Lincoln Co Archer
Well-Known Member
Thinking seriously about taking a trip later this spring for some smallies. Was wondering if anyone has ever been or have any suggestions for outfitters.
Canada?
- Thread starter Lincoln Co Archer
- Start date
8up
Well-Known Member
I went years ago and we caught 100+ each day but not one fish weighed more than 1 1/2 pounds. It was still a blast. But if your goal is trophy smallmouth I think you will have better luck some where in the states.
hunter drew
Well-Known Member
They say wilson lake on the TN river is ine of the best
stik
Well-Known Member
there is no way i would go to canada for smallmouths when we have the best smallmouth fishing in the world right here in tennessee.
hunter drew
Well-Known Member
stik said:
Thats what i was thinking
Lincoln Co Archer
Well-Known Member
well its really for the experience. would like to go in on a float plane and have no one else around. it would be nice to also catch some monster pike.
hunter drew
Well-Known Member
Lincoln Co Archer said:
Now your talking...when you start talking about the pike....And walleye
I went to Ontario in 1990 to pike fish. While there, we caught a lot of smallmouth bass but they were only 1-2 lbs. I have never been but know some guys that caught a lot of smallmouth in the Boundary Waters area.
gil1
Well-Known Member
I've been to the boundary waters twice about 20 years ago. Yeah, we had slow days and great days. We caught a ton of small smallies, but we caught some lunkers, too. We were fishing leaches at a walleye spot to get some supper, and my buddy foul-hooked the biggest smallie I've ever seen. We had no scales, but we all thought it went over 7 pounds. Of course, none of us knew what the heck we were talking about, so I can't be sure. 
The best thing, though, was that we never saw a soul in many miles for the week we were there (twice). No motors, no noises, just fishing all day out of a canoe. Man, those black flies beat the crud out of us though. What fond memories!
The big winner was the Charlie Brewer slider. All the Canadiens laughed at it and said it would never work. It wore them out!
I'm dying to go back. I wonder if it is as isolated as it was back then. I guarantee those fish had never seen a lure.
The best thing, though, was that we never saw a soul in many miles for the week we were there (twice). No motors, no noises, just fishing all day out of a canoe. Man, those black flies beat the crud out of us though. What fond memories!
The big winner was the Charlie Brewer slider. All the Canadiens laughed at it and said it would never work. It wore them out!
I'm dying to go back. I wonder if it is as isolated as it was back then. I guarantee those fish had never seen a lure.
8up
Well-Known Member
From East Tennessee fishing forum says it weighed 8lbs 10 ozs on 2 different scales from South Holston
Class VI River Runner in W. VA is some of the best smallie fishing in the world. It is white water rafting on the New River and 100 a day is not unusual. Located near Beckley WV.
In Canada, got to take a look at Great Northern Lodge in New Brunswick. Bruce Hanley has some superb smallmouth fishing right in his backyard. Also have to consider the Rainey Lake region of Ontario.
Given the choice, I'd go with Class VI and I'd wait until late May or June to go.
In Canada, got to take a look at Great Northern Lodge in New Brunswick. Bruce Hanley has some superb smallmouth fishing right in his backyard. Also have to consider the Rainey Lake region of Ontario.
Given the choice, I'd go with Class VI and I'd wait until late May or June to go.
stik
Well-Known Member
8up said:From East Tennessee fishing forum says it weighed 8lbs 10 ozs on 2 different scales from South Holston
that is a PIG!!! i lost a fish about that size off my parents' dock on ft. loudon several years ago.
hunter drew said:
That is not the truth. Have you ever boating 100 smallmouth by dinner time? That was a fairly common occurance the three times I went with two people in the boat on top water. The place I went has swapped hands, so I don't know how it is ran now. It is Clearwater Lodge in Emo, Ontario.
stik
Well-Known Member
Hillbilly Hunter said:
more than a few times. i have had days on the obed where you catch a fish on EVERY cast.
Headhunter
Well-Known Member
Well, I have spent many days in Ontario. The best smallmouth fishing in Tennessee is about even with Canada, maybe. If you have never been you cannot say either way. At Labelle's in a fall tournment he had on Rainy, about 200 boats, if you did not average 4 lbs per fish you did not get in the money and over a 5 lbs average won it. Hard to beat that.
