Trip Report – Alwaki (cabin 4) – July 15 to 22 – Erik and Greg

[Greg]

Trip Report â€" Alwaki (cabin 4) â€" July 15 to 22 â€" Erik and Greg

It finally arrived â€" Eric and I live a 5.5 hour drive apart but we look forward to this trip each and every year â€" we email, text, phone and get together when we can over the winter to prepare ourselves for this week â€" and now it’s over.  But what a fantastic week it was.

Friday â€" Eric drove from Kitchener to Ottawa and arrived at 10am â€" “I got up early” â€" anxious a little?   We hung out, I finished up work, then we went out for lunch, a few last-minute errands and then packed the boat and got as much ready as we could.

Saturday â€" I got up at 5 (couldn’t sleep) â€" packed the final items (fridge/freezer stuff into coolers) and final duffel-bags of clothing, etc.  Opened the garage door to a soaking wet driveway â€" heavy rain through the night and very overcast â€" but thankfully it was just a mist now.  We left my house at 5:30am and hit the Tim Hortons at the corner for a coffee and breakfast sandwich.  A couple of hours on the road and the sun came up and the sky’s cleared â€" and the temperature rose â€" beautiful!!!
Uneventful drive EXCEPT FOR highway 533 â€" the old twisty road from Mattawa through to 63- the highway to Timiskaming.  The highway is having LOTS of work done to it â€" and it is mostly gravel â€" I have a new boat and was terrified of the rocks being thrown up â€" I slowed down significantly, but we checked at the end of the road and there were still chips in the trailer and on the boat (…luckily many of the chips seemed to have water-washed themselves out by the end of the week).  We took 63 all the way to North Bay and then turned to Mattawa â€" it is only about a 25 to 30 minute difference, but the longer trip was worth it to not go through that crap again (if you are traveling from the Mattawa/Ottawa area, and you are concerned about rock damage to your vehicle and/or boat â€" make the trip to North Bay, get a Tim Hortons coffee in North Bay and enjoy the ride).
Arrived at Alwaki around 12:30, unpacked, had a few refreshments, some lunch and then headed out for our first fishing â€" some lake trout trolling â€" gone one!  (more on lake trout trolling later).
Note: when we put the boat in the water â€" temperature of water was pretty consistent at 66 degrees.
Had some supper and headed out for some walleye fishing â€" jigging â€" got a few small ones and then trolled back to the island â€" got a few more below the slot ones â€" no keepers.   The sky clouded over and it got windy and colder in the evening â€" dramatic weather change coming!

Sunday â€" Windy, cold and some rain â€" very difficult fishing â€" we went out fishing, came back to the cottage and went back out 4 different times â€" but getting warm was a priority!  Not many times in 12 years that I said we had to have a fire in our cottage to get warm.  We tried lake trout trolling in the afternoon, but with the waves, it was difficult â€" didn’t get any, but did get snagged and lost a gang-troll.

Monday â€" Woke up to great weather (the start of our 5-day heat wave!) â€" we plan an “adventure day” every year â€" where we basically pack up lots of drinks and food and go to a different area of the lake (last year was the Church at Hunters Point and previous year was all the way to Grindstone Lake).   We filled the boat up with Gas and headed out… what a fantastic day… I would not change this for the world.  Here was our list of destinations:  1) we went all the way around Mackenzie Island and visited the nice beach on a little island near the north part of the Island (side note: municipality did a great job with some new docks, patio tables on raised platforms and even go-huts).  We met a nice couple staying at Chalet Diane and talked with them for 10 minutes (Mike and Shelley).  2) Canal bay â€" always recommended but I never went â€" what a fantastic place â€" we fished a little (caught one small mouth bass) and docked on another new dock on a tiny island in the middle of the bays and I brought my portable BBQ â€" we had a snack on the dock and walked around the paths on the tiny island.  3) We headed north â€" past Fox lodge  4) past the old Landriault (now it is called Finns) â€" talked to a gentlemen there for a few minutes named Ryan who was the new owner and he was working on restoring the cottages (saw some fresh construction material on decks, etc.).  5) past 3 seasons, 6) stopped in the middle of the awesome big lake â€" weather was so hot and no wind â€" the lake was like glass in the middle of the day and we enjoyed our first swim to cool down.  We tried lake trout trolling in new waters, but got surprised by a little shoal and snagged up and lost our 2nd gang-troll (DOHHH!).  We decided to continue our adventure and as we only had two gang trolls left â€" we decided to protect our last gang-trolls and only fish waters we familiar with.  7) we continued north (just to say we went as far as we could) â€" we saw the sign for cedar valley lodge and went deep into the bay to idle past it.    we continued north again and went right into a shallow sandy lake with only 3 feet depth â€" we reached the end of our north journey, so we took different routes to head south â€" 9) saw the sign for Smiths Bay outfitter and idled past there and spoke with Grant on the dock for a few minutes and asked a few questions about the area â€" great Guy to talk with.  10) We then visited Two Moons,  11) Chalet du Huard and finally back past Fox lodge again and back to the picnic area (location #1) and went up on shore for 30 minutes and cooked some sausages for a late afternoon/early supper.  We went home to Alwaki after this, refreshed for 20 minutes, changed etc.  This was the conclusion of our adventure day â€" I explored more of the lake then I ever have before and enjoyed every minute of it.  The new boat handled great and I enjoyed it’s comfort and handling â€" it can do over 50 mph but I never pushed it that fast (…ok, maybe a few times…)  simply to conserve fuel and enjoy the scenery along the way.  I highly recommend everyone who comes to this lake to do their own exploration day.
In the evening, we went through the chute, trolled for a while, got a few more walleye and then came back and jigged for a while â€" a few more walleye â€" but no keepers (again)! 

