I'm a Newbie to this site.
We've owned a cabin on the Quebec side of the Ottawa River across from the town of Chaulk River since the '30s and have been summering there from Ohio for over 35 yrs. now. A group of us have been thinking of taking a few days of our annual 2 week fishing trip to fish Lake Nipissing in late June this year but no one has ever fished it before. Does anyone here know anything about this rather shallow lake. Fish types, best locations, lake conditions, where to launch etc. would be really appreciated??? Thanks!!
Lake Nipissing
I have fished Nippissing quite a bit , but not for many years
To start I can tell you that "google lake nippissing" is a good start
Also if you want to have a good area without travelling too far from Chalk river then Callander Bay is your best bet
C.bay has everything from perch to big muskie.
A good depth chart or Navionics chip is almost essential, Nippissing is very big and lots of islands
Hint....walleye...drift jig ......13' of water......lighthouse
cheers
matt
To start I can tell you that "google lake nippissing" is a good start
Also if you want to have a good area without travelling too far from Chalk river then Callander Bay is your best bet
C.bay has everything from perch to big muskie.
A good depth chart or Navionics chip is almost essential, Nippissing is very big and lots of islands
Hint....walleye...drift jig ......13' of water......lighthouse
cheers
matt
I think there is only one lighthouse in C.Bay and i'm not familiar with the name you refered to .
But I had good luck on the west side of the lighthouse
drift jigging for pics and pike and even had big muskie steal our catch.
We would hit 18' of water and drift in till we hit 7-8' and then do it again..and again
never dissappointed
My buddy used to have huts there but hasn't for 5-6 years ...he said it was too busy...so I can't tell you if the fish population has been decimated....but I would have a hard time imagining that...Nippissing is soooo big
This weekend I'll dig out the gps &the nav. chip and see if I can't give you a better idea
But I had good luck on the west side of the lighthouse
drift jigging for pics and pike and even had big muskie steal our catch.
We would hit 18' of water and drift in till we hit 7-8' and then do it again..and again
never dissappointed
My buddy used to have huts there but hasn't for 5-6 years ...he said it was too busy...so I can't tell you if the fish population has been decimated....but I would have a hard time imagining that...Nippissing is soooo big
This weekend I'll dig out the gps &the nav. chip and see if I can't give you a better idea
Thanks gents! As I said this being our first trip to Nipissing we don't know if it's worth our effort. It's a shallow lake and being that I've lived on the south shore of Lake Erie all my life I know just how cantankerous a shallow lake can be. We have so many other places we fish up there, diverting two days of a 10 day trip can make or break it.
Bad weather is not so much a deterent unless the waves are so big we can't even run to the lee side. How long and wide is Nipissing? How heavy do the waves get?
We'll have two 17' and one 18' aluminum deep Vees with 60 or more HP.
We fish primarily sport fish, pike, bass and muskie, cast and retrieving artificials. We're pretty dedicated to the sport and will fish sun-up to sun-down.
The northwest end of it looks good from the satellite photos I've seen which is where I believe, the French river runs out of(?). I've always heard good things about that river. Never fished it either but plan to someday.
I will certainly post the results of our trip if we decide to go to Nipissing but some more convincing will be necessary for me to get the other guys to agree on trying it. So, any other info that I could use to help make that decision would be a big plus.
The trip is scheduled for the last week of June first week of July.
Bad weather is not so much a deterent unless the waves are so big we can't even run to the lee side. How long and wide is Nipissing? How heavy do the waves get?
We'll have two 17' and one 18' aluminum deep Vees with 60 or more HP.
We fish primarily sport fish, pike, bass and muskie, cast and retrieving artificials. We're pretty dedicated to the sport and will fish sun-up to sun-down.
The northwest end of it looks good from the satellite photos I've seen which is where I believe, the French river runs out of(?). I've always heard good things about that river. Never fished it either but plan to someday.
I will certainly post the results of our trip if we decide to go to Nipissing but some more convincing will be necessary for me to get the other guys to agree on trying it. So, any other info that I could use to help make that decision would be a big plus.
The trip is scheduled for the last week of June first week of July.
pdbanjo
Nippissing is 75km(50m) long and18km (12m)wide
Calander bay is at the extreame east end and has protection from the main lake.At about 5k x 5k C. bay will give you a good outing in your boats .I wouldn't recommend going out into the main lake if you don't have navigation aids!!!
South bay is not to far from C.bay and the waltonian inn boasts some good fishing, I've never been there.
