Keoweogama Lake

[JohnAB]

I am heading to this lake end of July. Lake is east of Savant Lake, fly in. Wife's family cabin is on the lake.

Was wondering if anyone here has fished it before and if so what was successful.

Will also hit Lac Seul or Minitaki last few days of holidays with a family friend who works for MNR in Sioux Lookout.

[Stehle]

I go to Kawaweogama annually with a group and just got back from there in June. It is just east of Savant Lake. Is this the lake your talking about? If so, does your wife's family have the house on Star Island?

The fishing is pretty good. There aren't the masses of large Walleye, but they can be found. Several 18" and under can be found with the infrequent 20-24". The mouth of the Allanwater holds many fish and several are larger there. If the wind and waves are up, troll cranks over the open water reefs or the windward side of islands. We caught them from 6' of water to 20' of water. The week that we were there, the bite was slow and the fish needed the bait in front of their face real slow.

I prefer crankbaits and have had success with Wally Diver's, Hot N' Tots, and Ripshad's. Shad Raps, Lil Rippers, Ripsticks, and Husky Jerks don't seem to work as well.

I hope you have fun...If it is Star Island that you're at, the fish are at your doorstep.

[JohnAB]

Yes that is their cabin. Been in their family for ages. Actually the government of Ontario wants them to move their cabin to a different part of the island.

Thanks for the tips. I have never been there before so I am really looking forward to heading out there later this month. Wife's nephew is telling me he is going to outfish me bad so I am trying to get as many tips as possible to at least be respectable there.

[Stehle]

Ok then...Behind Star are some nice places to fish. There is a skinny island straight out from the opening to get through to the backside and between it and the next island is a nice reef. It goes from 4-6' down to a 20'+ hole. Some larger Walleyes sit in there. Nearly all of the islands hold Walleyes at varying depths. Some of the better islands are straight out and left of that cabin, including Cigar Island.

As I said earlier, the mouth of the river is also very good. If the bite is slow, then either bottom bounce crawlers or jig minnows. If they are hitting hard, switch to the crankbaits and target the depth that you found them at. I've use Walleye Divers at 16', Hot N'Tots at 10-12' and Ripshads 12-16'. These are good baits for bouncing them off of the boulder gardens and then diving them into the holes. Perch, Firetiger, and Walleye colors work well. Believe it or not, a gold Williams Wabbler will catch a lot of Walleye in the 5-7' depth range. My best crawler harnesses are either in green/chartreuse or orange/yellow. Pumpkinseed, chartreuse, or firetiger grubs on the harnesses work well, too. Try some pumpkinseed Gulp, they ate me out of it while up there.

Good luck and have fun.

[JohnAB]

Well just got back from Kawaweogama Lake.

Fishing was good. A little slow around Star but we went to the mouth of the river and oh boy, she was good. Caught alot of 20 inch plus walleyes. Biggest I caught and got to the boat was a 24 incher which I was extremely happy with. It was released. We also fished from shore at Scent (sp?) Bay on Lac Seul off the highway from Sioux Lookout to Savant Lake. Did alright but most were of the smaller variety. Never kept any. Next year I wll take my boat with me so I can try other spots on Lac Seul while I am there as well for a day or two. Never made it out onto Minitaki as the friend I was to go with had holidays booked then as we had planned to be up there in July but got held up back here.

Stehle, do you fish out of the Allanwater camp? First week we were there they had quite a few guests but none for the next two weeks. Actually, the last week we were there, we did not see another boat on the lake with us. We also started to finish off the new cabin on the island. Hopefully next year we will get the top portion all done. Next year though, we are going to head up at the end of June and stay for 4 weeks. The reef behind the cabin yielded some fish but not like the river. Fished almost exclusively with jigs and minnows as we were able to get a good supply of minnows from the minnow lake south of Star. Did catch a few 5-10 lb pike as well. And as a side note, Mary, my wife, did say the lake was awfully high this year which probably cooled off the bite a bit.

All in all, a good time.

