20-29 Jun Lake Hebert Trip Report

[Jay Thomas]

Ron (Connecticut), Eric (West Virginia) and Kevin (New York) arrived at my house in Ottawa 11 AM Thurs 19 Jun for the trek north to Clova, Quebec to catch our flight with Air Tamarac to Lac Hebert at 1030 on Fri 20 Jun. We stopped in Mont Laurier for a great lunch at the St-Hubert. The gravel road from Mont-Saint-Michel to Parent (110 miles) was in fantastic shape (was being graded) and we averaged 50-55 mph (driving time was a little more than 2 hours). The next 55 miles of gravel road from Parent to Clova was in equally great shape and took just over an hour to drive. We enjoyed dinner at the Clova restaurant before retiring to our rooms at the Auberge Clova (old converted school house).

After breakfast on Fri morning, we weighed our gear and groceries. We were just slightly over the 110 pound limit per person (425 pounds over to be exact). Our overage cost was $320 (too much beer was not the only culprit). I learned that it isn’t easy to make flight weight restrictions. Consequently, the four of us and part of our gear were flown to Lac Hebert on a Beaver at 1030 (very bumpy flight) while the rest of our gear came later in the day on a Cessna.

A board walk facilitated moving our gear and groceries from the dock to the cabin. The cabin was outstanding having been built only 3 years ago. Pergo laminated flooring with two bedrooms (could sleep 6), ample kitchen and eating area and bathroom (with sink and shower with on-demand hot water). Propane refrigerator with freezer, small propane chest freezer and propane stove and lights. Lots of big windows facilitated air flow throughout the cabin.

Lac Hebert is approximately 230 miles north east of the north eastern arm of Lake Kipawa. It is 12 miles long and more than a mile wide in many spots. There are 3 deep water basins, the deepest of which is 73 feet. There are lots of walleye/pike structures and plenty of rocks â€" many of which were just below the surface. My only negative comment is that many of these shallow rock areas had not yet been marked with buoys this year. Fortunately, our two veterans provided marked up maps to help navigate the lake safely. The equipment was great with 16 foot wide body Lunds powered with 20 HP four stroke Mercs (new every year). Each boat included a Danforth anchor, sufficient anchor rope, oars and 6 vertical rod holders. Lac Hebert has no lake trout.

The cold winter (4 feet of ice) followed by a slow spring warm up had retarded normal lake activity by 3 weeks. According to the two 10 year + veterans of the lake along on our trip, we never experienced a strong bite during our trip. Regardless, the four of us boated over 700 walleyes in our 9 days on the lake as well as 60 + pike. Biggest walleyes of our trip were a 28 incher and a 27 incher while the biggest pike boated was a 38 incher. Most walleyes caught were between 14 and 18 inches in length.

Primary fishing methodology used was jigging with crawlers (leeches didn’t seem to work as well). Had to revert to 3/8 ounce and 1/2 ounce jigs to contend with wind and wave action much of the time (Nuckle Ball Zone R jigs were the ticket). 23 to 25 feet of water was a common productive depth. However, I also learned a new fishing methodology during this trip from my new fishing partners, for both walleye and pike â€" that being 5 and 6 inch swim baits (paddletails). I was just amazed by the walleye hitting these swim baits whether we cast or trolled them.

For our return journey down the Clova Road, unfortunately, the gravel road had deteriorated (lots of wash boards). We only averaged about 40 mph on the way out. We arrived at my house about 4 PM on Sunday 29 Jun (having been up since 5 AM to prepare for a 730 AM flight (very smooth) back to Clova).

I can easily recommend Lac Hebert as a great walleye fishing destination. Air Tamarac runs a top notch service. Accommodations and equipment were great. I was amazed at how fast 9 days went by. Here’s a few pictures.

Our cabin (#26)


Cabin # 25 (1/4 mile away)


Kevin with a 38 inch pike


Eric with 24 inch walleye


45 days until I head for Club Trout Lake with my 3 regular fishing partners.

Jay

[SgtCrabby]

Great Report.  Thanks for sharing.

