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| Okay I have a little problem I am torn between East or West Ontario. I have heard great things coming from the eastern side, and my drive would be limited to less than 8 hours. However, I enjoyed two great trips to LOTW and have somewhat of a milk run established. I love the beauty of western Ontario and I fear the eastern portion may not look the same or have the same style of fishing. Any help or advice on this matter would be greatly appreciated.
What kind of weeds?
What kind of forage?
People population?
Is it rocky?
Bonus species?
Fish density?
Primary fishing methor in the summer, casting or trolling?
I am primarily talking of areas like Pigeon and Stony Lakes, or the Orrawa river, areas like this in comparison to Lake of the Woods.
Thanks
MuskyDan | |
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Posts: 393
Location: Kawarthas, Ontario | I have fished Pigeon and Stony and both are pretty lakes although cottages do abound. Both are mesotrophic lakes with some oligotrophic sections.
Weed growth and type is typical of these lakes and more info can be found here: http://www.trentu.ca/muskie/biology/biol10.html
The forage base is typical warm water species such as perch, carp, suckers, blue gill, etc.
There are lots of cottages and year round homes on both lakes, but mid week fishing usually isn't too bad. It will depend on the time of year of course with the summer being busiest.
Is it rocky? It ain't called Stony for no reason. Get a chart. PM me for more info. Pigeon is not as dangerous as Stony for reefs and such.
Bonus species: Check the ON MNR guide to eating sport fish here http://www.ene.gov.on.ca/cons/590b11_sontario.pdf It lists all of that info for Southern ON. Primarily these lakes also offer bass and pickeral.
Fish Density? The Kawarthas are more of numbers lakes than trophy lakes and if you know what you're doing, many multiple fish days are possible, but your best chance for fish over fifty will come from the Ottawa vs. the Kawarthas. On the other hand, the area you're talking about has many lakes within very short driving distances, so you could fish a different lake every day for a week or two.
Casting or trolling? It depends on what you prefer. Most cast in the summer.
As for the Ottawa, maybe Trophymuskie can help you with that, it's his home waters.
Check here http://www.fish-hawk.net/Map_project/newproject_list.htm for info and maps of the lakes discussed. You'll still need a chart, but these provide some very useful info.
Let me know if I can be of more help. | |
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Posts: 203
Location: Germantown, WI | I can't fairly compare East or West Ontario, but I have fished a lake in the Kawarthas (Lower Buckhorn) for nearly 25 years. As far as numbers, I don't think you can beat the Kawarthas. My brother and I typically average 20 muskies boated during our 1 week stay each Summer on Lower Buckhorn. This year we (My 79 year old father, my brother and myself) landed 30 muskies, with 9 over 40 inches, during the third week of August. It was a blast to see my Dad catch his personal best 43 inch musky on a Large Rizzo Whiz. All our fish this year were caught casting and we typically catch about 90% casting and 10% trolling. Lower Buckhorn also offers Smallmouth Bass, Largemouth Bass, Walleye and Panfish. The Smallmouth fishing is fantastic and the largemouth fishing is really coming on. Walleye are a bit tough in the summer time, but can be caught. Panfish are abundant and easy to catch.
We've caught muskies up to 48 inches and know of 50+ inch fish that have been caught. It's a great fishery with big numbers between 30-40 inches, good numbers between 41-45 inches and increasing numbers between 46-50 inches. I belong to the Muskies Inc chapter in Milwaukee, WI and most of our club members either fish in Northern WI or Northwest Ontario. When I told these guys about the numbers we catch in the Kawarthas each year they could harldy believe it. There is a father and son in our club who have been going to Cedar Lake in Northwest Ontario with about ten guys for a bunch of years. They told me that between them they usually boat a total of 10 muskies each year with at least one over 50 inches. So I would say in general that your chance for a trophy (over 50 inches) is probably better in Northwest Ontario, but you'll likely have a lot more action in the Kawarthas. If you want a trophy out East, your best bet might be the mighty Ottawa River.
As far as aesthetics are concerned you won't see as much wilderness, but Lower Buckhorn is a pretty lake with lots of uninhabited islands and a real northwoods feel. You will see people, especially on the weekends, but if you go before July 1 or after Labor Day the fishing and boating pressure will be much less. We usually fish the last week of June, but have found consitent fishing throughout the Summer months. If you are only 8 hours from Pigeon then you are probably in Western PA, Eastern OH or WV. You are so close you should really give the Kawarthas a try.
Tom | |
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| Actually I am from about 40 minutes north of Detroit in Michigan. I believe it would only take me 40 minutes to get to Canada, and like 4 hours to Toronto. I am guessing at 8 hours. With those kind of numbers how many fish do you see in a day? Have you had any 50" followers?
MuskyDan | |
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Posts: 1430
Location: Eastern Ontario | Dan, e-mail me and I will try and help you the best I can.
[email protected] | |
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| Great musky water everywhere across Ontario no matter if you head East or West!
Western Ontario
LOTW NW Angle (numbers and size)
Eagle Lake (chance at a monster)
Lac Seul Chamberlain Narrows (numbers and size)
Wobigoon (numbers and size)
Eastern Ontario
Georgian Bay (chance at a monster)
Pigeon Lake, other Kawarthas chain lakes (numbers and size)
The Ottawa River (chance at a monster)
The St. Lawrence River (chance at a monster) | |
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Posts: 203
Location: Germantown, WI | MuskyDan,
It's not unusual for us to see between 10-20 muskies in a day on a good day, but most days were are probably seeing 5-10 muskies. Heck on a good day you could go out and see 10 muskies in a couple of hours. Some days you will see more and other days less, but if you aren't catching at least 2-3 muskies per day and seeing at least twice that many either you are doing something wrong or the fish are shut down.
Please note that we only spend about half of our time musky fishing. The other half of the time is spent fishing for Bass. There are times when everything seems to come together like the time that my brother and I went on for a couple of hours at first light on the morning that we were leaving to drive home. We boated 8 muskies (including 46", 43" and 41" muskies) during those 2 hours within 100 yards of the lodge. We also raised or missed several other fish. I'm not sure that we've ever seen any 50+ inch fish or not. We've certainly seen some big ones that were in the upper 40 inch class (maybe low 50s). My parents were there one time in September when somebody caught one that was 52 inches.
You'd probably have a better shot at a big one if you stayed on Pigeon or one of its connecting lakes. There are several connected lakes including Pigeon, Upper Buckhorn, Chemung, Sturgeon, Balsam that you can access from any one of the lakes. The lake we fish is Lower Buckhorn and it can only be accessed from one of two resorts or by entering from upstream or downstream through navigational locks on the Trent-Severn waterway.
Whatever you decide there is great fishing in Ontario and you cannot go wrong with one of the well known musky lakes or rivers. Some of the lakes in Northwestern Ontario are quite big and might be intimidating to a first time visitor. Big lakes also require big boats. The lake we fish is about 3,000 acres and is easily fished with a 14-16 foot boat. We'll probably go somewhere else eventually in search of the big musky, but for the next few years we'll probably stay put. If you want more info please email me at [email protected].
Tom | |
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Ontario East or West??