Lake Trout on Rowan Lake

[namtkd1]

Hi there,

I am going to be making my first trip up to a lodge in Ontario to fish for lake trout on Rowan Lake. I read that lake trout bite best in early spring and fall. Does anyone know when the ice melts up there in Canada? I booked for the end of May.

Thanks,

Nam

[Hemlock]

How far north of the nearest city is Rowan Lake? I would think you'll be just fine at the end of May.

[Eastwind]

Hemlock,

Rowan Lake is in your back yard. It is 15 miles or so NE of Nestor Falls. The ice has been off around the first weekend in May the past two years.

[Eastwind]

namtkd1,

You should catch a lot of Lakers easilly at the end of May on Rowan. My friend and I have fished Rowan the first weekend in May the past two years and done well. He returned with his daughter two weeks after we were there

(third weekend) last year and did good then also. Have fun.

[Hemlock]

Eastwind, thanks....I knew I had seen a road sign "Rowan Lake" or something. I'm yet to fish another lake other than LOW. I should start poking around in the little lakes. Takes time to learn...that I don't have. You fish Whitefish Bay sometimes, don't you?

[Eastwind]

Hemlock,

I fished Whitefish once, in July, three or four years ago with no luck. I portaged over from Sabaskong Bay while I was staying in Morson. Paul Waldowski was kind enough to give me some location and presentation pointers but we just did not get our butts moving early enough on that day to have much luck. It was fun but no fish. Since then I tend to trust the portage less and less after all of the stories of people getting stranded. I fish out of Morson a lot and fish both Crow (ice fishing) and Rowan (ice out open water) once each per year for lakers. You need to get down to Crow and try some laker fishing some time. I will be up there this year for the first time in open water for lakers from May 23rd through the 28th. I have usually fished out of Morson during that week but want to try something different this year. FYI Rowan is only accessable by snowmobile or airplane.

[Hemlock]

Cool stuff, thanks for the info Eastwind. I'd love to get over to Crow. Whitefish is only hot at certain times of the year for lakers. July, you need to put in some time bombing them with heavy jigs, or down rigging. That portage at Turtle Portage isn't so bad, in my experiences, but I've certainly heard the stories. I'd love it if they put something different in. I think the key is to go slow and steady, and not let 'er free wheel on the down slope. Maybe hook up someday out on the water. Take care.

[Eastwind]

My fear of the portage is that I go in to Whitefish from Sabaskong and someone else breaks the (Contact US Regarding This Word) thing while I am in Whitefish. I did downrig for the lakers the time I fished them in July but now I stay busy enough in Sabaskong fishing eyes. I get up to LOW every May, July, some Augusts and every October for open water. I also do an ice fishing trip every January that is split between Crow and LOW. We may run across each other on the water up there some time. Do you fish the Sabaskong or Little Traverse areas ever?

[Mad Mulcher]

Eastwind-

Where do you access Crow from Morson during the winter?

[namtkd1]

Hemlock and Eastwind,

Thanks for the info! I have fished for lakers in the fall during the spawn, but never tried the spring deal. Last year, I went to Lake Athapapuskow in Manitoba in September and the lakers were real shallow and biting! I will let you both know how I do after I get back from the trip.

Nam

[Eastwind]

Mulcher,

During the Winter I go to Nestor Falls and not Morson. The first few years we would stay in town but the past three years we have stayed at Muskie Bay Resort right on Crow. The have access to both Crow and LOW.

[Eastwind]

Nam,

The Fall trip to Manitoba sounds like a fun deal. I will be on Rowan two or three weeks before you go. I will try to remember to post a report for you when I get back. FYI. We have always caught every Laker on black and silver Rapallas. Original, jointed or Shad Raps. Bring plenty.

[namtkd1]

Eastwind,

How did you do on Rowan?

My brother An and I got back from Nielsen's about a week ago. The lake trout fishing and the experience I had up there was phenomenal! We caught and released over 30 lake trout all weighing between 5-12 lbs. The longest laker was 31" and we caught three of them.