The only thing that Tennessee has that Canada does not realistically have is the possibility of catching a smallmouth 6 or 7 lbs or above. For smallmouth up to 5 lbs Canada is hard to beat. I have sat over schools of smallmouth in the Manitou river that looked like 400 to 500 fish in a school that were suspended and all of them we thought were 4 lbs or better, of course being suspended we couldn't get them to hit until I caught some live crawfish, they were 4 to 5 lbs each. One morning I woke up earlier than anyone else and I had 5 smallmouth that weighed over 4-1/2 lbs each, all on a buzzbait.
Something a little different, one morning while camped on Loonhaunt lake, we woke up and there was an Eagle on the point about 60 yards away eating a pike. We watched him til he was done, one of the coolest things I have ever seen.
Last trip was on Rainy Lake. Average smallmouth was over 3 lbs each. I got to fish in Stonedam lake a couple of days the year we canoed the pipestone lake chain and did not hardly catch a brown fish under 4.
Almost forgot, the MAIN part of the trip that Tennessee will never have, we almost never see anyone when we are fishing up there. We generally go late June, early July and it is just awesome to wake up and go fish and there is no one else on the lake or the area of the lake you are on. Rainy lake has over 1500 islands and is close to 1,000,000 acres. We see bears, eagles, beavers, pelicans (they are cool to watch fly) a moose occasionally (you won't see that in Tennessee), catch Northern Pike whether we want to or not. In Horseshoe bay and the back of Ash bay on Rainy (we generally avoid Pike like a disease) I got my dad and brother to chase some pike, we ran spinnerbaits just under the surface, I have never seen so many toilets flush, that is what it looked like was super large flush, the water would almost whirlpool, it was cool.
I agree about the greatness of Tennessee fishing but don't put Canada smallmouth fishing down, especially if you never tried it. It is far from a necessity, but for me if I had the money I would ask the Queen how much for an island on Rainy lake and I would spend most of my summers there. The beauty and the solitude is in a different world from fishing here.
The only thing that Tennessee has that Canada does not realistically have is the possibility of catching a smallmouth 6 or 7 lbs or above. For smallmouth up to 5 lbs Canada is hard to beat. I have sat over schools of smallmouth in the Manitou river that looked like 400 to 500 fish in a school that were suspended and all of them we thought were 4 lbs or better, of course being suspended we couldn't get them to hit until I caught some live crawfish, they were 4 to 5 lbs each. One morning I woke up earlier than anyone else and I had 5 smallmouth that weighed over 4-1/2 lbs each, all on a buzzbait.
Something a little different, one morning while camped on Loonhaunt lake, we woke up and there was an Eagle on the point about 60 yards away eating a pike. We watched him til he was done, one of the coolest things I have ever seen.
Last trip was on Rainy Lake. Average smallmouth was over 3 lbs each. I got to fish in Stonedam lake a couple of days the year we canoed the pipestone lake chain and did not hardly catch a brown fish under 4.
Almost forgot, the MAIN part of the trip that Tennessee will never have, we almost never see anyone when we are fishing up there. We generally go late June, early July and it is just awesome to wake up and go fish and there is no one else on the lake or the area of the lake you are on. Rainy lake has over 1500 islands and is close to 1,000,000 acres. We see bears, eagles, beavers, pelicans (they are cool to watch fly) a moose occasionally (you won't see that in Tennessee), catch Northern Pike whether we want to or not. In Horseshoe bay and the back of Ash bay on Rainy (we generally avoid Pike like a disease) I got my dad and brother to chase some pike, we ran spinnerbaits just under the surface, I have never seen so many toilets flush, that is what it looked like was super large flush, the water would almost whirlpool, it was cool.
