Lake St. Joseph, Ontario

[KnottyBuoy]

Heading to Lake St. Joseph on the 22nd of July. Going through Ignace and then north to Pickle Lake......Since it is Sunday we are wondering if there will be businesses open to buy license and also to pick up some LaBatts beer for the week. I know there is a small store in Silver Dollar that sells beer....but can they sell on Sunday.......

[Riceburner]

Don't know about the beer--the baitshops should be open...PLS e-mail a fishing report when you return--we are considering a trip there next summer--wondering also if you must stay at the lodges on the lake, or can stay in town and launch boats each day??? Thx.

[Fred_G]

You have to stay at one of the lodges on the lake in order to fish Lake St. Joe. It's part of the agreement between the camp operators and the MNR I believe. The camp operators are the only ones to have the tags for the lake. There are three camps on the lake, The Old Post & Village, Camp Lake St. Joseph & Pickle Lake Fly Ins. I don't know anything about the fly in deal other than they fly you in to the southern part of the lake. The Old Post is a full service camp. Great place to stay. Camp Lake St. Joseph is a more primitive style camp. Just depends on what you're looking for. Whichever way you go you won't be sorry. The fishing is second to none. Which, I guess, is why most of us go to Canada in the first place. Good Luck! Fred

[Kaz]

Knotty: I have stayed at Old Post many times, If you are there, or at the other camp just east of Johns, you can get beer and licences at the camp. John has a well stocked bar. I would however get my beer and licence in Fort Frances or Thunder Bay if you can. Licence is the same but the beer is cheaper. The store in Silver dollar is not the best equipted. Another place is about 10/15 miles up the west side of Sturgeon lake. They also are open Sundays, but I don't think that is on the way to Pickle. As for selling beer on Sunday, I'm not sure. When on St. Joe, get down to "Broadrib Bay", its a run, but well worth it. Go north of Twin Bay and around the islands to where you can see Gull Island, you can smell it! Then west. You need a good map and watch out for boulder city!!! Take an couple of extra props, you will need them, trust me. Good luck FISGING...Kaz

[KnottyBuoy]

Our first trip was last year for only 3 days....going for a week this time.....it is a beautiful lake to fish ....have to jump on a reservation and keep it if you want to get in. Clyde is building another camp on a lake close by. Will be ready next year I guess. I'll post when we get back.

[KnottyBuoy]

We were a bit gun shy last year since it was our first trip. We plan on exploring a bit more this year......have some good lake maps this time. Heard about Boulder Bay......only taking one extra prop along...and no extra lower units!.....Thanks for the responce.

We stayed at St Joe Camp......they took good care of us. The camp fish fry on Thursday night is fabulous. Bring one fish each and they provide salad, home make rolls, and the fried fish..He has a screened in eating area that seats about 30 people.....nice gathering spot.

[Fred_G]

Don't forget False Rib and the area around Sand Island. Great walleye and pike action. Another great spot is the hog trough. Good Luck! Fred

[KnottyBuoy]

I was going to ask if you knew of any good pike spots....we figured we would spend a couple afternoons chasing some big snakes.......

[Fred_G]

The best spot I know for pike is False Rib. We've taken some big girls there. Last years biggest was 43". All were put back of course. Also lots of good walleyes. Most of the bays around False Rib are good for pike also. Depending on water levels, there are good weed beds in all of them. Good Luck! Fred

[KnottyBuoy]

We'll check the maps and try to get there. Thanks for all your information. I take it you don't venture up that way any more?

[Fred_G]

Our group of ten will be up there the week of August 5th for our annual trek. I can hardly wait. I even have 2 of my sons along this year. Two others also will have their young sons along this year. What could be better.

We started going to St. Joe in 97. I can't imagine going anywhere else. We stay at the Old Post every year. Great accomodations and great service. Add to that the super fishing and there's not much reason to go anywhere else. It's a long trek, but we split the drive into 2 days and it's not so bad that way. Good Luck! Fred

[RK]

Hi,
Any St. Jo regulars stumble into muskies on your trips? I've heard rumors they are in there, but nothing overly reliable.

Just curious...

Thanks,
RK

[Fred_G]

We've been told by the guides up there that there are some there, however there's no really fishable population. It's possible to stumble on to one, but it's extremely rare. With the large population of Pike in the lake it would be difficult fro a muskie to survive, since they feed on the same forage. It sure would be fun to pick up a good one though. Fred

[KnottBuoy]

We got in last year at Camp St. Joes on a cancelled reservation and only had 3 1/2 days...so we booked for a week this year. We head up a week from this Saturday. Come back on the 28th. Missed you by a little over a week......We are pretty much hooked on it also. We spend one night at the Gran Portage Casino and then make the rest of the trip the next day.....we blasted home last year in 13 hours and it was a bit too much...took a full day to recover . <grin> 2 guys are heading up all the way on Saturday so we are having them buy our bait and 4 cases of Labatts.....so we have enough to last a few days......Good Luck to ya Fred....