Here's a link to my fishing album:

http://www.namtkd.com/Fishing/Nielsens_Album1.htm

Nam

[Eastwind]

Nam,

Sorry I didn't post a report on this link earlier, I posted on another link and forgot all about this one. We did great on Rowan. We fished the late morning and afternoon of Saturday the 7th and the morning and early afternoon of the 8th and netted 11 fish. Not bad for less than two days. What a great Lake Trout lake Rowan is. Another friend and I fished Crow the week before Memorial day and did okay. Six fish in two days of trolling but we took GPS coordinates for many spots for the Winter which was half of our reason for going to Crow this Spring. We also spent two days fishing LOW but didn'y do squat there. It was humbling, to say the least. No wind and rain all day on one day and a new cold front with lots of wind ( 15 to 30 mph) on the second day. Oh well. We got Lakers and it beat mowing the lawn. I'm glad that you and your brother did well on Rowan. Did you get them trolling the shorelines, shore fishing or jigging. And what colors did you do well on if you got them trolling?

[namtkd1]

Eastwind,

Sounds like you had a great time!

We caught all of our lake trout slow trolling in 20 feet of water or less along the shorelines. I tried casting and jigging but had no luck. The key was to find the schools of ciscos and the lakers were not far behind. In one small bay I caught 4 lake trout in consecutive passes through the same area. I trolled with the new Rapala X-Raps, blue & silver was the best. My brother used plain silver Mepps spinners in sizes #3 and #4 and caught several lakers on them as well. The bite was good early morning and afternoon, but after dinner it wasn't as good. I hear ya on the weather... We had a mix weather bag. The first day out the gusty wind was about 20-30 mph with on and off rain. The second and third day were warm, but spotty rain throughout the day. Did you catch them trolling as well?

Nam

[Eastwind]

We got every Laker trolling on both Rowan and Crow. Of course I was too lazy to jig so it figures that we would get them trolling. We got them on silver and black and white crankbaits. The jointed Shad Rap was best, followed closely by a white Shad Rap style bait.

[namtkd1]

Eastwind,

I will be back on Rowan next year. Probably same time (May). How far off is Crow? Is it a remote lake?

Nam

[Scoot]

Question for you folks fishing Rowan- it's fly-in only, right?

[namtkd1]

Scoot,

Yep! You drive in to Nestor Falls at their airbase (Northwest Flying, Inc.). From there you take a float plane and it's about 15 minutes in the air.

Nam

[jerkin'm]

Or, snowmobile in......but could be a while for that.

[Kingfisher]

Thanks namtkd1 and Eastwind for your very interesting reports; namtkd1, very nice pic's of you, your fishing partner and Lynn and Don. Good to hear they are still running a great resort, been a few years since I have been to Rowan.

[Eastwind]

Nam,

Crow is 10 to 15 miles West of Rowan. It is accessable by Hwy 71 just North of where you flew out of Nestor Falls. Muskie Bay Resort is a good resort on Crow and they also have an access on Stevens Bay on Lake of the Woods. We have ice fished out of there for three years in January now and have been happy. This Spring was the first open water trip there and it went well.

[namtkd1]

Eastwind,

I will have to make a trip to Crow in the near future. I haven't tried ice fishing in Canadian waters yet, but might be a possibility later this year. What did the lakers bite on through the ice?

Nam

[Eastwind]

Nam,

Better make the ice fishing trip really later this year. Through the ice we get them with 4" White Power Tubes on 1/2 oz tube jigs or Sonars. Other people might have better advice than me, though. I am more of a Walleye and Crappie fisherman through the ice than a Laker fisherman. It's just something else to add in to a Crappie ice fishing weekend. We really go to Nestor Falls for the Crappies on the Winter trip.

[Hemlock]

Variety is key. As much fun as one species can be, they can often turn off a bite for the 4 days that you happen to be up there. Plan a day crappies, a day of walleyes, etc. You will be rewarded with variety and better chances of catching/releasing fish.