Sounds and looks like a great place.   
425 lbs over for 4 guys means you were over by greater than 100 lbs per man?  Uh-Oh, time for someone to rethink they're packing strategy!
That's a nice number of fish. Your hands must be sore from handling all them.

[T-Bone]

Great report Jay...thanks.

You see...that's the problem with fly-in fishing...taking the adequate amount of beer ends up costing as much as the trip itself! 

Anyway...nice take on the fish. And even with all that information you shared, I have only 2 questions, well, maybe 3 questions...

Is a 'Danforth anchor' just as effective as, say, a 15-pound navy anchor? Seems it would be monumentally easier to pull up.

Do you really believe the Zone R Fastball Slider Knucklehead jig made a difference? If so, why? It has a interesting design...but I fail to see how it would actually do anything 'unique' that a standard jig wouldn't do. Is it a confidence thing? Or does it do something unique?

How in the world do a guy from Connecticut, West By-Gone, New York, and Ontario hook-up for a fishing adventure in the deep Canadian bush? An eclectic crew, to say the least...

Thanks again Jay...glad you had a great trip. Good luck at CLT...

20-something...

[answer to 'How many beers did you have today T-Bone?' the Saturday that we arrive. Just kidding...I think...  ]

[john c]

Glad to hear you had a good trip.  Pictures are great, looks like a nice place.
John

[Oarin]

Hi Jay, great report. What is the name of the lodge?

[600 miles north]

     As always Jay, Great report! I enjoy looking at the pics, especially of a new place. Glad to hear you had a good time and experience while there. Thanks for taking the time to share it with us.

     It is almost impossible not to over pack on trips to Kipawa for us as well. I swear every year we are taking bare essentials, it just never happens that way. It's easy for me to blame it on the kids stuff... but in reality it's all really because of me! 

     Are you going to give the swim baits a go at club trout lake this summer?

     Brad

[Jay Thomas]

Thanks for the comments.

SgtCrabby

The weight limit of 110 pounds was to be 70 pounds for my personal stuff and 40 pounds for my share of the groceries. All my fishing gear and clothing weighed in at 106 pounds. Consequently, I was 36 pounds over weight. I contacted a fishing colleague (50 + fly in trips under his belt) for advice on satisfying weight limits. At $0.75 per pound for any overage, he advised me to take whatever I thought I required for a 9 day trip.

Todd

All I said was that the Knuckle Ball Zone R jigs were the ticket for us. I didn't try to sell the use of these jigs to anyone. As long as you have enough anchor rope to properly set the Danforth, it works great especially on soft bottoms. I own a 7 pound Chene anchor that is good for boats up to 20 feet - you just need adequate rode. As to how the four of us got together, I responded to a walleyecentral.com ad seeking a fourth to join 3 guys for an already booked trip to Lac Hebert - simple as that. I met the other three guys for the first time when they got out of their vehicle in my driveway. Nothing ventured, nothing gained!

Oarin

Check out Air Tamarac and Lac Hebert at http://www.tamarac.ca/php/en/accueil.php. The original five cabins (located on an island 4 miles south of our cabin) have all been renovated during the last 10 years. Cabin 25 and cabin 26 were built recently.

Brad

I'll definitely be using swim baits at CTL. They're easy to use and versatile (cast or troll). I had my swim bait rig at the ready at all times. Easy to switch from jigging a rock outcropping to casting swim baits into the shallow water around the rock outcropping. And the best part, walleyes seem to love them.

Jay

[Dog]

@Jay Thomas

Holy walleye batman... Did I read right that you think the bite never really turned on AND you caught over 700 walleye?... That seems like ridiculously good fishing in terms of quantity. Congratulations!!!

I added the outfitter and trip report to the master index ( I put it up top right after kipawa lodge, instead in out of area... just seemed fitting since it's not kipawa but close like Lake O). Hope that's ok...

The fly-in trip seems like a real adventure and something that is for sure on my list of trips to make in the future.

5-6" swimbaits?... huh... I never would have thought these would be good but sounds like they were for you on Herbert.

lastly, thanks for sharing your unique adventure and a great report!

