard for a Canadian shield lake. |
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Location: Chisholm, MN | Although I've never been to the 3 lakes mentioned (for muskies), I'd say those are good bets. But obviously a week long trip will not guarantee you catch a 50. I know a lot of people who spend a lot of time on big fish water that never end up catching a 50 or it takes them a long time. Or you could catch one on your first cast. What I'm saying is that catching 50s is part hard work, part big fish water, and part luck...or bad luck. |
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Posts: 112
| Thanks for the tips folks! Good info, I'll keep thinking it over. phselect great info, glad to hear I wasn't too far off in my planning. And on the time investment Kirby- for sure, definitely might take quite a few trips. Lakes I typically fish in the US tend to have much smaller fish, so want to make sure I'm maximizing the odds during the Canada trips.
Also recently been thinking LOTW would be a good bet too. |
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Location: Chisholm, MN | joh10891 - 9/18/2022 7:20 PM
Thanks for the tips folks! Good info, I'll keep thinking it over. phselect great info, glad to hear I wasn't too far off in my planning. And on the time investment Kirby- for sure, definitely might take quite a few trips. Lakes I typically fish in the US tend to have much smaller fish, so want to make sure I'm maximizing the odds during the Canada trips.
Also recently been thinking LOTW would be a good bet too.
I've been to lake of the woods 5 times now and have one 50 for the boat. I'd say if 50 is your goal, it's not the best option but it's not bad either. Obviously a lot better chance than where you're fishing normally but I would consider it more of a numbers with a good average size class lake. |
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Posts: 418
Location: MN | Attached a pic of size distribution for fish entered into the lunge log on some NW ON lakes. Lac Seul is the clear outlier.
Note: I don't look at % 50+ specifically because I've found that a number of lakes have more 50s entered than 49-49.5 
Edited by nar160 9/19/2022 9:54 AM
(NW Ontario Comparison.jpg)
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Posts: 355
Location: Selkirk, Manitoba | As per your reply about multiple trips, time on water will definitely up your probabilities, a one time trip to a big fish lake such as those mentioned not so much (especially without a guide or some really good intel).
If you don't have NW Ontario experience already, LOTW will probably be the best place to learn and really is only relatively short boat rides from high density smaller average fish to lower density bigger average fish locations.
Everyone that comes up here to NW Ont and everyone that is a dedicated musky angler up here wants a big muskie (ie high 40s to 50s), there are just not lots of them and these fish have usually already been through the rodeo, so they rarely succumb to the same lures/methods that other fish might. There is a fair amount of info on what to do to efficiently target them. You will see and catch more big fish than if you are fishing for numbers if you dedicate to this, but be prepared for the mental test that comes with that - which can include someone in the next cabin lucking into a 50 fishing for bass or walleye. Fishing for big fish will up your probabilities to get a 50+ more so than lake choice, but fishing for big fish requires time on water as a prerequisite.
Finally, all those that have come before you that have already put in the time to find big fish are still at it, so no matter where you go the big fish are not unpressured, even though it may seem that way with no boats around. Seeing big fish on a big fish spot is an accomplishment and reward in itself. The contemporary big fish threads "lost a big one" and "where do they go" encapsulate the typical experience with big fish here, which often are fleeting encounters that make you come back for more.
Edited by Angling Oracle 9/19/2022 10:09 AM
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Location: Brighton CO. | My dad started fishing the Northwoods in 1936 till his death in 2016, I've fished all over for the last 50 years. We fished a lot of water in the Vilas, Oneida, Iron, and Forest counties a trip in southern Wisconsin along with few in western Wis. and metro Minnesota and in Northern Minnesota too and top of that a trip to Lake Of The Woods and 5 to Winnipeg river. there have been trip where people said "man you guy's caught more fish this week than everybody all summer" to " hay those are the only guy's in camp not catching fish" At times we fish hard but also spend a lot of time with the non fishing members of our families. We never taken a Muskie over fifty in Wisconsin with that said back in the day's before catch and release 30 pounds was the standard for a trophy my dad did get a 49" 1/2 31# 2 oz fish in 1950 he was 17 years old and he caught a 20 pounder the week before. Of our Wisconsin fish 25-30 % are over 40" In Minnesota I have the only 50" and it is just 50"
but half our fish are over 40" dad had one just short of four foot. Ontario we taken six trips but stopped going because there was nothing for the non -fishing members of the family to do. With that said I've never been in Canada and not caught Muskie the bad news my best fish 39.5 ??? My dad has the only 50" in Canada it was 53" and very fat. I had a couple chances for big fish up there. We did see one super tanker up there. In the 1940's dad did see a couple super tankers in Wisconsin he also been hooked up to muskies between 48"-54" in Wisconsin. Where ever you go buy good tackle big fish don't come easy. The big girl's the pot at the end of the rainbow but enjoy riding the rainbow.
