Alright so I am equiped with a sonar/gps and plan on fishing close to the thousand islands soon . I am assuming there cant be navigation markings directing routes at every island .
Would it be safe to assume that driving between most of the islands is safe ? If I saw 2 islands 15 feet seperating them I would expect shallow water between but otherwise how does everybody navigate around them safely ? Any tips or suggestions ?
1000 island navigatio
I'm sure other guys more familiar with the Islands with jump in with better info but as a guy who is not super familiar with the area my heart is in my throat every time I am on plane in a new spot. My GPS is outmoded and I can't get new chips for it so until I can lay down a path I am pretty careful..... you should be fine with an up-to-date chip however.
Worse thing is that one Island might tail down to 200ft right from shore and another will have a rock shoal running off a 100 yards. The main navigation routes are marked very well so if stay between the buoys you are good to go.
Worse thing is that one Island might tail down to 200ft right from shore and another will have a rock shoal running off a 100 yards. The main navigation routes are marked very well so if stay between the buoys you are good to go.
Barry Keicks
No you have to be very careful. Now certain areas are worse than others but don't trust a GPS except in main channel areas, anywhere off the beaten path forget it. I've lived here all my life and don't trust myself or charts off channels. The shoals around navigational channels are marked but give them a wide berth because many are not very accurately marked.
Just last year I watched a clown drive a 20' bowrider planed out over a 5'-10' flat that in low water might only have 2 ft. in places and the water is low this year. It covers several hundred acres and stretches for a miles undulating up and down. It has rockpiles scattered across it and only a few are marked and no map or GPS shows it anywhere near accurately. It might show 5' of water but it could also have a glacial hitchhiker the size of a desk sitting there, Only a moron would have attempted what he did and it cost him or his insurance company thousands.
Ganman is absolutely correct. Unless you stay inside the channel markers, the Thousand Islands can be treacherous to strangers. I have an up-to-date GPS/chip and yesterday it was off over 50 ft.
The best advice I can give is to visit one of the marinas in Rockport/Ivy Lea or in Gananoque and purchase a few charts. Along with your GPS and visual acquity, slowly familiarize yourself with the territory in small segments. The run from the Gananoque Narrows westwards can be especially hazardous if you stray or try to take shortcuts around the buoys. As ganman says, not every rock or shoal is marked - and there are plenty of them.
I have boated/fished the Thousand Islands for 50+ years and I'm still learning. That is not to say that you can't have alot of fun. Just small steps at first is all I'm saying.
The best advice I can give is to visit one of the marinas in Rockport/Ivy Lea or in Gananoque and purchase a few charts. Along with your GPS and visual acquity, slowly familiarize yourself with the territory in small segments. The run from the Gananoque Narrows westwards can be especially hazardous if you stray or try to take shortcuts around the buoys. As ganman says, not every rock or shoal is marked - and there are plenty of them.
I have boated/fished the Thousand Islands for 50+ years and I'm still learning. That is not to say that you can't have alot of fun. Just small steps at first is all I'm saying.
RJ, currently the St Lawrence at Gananoque is running a foot below what is considered normal for June. To some that is somewhat remarkable because the river was near record low in spring and with little spring runoff but it always comes back. June is when water levels peak, it drops from here on. Seasonally it is not uncommon for the river to change four feet. Fifty feet is a huge descrency here and could easily get you in trouble.
Some may disagree but I found the Ivy Lea section one of the easier areas however the fishing is not nearly as good as places further west. Its easy because you can't really go that far off the channel. There's a laberythim of islands but its mostly very deep however there it can go from 50 to 0 in 3 feet! The worst section is from Gananoque Narrows to the foot of Howe Island. Its wide and flat and in places the main channel is only about 80 feet wide. But you could be sharing it with a huge tour boat and 50 foot cigar boat and a few other craft.
The best fishing for smallmouth is from the 40 Acres west to Kingston. Stay on the south side of Howe/North side of Wolfe. The further west you go the better the fishing. Since were talking Navigation its one of the easiest sections as well. You'd think the opposite but big flat broken limestone shoals and shelves hold more bass than bald granite nubs you find down river.
Hex is right get some charts and familarize yourself. Use the channels like expressways. Don't try to go in a straight line from point A to B. Think about moving around a big city. You wouldn't try navigating side streets.
Some may disagree but I found the Ivy Lea section one of the easier areas however the fishing is not nearly as good as places further west. Its easy because you can't really go that far off the channel. There's a laberythim of islands but its mostly very deep however there it can go from 50 to 0 in 3 feet! The worst section is from Gananoque Narrows to the foot of Howe Island. Its wide and flat and in places the main channel is only about 80 feet wide. But you could be sharing it with a huge tour boat and 50 foot cigar boat and a few other craft.
The best fishing for smallmouth is from the 40 Acres west to Kingston. Stay on the south side of Howe/North side of Wolfe. The further west you go the better the fishing. Since were talking Navigation its one of the easiest sections as well. You'd think the opposite but big flat broken limestone shoals and shelves hold more bass than bald granite nubs you find down river.
Hex is right get some charts and familarize yourself. Use the channels like expressways. Don't try to go in a straight line from point A to B. Think about moving around a big city. You wouldn't try navigating side streets.
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Joisey Joe
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Funny you should mention Howe Is. Steve, I fished just in that spot as a kid and had to make a quick getaway when the tourboats came through. It was good fishin back then but if I didn't remember to take the chain clip filled with fish out of the water sometimes we'd end up with fish heads, that was all that was left after the prop hit em! LOL
? You gotta fish the river for pike. I can put you into far more and far bigger ones on the river....not even close. Twice the size and many times as more 
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Joisey Joe
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