planning 1st trip to kawartha's

next year I'm going to try to take a bass fishing friend of mine for a 3-4 day trip to the kawartha's, for muskie. not for sure what month it will be but will not be june/july , maybe late aug/early sept. If my goal is just to hook this guy up with some action , which lake or lakes should I consider. Since I don't know the area are those lakes dangerous for boulders at the waters edge like the shield lakes. I don't have a large boat , a 15 ft v-bottom , 30 hp merc , so I also am curious if they get rough seas . Any recommendations about lodging/boat ramps general areas to fish would be great . Merry Christmas to All ManitouDan

Dan, you need to talk to some members in Chapter 09 Muskies Inc.(WV) they go up there twice a year and have been doing so for many years .Check with Dave Wenzel he lives in Marietta Ohio.And there are probably a lot of Chapter 41(Central Ohio) members who go also.Muskie Myers

[out2llunge]

Hey Dan,

Pretty much all of the lakes from Balsam Lake down through to Katchewanooka all have muskie. I live on Lake Scugog and it is a numbers lake with a few big fish as well. The Muskies Inc/Muskies Canada had their tournament on Pigeon Lake this year. It produces a lot of muskies. I haven't fished it myself.
You could talk to Steve Wickens (Scugog Guide), John McBride (Pigeon Lake Guide; look for a Bobcaygeon, On or Green Acres Trailer Park phone number). Take a look at Steve's site, http://www3.sympatico.ca/strike.zone/ he's got more info about each of the lakes.
Most lakes are okay if you're careful, but you must be extra careful on Stony Lake; it ain't called Stony for no reason. E-mail later when you've picked a lake and I can probably send you a map.

Cheers,

J.P.

www.geocities.com/out2llunge or www.out2llunge.cjb.net

[tomyv]

My personal favorite is pigeon, because it has alot of fish, and some big ones. The rocks aren't too much of a problem, and they tie milk jugs to the tops so you know where they are. Also, i've never had a problem with rough water up there, so I wouldn't worry to much about that. If you just want a muskie, I would fish around the small islands, if you want big muskies, fish the trench area. You shouldn't have any problems hooking up with a few fish on pigeon, it's great.

I went to Pigeon Lake for the first time the end of August last summer and had a blast, my dad and I got 14 muskies over thirty inches biggest being 41 inches and lost a few more (I am not going to mention how many). The lakes seem more in favor of numbers instead size but it was a good break from always going after Mrs. Big. One of our techniques was real simple troll pike minows (jointed in perch color) in 9 to 12 ft. of water along weedlines and watchout. The pikes only cost about $6.00 american. From talking to the locals they said our total was just ok and I said wow what is the amount to be consider good!!!!!!:-)

[tomyv]

Also, I would go in August, because the Can-Am tournament is usually the first week of september, if I were you, I would try to get there before it.

Hi Manitou,
A couple of comments,Some of the lakes can get too rough to fish once in a while especially those on the north west end of the chain,but on the upside you won't have to drive too far to fish a more sheltered lake or river.
As far as dates go, I fish the entire season and year after year I book holidays for the opening week in June and a week in the middle of Sept.(trust me on these dates).Mid Sept. could be a bonus for your partner the bass fisherman,alot of BIG largemouth caught on bucktails this time of year.Also if you are looking at Pigeon the Can/Am green acres derbies are not until the third week of September,You'll be fine in mid Sept.As opposed to August and the PWC's and endless bass tournament crowds.
There are other options to Pigeon as well do your homework or ask for more info.
Good Fishing.

Hi Dan

Your first trip to the Kawarthas will be great! It is a fun bunch of lakes to fish. Yes your boat is more then enough to handle these lakes. As far as a good month to go, I would say early Sept. The big fish start moving around a little more this time of year. The bass guys are gone because of the algee bloom on the weeds. And the
"moskidoo's" are put away for the year. E-mail me and I'll help you out how ever I can.

Jim Grove ("CPR" Charters)
jim_grove_guiding@hotmail.com

Dan A very good friend of mine grw up in that area and has fished all those lakes extensively. He says that for the largest musky Stoney lake is number one on his list. I know he has caught many 30+ lbs fish there and told me that when fishing bass he hooked into a musky that would have gone easily 40lbs. Something to think about. good luck

[luckymusky]

hey tom, wheres the trench area?? i just started going up to pigeon 2 years ago... we cant seem to crack 40 inches...but it is a great lake.any help would be greatly appreciated. i bought one of those lake maps at the local bait store,can i find it on that?