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Location: Alexandria, MN | As others have alluded to.... don't expect to boat a 50" on your first trip to any of the aforementioned lakes. What started out as a "trip of a lifetime" for me to Lac Seul back in 1994 turned into an annual trip to NW Ontario. Boated my first 50"+ in 1998. Put your time in.... do a few years in a row on the same lake and learn the water. Hiring a guide the first go-round is not a bad plan. The lakes are huge, full of structure/spots, and can be intimidating. Eventually, you'll get a "milk run" of spots you'll wanna hit at prime times. There's usually anywhere from 4-8 guys on our Canada trips (so 2-4 boats). We compare notes and try to establish patterns as quickly as possible. |
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Location: Brighton CO. | When we quit going to Canada we were just dialed in dad just read my copy of Dickp's "Muskies On The Shield" He got a stronger trolling motor and went from a 12 volt to 24 volt system and he would just point bow of the boat into the wind and go down the shoreline or around the islands. Then dad got all the fish. (up in the bow) One day he get's 44" and 46" and I'm in the back getting nothing then he lets me take his spot and I caught a Muskie right away 33" First time I caught a Muskie and had smoke coming out of my ears! |
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Location: Selkirk, Manitoba | chuckski - 9/19/2022 1:00 PM
When we quit going to Canada we were just dialed in dad just read my copy of Dickp's "Muskies On The Shield" He got a stronger trolling motor and went from a 12 volt to 24 volt system and he would just point bow of the boat into the wind and go down the shoreline or around the islands. Then dad got all the fish. (up in the bow) One day he get's 44" and 46" and I'm in the back getting nothing then he lets me take his spot and I caught a Muskie right away 33" First time I caught a Muskie and had smoke coming out of my ears!
I was just about to add to the thread: any "secret" tips that I could ever give would just be rehashing anything contributed by Dick Pearson regarding fishing big muskies in NW Ontario. |
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| Nar160 thx for the stat sheet. Do you have the raw numbers? I suspect Lac Seul percentages are higher partially due to smaller numbers. Less fisherman and less fish total caught on lac seul making each large fish stand out more. Not taking anything from the lake just interested in total numbers |
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Location: Brighton CO. | In Lac Seul they are only in part of the lake and they get pounded! |
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Location: Selkirk, Manitoba | td89 - 9/19/2022 1:24 PM
Nar160 thx for the stat sheet. Do you have the raw numbers? I suspect Lac Seul percentages are higher partially due to smaller numbers. Less fisherman and less fish total caught on lac seul making each large fish stand out more. Not taking anything from the lake just interested in total numbers
Cleithrum project had data where Lac Seul fish have particularly fast growth and maximum potential size, so Lac Seul does have unusually bigger average size fish and not an outlier from angling perspective.
Edited by Angling Oracle 9/19/2022 2:22 PM
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Location: Brighton CO. | Fishing pressure! when we were driving north the young fish in Mille Lacs and Vermillion were left alone and in 1940's and 50's Wisconsin/Minnesota the boat landing were empty after Labor Day. |
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Location: Rhinelander, Wisconsin | I spent nearly 20 years in NW Ontario on and off during Muskie seasons fishing for my idea of a final personal best. I caught 50" and over fish on LOTW in several areas, Wabigoon, and Eagle. Wabigoon provided my PB and a number of tankers, with Eagle a close second and LOTW just an inch back from Eagle. Probably fished 35 lakes and rivers over the years up there.
A lot has to do with how you fish the water of choice. The big deal is having your lure in front of your targeted fish as much of the time you have on the water as is possible. Be where thay are a lot and it will happen. |
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| Are you set on a NW Ontario Shield lake? What about the Great Lakes? Better chance at a 50” in my opinion. |
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Location: MN | td89 - 9/19/2022 1:24 PM
Nar160 thx for the stat sheet. Do you have the raw numbers? I suspect Lac Seul percentages are higher partially due to smaller numbers. Less fisherman and less fish total caught on lac seul making each large fish stand out more. Not taking anything from the lake just interested in total numbers
I have the raw totals, but not collated in a central data sheet and I'm not going to dig through right now to get all of them. My totals will be a little out of date, as I did this analysis a couple years back, but I've got Lac Seul at ~900 fish entered overall. LOTW is about 35k total, but I'm pretty sure I took a more recent snapshot (like 10k over last 10 years) for the statistics listed above.
My main concern with the total number entered is having a large enough number that I can trust the size distribution stats, and I believe all of those lakes fall into that category. Total numbers are hard to make use of without some measure of angler effort - for example, obviously LOTW has way more total angler hours than LS, but how high is that factor - 10, 100, 1000?