[Stehle]

Yes, we go to Allanwater usually the third week of June (18-25 or so). The mouth of the river is usually a sure thing and sometimes you have to beat the boats off of you to actually fish. There are many other areas to fish, though. I have caught just as many fish south of your cabin around and between the islands there. These islands are approximately 1 - 1 1/2 miles due south of your cabin. The one island we call cigar and it nearly connects with the main land. In between that gap, the water goes to about 5-6' from 25' just in front of the gap. The wind is usually blowing into this gap and the Walleyes can be found here a lot. It's fun to crankbait this area when the wind is up. Straight out from cigar is another island (about 3/4 mile) with a long reef that extends 200' from shore. The depth to the inside of this reef is 6-10' and drops to 20' on the outside (windward). Cranking, bouncing, jigging all work well here. When we're up there, we are usually the only people fishing this area and I don't know why. Many will try behind Star, but the majority will fish the River.

I just found out my cousin-in-law is going with us next year and I am getting pretty geaked about going again. He's nuts and will definitely keep the camp light-hearted. I may pass over my chef duties to him for the week because he is darn near gourmet. I usually take a 2 month mind sabatical before I start thinking about the next trip. I guess its time to start thinking.

[JohnAB]

We had limited success behind the island but we did fish the reef between the two smaller islands plus the bays to the east of the reef. Caught a couple of nice ones back in the first bay.

We also had a bit better success fishing the long string of islands heading south off the SE point of Star. Best success was in about 12-15 feet of water. Towards dusk, the fish finder would light up as the walleyes moved in.

We encountered very few boats on the lake especially the 2nd and 3rd weeks we were there. Allanwater camp said it was a particularily slow year for customers. Of the approx 14 nights I fished the river, there was only 2 of those nights there were any other boats there and they fished on the east side of the island right at the mouth of the river whereas I went down into the river about 100 yards or so just past the reef there. By far the best fishing and generally the biggest fish but did catch some teeny ones there (8 inches or so).

I plan to head up earlier next year, probably the last week of June or so for a month. If you are up there and by the island and there is sign of life on the island, stop by as it might be me. Always a cold beer in the fridge if one partakes in a frosty one now and again.

Sounds like next year your trip should be a good one.

[Stehle]

We've caught Walleye all through that initial section of the river, about to the point where it narrows to 20' wide (where you were going 100 yards in). I've seen guys anchor just outside the narrow section and pitch jigs for hours. Last year was the first time that I had seen anybody doing that near the island. We generally troll up and through that whole section until we locate them (spinners or cranks), then we limit our troll to that area.

All this talk about Kawaweogama has got me stirred again. I may have to thaw out my catch and have them this weekend, maybe even harrass some fish in the Ohio River while I'm at it. If I see activity at your cabin next year, I'll be sure to make a visit.

[JohnAB]

Know what you mean about all this talk. Just got home Monday and want to head back up already.

Our fish arrive home today, youngest boy is flying back today and bringing the fish. Hope to have a feed this weekend. Plus want to go and hit a walleye lake around here.

[GaryL]

I also go to Allenwater every other year. We did not go this year but will be up the 3rd or 4th week of July. I have fished both the front and back of Star Island with much success. The backside right on top of the reef is where we get our largest Northern. We've caught 8-10 fish over 20 lbs on that reef during the last three trips. One more place that neither of you have mentioned are the open water reefs in front of the cabin on your way to the mouth of the river. There are three long reefs that entend for hundreds of yards across the lake and they can sometimes produce when the river is tough.

[JohnAB]

Never heard of those reefs unless I am thinking somewhere different on the lake. Know there is the reef right off the tip of the island but never fished it per say.

We also tried what my wife called Station Bay, it is the bay by the old government dock at the railway west of Allanwater. Did catch some walleyes and a few jacks but nothing overly large.

I guess there are a couple of lakes you can also portage to, short portage, that are not too bad. Wifes family has left boats on them as well so one just has to take a motor with them. We never made it this year but will definitely make it to them next year.

I did catch a decent size jack, 8 lb range, in the bay west of the canoe camp on the south side of the lake but no walleyes there.

I will definitely be up there next July so please stop by the island if you see us there.