Forget the French river, it's too far by boat and if you drive it's 2-2.5 hrs
Nosbonsing ,Trout Lake and lake talon are all close and have excellent fisheries
Some say the best fishing is in the west bay area , I can see their point but anything better than C.bay would be simply awesome
Waves on the main lake can be menacing, just to give you a heads up Chalk river to west bay is almost 3.5 -4hr drive
Nippissing is 75km(50m) long and18km (12m)wide
Calander bay is at the extreame east end and has protection from the main lake.At about 5k x 5k C. bay will give you a good outing in your boats .I wouldn't recommend going out into the main lake if you don't have navigation aids!!!
South bay is not to far from C.bay and the waltonian inn boasts some good fishing, I've never been there.
Forget the French river, it's too far by boat and if you drive it's 2-2.5 hrs
Nosbonsing ,Trout Lake and lake talon are all close and have excellent fisheries
Some say the best fishing is in the west bay area , I can see their point but anything better than C.bay would be simply awesome
Waves on the main lake can be menacing, just to give you a heads up Chalk river to west bay is almost 3.5 -4hr drive
Hey Muskiematt:
I fish Lake Erie in pretty big waves but the differnce is the distance between them makes it ok, sometimes. Waves 6' high and 30 feet apart are a whole lot better than if they're 3' high and 6' apart. Know what I mean? The latter is what I would expect on Nipissing. Also, to fish walleye in the middle basin of Erie occasionally requires us to get into 70 foot depths which are 25 miles or further out. We carry handheld GPS units but would that be necessary for Nipissing?
Calandar Bay sounds like a great starting point for us. Can you give me any more info about it?
We've already scheduled two days on the Ottawa above Matawa. We've fished that stretch from dam to dam a few times with good results. I think we'll leave Matawa and head right to Nipissing for a couple of days before heading back to the States. I'd expect the road trip from Matawa to Nipissing to be in the 1 1/2 maybe 2 hour range.
I fish Lake Erie in pretty big waves but the differnce is the distance between them makes it ok, sometimes. Waves 6' high and 30 feet apart are a whole lot better than if they're 3' high and 6' apart. Know what I mean? The latter is what I would expect on Nipissing. Also, to fish walleye in the middle basin of Erie occasionally requires us to get into 70 foot depths which are 25 miles or further out. We carry handheld GPS units but would that be necessary for Nipissing?
Calandar Bay sounds like a great starting point for us. Can you give me any more info about it?
We've already scheduled two days on the Ottawa above Matawa. We've fished that stretch from dam to dam a few times with good results. I think we'll leave Matawa and head right to Nipissing for a couple of days before heading back to the States. I'd expect the road trip from Matawa to Nipissing to be in the 1 1/2 maybe 2 hour range.
I just googled Calander bay and got a good map of the bay.I have to say that if you want to substantially increase you catch % you'll want know what depth you are in , as far as fish location and movement?? I can't help you there,sorry.
Waves are generally lower and tighter but have been known to crest @ 6'+ .
I would def. bring gps.
The shore is not visable way out!!!
Mattawa to Nipp. east shore is 45 min max.
You will not have to find 70' of water to hook on eyes
Waves are generally lower and tighter but have been known to crest @ 6'+ .
I would def. bring gps.
The shore is not visable way out!!!
Mattawa to Nipp. east shore is 45 min max.
You will not have to find 70' of water to hook on eyes
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trexellunge
- Bronze Participant
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- Joined: Mon Sep 15, 2003 7:47 pm
Hi pdbanjo. Lake Nipissing is a great place to go, but it's not the easiest lake to fish for the first time. You could spend years trying to figure it out. The sheer size of the water, the endless structure, wind, and the shallow nature of the lake can make it challenging for a new angler...especially in the summer. Sometimes good fish are hard to find. Earlier in the year, walleye are fairly easy to come by in most areas of the lake. The West Arm\Bay area is more protected, and easier to fish than many other locations (but it may be too far for you to travel). If one is not familiar with the waters in the West Bay area, caution should be used because of the many unmarked shoals and rocks (this can actually be a good thing, because it keeps some of the waterskiers and tubers away!). I also agree with Muskymatt in his assessment of Callander Bay....it's one of the better spots to fish, and is fairly protected from the wind (try the Northwest shore of the bay at the deep weedlines for pike, musky, walleye, and even largemouth). I caught some real nice fish there last year. South Bay is not that far from Callander, and big fish frequent the area; I landed a real brute of a pike there in 2004:
http://www.myfishingpictures.com/waterm ... sh-med.jpg
I also go to the Upper French River section of Lake Nipissing (Dokis), and the area is beautiful with good fishing, but it is even further away than the West Arm for you. If you really want to fish the pristine protected waters of the West Arm\Bay, check out the link below for an article by Ontario Out of Doors on the area, courtesy of Welcome Lodge. Good luck.
http://www.welcomelodge.com/lakenip97.html
http://www.myfishingpictures.com/waterm ... sh-med.jpg
I also go to the Upper French River section of Lake Nipissing (Dokis), and the area is beautiful with good fishing, but it is even further away than the West Arm for you. If you really want to fish the pristine protected waters of the West Arm\Bay, check out the link below for an article by Ontario Out of Doors on the area, courtesy of Welcome Lodge. Good luck.
http://www.welcomelodge.com/lakenip97.html
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bottom feeder
- Silver Participant
- Posts: 805
- Joined: Mon Feb 07, 2005 7:30 pm
- Location: Nepean
Welcome to the site.