I agree about the greatness of Tennessee fishing but don't put Canada smallmouth fishing down, especially if you never tried it. It is far from a necessity, but for me if I had the money I would ask the Queen how much for an island on Rainy lake and I would spend most of my summers there. The beauty and the solitude is in a different world from fishing here.
stik
Well-Known Member
headhunter,
i was not putting down canadian smallmouth fishing at all and am sorry if it seemed that way. it's just that if i am going to go that far to fish, it will be for something i cannot catch at home.
i was not putting down canadian smallmouth fishing at all and am sorry if it seemed that way. it's just that if i am going to go that far to fish, it will be for something i cannot catch at home.
Headhunter
Well-Known Member
Thought this article was interesting though, Dale told me that in the fall the smallmouth will school up over humps and if you can find them, you catch one, do not put the fish in the boat until your partner hooks up and then he fights his until you get back in the water and hook up again. Whatever size fish your are catching is the about the size of all the fish you will catch from that hump. He said he had caught as many as 70 off of one hump.
Fall Bass Classic dropped
By admin
Wednesday, 28 January 2009 - 3:26pm. Sports
By Mitch Calvert Staff writer
One of the district�s popular fall fishing tournaments will not be a go this year.
Dale LaBelle, owner of LaBelle�s Birch Point Camp on Northwest Bay, said he no longer will be hosting the annual �Fall Bass Classic,� citing negative publicity associated with late fall tournaments.
�There�s just been a lot of bad publicity out there about fall tournaments in the newspapers and magazines,� LaBelle remarked, noting evidence has suggested a high mortality rate among tournament bass caught late in the year after they are reeled up from the deeper depths.
�We�ve always had enough anglers, getting teams isn�t the problem and the fishermen were great, but another thing was trying to work our customers around the tournament,� LaBelle added.
�We got a lot of fall crappie and bass fishermen that come out here, so we can�t really justify taking away cabin space [for the tournament].�
LaBelle said having the tournament so late in the year added other headaches to the already big undertaking involved with hosting such an event.
�It�s so much work, and it�s hard to get sponsors. Everyone is sponsored out by then,� he reasoned.
�It�s disappointing because it was good for the area and we had families fish together in it,� LaBelle lamented. �And since we decided to cancel it, we�ve had 15 people call and ask, but we just felt there�s other things we can do for a couple years and we�ll see after that.�
Another problem that arose last year was a scheduling conflict with the annual Rainy River Walleye Tournament as both ended up being on the same weekend.
�Rainy River changed their dates and we ended up on the same day,� LaBelle noted. �I used to fish in Rainy River all the time, even won it one year, and I�d like to go back and fish it but obviously couldn�t leave my own tournament to do that.�
LaBelle said the prospect of holding the tournament earlier in the year was never really an option, either.
�There�s so many tournaments in the summer already, and the economy isn�t very good right now,� he said.
Fall Bass Classic dropped
By admin
Wednesday, 28 January 2009 - 3:26pm. Sports
By Mitch Calvert Staff writer
One of the district�s popular fall fishing tournaments will not be a go this year.
Dale LaBelle, owner of LaBelle�s Birch Point Camp on Northwest Bay, said he no longer will be hosting the annual �Fall Bass Classic,� citing negative publicity associated with late fall tournaments.
�There�s just been a lot of bad publicity out there about fall tournaments in the newspapers and magazines,� LaBelle remarked, noting evidence has suggested a high mortality rate among tournament bass caught late in the year after they are reeled up from the deeper depths.
�We�ve always had enough anglers, getting teams isn�t the problem and the fishermen were great, but another thing was trying to work our customers around the tournament,� LaBelle added.
�We got a lot of fall crappie and bass fishermen that come out here, so we can�t really justify taking away cabin space [for the tournament].�
LaBelle said having the tournament so late in the year added other headaches to the already big undertaking involved with hosting such an event.
�It�s so much work, and it�s hard to get sponsors. Everyone is sponsored out by then,� he reasoned.
�It�s disappointing because it was good for the area and we had families fish together in it,� LaBelle lamented. �And since we decided to cancel it, we�ve had 15 people call and ask, but we just felt there�s other things we can do for a couple years and we�ll see after that.�
Another problem that arose last year was a scheduling conflict with the annual Rainy River Walleye Tournament as both ended up being on the same weekend.
