Balsam Lake

[Fishhawk]

Lake Description:
Balsam Lake is one of the Kawartha Lakes and also part of the Trent Severn Canal System that extends from the Bay of Quinte on Lake Ontario to Georgian Bay on Lake Huron, a distance of 386 kms (as the fish swims). I know there are smallmouth bass, largemouth bass, walleye (pickerel), and muskie in this lake. This fishing map of Balsam Lake is under construction. Send me an email to tell me where to look for the fish based on the grid I have placed over the lake.

Species:
There's no shortage of crappie and bluegill if that's your bag.

Getting There:
From Toronto Take 401 East to Newcastle and then HWY 35/115 north. HWY 35 splits off - follow it all the way to Lindsay. In Lindsay, stay on 35 and keep heading north toward Fenelon Falls. Stay on HWY35, passing HWY 8 that takes you to Fenelon Falls.

Launch:
To launch a boat you can go to Balsam Lake Marina. Stay on HWY 35 and take an immediate right after crossing the bridge over the Rosedale River. The Marina is on the Rosedale River just above the Rosedale Lock 35. Park 'n' Launch = $10.00

There is also a Government launch that is well used beside the Balsam Lake Marina.

Jack Van Buuren from Adventure Fishing Maps says you can also launch at Balsam Lake Prov. Park (fee) and also at the the Trent Canal (entrance/exit on the west end - small boats - no fee)

Have you fished this body of water? If so, tell us how you did and where you had success.

[Fishhawk]

This came in from Scott D in an email...March 23, 2003

On the map of Balsam Lake h7 and h8 have been awesome walleye fishin holes in the spring the last two springs in approx 8 to15 feet of water just as the weeds are starting to grow.

[MichaelVandenberg]

Just figured out waht this forum is all about.

Had the pleasure last year of camping at the Provincal park on Balsam in mid June. Had an Awesome week fishing.

We couldn't go wrong. We were chucking Walleye divers along weed edges/drop offs. Basically look for areas where it went from 5 to anyway from 12 to 30 feet. Two spots that work were K4 to L4 and right in front of the park launch (F5).

Also had a huge Muskie follow at I4. It was so big I felt sorry for all the Walleye in the lake.

Maybe I will go back this year for the weekend.

Good luck,

Mike

[quinky]

i do not own a boat..so im stuck with fishing on the shore

is there any hot spots for shore fishing around this lake??

[Woodsman]

J 7 - dropoff along eastern side of Grand Island. Mid summer dragging jig & minnows from shallow to deep or drifting if the wind is right.Caught walleye and both large & smallmouth bass.

[nighttroller]

I fished Balsam on the May long weekend this year. The weather was brutal, windy, thunderstorms, got flooded out of the campsite on the Saturday night. The fishing was still great though. We caught lots of Walleye casting Walleye divers in front of the beach at the Provincial park right on the edge of the drop off. Mornings and evenings were best. We also caught 2 Muskies there and had a big one slam a Rock Bass that my sons friend had cuaght. We also did well for Walleyes in the L4 - M4 stretch. Same pattern there, casting Walleye divers. Yellow/Brown worked best! Unfortunately they were all in the slot so no eaters!!!

[acuraintegra]

If you have a canoe or a small trolling boat and can get into area M2 on the map there are some really nice sized were talking 18 to 24 inch large mouth bass. Very weedy area but there is a lot of fish. We took elm tree road out of Lindsay and fished from the bridge at fish hawk road, first cast into the water 22 inch large mouth and a lot of very big snakes. GOOD LUCK FISHING!!!!