With size distribution, you can at least answer some basic questions. Suppose you want to catch a 52+. On LOTW, you're looking at roughly 1/250 fish. Maybe you can isolate to better big fish areas of the lake, and fish during good times - suppose you can improve 2.5-fold to 1/100. On LS, in general you're looking at 1/12. Do you expect to catch 8-20x as many total on LOTW? If not, then your odds of catching at 52+ are better on LS. If 48+ is the goal, then you'd need 4x as many on LOTW - maybe that's realistic if you know it better, there are better numbers, and you get an extra day to fish with less travel. |
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Location: Contrarian Island | Best shot to me is hiring a guide on Lac Seul. 2nd best Eagle. that said we boat and encounter quite a few on LOTW for a week.. guides are a little sparse on lotw but there are a few decent ones... |
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Location: Bloomington, MN | My friend got a 53.5" out of Lac Seul last year. They caught 3 all week. He has caught a couple of 50"'s out of the Long Legged chain and they actually flew in this year due to the road being washed out. They got 17 in a week between 5 guys, with none over 42". I haven't been to Wabigoon since 2019, but there are some big fish in there. I've seen a couple that might go 50", but my best in 3 trips is 45". Good numbers of 37"-42". Cedar Lake up the 105 gets beaten like a red headed stepchild, but from the Facebook pages of the 4+ camps on the lake cranked out "many" 50" fish. Easy to fish and you can bring your boat. The big fish pics started showing up in in late August. Perrault is connected, which has the needle in the haystack monsters. The all round best Ontario Lake is Lake St. Claire.
Edited by Clark A 9/20/2022 8:35 PM
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| nar160 - 9/19/2022 9:49 AM
Attached a pic of size distribution for fish entered into the lunge log on some NW ON lakes. Lac Seul is the clear outlier.
Note: I don't look at % 50+ specifically because I've found that a number of lakes have more 50s entered than 49-49.5 :-O
How did you access the data? I'm a data scientist and would LOVE to play with some variables. |
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Location: MN | It is on the Muskies Inc website. You need to be a member.
I copy-paste the data into an excel spreadsheet that computes various quantities of interest (such as size distribution). |
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| If best chance at a 50" or better is the only criteria, I think that Lac Seul is probably the best choice. But as Brad notes, getting a guide to accomplish the task on your first (or only) week might be necessary.
We (my brother and I) typically get between 1-3 at 50" or better during our weeklong trip to LOTW. But we've also been fishing LOTW since the late '90's with many of those years of doing 2-3 trips in a season. In other words, we've put our time in. We have a good milkrun of spots and have generally figured out how to best put odds in our favor. We still have plenty of tougher trips.
There is lots and lots of really good water in NW Ontario. Whether it is Lac Seul, Eagle, Wabigoon, Cedar, Pipestone, Minaki or whatever, there is no shortage of 50"+ fish. But absent a guide, there is also no real shortcut to success as plenty of really good anglers put in plenty of weeks without breaking the 50" mark on all of those lakes. At the same time....you could very well get one on your very first cast.
Good luck. |
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Posts: 257
Location: Madison, WI | Well, I've gone to all of the following lakes...
LOTW
Eagle
Rowan
Dryberry
Pipestone
Clearwater
Crow
Minaki
Canyon
Cliff
Cedar
Perrault
The one lake that has always stood out, head and shoulders above the rest, is Rowan.
I'm guessing that of the 200 biggest muskies I've ever seen in my life, about 150 of them were seen on Rowan Lake, despite the fact that I've only been to Rowan 6 total times out of about 35 total lifetime trips to Canada.
Rowan has been vastly superior to any other lake I've fished.
If my life depended upon encountering a 50+ inch musky, I would choose Rowan in a heartbeat, and it's not even close.
"Jackpot" John Schroeder |
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Location: Brighton CO. | Rowan is fly in only. Rowan is clear and has very big and thick muskies. Only a few resorts and if you fly in as required you are limited to like 70 pounds of gear or something along those lines on the float planes. If you watched In-fisherman all the stuff with Don Pursh is on Rowan Lake. Don is featured in Tony's book All Pro Muskie Guides. Fly in lakes cost more and close early in the fall. From what I hear there are giant fish that have never seen a lure. This is where Tony Rizzo went on vacation. |
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Location: Madison, WI | chuckski - 9/25/2022 2:04 PM
Rowan is fly in only. Rowan is clear and has very big and thick muskies. Only a few resorts and if you fly in as required you are limited to like 70 pounds of gear or something along those lines on the float planes. If you watched In-fisherman all the stuff with Don Pursh is on Rowan Lake. Don is featured in Tony's book All Pro Muskie Guides. Fly in lakes cost more and close early in the fall. From what I hear there are giant fish that have never seen a lure. This is where Tony Rizzo went on vacation.
Oops. My bad.
I guess I forgot to read the OP carefully enough. I went back and reread it, and now I'm seeing the part where he wrote, "Only requirement is we want to bring our own boat, so no fly-ins."
"Jackpot" John Schroeder |
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Location: Minneapolis, Minnesota | If you want to be in Canada for the sake of going there then great but if all you are after is a 50” then minnesota and st Clair should be up there. Vermilion, Bemidji, plantang, leech, really any mn lake with ciscoes has plenty of 50’s and the pressure goes down once the weather cools down. Even the non cisco lakes have mid 50’s just might not be as fat. St Clair is an obvious choice but not nearly as cool a place to fish as Canada. Vermilion is pretty much my home body of water and I still think it is the best place in the country if you are after a 53+. Very difficult and frustrating Lake but if your after a giant than it’s still hard to beat |
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| jackpotjohnny48 - 9/25/2022 12:59 PM
Well, I've gone to all of the following lakes...