A member just came back from C. Bay with not much luck.
My family lives at Sturgeon Falls and the word is that the fishing is not what it once was.
Netting large quantities can take its toll.
I wish you luck though, I have fished C. bay with much success ans at the west arm too.
Norm
A member just came back from C. Bay with not much luck.
My family lives at Sturgeon Falls and the word is that the fishing is not what it once was.
Netting large quantities can take its toll.
I wish you luck though, I have fished C. bay with much success ans at the west arm too.
Norm
I am from Sturgeon Falls dont live there any more and I have fished Nipissing more than a few times. The fishing has gone down, but it is still good, you just have to work hard at it. The thing with nipissing is you have to know your spots a lot. I have fished mostly around Sturgeon falls and the french river.
In the spring the eyes are caught drifting the flats on the north shore with worms and jigs in 7-12 feet of water. Afterward the fish head out to the main lake and the french river that is deeper.
This is when you need to know the lake and know where the fish are. You have to find the reefs that come up to 20 ft or so. There are a lot of areas in the french river. We mostly jig fish with worms or minnows. I have never trolled it much but know that I have began fishing elsewhere I bet there is good fishing for suspended walleye once the water warms up. There are a lot of Ciscoes in there and it wouldn't surprise me if they feed on them but You never see a lot of trollers out there.
There are some nice bass in there too and not many people fish them either. Wouldn't surprise me that a World record muskie gets pulled out of there either.
The walleye population has decrease because of many factors not just netting, there is a lot of fishing pressure there the winter fishery is hard on it and you can't forget the MNR favorite bird the Cormorant.
Its a beautiful lake and once you get in the french its amazing!
Oh yeah the lakes can get very rough in a hurry. 6-8 footers can brew up in no time and they are choppy so be careful and have FUN
DH
In the spring the eyes are caught drifting the flats on the north shore with worms and jigs in 7-12 feet of water. Afterward the fish head out to the main lake and the french river that is deeper.
This is when you need to know the lake and know where the fish are. You have to find the reefs that come up to 20 ft or so. There are a lot of areas in the french river. We mostly jig fish with worms or minnows. I have never trolled it much but know that I have began fishing elsewhere I bet there is good fishing for suspended walleye once the water warms up. There are a lot of Ciscoes in there and it wouldn't surprise me if they feed on them but You never see a lot of trollers out there.
There are some nice bass in there too and not many people fish them either. Wouldn't surprise me that a World record muskie gets pulled out of there either.
The walleye population has decrease because of many factors not just netting, there is a lot of fishing pressure there the winter fishery is hard on it and you can't forget the MNR favorite bird the Cormorant.
Its a beautiful lake and once you get in the french its amazing!
Oh yeah the lakes can get very rough in a hurry. 6-8 footers can brew up in no time and they are choppy so be careful and have FUN
DH
Nipissing
You have chosen a great spot to get away for some fishing.
It is a bit of a tough body of water to figure out but... just do what you do best and you will probably find some fish. If not... head to one of the resorts and chill out with a few of the locals and feed them beer until they tell you all they know.
I head up there every year and fish the Western end of the lake and a lot in the West-Arm area. The scenery is worth the trip and every year I get better at figuring out the fish.
Check this other posting for some of my experiences up there.
http://fish-hawk.net/hawktalk/viewtopic ... ht=westarm
Most lodges are reasonably priced and offer boats and motors if you don't have your own. If you do have your own then be sure to buy some maps of the lake because there are tons of shoals you will have to watch for. Last year both boats in my party had prop damage due to low water conditions.
Enjoy and report on how you make out.....
It is a bit of a tough body of water to figure out but... just do what you do best and you will probably find some fish. If not... head to one of the resorts and chill out with a few of the locals and feed them beer until they tell you all they know.
I head up there every year and fish the Western end of the lake and a lot in the West-Arm area. The scenery is worth the trip and every year I get better at figuring out the fish.
Check this other posting for some of my experiences up there.
http://fish-hawk.net/hawktalk/viewtopic ... ht=westarm
Most lodges are reasonably priced and offer boats and motors if you don't have your own. If you do have your own then be sure to buy some maps of the lake because there are tons of shoals you will have to watch for. Last year both boats in my party had prop damage due to low water conditions.
Enjoy and report on how you make out.....