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Hey OOD family, this year I have two trips planned to Algonquin. One early May (3days) to Ryan Lake and one second week in August (7days) to Dickson Lake (venturing north from Opeongo, portaging to Dickson). Any advice on both these lakes would be very helpful. We are in search of specks, lakers, and splake. Not looking for any spots in particular but more words of wisdom from those who have been to these lakes or lakes near by.
I don't know those lakes but we used to go into McCraney lake every year and do great on Lake trout. About a 1km portage off rain lake so most people rig up wheeled carts. You access it off Rain lake at the Kearny entrance . Nice thing is you camp on an island so no bear problems. used to be so clean you could drink from the lake. Not sure now. If you go a #3. Silver Mepps trolled slowly should almost be illegal in that lake.
I did the Dickson/Bonfield portage back in the early 80s when I was a teen.
It's a doozy.
If I remember correctly, and you can go in one run, you should estimate at LEAST 3 hours to complete it.
If you are going to be on dickson you mite as well try little dickson as well.I always have done better there for numbers of fish,trolling spoons and rapalas usually produce.
As Muskokaguy said, that portage is supposed to be a dozy and I would personally switch the dates, if your going to bust your to get to Dickson, you want to go when the trout are shallow, by august they'll be deep and a ton harder to catch and that area is know for it's BIG SPECKS, have 30+ years experience in the park and for whatever reason, Blue seems to be a color for lures in the spring , trolling in water anywhere from 10-30' deep along the shorelines works for us.
Romulus86 there's a site www.algonquinadventures.com you can check out, not much for fish information, almost forbidden to talk about it , but you might find out more info on the portages lakes etc. etc. if I was portaging into Dickson, I'd be looking at some sort of cart to carry my canoe, beleive there is a cart path for that reason.
I remember about 1-2km of raised catwalks.Quote:
Originally Posted by BIG MAC
there is a cart path wich a cart works well on but by taking that route adds a little distance.If you take the portage trail it is pretty flat wich helps a lot.If you take the cart trail make sure you have a sturdy cart,I remember one spring some guys had a cart break in the middle of the trip.Since they planned on wheeling in all their gear they were not equipped for portaging it in,needless to say they lost a day and a bit hiking all their stuff around.
For 10 years in a row we use to make our annual pilgrimage back into the interior of the park with the Crowe River being our destination. Like Big Mac said I would definately reconsider reversing the order of your trip for the reasons he stated. The portage is one of the if not the longest in the park. If you decide to fish Dickson I would advise not to camp where the portage ends. Too many people leave their garbage there instead of packing it out and you'll have a lot of bears into your site. I would recommend paddling down to the far end of the lake and making camp on the point where the lake flows into the Crowe. That way you can fish the lake and actually fish the river which is outstanding that time of year. Have fun. If you have any further questions, send me a pm
Hey everyone, thanks for all the posts so far, in regards to the timing of the trip, unfortunately August is the only time members of my party can go, I know it will be quite a bit more difficult but has anyone here had any experience speck fishing during the summer? I do alot of creek fishing throughout the GTA for specks but I know this is a different ball game.
3rd week in August is my favourite time to go. Wolves howl, meteorites streak across the sky, the bugs are usually gone, the nights are cooler, and fresh wild blueberries for the morning pancakes.
I believe you can catch specks in the Crowe River at that time of year between Proulx and Little Crowe.
lead core line will be your friend or if not to windy jigging is also productive and As Muskoka guy said August is wonderful.
me and a buddy did that portages in a thunderstorm...we did it in one go...no doubleing back!....we would switch packs about every kilometre...as for fishing that time of year...Lakers will be easy...but we do it 2 different ways . ...we drift very slow....with a drift sock or 2 and almost vertical jig...and I agree with big mack....blue is our most productive colour...we like the lucky strike hammered blue and silver with the silver tassels. ...lately we have been doing a forward troll fast enough to see the spoon action in the rod tip....then back paddle till the spoon hits bottom. ..then forward again then back....keeping the spoon within about ten feet of bottom....they tend to hit it after it has hit bottom and just starts to lift up and gets its action. ...we use med light action 2 piece rods with 8lb power pro....and a flouro leader....no mono here as u have to feel everything. ...generally I like to be between 35 and 80 fow...
love Algonquin!
One quick note about tripping in the early spring is that a lot of the portages are not cleared yet. After a tough winter you can run into downed trees and washed out sections. This is especially true to the lesser used sections of trail. A hatchet is a must to get past some of these trees. Also plan on moving a little slower as it takes time to navigate some of this deadfall.
Enjoy though. Algonquin is simply amazing.
Unless you're preparing to head into Lavieille (arguably one of the best fisheries for brook trout) then i suggest you skip Dickson and head straight into Animoosh, if you're after brook trout. Then do day trips into Cat and Alluring (good fishing there). At the north east corner of Animoosh, there's a trail cut to the logging road - no need to portage all the way around. ;) Look on Jeff's Map Online to see what im referring to.Quote:
Originally Posted by Romulus86
Bring salted shiners with you. After you've salted them and they are ready for use, vacuum pack them into packs of 3-4 minnows each pack. You'll catch about two or three brookies per minnow because of the firmness of the flesh from being salted.
Jeff's Map
http://www.algonquinmap.com/
Great responses guys really appreciate your help.
Woah, i just re read your trip length and noticed you have 7 days planned. Thats a WHOLE other ball game. I'll PM you for the BEST brook trout fishing in the ENTIRE park. Hell i may go with you and put you right on top of some 5lb'rs as i am planning a similar trip in August.Quote:
Originally Posted by Romulus86