LOTW
Eagle
Rowan
Dryberry
Pipestone
Clearwater
Crow
Minaki
Canyon
Cliff
Cedar
Perrault
The one lake that has always stood out, head and shoulders above the rest, is Rowan.
I'm guessing that of the 200 biggest muskies I've ever seen in my life, about 150 of them were seen on Rowan Lake, despite the fact that I've only been to Rowan 6 total times out of about 35 total lifetime trips to Canada.
Rowan has been vastly superior to any other lake I've fished.
If my life depended upon encountering a 50+ inch musky, I would choose Rowan in a heartbeat, and it's not even close.
"Jackpot" John Schroeder
Ok, based on your post and stats.....I'm curious and have to ask: how many 50"+ have you caught from Rowan? How many from the other lakes on your list? |
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| Rowan looks good!
Edited by RickW 10/3/2022 7:27 PM
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Location: Contrarian Island | some numbers to chew on. 50"ers registered in Muskies Inc. yes, I realize many 50s are caught that are not registered...but this is interesting data none the less....
Rowan. 956 total fish. 104 over 50".. a 50" every 9.2 fish.
Lac Seul. 886 fish. 153 over 50". a 50" every 5.8 fish.
Eagle. 2614 fish. 186 over 50". a 50" every 14 fish.
LOTW. 33,836 fish. 1100 over 50". a 50" every 30.8 fish.
in the 13 trips I have done to lotw, we have 18 over 50" out of 185 fish... so 1 in 10. I would like to hear how many 50"s you have on Rowan out of how many fish Jackpot Jonny. Lac Seul seems like the winner out of the data above....
Edited by BNelson 10/4/2022 2:07 PM
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Location: Brighton CO. | Rowan has very big fish and it is very clear.
Whitefish Bay (part of Lake Of The Woods) has very big fish and is very clear.
The west arm of Eagle has very big fish and is very clear.
If you go to any of these places and the wrong front rolls thru it's going to be a very long week.
Read the chapter on Trout water in Dickp's "Muskie On The Shield".
When we book trips ahead of time it's a gamble.
Dark water systems are more forgiving.
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| When both LOTW and Doug Johnson were in their prime, Doug believed on average he caught one out of every ten follows, and one out of every ten fish he put in the boat was a 50”. This was based on years of fishing and putting somewhere between 170 and 200 muskies in the boat each year. Lots of fish and a lot of big fish. However, Doug is a remarkable fisherman so his averages are far above what a one week visitor to LOTW should expect.
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Location: Brighton CO. | They used to say Lake Of The Woods was 20-1 for a 50". (I don't remember the year) |
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Location: Brighton CO. | Here's a story I almost forgot about. The only time I fished Lake Of The Woods was in 1993 for the Chapter Challege I didn't set the world on fire. (I caught a Muskie lost couple others) Late in the week I looked at my map and some one marked a bunch of good spots and found a bunch of good looking spots of my own. Well I fished this spot that was a named spot and also a travel route I had not fished this spot all week but drove thru it every day. We stopped and fished this spot and a boat come around the corner and saw us fishing there and looked at us (gave us a hard look) and took off. He did not like us on that spot. Dad goes he must have a fish spotted here. We didn't see a thing and moved on and never worked that spot again. At the end of the week when we were done fishing the fishermen who saw us fishing his asked us in the lodge why we fished that spot and did we see anything? He acted kinda weird about the whole thing. A couple weeks later back in Colorado a friend who was on the trip asked me if I fished this spot. Ya fished it once really picked it apart and saw nothing but so and so saw and asked a bunch of questions. As it turns out the guy was a guide and was working a record fish in that spot. |
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| Thanks for the replies all! Tons of great info and discussion. Sounds like next fall I'll be swinging for the fences with a trip to Lac Seul. Fingers crossed! |
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Location: Bloomington, MN | I've seen pics of 4 more over 50" from Cedar since I posted. I will be booking for next year, if available. |
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| Century Lodge, the only resort on the south end of Eagle is worth a mention. Stained water, too. |
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Location: Contrarian Island | nothing against Cedar per say but in all the shows MHunter has done on it have they EVER caught a 50"???
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Location: Bloomington, MN | I think Saric got one many years ago and you may see one next season since Mr. Turgeon got one this year. I know the lake gets beat, but it seems to be quite a few reported 50"'s for such a small body of water. |
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| Very surprised a couple others have not been mentioned but then,guess its sort of self explanatory as to why. |
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| dickP - 10/19/2022 5:58 AM
Very surprised a couple others have not been mentioned but then,guess its sort of self explanatory as to why.
Dryberry? |
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| dickP - 10/19/2022 5:58 AM
Very surprised a couple others have not been mentioned but then,guess its sort of self explanatory as to why.
Dick, coming from someone who's read (and re-read) your book to the point of being worn out, I'd LOVE to hear your answer to the original question!
(Seriously though, I've taken your book with me on every trip to LOTW...during tough times, and good times too(!), it seems like I've always been able to find something that has helped out...and so, I'm very grateful for all the knowledge shared).
Edited by Matt DeVos 10/19/2022 8:25 PM
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Location: Bloomington, MN | Is Dryberry even a possible day trip destination? Meaning passable road with basic 4X4's, and a usable launch with parking?
