I leave Friday for a fly in trip North of Lake of the Woods, Kenora. Anyone had any luck yet?

Friends of mine were due into northern Manitoba on Saturday. For the first time in 39 years, the outfitter will be unable to open their lodge and outpost camps. Everything is still frozen over. It should be clear when I get there, the end of July.

How far north of Kenora?
Osky

20 minute plane ride. Was just told there is flooding. Don’t know if we can get in or not. Damn, Covid and now this

My first northern run is farther up and those areas are 10 days behind. My first trip was to start on the 6th, now it will be the 18th. Again much farther up.
Sounds like your going to be somewhere along the English river system. People tell me it’s very hi.
Your going to be fishing walleyes nice and shallow.

Osky

It is the English River system. How will being high effect the fishing?

What used to be 6' deep, will now be 12' deep.

The fish will not be, where they usually are, for this time of year.

Hopefully, your outfitter has it sussed out !

We get dropped off on our lake and we are on our own. Hopefully we can figure them out

Here is a good illustration of the how much the Rainy watershed is up.
This is the mermaid on the Canadian side.
It is expected to rise another 8-11" in the next week.

I would first try some trolling up in maybe 6’ of water especially if it’s a darker colored water. That depth with this hi water will maybe put you up in a lot of snags?
New-2… is spot on as most outfitters want you to be successful and return so ask them.
Hi cold water may be good to stay in 10’ or so and tossup 1/4 ounce jigs tipped with rubber. Fish may be a bit lethargic.

I like shorelines/points in those conditions because so much new debris is flushing in but the reefs and humps have the return spawners lingering, give them attention.
Nothing scientific or official in this, just the way I would appproach it. Good luck!

Osky

"as most outfitters want you to be successful and return so ask them.
Hi cold water may be good to stay in 10’ or so and tossup 1/4 ounce jigs tipped with rubber. Fish may be a bit lethargic.

I like shorelines/points in those conditions because so much new debris is flushing in but the reefs and humps have the return spawnersingering, give them attention."

Good advice, here, all round.

I'd certainly be asking for pointers, too.

That's hard to wrap my head around !!! The lakes we fish on the English River system (north of Ignace) would be back into the woods quite a ways in places. I've never been there before the 2nd week of June. So I've never seen it like that.

Blair.. hope you get this. I just read this back and realized I missed a biggy. If the lake is actually on the English it will have inlet(s) and outlets. This time of year start at those incoming waters and I mean tossing right to the base of the falls if not the pools up in the raceway.
From there fish the shorelines Adjacent to that incoming water shallow out to deep.

Have a great trip.
Osky

Wow. Ive used to fish N Mantoba for years in the 80's in June and never had an issue

Fished the English river system many years great fishery!

It was quite something back in the 60’s and early 70’s before the pollution event. A guy named Lamm if I recall had a 5 star operation on the English just up from grassy narrows. Incredible all the Hollywood and worldly known people that were flown in there to fish.

Osky

What was the "pollution event" ?? I had never heard of that..........

My first year was 1974.

Back in 69 or so there was mercury pollution found in the English River system originating they said from a lumber milling plant in Dryden. Supposedly from there west to lake Winnipeg the waterways were polluted to one degree or another.
They caught the issue and got it cleaned up but at the time it forced closure of resorts along there and Lamms was probably the biggest and well known? There are people on here older than I am who may know of other operations closed.

Osky
I will add… I was a dock boy just starting to guide some. A good fly in camp consisted of wooden floor decks, with canvas walls up to about 4’ then going to a peak. Zip front opening. The separate “building” for cooking and eating was the same type of floor but with 8’ hi plywood walls. This was to help deter any bears. Camps also had a big dog of some sort for the bear control as well.
I never visited Lamms camp then but I sure remember flying over it. Real solid wood cabins with roofs and really large main buildings all wood again. In the wilderness. It was a jewel and very well known. People said back then he employed most of the natives from the village of Grassy Narrows.
Most of the outboards were maybe 10 horse back then, we did a lot of portaging with clients and those were carried along.

OK. That was all west of where we went, so............. But I had never heard of that. Thanks for the education.

We did some portaging in the 70's and very early 80's. Guy in town kept a 14 footer on several of the more remote lakes. Boat back in. Tie off and carry rods, tackle boxes and a 6 or 10 outboard back through the woods. Turn the boat right side up and put the motor on.

I was worried for nothing. Water was high but we killed the fish! Best week of fishing I ever had. Non stop. Didn't catch any monster walleye but lots of average size ones. Can't say that I know much about catching walleye, The smallmouth were a bonus.

What are the slots there?

Terrific Blair…..
Great looking fish. Glad you had it so well. Lake name?

Osky

Couple of HORSES for pike !!!! Dag-gum !!!!

So glad you had a great trip !!

Very nice! Pike like that keep me returning to Canada, year after year!

Nice trip, your pictures have me fired up! We're going in another 2 weeks, flying in to Makokibatan lake on the Albany river. Been many years since I've fished northern Ontario and the first time it isn't a DIY trip.

Lake Salvesten. Had it all to ourselves. Got dropped off for 4 days of fishing. Caught so many Pike my hands were cramping up. We never went 15 minutes without catching something. Smallmouth up North look different than what we have in Virginia. The mouths are actually small. Shaped more like a really big/thick bluegill. Maybe the ones I'm use to have some large mouth in them. Ontario has a trophy fish program, we caught 6. 5 Pike and a smallmouth. I think we even caught some yellow chain pickerel in a set of rapids. Need to research that.
Another question. We swear we heard a Elk bugle. What could that have been? A really lost bull Elk?

Dang Blair that looks like a dream spot I’m glad you enjoyed it just amazing congratulations!

Could it have been a loon? Crazy how many sounds they make.
There are elk in SW Manitoba that get over as far as lake of the woods and often cross down into Minnesota but I’m not sure they would get where you were. Maybe?

Osky