Fishing LOTW

[sledman]

Hey guys, I am planning a trip up to LOTW sometime in the summer and was wondering a few questions. I am a newbie to the musky fishing and to the lake, so any help is appreciated. One is there a specific time in the summer when the fishing seams better? Ex. full moon? Also I will be staying in the morson area. Does anyone have some suggestions for that time of the year? Im not expecting anyone to give me their hot spots but just looking for a basic game plan. Also are there any must have lures I need to bring up? Thanks for the help!

[TBone1]

Hey Sled- We stay near Morson and fish Sabaskong Bay area . We go up the first week of July, and the fishing is usually pretty good.I believe the Muskie fishing is the best around August and Sept.As far as lures we do good with White Mepps ,Raddog spinnerbaits,Cowgirls/Showgirls,TopRaiders etc.I am sure there are other more experienced Muskie addicts on this board who can give you more advice. One more thing, Dick Pearsons book "Muskies on the Shield" is a must read. I wish I had read it 3 years ago when we first started fishing the area.

[Lals]

LOTW has all the classic Musky structure and tons of it. Incrediable place to fish. Dick Piersons Book on fishing the shield - there is no better. His video is good too. The best approach is to work with a guide a couple of times during your stay. Favorite lures for me are Mepps Maribou, Black and Sliver Spinner Baits, Top Raiders and Hellhound/Manta.

Time to fish, I don't think you can go wrong. I did go up in mid Sept a few years ago and the algae bloom was terrible. But other guys do well at that time.

I have been going up there for 6 years and every year I learn more -- a lot more about it. It is a complicated water -- at least for me. This is the reason for the quides. Helps the learning curve.

[Scoot]

Good advice here so far. I've been fishing LOW since the 70's, so I have a good bit of experience with the lake. July is the hay making month for muskies up there. Once you get into Aug and definitely early Sep the bloom complicates things and can make it pretty difficult (definitely can still catch fish then though). However, early to mid July is tough to beat up there.

As stated earlier- read Pearson's book, apply what you read, have fun.

A guide is a good suggestion. Also, have a good map, and know where you're at all the time- there's 1.8 million rocks to hit in Sabaskong (and most everywhere else too on LOW) and you'll put a quick and crappy end to your trip if you hit one at a high rate of speed. Have fun!!!

[Cooter]

With the hot and dry weather last year we ran into the bloom the second week of Aug on the Angle portion - I didn't care for it at all and would suggest no later than the first week of Aug.

[sledman]

Thanks guys for the info. Any of you planning on making a trip up there in july?

[Cooter]

Just got an email this morning from a fellow Muskie Incer and he's trying to get a group together for the Angle section in July. I'm all for it.

On a side note, I fished Sabaskong with a group of walleye fishermen in late July - the little time I spent musky fishing was really good.

[TBone1]

We may be going once again in July, I won't know for sure for a few more weeks.

[Scoot]

I'll be in that neck of the woods the third weekend of June and the third weekend of July.

[Lals]

I will be up there for the first week in July (starting June 30)at Redwing Lodge and then 3 weeks later. If you are going to be up there, let me know and I will look you up.

[sledman]

sounds good. I will let you guys know when we decided which days we are going up.

[10,000 Casts]

Just a couple tips that I learned on my trip to Sabaskong last year that may help you out....

1. get the provincial map of Sabaskong not the hot maps version. There is a huge difference and it is well worth the money.

2. Take your gps

3. There are thousands of spots that look like they hold muskies, hit a spot hard then move.

4. Don't forget to take your walleye gear for shore lunch

5. The smallmouth action is amazing. Everyone told me that they only hit crankbaits it is held true, at least in June.

6. The most important of all. Fill up in Baudette.... Buy as little gas in Ontario as possible, I don't remember what it was a litre but I calculated it to be over 5 bucks a gallon. I paid twice as much in gas as I did in accomadations. It would be worth it to find out how much gas you can take accross the border.

7. Now you need passports.

8. Burrow Bay is one of the most beautiful places on earth and it has a lot of muskies. It would be a good place to have shore lunch too.

If I think of anything else I will let you know.

Hope this helps a little

John

[TBone1]

Quote:

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7. Now you need passports.

I believe the new passport law takes effect in 2008 for border crossing in vehicles. By air I believe it is 2007.

[beatuplund]

Where can I get a provincial Sabaskong Bay map? Does it show good details like rock hazards, etc.?

Thanks!

[10,000 Casts]

I got mine from Mike at Red Wing Lodge.

It does have quite a few obsticals but not all of the them and that depends on the water level.

Mike was nice enough to go over the map and he marked a bunch more that I would have never known about.

I wish I had the number of the map for you but I can't remember and it is in storage and I can't get it right now.

You might want to give Mike at Red Wing a call and he could tell you where to get one. Their HSOforum is redwinglodge.net

[beatuplund]

Thanks 10,000. I'll check into that.

[MUSKY18]

You can order your charts for LOTW online. There are 16 different charts that make up the entire lake, so make sure you get the right area of the lake that you are going to be fishing. The new charts are nice and along with your GPS, they are excellent help in navagation. With the low water, just be extra careful, as submerged rocks are now exposed or just below the surface.

[Lals]

Charts are available at Thorne Bros as well. If you go to Red Wing take out their guide Lenny. He can put on fish and help you explore the lake. Very reasonable cost and will drive your boat and let you fish.