Edited by Clark A 10/19/2022 10:45 PM
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| Clark A - 10/19/2022 10:42 PM
Is Dryberry even a possible day trip destination? Meaning passable road with basic 4X4's, and a usable launch with parking?
Never been. Always wanted to go. Everything I have read is that the road is what keeps people off the lake. Launch itself is actually pretty solid.
Isn't the road only about a 1/2 an hours worth of driving...but its just a horrible half hour? |
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| Dang knew better and wish I'd kept my big mouth shut.All i meant is there are other NW Ontario options.A couple I've had experience on afford decent odds of getting a '50'.Odds perhaps better than the lakes mentioned.Certainly IMO.These have less pressure but have other limiting factors that affect success.Factors such as time of year,water levels,etc.I hopefully have a few years left to hunt these wonderful fish and won't mention specific lakes as friends would likely be lost if I did.
Matt,AO,Chuckski and any others that mentioned my book,thanks.Appreciate the kind words a great deal.Means a lot coming from you guys.The book is certainly dated in many respects but glad some are still finding value in it.Certain things will never be 'dated' by tech or anything else.
In general statistics matter a great deal but are questionable as well.Certain lakes,for instance,draw more sophisticated anglers,have more good guides,or other factors that can skew them one way or another.IMO they may indicate options or a starting point but...well I'll quit.
Good fishing to all! |
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Location: Brighton CO. | When we think of Canada we all think of the big famous bodies of water, I've said it before talking to the old timers who used to see giant Muskies in Wisconsin in 1930s-40s in small bodies of water. Take Canada today with so many lakes you could have a smaller bodies of water hooked to big systems that have light fishing pressure and native fish this is a recipe for a giant. |
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| Glad to have you chime in Dick! Last year I was finally able to get my hands on your book thanks to someone on this forum. Great material! I may have to plan a trip to some 'shot in the dark' lake rather than the big name ones too.. |
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Location: Selkirk, Manitoba | dickP - 10/20/2022 7:59 AM
Dang knew better and wish I'd kept my big mouth shut.
Good fishing to all!
We're all being a little coy here with coded language, Dick, trying to be point in the right direction without giving away spots as it were. I think in an article you mentioned about balance of providing the knowledge of how-to with the concepts of the fragility of the resource - being big muskies (back in the day when we didn't have the limits there are now). I believe this was an In-Fisherman article.
Last chance for me yesterday fishing some spot I'm sure you've hit many times over the years given it meets all of your big fish spot criteria. Nothing to show for it other than a torn tail on the the lure from this low to mid-forties fatty after doing 6 laps (and then 6 more after). Her bigger 50+ sister on the same spot was less enthusiastic but did make a showing -- wish I could go back under better conditions but duck and deer for me now.
Edited by Angling Oracle 10/20/2022 2:24 PM
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| I suspect (like I've found in N/WI) that there are more than a few small lakes with just the right combination of forage, water chemistry, and either a connection to a larger system or a native population of fish that would offer some surprising opportunities for big fish. They're probably safe though due to limited access. Plus, I doubt many people who travel up from the states are going to put in the time chasing rainbows on a small unfamiliar lake when they're paying big bucks to stay on the lakes we've all heard of. I know I'd have a hard time taking time out of my annual week on Eagle where I know what I'm up against to go fish where there might not even be muskies.
Dickp - No need to apologize for your lack of disclosure. I'd question your sanity if you started naming lakes... |
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Location: Warroad, Mn | All I have to say is learn where big fish live! Look for areas that have big west facing areas, current helps, big areas equals big fish don't look for big fish in small spots! bigger is better, West facing is good in the evening! I've fished every lake listed at one rime or the the other and I still like good old LOTWs! |
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Location: Brighton CO. | dougj - 11/7/2022 7:32 PM
All I have to say is learn where big fish live! Look for areas that have big west facing areas, current helps, big areas equals big fish don't look for big fish in small spots! bigger is better, West facing is good in the evening! I've fished every lake listed at one rime or the the other and I still like good old LOTWs!
Great advice! The late MI President Perry Smith gave my dad the same tip.
Life is good when get tips Dougj and Dickp like watching In-Fisherman again!
Fishing hero's ! |
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Posts: 171
| I have Dick's book that I read many times. It is even signed by him, so, if I don't win the Powerball today(last night), I reckon I, or my kids, could sell it for almost the same amount..........someday, sorta like a Picasso or Rembrandt or somethin
Edited by oly67 11/8/2022 9:53 AM
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Location: Contrarian Island | I would add, don't overlook small spots for huge fish as my Canada PB a giant 53.5 came off a very small spot... timing is everything! |
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Posts: 31
| Thanks to everyone who shared stats. Very interesting. Numbers show Lac Seul puts the odds in your favor and I would agree. I've been to 3 systems / lakes in Ontario. Winnipeg, Eagle and Lac Seul.
Watched Mehsikomer boat a 53" in a figure 8 on Winnipeg while filming. From a distance. We managed a couple muskies for the week with largest being 43". Saw a few 4 footers though.