Nate

[T-Bone]

All I said was that the Knuckle Ball Zone R jigs were the ticket for us. I didn't try to sell the use of these jigs to anyone.

Yeah...I wasn't implying that you were trying to gain converts or anything, I was just wondering why you believe it produced (or would produce) better than a standard ball or bullet jig. I have about 964 jigs in my box and really don't need to expand that inventory...UNLESS there's an innovative and unique advantage to the Knuckleball.

Good info on the anchor. We drop in all types of bottom compositions; mud/sand, sand/rock, scattered boulders, rock ledges. It sounds like that a great soft bottom anchor, but may not be designed for rocky situations. You expanded thoughts on that are appreciated.

And that's a sweet hook-up with the boys via Walleye Central. Sounds like a great adventure, and deep into the bush with a pretty long travel route into the location. The isolation looks awesome, and if 700 fish is not a hot bite, then that place must be epic when they're on the bite.

I'll PM you with a couple other questions about destinations. We're thinking it's about time to start planning "the big trip".

Thanks again...great report.

[rambler]

Nice report Jay. As for the swim baits. I have tried the pre rigged style from Storm on Kipawa with little luck. What type were you using. Pre rigged, weighted hook, etc??? Did color matter? Its interesting to see how different lakes require different techniques. On other lakes in Quebec we always used 3/8 oz jigs with twister or paddle tails. Dont think I've used anything over 1/4 oz on Kip. Might have been the time of year. We always went up in June.

[RHYBAK]

Great report as always Jay.
Thanks for sharing.
I assume you didn't get your wall hanger.

[Jay Thomas]

RHYBAK

No, I didn't connect with a big walleye. Wouldn't have been a wall hanger anyway as you can't harvest any walleye over 20 inches - not even a trophy. Maybe next time I'll catch one. The memory and a picture is all I require.

Nate

Believe it or not, on last years trip (first week of Jul) to Lac Hebert, our two lake veterans and 4 other guys boated 2200 walleye in 7 days with a phenomenal bite.

Rich

I was using PowerBait 5 inch ripple shads (paddle tails) in smelt and holographic gold black back. I installed these swim baits on 3/8 ounce swim bait jigs. Used a drop of Krazy Glue to hold the swim bait to the swim bait jig. I had more success with walleye after I attached a treble hook stinger hook over the swim bait jig hook after I had placed the swim bait on the swim bait jig. I simply buried one of the treble hooks into the back of the swim bait. Before I did that, that walleye were hitting the paddle tail but not getting the swim bait jig hook.

Jay

[RHYBAK]

RHYBAK

No, I didn't connect with a big walleye. Wouldn't have been a wall hanger anyway as you can't harvest any walleye over 20 inches - not even a trophy. Maybe next time I'll catch one. The memory and a picture is all I require.

Nate

Believe it or not, on last years trip (first week of Jul) to Lac Hebert, our two lake veterans and 4 other guys boated 2200 walleye in 7 days with a phenomenal bite.

Rich

I was using PowerBait 5 inch ripple shads (paddle tails) in smelt and holographic gold black back. I installed these swim baits on 3/8 ounce swim bait jigs. Used a drop of Krazy Glue to hold the swim bait to the swim bait jig. I had more success with walleye after I attached a treble hook stinger hook over the swim bait jig hook after I had placed the swim bait on the swim bait jig. I simply buried one of the treble hooks into the back of the swim bait. Before I did that, that walleye were hitting the paddle tail but not getting the swim bait jig hook.

Jay

True ,but nothing beats going into the Recreation room and seeing that beauty on the wall.
Now a days all you need is a picture and measurements for the taxidermist to make a life lasting replica.

[Dog]

2200 walleyes?! you took the time to count that many?... goodnight.
heck, I'm surprised you counted to 700. I would have stopped at 100 as I consider that an epic week of fishing in the kipawa area...

[RHYBAK]

For the life of me , I don't understand why anybody would keep count anyways
Lasat week I overheard two boats from another camp rattling off the updated count everytime they released a small walleye and I mean small.(perch size)