Intro and looking for advice

[BPockat80]

Hi, I'm an avid fisherman, from Southern Wisconsin. I've always loved fishing, and have primarily fished for Largemouth and Northern Pike, but I'm always looking to learn more and expand on my skills.

I'm in the early stages of planning my first trip to Ontario. Where would be the best place to post, looking for location, lodging, and general fishing advice (I don't want to bog this thread down with details if this isn't the proper place)?

Thank you!

 

[bharkasaig]

Welcome,

I'll do the duty to let you know that Ontario is a big place. You will need to be way more specific about where/what/when you want to fish. Once you narrow that down there are usually members who are happy to point you in the right direction.

Here is my recommendation: Do you want to fish way up north (Timmins and up), the kinda north (from Sudbury to Timmins), the middle (Orilla to Sudbury), or the south?

Then think about what fish you'd like to target within each region or what time you'd like to visit.

Then find a place/lodge that suits.

Good luck

 

[BPockat80]

Thanks!

We'll most likely be going around July 4th. We will be driving, so we probably won't be going any further North than Savant Lake, and no further East than Thunder Bay (obviously closer is preferred). We'll mostly be after Pike, but would also like to target Muskie, if possible. There will be four of us, and we'll probably rent a boat near our location, rather than tow one that distance. It would also be nice to be reasonably close to a town with restaurants and things to see/do, again, if possible. Great fishing is the most critical factor, anything else would just be icing on the cake.

I've done my fair share of fishing trips in the states, but it's always easy to plan, because I have very specific locations in mind. Ontario is so massive, I'm hoping I can get some advice to help me narrow down my search. I'm doing tons of research, but my knowledge is still very limited, so I'm hoping members of the forums can help shed light on the situation.

Thanks

 

[BPockat80]

PS: I've always heard stories about people catching 30+" Pike all day. I don't know if that's only certain lakes, or a certain time of the year, but I'd love to fish some lakes with great action, and the chance to catch some monsters.

 

[tombo]

Ive fished the area between Thunder Bay and Wawa, we stopped at many lakes near the main Hwy and caught pike every stop! Def no shortage in that area.

 

[ApacheFishingVentures]

I've always heard really good things about the fishing in Quetico provincial park but as far as I'm aware, it is mostly a canoe tripping park and I don't believe you're allowed powerboats but a friend of mine spent 10 days in the park with a just an old 6'6 Mitchell and a small basic pocket sized tackle box and did really well with pike and walleye. Not sure how the Nipigon fishes in July but there are some world class brook trout in that river and it's close enough to civilization. Lake of the woods is always something to consider if you're looking for a mixed bag of species and a shot at a musky. Unfortunately that's the best I can do from Southern Ontario unless you are willing to go up Nagagamasis way, which is basically where I grew up. Hope that helps a bit, but if it's smaller lakes and rivers you're looking for, I'm sure other members will have the answers you're looking for. Good luck!

 

[BPockat80]

Thanks for the suggestions! A friend of mine actually recommended Lake of the Woods as well. I've also heard that Rainy Lake is really good, but it's also huge, so I'm trying to figure out the best areas to fish. If anyone has recommendations for specific areas of that lake, I'd appreciate them.