Tuesday â€" slept in due to long day and lots of sun yesterday â€" but beautiful weather again â€" so we went lake trout trolling â€" this time in Hunters Lake … got NONE.  But we did have two on the line, with big head shakes but they got off.  Dealing with plastic minnows is a pain (I always use to use real minnows but as we all know, they are now banned).  The hook seemed to pull up the body of the plastic minnow and trout would bit on to the end of the plastic, and never get to the hook.   Frustrating… a new plan was required!   We went jigging and some trolling at night and got a few more walleye â€" but only 2 keepers â€" our first of the trip â€" so we had a fish fry â€" but we were starting to get disappointed/discouraged with our results.  Lots of 12 to 14 inch walleye, but not in the slot!
Wednesday â€" We got up early at 5am, had a coffee and headed out and fished a few new spots with a slightly different approach and more precise anchoring â€" got a few more than walleye (higher numbers) but again, nothing in the slot.
Lake trout trolled near Corbeau in the afternoon â€" very familiar waters, but this time, we tried different coloured spoons â€" and we got two within 30 minutes… one of them was our largest of the trip â€" 60cm â€" but again, not above the minimum 65cm.  But our spoon (versus plastic minnow theory was proven) â€" we zeroed in on gold coloured metal with an orange strip â€" we luckily had two similar with these and fished these the rest of the trip.
I took some friends who were also staying at Alwaki through the chute and around turtle island to show them some other areas of the lake â€" they were amazed at the lake’s beauty â€" they booked 2 weeks next year already.
Evening â€" we jigged some and trolled (in Dead Bear bay) â€" and got 2 keepers and lots of smaller walleye.

Thursday â€" another clear and hot day â€" the heat wave continues.  5am wake up alarm again, coffee then start time again â€" more walleye, a few more keepers but lots just under the slot size.  Erik caught his first pike on Kipawa â€" a medium size 2 or 3 pound pike (he had hoped to catch a pike on Kipawa and said so several times before leaving and during our first couple of days and I actually have not caught a pike on the lake in several years).   More trolling, more under-the-slot walleye.  AND THEN… then it happened â€" while trolling â€" BANG â€" 8:35am â€" Erik’s rod bent over hard and fast â€" a very aggressive hit â€" ended up being an 8 or 9 pound pike â€" a quick measurement was 28 inches, but it was probably closer to 30 if we would have taken time to lay him down and stretch him out, but we wanted to get him back in the water.  The pike are putting up a great fight this year â€" very strong, dive deep and don’t give up.   Erik was ecstatic!  I have some pictures â€" will post once I get them all organized.
In the afternoon, we lake trout trolled on the south east size of Turtle island (same spoons) and had our best afternoon of lake trout of the trip â€" 5 in the boat and lost another couple â€" none were keepers.
Evening, we went back to what was working â€" trolling with any lure that was chrome and/or bright blue â€" got more walleye and a few more keepers for the freezer.

