Fawcett Lake

[Hawks]

I had the good fortune of being invited to go on an extra trip to this Friday. I have never fished this lake but have heard great things. If any of you have some advice to offer, it would be very appreciated. Since I have never fished Canada so early in the season, I am expecting different persentations and fish behavior. Any suggestions on techniques, depths, baits would be very appreciated.

You can expect a full report as soon as I return next Thursday. Thanks for your help!!

[Hawks]

Any advice guys. Leaving day after tomorrow. What techniques are best this time of the year? Should I fish the current or focus on points?

Leeches or minnows?

Any advice is great!

Thanks again!

[Scott]

Hi Hawks,
A jig and a minnow worked best for us last year. Leeches were less productive. Try the rocky points and don't be afraid to go in very shallow. Ask about 'the narrows' this area was also very productive. Northerns are in the same areas as the walleyes and will bite on anything. Make sure you bring a lot of jigs, between the northerns and snags in the rocks you'll definitely go through them. If you're targeting northerns the '5 of diamonds' is definitely the way to go. Last year you could cast from the dock and catch all the 3 to 7 pound northerns you would want. There's also a rapids area that you can portage to that is also supposed to be very productive, but we didn't make it down there. Which outfitter are you using?

You'll have a blast. I'll look forward to hearing your report when you get back.

Scott

[Scott]

Hi Hawks,
How did you do? Did you find any new hot spots. We're heading up next week, so I'd love to hear how you did.

[Hawks]

Scott-

Fawcett was very nice. You could basically pull walleyes out of any points in sight. Depth was inconsistent. Water seemed to be down 2-3 feet. Areas that were rapids in the past were reduced to an unimpressive trickle. We caught our biggest fish shallow on the first day (4 ft.) in the "narrows" on the west end of the lake. The narrows is a skinny little area between the north shore and a skinny island on the west side.

We also had success around many of the northern islands. Points facing the wind were most productive.

3/8 ounce jigs was our best presentation. Back-trolling and drifting worked very well when the wind cooperated. Salted Minnows outfished leaches by a landslide. There is absolutely NO need for live bait if you plan to jig.

If you like pike action, you are in for a great time. Northerns were extremely aggressive and constantly picking up jigs when we were trying to avoid them. Everyone in our party switched to braided line because the pike were breaking us off often. 20 lb. spiderwire did the trick real fast and we hauled in some sweet northern up to 36 inches. LArgest Walleye was 25". We looked long and hard for that master angler fish but returned empty handed for the first time.

Overall, a beautiful lake with excellent fishing action. Fish are everywhere! For a Canadian lake, the bottom seemed remarkebly smooth in most spots. Tough to find deep water at times.

Where are you staying? I stayed with Pickeral Arm Camps which is located to the west of the big open area. You can't miss it. The cabin is brand new and we were the 4th party to stay. Excellent accomodations!

Good luck Scott and I expect a full report when you return. Enjoy!

[Hawks]

Hey Scott, how was Fawcett? Where's the report?

[Scott]

Sorry it took so long to post. We had an incredible 5 days. We also stayed at Pickeral Arm Camp, the new cabin is quite an upgrade from the previous one. We also had our best luck numbers wise in the narrows, but we also did pretty well at the bottom of the devils portage. The biggest walleye of the week, a 27" was caught casting a spoon right off the dock. We did get one master angler for a 50" northern. We had a few northerns hit walleys on the way to the boat, and believe it or not we had one northern actually jump into a boat chasing a walleye up. I would have never believed it if I didn't see it with my own eyes. We did some exploring north with limited success, many more northerns than walleyes. We also saw a huge fire north up the river where the MNR planes were scooping water. I don't think they were able to make much headway as windy as it was. We were very thankful for the south wind.

[Try Too Fish]

Hi Scott or Hawks
Where is Fawcett Lake located?Is it Fly in only Or drive in?
Thanks

------------------
Try Too Fish
Forced Too Work!!

[Scott]

Try to Fish,
It's a fly in. You drive up to Sioux Lookout, Minataki Lake and fly about another 100 miles north. It is a unbelivable place to fish. The resort is called Pickeral Arm camp, check it out.

[Hawks]

Scott,

Are you heading back up to Fawcett this year? My annual trip is coming up soon. We are going through Pickeral Arm Camps again but heading further north to Springpole Lake.

-Hawks

[superbee]

I have been fishing on Fawcett w/ L&M Fly In. We flew from Clearwater lake by Emo about an hour from Fort Frances. Great place. I've never fished on Springpole before, how does it compare to Fawcett? I guess the ice isn't out up there yet. When are you headed up?

[Hawks]

SuperBee,

I have only fished Fawcett once. I made it up there last year and had an excellent trip. Numbers-wise, we did excellent, but overall size was not that impressive. 100's of eaters, but nothing over 24" I believe. Northerns were extremely aggressive, I actually caught one on a jig using a Snickers bar for bait. Maybe I should make this product and get rich?

As for compaging Fawcett and Springpole...I have been to Springpole for 6 years now and know the lake fairly well. We always manage to catch big fish, but experience probably helps us with that. These Lakes are very different as far as structure goes. Springpole gets as deep as 120 feet (lots of islands, points, sharp drop-offs, rapids, etc.) while Fawcett was much shallower and flat.

I wouldn't pass either of them up! Canada is simply awesome. My first trip of the year to Springpole is May 28-June 3. I can't wait. Are you heading to Fawcett again this year? How has your experience been? Any monsters to talk about?

Good luck on your trip!

-Hawks

[superbee]

We're headed back up w/ L&M to Dobie Lake this year. We try to hit it at opener. We usually hammer the big pike at this time, lots of 35-45" , the largest we've ever caught was 49". The walleyes are unbelievably easy there, most average 19-22" W/ a few 26-27" each year. They've had it catch & release for years and seems to get better every time. Let me know how your trip goes. Talk to you later.

[superbee]

I just got back from our trip to Dobie lake. The fishing was outstanding as usual. The weather was rather cold, had to keep the fire going most of our trip. The northern were very active, the largest this trip was 44", numerous 35-40" pike. The walleyes were stacked up in the river as well, caught hundreds of 17-23"ers, lrgest walleye for the group was 26". We were nervous of the late ice, but all worked out well. How did your trip to Springpole go?

[Hawks]

Superbee,

Heading to Springpole Thursday Night. I'll post a full report when we return.

-Hawks

[superbee]

How did you do, curious because I've heard some guys had it lower than usual with the colder weather.

[Finns]

Hawks; How was the fishing on Springpole? We were on Birch the 5th thru the 11th. Weather was rough. Wind, cool and rain. Fishing was slow but the fish were good size. Numbers of fish were down. Water was higher than last year. Tents in camp were better than we expected. Finns

[This message has been edited by Finns (edited 06-27-2004).]