Had the chance to release / hold a 50" on Eagle. A guy in our party caught the fish off a rock wall and the fish was struggling to release. Swim bladder issues most likely as they rocket up from the depths on those walls sometimes. I was a young man at the time and the only one spry enough (or willing enough) to hobble onto the shoreline rocks to tend to the fish. It was a tough week of fishing so I was eager to touch one!
I have been to Lac Seul for a total of roughly 12 weeks in the last 20 years. By far my favorite body of water but after catching quite a few upper 40s to 49" over the years am still yet to catch a 50". I know many fisherman have had much more success than I with 50s there but I'm proof that putting yourself in the right situation many times doesn't always guarantee the success we are hoping for or would expect. In a way I'm thankful that Lac Seul 50 has not come for me yet. That's the only excuse I need to continue to go back. I'm kind of afraid to catch it now...
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Posts: 612
| I've only seen 1 50+", it was unbelievably caught on a Rapala walleye jig on 8 lb test. I'm not sure it really felt hooked or felt threatened as it just very slowly went in and out for ~ 8 - 10 minutes. I fish like crazy and have only caught 6 pures, ~ 50 tigers nothing nearly that big.
Good luck eastern Ontario has Georgin Bay
Edited by NPike 12/26/2022 2:12 AM
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Posts: 716
| BNelson - 10/18/2022 11:03 AM
nothing against Cedar per say but in all the shows MHunter has done on it have they EVER caught a 50"???
We had three on two shows (five filming days) the 2022 season. It is a busy lake as others have mentioned. Prior years we ( Jim and I) got some very very nice ones up to 49 but no fifties. I like the lake but I certainly have seen an uptick in pressure the past few years...our fault IMO.
All the lakes mentioned will show you nice fish if your are doing the right things in the right spots at the right time. I remember a trip to film a few years back during a big cold front and bit by bit you could see things getting back to "normal" (whatever that is) all we saw/caught were smaller fish on both Cedar and then LOW and slowly the bigger fish got active again and finally we were able to get a few to go right at the end of our trip...Big fish IMO are the most affected by both positive and negative weather changes and you could really see that on this particular trip.
and yes Dicks book and the concepts within are gold....edges edges edges.
Edited by bturg 12/27/2022 9:17 PM
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Location: Contrarian Island | Bob...did you actually measure them?.lol. I see some tv show hosts are calling fish 51 and 52 without even measuring them
Sorry couldnt resist. |
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Posts: 75
| I haven't seen anyone mention the Manitou yet....I love that lake. My buddy lost a 50" class fish when we were there this past summer. Very low fishing pressure, but there are a ton of great spots. It is trout water so clear and can be tough, but it has some big fish.
On a side note my friend did land a 36" monster(for us) lake trout one day. It was a beast and biggest in camp for the year. |
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| ColdLabatts - 4/9/2023 2:57 AM
I haven't seen anyone mention the Manitou yet....I love that lake. My buddy lost a 50" class fish when we were there this past summer. Very low fishing pressure, but there are a ton of great spots. It is trout water so clear and can be tough, but it has some big fish.
On a side note my friend did land a 36" monster(for us) lake trout one day. It was a beast and biggest in camp for the year.
That is huge Laker anywhere |
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Location: Brighton CO. | The Manitou's have giant thick fish and I think they are fly in only? |
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Posts: 75
| chuckski - 4/9/2023 11:31 AM
The Manitou's have giant thick fish and I think they are fly in only?
We've boated in each time we stayed at the Manitou. Its 20 miles on a gravel road to get to Esox Landing, but its actually not that bad. |
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Posts: 716
| BNelson - 1/2/2023 9:28 AM
Bob...did you actually measure them?.lol. I see some tv show hosts are calling fish 51 and 52 without even measuring them
Sorry couldnt resist.
Just can't help yourself eh Brad... |
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Posts: 1407
Location: Brighton CO. | ColdLabatts - 4/9/2023 12:25 PM
chuckski - 4/9/2023 11:31 AM
The Manitou's have giant thick fish and I think they are fly in only?
We've boated in each time we stayed at the Manitou. Its 20 miles on a gravel road to get to Esox Landing, but its actually not that bad.
That's good to know, I meet someone who's fished there and caught a number heavy fish. And I know somehow he made arrangements with a resort to keep a boat there.
Now I know how he done it. |
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Posts: 43
| Barker Bay Resort is on Lower Manitou and is a boat-in camp. It is a good place to stay. Our group used to go there in the early to mid 2000's. We took a lot of really nice fish out of there but nothing over 50. Lots of 47-49 inch fish - heavy and thick. We had a year or two where fish seemed non-existent however, and we would go several (sometimes more than that) days without seeing a fish. That's muskie fishing, but you don't expect that in Canada either I guess, especially on a week-long trip. This is very close to the area where Gene Borucki caught his big muskie which I think his was like 57 lbs. or something like that. So definitely big fish water but can be difficult. I definitely believe it is a lower density area compared to some of the other places mentioned. |
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Posts: 326
| Good fish in Esox itself.Many lakes in that area not mentioned and not often fished,even one that used to be discussed frequently.Heck 25-30 years ago some lakes in that area were fished a lot with 'big' results.Anyone remember the Burger Bros?Recall the big fish they caught?(one fly in Lake then-very popular and now never mentioned even though I have a Colorado friend that does well there)
Few will put forth the effort to be honest.I get the 'my boat' thing and even I no longer want to fish out of a 'regular' boat but sure would if younger.Sadly most are trapped by 'gear and chips'.Aah chips(GPS),another wonder that...well I'll quit. |
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Location: north central wisconsin | Anyone spend time on Shoal for Musky? |
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Posts: 326
| Which one?Assume you mean the one attached to the 'Woods' but the one up the Seine river is a muskie haunt as well.Actually has quite a storied muskie history.