�Rainy River changed their dates and we ended up on the same day,� LaBelle noted. �I used to fish in Rainy River all the time, even won it one year, and I�d like to go back and fish it but obviously couldn�t leave my own tournament to do that.�
LaBelle said the prospect of holding the tournament earlier in the year was never really an option, either.
�There�s so many tournaments in the summer already, and the economy isn�t very good right now,� he said.
Headhunter
Well-Known Member
No problem stik, a funny thing though, the Dale mentioned above also told me that he fished a tournament on Lake Erie for smallmouth once and he asked his friend who invited him to the tournament, what is with all the boats? This way too crowded. Lake Erie is huge, he said the guy what do you mean, no one is real close? Dale said he told him if someone gets closer than a mile, they are crowding him. It is nice in Canada because you do not have to worry about being run over or fishing behind everybody else among other things.
gil1
Well-Known Member
Hijack - I had a pretty good day with class VI many years ago. I got the old "you should have been here yesterday" which happens to me everywhere. The next day, we did the whitewater rafting/camping deal on the New. Had a ball. Very professional.bowriter said:
At first glance, the hugeness of the river scared the shyt out of me. I'll never forget our sarcastic guide. Worried to death, I asked him how long he had been a raft guide. Without skipping a beat, he said, "this Friday will be one week." Real funny!
There was a dude in a kayak that would paddle ahead of the rafts to film us bouncing down the rapids (to sell us the video later). At lunch, I borrowed his kayak to play around in the run. It was too technical for my experience, so I staid out of the hole below the rapids.
I later found out that there was a kayaker still in that same hole bouncing around just waiting to be spit out. He had bailed out and died that morning and hadn't resurfaced. That was my last time in a kayak. Sold it and bought my first fly rod. Best thing I ever did.
The New makes the Ocoee look like the Harpeth River. It is breathtaking. In more than one way...
Resume Canada stories...
Taylor
Well-Known Member
Great experience as far as numbers and solitude in (Oh) Canada, eh.
A painful, ugly word I discovered while fishing Canada?
Portage.
"Well, you see you will have to portage from this lake, to this lake," the outfitter told me.
"Say what? Back home we rednecks have a word for that to, I think. It's when your buddy is backing the boat trailer down the ramp and you say, 'moan back, moan back.'"
LOL!
LCA, send me a PM and I will send you the number of a friend that has been many times and claims to have had a blast. He can reference you a top-notch outfitter, if interested.
A painful, ugly word I discovered while fishing Canada?
Portage.
"Well, you see you will have to portage from this lake, to this lake," the outfitter told me.
"Say what? Back home we rednecks have a word for that to, I think. It's when your buddy is backing the boat trailer down the ramp and you say, 'moan back, moan back.'"
LOL!
LCA, send me a PM and I will send you the number of a friend that has been many times and claims to have had a blast. He can reference you a top-notch outfitter, if interested.
Canada North lodge.
We caught walleye and northern pike until it almost got boring.
We did a portage to a different lake and caught a bunch of fat smallmouth.
Season was wrong for lake trout but my nephew caught one anyway.
Great food. Nice accomodations. Guides were excellent. When you pick guides, skip the hotshots and go with one of the older guys like Andy. Dude knows how and where to fish.
As a bonus we saw moose and black bear plus a couple huge white tails on the drive in from the airport.
We caught walleye and northern pike until it almost got boring.
We did a portage to a different lake and caught a bunch of fat smallmouth.
Season was wrong for lake trout but my nephew caught one anyway.
Great food. Nice accomodations. Guides were excellent. When you pick guides, skip the hotshots and go with one of the older guys like Andy. Dude knows how and where to fish.
As a bonus we saw moose and black bear plus a couple huge white tails on the drive in from the airport.
Headhunter
Well-Known Member
Portages are "fun" for sure. I cannot reference an outfitter, we have always done everything ourself. The strictly canoe trips we make, you have to prepare for and be careful. You are in the "bush" and help can be either a long way away or a long time. When you spend 9 or 10 days in a canoe and all you have is in the canoe it takes planning.