[ToXXiK 1]

hey:

i caught my PB musky (for this lake ) trolling rapalla big double jointed minnows in and around I-6. It was a 35 lbs. female, and have caught many between 10 and up in that same area. Chartreuse seems to be the flavour of the day each time i'm there.

good luck to yaz !

a bad day of fishin' beats a good day of work

ToX

[bassfighter]

Arrival time: 7:00am
depart 7:00pm
Wind condition : 5km calm Sunny Day
Lure used: Jigheads with white grubs and spinner
Surface Water temp: 71degreees

We caught the following and release them all:

One 4lb largemouth Bass and tons of smaller fish at L4

Brich Point at 1:00pm- A 4ft musky followed our buck tail lure but no takers

Two 3 lb smallmouth at 5:00pm and more bait fish at L4 beside Grand Island

Dock close to the Rosedale marina at 6:30pm- tons of pan fish and saw some 1 lb bass near the bridge.

My son was happy for he caught 8 fish using only jigheads. We worked very hard casting here and there, and the habitat seemed to be perfect, will be back when the water gets colder

[patience]

fish for muskie on this lake alot. sand flat in I4 is usually a good procucer
and the S E corner of grand island.(K8) Late fall, troll the trent opening at Rosedale.Too many spots and too many good fish caught to list them. Love the lake.

[gordy28]

Grew up fishing Balsam Lake
Good multi species spot - particularily Musky Largemouth and early season Walleye
K9 - L9 - weedbeds from Nama Lodge back towards massive cottages - either troll the edges for Musky or try drifting across with harnesses and leechs or crawlers for Bass and Walleye

[bltp_pro]

been fishing balsam allll my life. great multispecies lake. pike have been moving in lately. i've caught 3 in west bay. west bay is also very good for muskie, large and smallmouth bass, and walleye.
try the lower end heading into the river for largemouth.
fish the west shore for big smallmouths pretty much all year round
walleye can be caught on the west side of the bay on weedlines in 6-15 feet of water
muskie can be caught in the river and on the large 10-12 foot flat in the lower part of the bay

[davec1373]

Hello everyone, new to the board and recently bought a cottage on Balsam, near the canal that goes to Cameron Lake.

Was wondering, does anyone know where to get quality fishing maps of the lake? Showing depths, etc.

thanks in advance


dc

[HereMyGo]

Dist,

I used to have a cottage in rosedale, just where the the canal opens up into balsam. I have fished this lake many many times and have had GREAT success.

A few points:

a) The bay's that are to the north west of hogs back island, I see are labelled with largemouth bass. This is very true, we nailed quite a few here. I've also seen quite a few muskie come out of this area as well and the odd walleye.

b) The north east side of grand island has what is known as pickerel rock. For boating purposes, ensure you are cautious of this rock. Myself, I've never fished it, but have heard that it sits on the edge of a dropoff where walleye hold.

c) The Southwestern most point of Grand Island, used to have a sunken island. It used to have a sign that marked it off, however the last time I was up there, the sign was removed. I assume that this is probably because it no longer poses a threat to boats. Still it's something that may/may not have fish holding off to the sides of it.

d) The south east side of Grand Island has a yellow boat house (atleast I hope it's still yellow..it's been a few years). Anyways, about 4-5 hundred meters off of this point, you'll find some weedbeds. On the edge of these weed beds I've come into both Bass as well as Walleye.

e) In south bay, it's already marked, but I've had the best walleye luck here. Alot of perch will be encountered, but you'll find quite a few large fish feeding on them. It's definitely worth trying out.

f) I know for a fact that infront of my cottage (at the mouth of the canal in rosedale) opens up, there are muskie. I've encountered them on two occasions. The first was fishing right off of the dock very early in the morning. You'll find them in close to the docks feeding on the smaller fish. I've had one come right out from under the dock before while pulling in a smaller fish. The second, is I used to take a paddleboat out and troll with my fly line behind me up and down the sides of the canal. I nailed countless largemouths in this location, but also had a decent sized muskie on, however my 8lb test leader was no match and I lost him.

Overall, balsam is a great lake to fish, if not for the beauty of the loons and osprey's in the area.

Sean.

[coss81]

Heh everyone I was wondering if anyone has had any luck with muskie or bass in the C6 area there is an old railroad bridge that is collapsed and the support beams are still standing.I have went scuba diving around this area and seen a few big muskies and lots of bass around all of these posts. I was just curious if anyone has tried this area and had any luck?