Friday â€" skipped the early morning wake up call â€" rest and catch up on sleep â€" lake trout trolled in the afternoon on North side of Turtle island across from Whispering Pines outpost cottage and got 3 more (that totals 11 lake trout â€" no keepers).

Saturday â€" although it was drive home day, we organized most of our gear the previous night and packed up the large rubber maid containers I use (simple, dry and convenient).   Alarm went off at 5am, had a coffee and headed to dead-bear bay for a final 2 hour troll â€" caught several walleye and hit happened again!  Erik got a great pike â€" that was not as big as the one mentioned above, but still pretty darn good â€" and it put up a great fight â€" it actually jumped out of the water so that it’s entire body was vertical with the tail about 8 inches of the water â€" we both screamed “whoaaaaa!”.   I have never seen pike fight like the ones we caught this week!  What a great way to end the trip.  We headed back to Alwaki, packed the boat, cleaned, headed to the dock, loaded up the boat and were on the road before 9:30am headed home â€" we went through North Bay this time (not through the gravel) and that was great â€" other than the 25 minute driving time increase.  We were home safe in Ottawa at my house in Orleans before 3pm (and this was with 2 large accidents on highways causing slight 5 minute detours).

Temperature:  Water temperature started out at 66 and rose throughout the week to 74 or 75 (in more shallow bays) â€" we swam 5 of 7 days it was so hot and beautiful out, we needed to cool down.

Bugs: Nasty!!! Mosquitos and black-flys are still around (mainly from 9:15pm to 10:15pm) especially at the end of the week after all the heat (must have hatched?!) but… the ankle biting fly’s in the boat in mid-day and evenings are NUTS… we tried Off, muskol, some other stuff and a Thermocell â€" our feet and ankles are nuts - they look like we have the chicken pox â€" they also bit every other part of your body as well.  I still have lots of bits visible.  And there seemed to be 5 different species of flies biting â€" I looked down at the top of my foot once, and I was wearing ankle socks only â€" and saw 4 different kinds of flies, as I was counting them, I simultaneously felt 4 stings… unbelievable!  Other than wearing knee high rubber boots with a draw string â€" I have no idea how to protect against these â€" they bit through socks, shoes and even light pants.

What was working:
For walleye - trolling with chrome lures in 9 to 15 feet of water, jigging with leaches on a jig head or power bait minnows on a jig head.  We caught 5 or 6 dozen walleye in total â€" with only 8 keepers (we ate 2 and brought home 3 each).
For pike â€" trolling - chrome lures â€" we caught a total of 5 pike
Lake trout â€" gold/orange spoons â€" let me know if you find some fake minnows that work â€" but I honestly spent close to $20 in plastics that were nothing short of garbage â€" we caught 11
Bass â€" still always a fluke in the central part of the lake (only caught the 1), but was just casting with a crank bait as we slowly navigated through canal bay.

My new boat â€" a Stratos 486SF with a 150HP Evinrude ETEC two stroke â€" fantastic â€" love the handling, stability and comfort â€" it worked perfect.  With our trip in from Kipawa dock and return to Kipawa dock, all our trips to dead bear bay, through the chute 3 or 4 times and around turtle island twice, around corbeau lake trout trolling, through hunter lake once, our adventure day, etc. we burned a HUGE amount of fuel.   A full tank to start with + 8 cherry cans â€" totaled over $400.  But let’s face it, $100 of that was in an 8 hour period on adventure day.  I do have a few things to bring it back to the dealership to look at under warranty but all these are minor.  Also, trolling speed was (I believe) to high â€" over 3km/hour â€" sometimes close to 3.8km/hour â€" we even put down the electric motor and just let it sit there to provide some resistance â€" I will have to research a drift sock to maybe slow us down or a trolling plate (I had one on my old boat but wanted to avoid that if possible).  We always tried to troll into the wind also to slow us down, or pop the throttle into neutral a few times for 10 seconds to slow things down (but then you risk snagging).  What do people consider the optimum troll speed?  Any comments or suggestions?

Lost to the lake: A hat, 2 pair of sunglasses, a pair of shorts (Erik thought were securely secured to the back seat), 2 gang trolls, and 8 or 9 lures (mostly chrome or blue/chrome or some live-target bait balls).  The lake gives us so much, it can also take!!