As to the Woods attached one,back in my exploring days only the entrance part was open but clearly muskies there.Lotsa muskies in that part of the Woods.(Labyrinth,Cul D Sac etc)The last time I was there a nice 48 incher was on the last reef,center channel,just before entry to Shoal:-)
I have no current info except heard there is a nice Resort in there now which caters to pike/smallmouth guys.Not sure.
Lotsa big fish in/from the other Shoal. |
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Posts: 75
| dickP - 4/12/2023 5:54 AM
Good fish in Esox itself.Many lakes in that area not mentioned and not often fished,even one that used to be discussed frequently.Heck 25-30 years ago some lakes in that area were fished a lot with 'big' results.Anyone remember the Burger Bros?Recall the big fish they caught?(one fly in Lake then-very popular and now never mentioned even though I have a Colorado friend that does well there)
Few will put forth the effort to be honest.I get the 'my boat' thing and even I no longer want to fish out of a 'regular' boat but sure would if younger.Sadly most are trapped by 'gear and chips'.Aah chips(GPS),another wonder that...well I'll quit.
I've never fished Esox but always drool over some of the structure I've seen boating up to the stretch, but then again I guess I can say that about every classic trout water lake I've fished. The Manitou is arguably my favorite lake I've fished as we always seem to raise some tanks. I don't remember where it's at exactly, but I've always wanted to fish Kay Lake for a fly in. My girlfriend is all about doing the remote rustic fishing adventure(lucky me), and I know the bass would keep her busy at least.
I've also always wanted to try throwing for muskie in Peak Lake. It's a portage at the very bottom of Dinorwic that's also a trout water lake. My buddy and I fish it for bass, but last time we were there he actually raised a muskie on a spinnerbait. The lodge owners tell us no way and that it had to be a pike, but we know what we saw. |
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Posts: 326
| Which one?Assume you mean the one attached to the 'Woods' but the one up the Seine river is a muskie haunt as well.Actually has quite a storied muskie history.
A
Lotsa big fish in/from the other Shoal.
ColdLabatts I'm sure u know what U saw.Had the same comments made to me many times.Many lakes near classic 'trout water' have muskies.Some connected,some not.In fact I can't offhand think of one that doesn't have a 'portage' lake with muskies nearby.Some like Pipestone with multiples.One that i've walked into 4 times and never failed to catch at least one decent muskie out of a small rowboat.And today with GPS... good god what I'd do now.
Couple comments for u:hang onto that girlfriend!!Finally as to Dinorwic,not only good nearby lakes without even considering the 'Goon' but big fish.Big!!
One of my 'giants' seen was in the mouth of Dinorwic/Goon channel.A 'net' story my wife and I still avoid discussing after 43 years.
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Posts: 326
| Sorry,not sure how I managed that 'combo' post. |
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Posts: 8782
| Heheh... I've got one of those. Eagle lake, maybe 10 years ago... First trip with my now wife. I put her through the paces all summer long, told her everything I could think of, spent many days with her casting lures in places with no muskies, bought her all the gear, clothes, you name it. Few days into the trip, she's good. 45" under her belt, getting the hang of figure 8's, keeping up with the boys. I'm up front, fishing one of the many reefs out East, clear day light chop. I throw a cast, here comes a blondie. To date the largest fish I have ever seen. Wider than my boots. Coming in hot, gills flaring, this one's gonna eat. I speed up, she's right on it. I speed up again she's still on it, into my first turn... Wife sees what's going on and freaks out. "OH MY GOD!! YOU GOT HER, YOU GOT HER!!!" jumping up and down in the boat... That fish shot off like a firecracker. Left a poop cloud in the water right next to the boat. Scared the crap out of it she did.
She still cries when I bring it up, so I don't. But yeah, who knows if that fish woulda made it to the net or not, but that fish was coming to eat, and I've only seen one that came close to that size and that one was 53.5" |
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Posts: 326
| Yeh,never knowing hurts. |
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Location: Brighton CO. | Muskies swim in water and sometimes there's water in places that didn't have water, then get hooked other water and before you know it and after the water retreats we have Muskies living in a place they didn't live before. then you have man and buckets. And the same thing happens with Northerns except you'll never get rid of them once that happens. |
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Location: north central wisconsin | dickP - 4/23/2023 4:00 PM
Which one?Assume you mean the one attached to the 'Woods' but the one up the Seine river is a muskie haunt as well.Actually has quite a storied muskie history.