[GWB]

Fred, how young are the kids going with you? I have contemplated taking my 9 year old with me but I don't know if he could handle staying out of the rocks. Let me know. Thanks.

[Fred_G]

My sons are 18 & 26. However, the other two boys are both 10 year olds. One of them was with us last year and was a real trooper. In fact, he outfished several of us.

I would highly recommend taking your son. It's a fantastic experience. This year is my 18 year olds third trip and he's so excited he's like a little kid when we talk about it. Go for it. You will be glad you did. Oh yes, if you're staying at the Old Post the staff treats kids like kings. They really go all out to make it a great experience for them. Good Luck! Fred

[Fred_G]

Knotty,

Not sure what you're using for bait, but I've never found a need to use live bait. I always use a 1/4 or 3/8 oz red or pink jig head with a 4" white twister tail. Catch all the walleyes I can handle and some pike also. One of our guides sometimes uses a chartreuse jig head, but only if he runs out of pink. The pink and white combo is a near perfect representation of the baitfish in the lake. Just make sure you have plenty of twister tails.

As for the pike, 5 of Diamonds spoons and Williams Wablers have been the top producers. The Wabler is a local favorite that one of the guides put us on to. The large and extra large sizes in hammered gold/silver work great. They're available at Cabela's. I also use the medium size for walleye. Give them a try. I think you;ll be happy with the results. Good Luck! Fred

[KnottyBuoy]

I guess we can't stay away from live bait....we used leeches last year but did try the Power Baits with some success. I did find that pink was a good color. So I loaded up on them this year. And I have lots of twister tails to throw at them too. Thanks for all your info......I do appreciate it.....

[St. Joe's Nut]

I've been up to St. Joe the last 3 falls & a year ago in the spring. Have a week lined up again in Sept. Would definitely recommend bringing youngsters (if they can hang in there all day). Our fishing spots are a pretty good run from camp and once you get out there you don't come back until you're done for the day. Fishing is great, it's an adventure to learn the lake, and the average size of fish is outstanding. There are many spots to fish where snagging the rocks is not much of an issue so it is relatively good spot for younger kids. I would definitely recommend a guide for at least the start of your fishing & a gps or two for the group.
I plan to take my sons there next summer & would have done so earlier, but all of our groups trips have come while school is in session.

[jdegn]

Hi Knotty Boy,

I just got back from St. Joe this weekend. My group stays with Clyde, Merril, Doug, Shelly and the kids. We had a good week. The water is as high as it has ever been. We had great success with walleyes as usual but were disppointed this year on the lack of big pike. We would typically take several over 40 and many in the 36 inch range in a week but this week we could only muster a few above 36. Most of the bays have so much water that the cabbage is not what it has been in the past. Talking to Doug he believes the water to be 5 feet higher than normal. Walleyes were taken on 1/4-3/8-1/2 once jigs with white and yellow double twister tails. I agree with Fred, there is no need for live bait. We had a great week. Hope you have the same.

Jerry

P.S. The water is so high that allot of your normal lanmarks are gone, be carful their allot of islands that are now just under the water. Also, the two islands just outside of the outpost resort are under water and need to be watched. Our group added the orange tide bottle to mark the island furthest out, make sure you miss it.

[KnottyBuoy]

5 feet higher? Can you park the boats next to the cabins?......They told us last year it was high and had to pull the boats up on wood ramps using a 4-wheeler.........

As long as the wally's bite ....we'll have fun.....any hot spots you can direct me too......?

[GWB]

May I ask where you fish for eyes where there aren't any rocks? The few sandy areas I have fished haven't produced nearly as well as the rocks. Thanks.

[jdegn]

Hi knottyboy,

They are having difficulty getting some boats on ramps because there is no room to pull with the four-wheeler. I ended up parking next to the dock. In regards to hot-spots (pick almost any spot and you will catch walleyes) I'm out of the office untill Wednesday and I will bring my map in then to let you know what I would recommend.

Jerry

[St. Joe's Nut]

There is typically a shallow bite @ the end of Searson & a great spot w. very little snag potential by the "Trapper's Shack" in Searson. We do well on the north side of Sandy Island. Also a hole on the south side of False Rib in one of the bays is all sand. We've tried it in the spring and fall and it produced each time. The fall bite is usually deep, but this is 8-12 feet; would be fun and easy for kids if you stay on top of the fish.