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| Can anyone give me any info on Pipestone and Schtoise lake.I fished Clearwater 23 years ago and spend most of my time on LOTW or Eagle.Staying at Hideaway Outpost on the NW arm.We,ve great sucess on the woods we wanted to get a little more remore( outpost )and the CW Pipestone chain is where it all started for some of us.Going up in late August.Any feedback would be greatly appreciated.Any Hydro maps or GPS chips available.Anybody been up there? Thanks |
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Posts: 221
| You'll love it. The potential for a cannon is VERY high. I fish out of Clearwater Lodge. A great place to stay and you have the option of leaving your boat on either the Clearwater or Pipestone side. They also have several outpost camps for you to stay at along the chain as well. Pipestone has MANY 50+" fish... All your regular LOTW structure will hold em. In general, I tend to favor a little deeper and faster when on the Pipestone side. As soon as you get over the lift there's quite a bit of timber and neck down areas to fish before it opens up into Pipestone Lake... all good water. And don't count out Clearwater itself... quite a few big fish in there too.
Darcy Cox
Edited by 50inchGrinch 2/14/2010 10:51 PM
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| I am booked in at the Hideaway Outpost in the North West Arm the last week of June and the first week of July. Been going to Pipestone for 20 + years and still learning new spots. It does give up an occasional fish - 55+ last year. Bunch of places to stay and more water then you can fish and it all looks great. Hydro maps - good luck. Doug and Kathy Johnson at Hideaway are great folks. Numerous lodges have outposts on the Clearwater Chain and most are fine but I always end up at Hideaway.
Not to giveaway any secrets but this could be the "lake X" on many of the fishing pictures.
 Good fishing - Mike
Edited by warrens 2/17/2010 6:19 PM
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| Thanks for your insite,i stayed ay Litle Moose a long time ago and got a couple low 40,s on our first muskie trip in 1989.I choose Pipe over Clearwater just because of the lower traffic and remoteness.Thanks again.Greg |
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| Thanks Warrens! Thats not thee Doug Johnson is it?I talked to kathy and she,s great.It was Dryberry or Pipe as a change from our normal trip as we wanted to be more remote. We chose Pipe as this was the chain of our first ever Canadian Muskie trip in 1989.Hows the hazzards and are the Wallys tough?Thanks Greg |
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| No it is not "Doug".
The walleyes on Pipestone are getting to be outstanding. Clearwater was the walleye lake but because of light pressure and the CPR over the years Pipestone is getting real good for 30" + walleyes usually get a few throwing for musky. Actually fished specifically for walley a bit last year and released 4 fish over 30 ". Smallmouth on top water are phenominal! - Lake tout make a great lunch and are fairly easy to catch.
I like the "Pipe" since it is close to the border and cuts down on drive time yet remote - increases my time on water and the opportunity for big musky is excellent. Not a lot of competition from other Musky fisherman and the ones I see are usually on the same spots. Go outside the box and you will boat a 50, stay in the box and you will see a 50. More then 1/2 of my big fish have come an hour either side of noon.
Hazards - Yep. 180 feet of water to 0 real quick. You have to watch where you go but most will be marked with a jug or two unless someone decides to pull them.
Most resorts have some sort of lake map and will mark them.
Kathy is outstanding!! Mention my name if you talk to her again -it won't hurt.
Mike from Warrens Wis.
Drop me a PM for more info. Probably said to much already.
Mike |
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Posts: 785
| Hey guys, I sent an email a while back to one of the resorts on pipestone asking about the mechanical portage. Haven't heard back yet. Is that something that you can take a medium - large fiberglass boat over or aluminum only? I seen some pictures of guys on the websites with 200hp motors but did notice all the boats were aluminum. |
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Posts: 221
| Yep it's good to go. The cradle/platform your boat sites on is well padded and can handle 21 footers I think. |
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Posts: 785
| Thanks for the reply, that's good to know! Can it be crossed anytime of day or night or is it only operated during certain times only? Like if I was on pipestone and fished till dark and wanted to get back over to clearwater to head to the cabin would I be able to or would I have to stay on Clearwater in the evenings? Sorry for the questions, I'm just completely in the dark on how this thing works and am trying to figure out where I could stay and what to expect. Thanks again!
Andy Swinton |
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Posts: 221
| Pretty sure it's sun up to sun down...
I think your best option if you don't want to encounter the problem of getting back before or after the lift is open or closed is to stay at Clearwater Lodge. It's right between the two lakes. You can just park your boat on the Pipestone side and it's a 2 minute walk back to your cabin. Or keep it on the Clearwater side and it's a 1 minute walk to the cabins.
Darcy Cox |
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Posts: 37
| A couple years ago it was 8am-8pm. Made it tough to fish primetime since we were staying on Clearwater but wanted to fish Pipestone.
Mike Wallace
Edited by Mike Wallace 2/26/2010 4:06 PM
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| Have fished pipestone and Clearwater for over 25 years....was also able to guide for a summer there. Absolute great body of water with many of muskies relating to a large variety of structure....including many open water fish. Nice system to not get blown off of and agree with the comment of Pipestone feeling more remote and having some truly giant fish there. Hydro maps / GPS chips as of last summer still have yet to be found but Doug and Kathy Johnson at Hideaway Lodge can certainly set you straight on the system....especially if you want to fish Pipestone / Shistose area as they have an outpost cabin nearby. They cater to several muskie groups throughout the year that stay at their camp on Clearwater or Pipestone. Deepest spot I know on Pipestone is over 220 feet around Green Island with Shistose having some superb depth also.....lots of suspended schools of baitfish in areas. Black and silver bucktails, reefhawgs, and a walk the dog topwater and call it a day!
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| Guys,
I stayed at the outpost on the northwest arm. Flippin awesome; best vacation I've ever taken. Walk up the creek next to the cabin and clear away some of the beavers work. This gets the creek moving and you can catch smallies off the dock in between muskie outings. I'm not a pipestone veteran by any means, but I truly believe that is the place to be on that entire system. Schistose is right there - be careful going into lake; couple prop monsters. Kathy and Doug are some of the best people you will ever meet. We did ok with the muskies but it took me the better part of the week just to figure them out. I'd be happy to share any specifics if someone is interested. Good luck, you couldn't have picked a better drive/boat to spot in my opinion. But you really have to WORK for your fish. |
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Posts: 1
| Hey Johnny, Would love to talk to you about Pipestone, Schistose, if possible. Pm me if you would please, We're heading up for our first trip to the area in June, and are complete rookies. Thanks, DB |
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