As to the Woods attached one,back in my exploring days only the entrance part was open but clearly muskies there.Lotsa muskies in that part of the Woods.(Labyrinth,Cul D Sac etc)The last time I was there a nice 48 incher was on the last reef,center channel,just before entry to Shoal:-)
I have no current info except heard there is a nice Resort in there now which caters to pike/smallmouth guys.Not sure.
Lotsa big fish in/from the other Shoal.
Yes, the 'Woods' one. Thought with some of the crazy high water years all stacked together past decade, could be a 'thing'. Fished with a friend of friend on LOTW this winter that lives on Seinne, cool stories so on radar-ish. |
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Posts: 326
| Just dawned on me,assuming this is Jason,I'd try both and 'hi' to Monica and the girls. |
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Location: north central wisconsin | dickP - 4/24/2023 10:12 AM
Just dawned on me,assuming this is Jason,I'd try both and 'hi' to Monica and the girls.
Indeed. Girls all say hi, all looking forward to first whole family Canada trip this year. Lauren(middle daughter) is quite the angler/bait maker/tinkerer and has Betsy's old spinnerbait, afraid to use it, but always along(the one with the blade attached to bottom). |
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Posts: 75
| dickP - 4/23/2023 7:18 PM
Which one?Assume you mean the one attached to the 'Woods' but the one up the Seine river is a muskie haunt as well.Actually has quite a storied muskie history.
A
Lotsa big fish in/from the other Shoal.
ColdLabatts I'm sure u know what U saw.Had the same comments made to me many times.Many lakes near classic 'trout water' have muskies.Some connected,some not.In fact I can't offhand think of one that doesn't have a 'portage' lake with muskies nearby.Some like Pipestone with multiples.One that i've walked into 4 times and never failed to catch at least one decent muskie out of a small rowboat.And today with GPS... good god what I'd do now.
Couple comments for u:hang onto that girlfriend!!Finally as to Dinorwic,not only good nearby lakes without even considering the 'Goon' but big fish.Big!!
One of my 'giants' seen was in the mouth of Dinorwic/Goon channel.A 'net' story my wife and I still avoid discussing after 43 years.
I've always wondered about all those portage lakes off Pipestone. So many are connected d by small channels(that Stonedam rock is tricky) that always makes me want to sling muskie baits. The Seine Bay area on Rainy always intrigued me too, but hard to commit to a trip there.
Nice advice on the girlfriend, she'd be happy to hear that lol. Actually Wabigoon/Dinorwic is the first place I took her to a couple years ago. She didn't catch a muskie, but she lost 1 and had another completely jump out of the water trying to eat her fat bastard. She actually cried after that...I felt bad for her. I love Dinorwic though, my personal best is from there....a beautiful leopard pattern one. I don't think we've ever seen a fish where the river dumps in, but did find a stump/tree with the outboard(Oi!). Now that I think of it I haven't seen a muskie in that whole narrows area, but have caught some nice pike. |
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Location: Selkirk, Manitoba | Reef Hawg - 4/24/2023 9:43 AM
dickP - 4/23/2023 4:00 PM
Which one?Assume you mean the one attached to the 'Woods' but the one up the Seine river is a muskie haunt as well.Actually has quite a storied muskie history.
As to the Woods attached one,back in my exploring days only the entrance part was open but clearly muskies there.Lotsa muskies in that part of the Woods.(Labyrinth,Cul D Sac etc)The last time I was there a nice 48 incher was on the last reef,center channel,just before entry to Shoal:-)
I have no current info except heard there is a nice Resort in there now which caters to pike/smallmouth guys.Not sure.
Lotsa big fish in/from the other Shoal.
Yes, the 'Woods' one. Thought with some of the crazy high water years all stacked together past decade, could be a 'thing'. Fished with a friend of friend on LOTW this winter that lives on Seinne, cool stories so on radar-ish.
High water probably didn't change anything as far as musky distribution - probably benefitted the pike more from a reproduction point of view than musky and only increased the pike/musky ratio, but hopefully musky did benefit in real numbers gained. Shoal I would say you would be just taking yourself further away from prime musky waters. If say you were bass fishing, could be worth a few casts on reefs close to the outlet, but low probability. They are basically distributed in the areas DickP alluded to a bit more to the Ptarmigan side - with this area being a low density but bigger average size for musky boated (note: Cul de Sac barbless all species; single hook for LT - check regs thoroughly before fishing any of this area). I would classify it as great place to go for scenery/low cottage development, multi-species: smallies, crappies, pike, lake trout (Shoal itself has some good largemouth too - of interest to us as we don't have easy access to largemouth). I have friend who rents a cabin in the area: Turtle Bay Camp - Clearwater Bay, good for a family or group, bring your own boat.
For musky though the high pike numbers, clear water, low density makes it relatively tough musky fishing compared to a boat ride out of the channel east and down Crow Rock way and south. In relation to the OP - this is one of the areas that probably has a high ratio of 50s per musky boated (the time/effort though relatively high as expected for lake trout waters)
Edited by Angling Oracle 4/29/2023 7:10 PM
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