A buddy of mine likes to fish. He likes to fish A LOT. He’s the kind of guy that will go out on the lake before the sun comes up, fish all day, and return home after dark. In the summer months, that’s a long time on the water, and during the short winter days, that’s a lot of fishing through a small hole in the ice! When Peter read about our trip to Lake of Bays in Ontario he had a few things to say about how to fish there…

Top L-R: Rapala Skitter Pop, Rapala Husky Jerk, Middle L-R: Tube, Williams Whitefish Spoon, Bouyah Spinner Bait, Bottom middle: Slip Float

Lake of Bays is a clear, cold body of water. It’s deepest part is 230 feet. Fish species that inhabit the lake are lake trout, smallmouth bass, whitefish, lake herring, rainbow smelt as well as many minnow species. Historically there have been some big trout caught – 20 lbs and over. Ice fishing deep with Williams spoons and big tube jigs in winter is a good bet. In spring when the ice is just off the lake, try lively shiners suspended under slip floats in 6-10 feet of water along rocky shorelines and points.

When the water warms up lake trout will start moving to deeper water. Deep water trolling large spoons and minnowbaits like rapala’s in natural colours works best. Be patient. It will take some work.

When bass season opens in June, working topwater plugs is very exciting around rocky shorelines and back bays. They will also take spinners and plastic tubes, grubs and worms. As summer progresses try shoals, points and drop offs. In fall, vertical jig in the 15-30 foot range. Have fun, stay safe and happy fishing.

Map of Lake of Bays, Ontario

If you’re a fisherman and you have a story to tell, please leave a comment for us below. Also see our post at http://roadstories.ca/muskoka-near-algonquin-park-ontario/

Late-season calm at Dorset on Lake of Bays

We did a road trip to the northeastern part of Muskoka near Algonquin Park, Ontario in September. Our base was the Foxwood Resort on Lake of Bays, a big lake with five hundred kilometres of shoreline. Canadian Thanksgiving is this weekend and at Foxwood, it’s possible to cook your own turkey. The resort has cottages with fully equipped kitchens. This is the perfect time to travel Canada especially if you love a good road trip. Resort rates are lower than the busy summer season, especially in mid week, and the traffic is light.

Some serious fly-in transportation at Bigwin Island Golf Club

Lake of Bays is crystal clear. Its headwaters are the rivers and lakes of Algonquin Park. We toured a good portion of the lake by boat. It is beautiful and I hope it remains that way. Some summer residents seem bent on building HUGE “cottages” but at least the bulk of what we saw were tasteful in design. Many have also built elaborate boathouses. We saw several of these on our tour. We also passed the Bigwin Island Golf Club and its signature 18th golf hole. I was amazed at how much of the old Bigwin Inn is still standing, but Rob, our guide, says it has been condemned and will likely be torn down. Too bad. During the big band era, it was THE place to be. The old Bigwin water tower will likely stay and that’s a good thing. The tower is a reference point on this lake of many bays which we discovered is easy to get turned around on. The Dorset Fire Tower is another landmark you can see from the water. It’s popular with road trippers, especially in fall.  You can actually climb the tower and if you can handle heights, it’s worth the small price of admission. The view is out of this world.

One of many trophies at Robinson’s General Store in Dorset – 41 inches, 35 pounds, caught by Jack Bramm on Lake of Bays in 1966

We also stopped in the little village of Dorset and had an ice cream cone and checked out Robinson’s General Store. It has been operating since 1921 and sells everything under the sun.

The Bigwin steamboat being renovated

Dorset is photogenic, so if you like snapping pix, this is one town not to miss. While we were there we caught up with Bruce Davidson, a boat builder/local carpenter at the Lake of Bays Marine Museum. He’s helping restore The Bigwin, a 1920s steamer yacht that once ferried passengers across the lake from Dorset to Bigwin Island. The Bigwin sat on the bottom of  the lake until a short time ago. You can see its restoration in progress at the museum and if you feel so inclined make a cash donation to help the local heritage boat society complete its project.

Lake of Bays is Canadian Shield country – craggy outcrops of rock, towering white pine along rocky shoreline, all set against brilliant blue skies. My kind of place.

This post is supported by canada boat operator card.