I am thinking about going to the Quetico, possibly by myself, if I go that route, I will go with Canoe Canada. It will be my first with an outfitter and from what I understand all I have to carry are my personals and fishing gear and they supply canoe, tents, etc. I have all the gear but going by myself it will be nice just to show up have it ready, load my gear and take off. Well, not completely that simple, but close.
I am thinking about going to the Quetico, possibly by myself, if I go that route, I will go with Canoe Canada. It will be my first with an outfitter and from what I understand all I have to carry are my personals and fishing gear and they supply canoe, tents, etc. I have all the gear but going by myself it will be nice just to show up have it ready, load my gear and take off. Well, not completely that simple, but close.
Taylor said:
Was the portage on Feather, Clearwater, or Quill lake by chance?
The Walleye on Quill lake is unreal, as well as Kiskitina(SP). A freind of mine has caught many Walleyes over 10 lbs. at Clearwater Lodge.
Headhunter
Well-Known Member
My dad and a buddy of his canoed and portaged all the way in to Kiskatina(sp?) and said it was full of smallmouth but they were in the 1 to 1-1/2 lbs range.
Headhunter said:
yep, but did you Muskie fish there??? Huge Muskie!
Radar
Well-Known Member
If I wanted to catch good numbers of nice smallies , I'd head for Lake Erie.
Radar
Well-Known Member
gil1 said:I've been to the boundary waters twice about 20 years ago. Yeah, we had slow days and great days. We caught a ton of small smallies, but we caught some lunkers, too. We were fishing leaches at a walleye spot to get some supper, and my buddy foul-hooked the biggest smallie I've ever seen. We had no scales, but we all thought it went over 7 pounds. Of course, none of us knew what the heck we were talking about, so I can't be sure.
The best thing, though, was that we never saw a soul in many miles for the week we were there (twice). No motors, no noises, just fishing all day out of a canoe. Man, those black flies beat the crud out of us though. What fond memories!
The big winner was the Charlie Brewer slider. All the Canadiens laughed at it and said it would never work. It wore them out!
I'm dying to go back. I wonder if it is as isolated as it was back then. I guarantee those fish had never seen a lure.
Fishing the boundary waters in Minnesota is a dream fishing trip I have always wanted to take. I have been to Canada on a fly-in fishing and it was fun , but canoeing into an isolated lake has a special appeal to me.
gil1
Well-Known Member
Scott61 said:gil1 said:I've been to the boundary waters twice about 20 years ago. Yeah, we had slow days and great days. We caught a ton of small smallies, but we caught some lunkers, too. We were fishing leaches at a walleye spot to get some supper, and my buddy foul-hooked the biggest smallie I've ever seen. We had no scales, but we all thought it went over 7 pounds. Of course, none of us knew what the heck we were talking about, so I can't be sure.
The best thing, though, was that we never saw a soul in many miles for the week we were there (twice). No motors, no noises, just fishing all day out of a canoe. Man, those black flies beat the crud out of us though. What fond memories!
The big winner was the Charlie Brewer slider. All the Canadiens laughed at it and said it would never work. It wore them out!
I'm dying to go back. I wonder if it is as isolated as it was back then. I guarantee those fish had never seen a lure.
Fishing the boundary waters in Minnesota is a dream fishing trip I have always wanted to take. I have been to Canada on a fly-in fishing and it was fun , but canoeing into an isolated lake has a special appeal to me.
We cheated a little bit, and it was worth it. I THINK the deal is this - you can have motors on the U.S. side but not on the Canadian side of the Boundary Waters. Our outfitter out of Ely Minnesota had a deal where they would carry all your canoes and tents and gear and such through the US waters on a big boat (for a price), and then they let you off at the Canadian boundary.
You then paddled the rest of the way to wherever you wanted to go. You were out of those US motorized and more heavily fished waters and into the wilderness. We'd camp on islands and then go out and fish in the canoes all day. Like I said, we never saw a soul in those two weeks.
While paddling from one place to the next, we would troll big spinnerbaits and catch pike. If it was deep, we'd troll diving crankbaits for lake trout. We'd catch and release smallies all day when not trolling, and then we'd go catch a mess of walleye as the sun set for supper. I'll see if I can find those pics.
