Last week my fishing buddy & fellow Hawk-Talker Seaweed and I got the chance to fish Lac du Cerf. Now I've got to tell you, if you're a bassin sort of guy this is not the place to go unless you want to spend day after day bringing fish in from laydowns and rockpiles. In all my travels I have never come across a body of water with so much fish holding structure.
We were invited up to chase bass, northerns, walleye, lake trout, speckles and maybe get a touch of landlocked salmon in too, so let the story begin.
We arrived shortly after 10AM Tuesday morning and were shown to our cabin, what a misstatement, this was a small house with all the amenities. I'm so used to the tiny fishing cabins on the remote lakes I go to that this was more than a pleasant surprise. After stowing our gear in our individual bedrooms and taking a quick tour of the facilities both Seaweed & I were quick to admit that this spot has everything going for it. Good boat launch, excellent docks and a safe beach for the kids to enjoy.
The fishing adventure began shortly after noon on Tuesday; refreshed from a great lunch served up by Mrs. St.Louis our guide Serge had us pile our gear on his 18' pontoon and we were off. Pitching spinner baits to the shore and retreiving them along side the logs produced bite after bite for both of us. The spawn had just finished and there were a mess of 10 - 12" males still hanging around. The fry were all dispersed so they must have been anticipating another run of females.
We spent the afterrnoon casting shoreline. Tossed everything at them with 1/4 oz white colorado blade spinnerbaits being the charm. I tied on a 1" mini crank bait in copper color and spent the better part of an hour pulling the bronzies off the rocks and Serge showed us a few tricks with his red Rebel horsefly - what a blast and a great start to our three day trip.
The evening was get acquainted time with the owners and staff. Sitting around the dinner table, the tales started to flow. Serge is a retired RCMP office who pulled some very special duty while in uniform and his stories kept us in stitches for hours. His partner Yvon, not to be outdone related northern Quebec stories covering his years working track for the CNR. Seaweed was up to the challenge having worked the rails in his first career. This old fisherman just sat back and enjoyed.
Wednesday morning had us heading out to see if we could track down some walleye, I'm embarrassed to say I couldn't get on them. We worked the bay out from the spawning area extensively with bottom bouncers, harnesses and cranks to no avail. Hitting a new area in hundred degree heat without a cloud in the sky and no wind presented too much of a challenge for this eye chaser. That didn't stop the smallmouth from entertaining us though - those bronzebacks are everywhere. Our schedule only allowed us three hours and the "Big" eyed creatures are safe until my next trip. Heading out into the big lake we set up for lakers and trolled in 100' of water for the better part of an hour with only one bite to show for our efforts. Changing tactics a move was made to a deep shoal and I rigged up walleye style with one of my Walleye Wonders on a six foot lead behind a bottom bouncer. That little change up produced a slot sized laker in no time at all. Just as I was getting into the feel of things Serge reminded us that it was lunch time, so back to the lodge for more of Mrs. St Louis culinary delights.
Later in the afternoon we split up, Seaweed and Serge were off to explore the southern bays of the main lake ( I'll let him tell his story ) and Yvon and I headed for the top of the mountain for some speckle action. A short truck ride and quick 10 minute run across a lake brought us to the landing where a six wheeler was waiting for us. The thrills began halfway up the mountain when I lost my grip and ended up flat on my back in the bed of the machine. The grade is so steep all I could do was lay back, stare at the tree tops and laugh like a fool as Yvon negotiated the remainder of the trail. What a Hoot!
This little jewel of a speckled trout lake sits right on top the mountain. Michel has built a little cabin that is completely equipped for meals and taking a rest break, quite comfortable as we were to find out a bit later in the day. Small boats with electric motors are the way to go up here and we were quick to get started. Rigging a Lake Clear Wobbler with a short lead and a gob of night crawler proved to be the ticket for these feisty little scrappers. We had our limit in two hours and the timing was perfect as mother nature decided to throw one of her famous afternoon thunder storms at us. The benefit of the little cabin was appreciated as rain fell in torrents for the better part of a half hour. As the storm abated we quickly packed everything away and jumped on the six wheeler to return to the landing. No sooner than arriving the heavens opened up again, no lightning but again torrents of rain. Needless to say we were both soaked when we got back to the truck but I had dinner on the stringer.
Another pleasant evening was spent with the folks and one of the old timers sitting at the bar gave me a bit of insight to the walleye situation. There were sport divers in the bay just opposite to where we were fishing and when they surfaced the conversation was all about how many big walleye and smallmouth bass were stacked in 40 feet of water. They were talking 100's of fish.Too bad we left that area early. I now know there is a bonanza of big fish for the taking.
Thursday morning after a breakfast of crepes & maple syrup ( Yvon's Speciality ) we were on our way to the end of the lake for some more bass and pike action. We weren't disappointed and one of my casts produced "A Largemouth" and this is big news because up until I had the proof thumbed they weren't known to inhabit this water. I expect there will be a bit of a rush on for this fishery revelation. This end of the lake is one big weed bed and summer action should be tremendous - lots of smallies. Returning for lunch as we passed through the narrows another Lac du Cerf treasure presented itself. Lying in the sun drenched shallows was a 40" Musky. This of course started the story machine again and a picture was brought out revealing the 44#er that was caught in 2004 right at the entrance to the bay the lodge sits in.
Our adventure at Pourvoirie M St Louis came to an end much to quickly. I could easily spend a few weeks there enjoying the multiple personality of the Lac du Cerf fishery. Imagine if you will Smallmouth Bass, Largemouth Bass, Walleye, Northern Pike, Lake Trout, Land Locked Salmon, Muskie and ponds full of speckled & rainbow trout. Can it get any better? Oh, did I mention the food?
There's a huge bonus associated with Pourvoirie Michel St. Louis. His fall whitetail hunts regulary produce 80 - 90 deer for those hunters fortunate enough to book his limited space and the spring Bear hunting is fabulous..
Check out the website:
http://www.pourvoiriemstlouis.com/english/index_e.html
.but i saw some nice lakers,,,on top off water.......lets say its end off oct its cold and the water is cold to,,,so trout was up,,,,,,,but the lakers was close then.....so we did not try to get them.......
"Crepes and syrup", especially...YUM!