Wabigoon Lake

[Guest]

I fished Eagle Lake and Lac Seul the past two years, but this year I'm taking a trip to Wabigoon Lake. I'll be mostly fishing for Walleye's. Can anyone offer information on this lake, as this is my first trip to Wabigoon? Is the lake and fishing comparable to Eagle?

[Tonka Boy]

Hi Mark,

Good to have you here on FishingMN! I just returned from Wabigoon a few days ago. Fishing was outstanding. To answer your question, Wabigoon is a little different from Eagle for the fact that most of the lake bottom is clay. The average depth is 19', with a max of 38'. Wabigoon is known for trophy fish, but this time of year people are mostly catching males.

Your best bet is to follow the chain back into Butler lake (all the way back). Look for shorelines that have mud and weeds, rather than rock. Submerged trees and wood are a good bet. Concentrate in 4-8' of water, usually no more, by slowly trolling spinner rigs tiped with leeches or crawlers. Red/white/blue blades produced the best for us, but others worked as well. On the main lake, try Soapstone point with blue or orange fireball jigs tiped with a minnow or leech. The main factor to your success will be to stay on the shoreline with the wind blowing directly into it. If you can follow those guidlines, you'll be in for some heavy action!

One bit of advice though...buy your leeches in Fort Francis or wherever you cross. You can't find any near Wabigoon. Have a good trip.

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Tonka Boy

[Guest]

Thanks Tonka Boy! I greatly appreciate the information. I'm planning to bring a flat of night crawlers for our group and the lodge provides two dozen minnows or leeches per day, per boat. Hopefully they'll have leeches next week. I'm bringing my boat and I've read that most lakes in Ontario are low. Is the water level on Wabigoon low and are the hazards well marked?

[Tonka Boy]

The lakes are extremely low. I watched the water line drop 6" within the week I was there. They hadn't got more than a sprinkle of rain all spring/summer. Hardly anything is marked.

I don't know what resort you'll be at, but Merkel's camp provides maps with most of the rocks marked. Hopefully others have them also.

It might be wise to see if they do have leeches before you leave. They were supposed to have them at my camp, but he said they are impossible to get this year?? I'm sure glad I bought a couple of pounds at Fort Francis. Enjoy your trip!

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Tonka Boy

[BarryG]

A couple years ago the government stopped marking the hazards. Some of the people on the lake were marking them, but the last time I was up there NONE of the hazards were marked. Have your resort owner show you on the map EXACTLY where the hazards are! I generally fish Dinorwic more than Wabigoon, but Butler is a BEAUTIFUL lake. Good Luck, I think you will enjoy the lake.

[Guest]

Thank you for the information Tonka Boy and BarryG! I'll be staying at Bonny Bay Camp and from my conversations with the resort, they'll have a lake map with fishing spots and hazards highlighted. They also give a guided tour of the lake(s) on your initial first day at camp, so I should be fairly educated with the lake(s) in regards to the lay of the land. (My GPS is ready too) I guess that why I'm going to try Wabigoon. They seem to offer a good package, good rates, fishing license, bait and gas included and good service. Will advise service when I return. Our group might even check out the local golf course, if time allows. I'll give a fishing report when I return on 7/7.

Have a nice day,
Mark