Summary
We absolutely had a great time â€" there were times we laughed so hard our stomachs hurt and we were gasping for air while practically crying our eyes were watering so hard.  We have absolutely no regrets - a little discouraged with the walleye count compared to previous years â€" and more discouraged with the keeper total of 8 but we caught/released so many 14 inch walleye (like 25+) that I think the preservation and fishery protection strategies are working â€" so I hope to see fishing improve in future years.  I would like to see a keeper lake trout â€" as I have not gotten one in 2 years but that will also improve. 
Eating and “refreshments” â€" wow, something about that lake and the fresh air makes food taste great (so we plan some elaborate meals 4 of the 7 nights) and some great brunch/breakfasts.  The refreshments also tasted great and felt like we were drinking water â€" we came home totally alcohol dry â€" but friends and neighbours helped us out in the final 36 hours â€" thanks guys!
Accommodations at Alwaki are always good and the support from Brian and Tina continues â€" with license, leeches, worms and ice always available right on the island.  Fridge and stove and BBQ always have propane and the hot/cold running water is also great.  This was our first year in cabin 4 with the new deck built last year (which was great to sit on in the breeze and shade) as well, the mirror image of this new deck was built on cabin 5 since our visit last year.
When we returned to the Kipawa dock, I spoke with Mary for 10 minutes (where we park the truck/trailer) and she had heard from several people that the bite was slow this week (she specifically said after 6 weeks of crazy awesome reports of the fish practically jumping in the boat, this is the first week she had heard the slow comments consistently).  My friends in a different cottage on the island only got a few keepers and our cottage neighbours also got some, but not full strings like the old days.  Although there were reports at camp of some people getting many keepers daily, perhaps they were in the right place at the right time using the right bait â€" but that is what fishing is all about….
During the drive back, Erik (great friend and fishing partner) and I discussed many points and strategies about our trip next year… the count-down is on.

Note: Pictures to come and Erik also borrowed a brand-new Go-Pro (I think he said it records in 4k HD) â€" he got some great footage going through the Chute in both directions, going into canal bay, us reeling in fish, etc.  Will figure out how to make that available soon.

[Greg]

Man, cutting and pasting from notes I made on my phone screwed up some formatting and spacing!!  I won't do that again.

[john c]

Thanks for the trip report.  Even if the fishing isn't great it is still a great place to be.  Your trip report will have to due till this coming Sat., then it is our turn.

john c

[Jay Thomas]

Hi Greg,

Thanks for the informative report.

I checked out your new ride on the Stratos web site â€" great looking ride.

As for trolling speeds, I’m always using camp boats with 15 HP outboards. Consequently, it’s a lot easier to get to a trolling speed target of 0.8 mph. However, if I’m unable to achieve trolling speeds of less than 1.6 mph, I’ll deploy my drift sock off the bow. Some fishermen using bigger boats will deploy two drift socks. For example, if the boat is moving too fast forward trolling with the wind, tie two identical drift socks off the forward cleats so they are open at mid-ship. This tactic can cut boat speed 30 to 50 percent. However, one caveat, it’s the walleye that dictate their preferred speed of presentation.

I really enjoyed the paragraph detailing your exploration day. I spent 17 weeks during 14 years fishing Lake Kipawa out of 3 Seasons Camp. That big lake you came to after passing 3 Seasons Camp is called Hay Bay. It has 5 underwater humps (great for walleye fishing). Most top out at 25 to 30 FOW but a couple top out at less than 9 FOW.

Thanks for the heads up about highway 533. I’ll check the Ontario Road Repairs web site to ascertain when the work will be completed. I have two upcoming walleye trips (11-20 Aug and 5-13 Sep) and we usually use highway 533 on both trips.

I was a little surprised that you were not marking any walleye deeper than 17 FOW.

What was the most productive depth for lake trout?

I’m looking forward to seeing your pictures/videos.

Jay

[Greg]

Hi Jay,

Thanks for comments on the boat - yes, I am very happy with it.  The folks at Orleans Boat world have supported and helped me greatly get use to it and adapt to it.

As for trolling speeds, yes, your comments definitely help me confirm what I suspected, I have to look into some drift socks before my next trip.  Who knows what we could or would have caught if we slowed down but as you say, presentation sometimes does not align to what the walleye want.

As for highway 533 - not sure if you are towing a boat or not - but wow, it is strange what they have done - they have paved some corners beautifully (like the same quality pavement we are seeing on the new stretch of 174) for about a total of 50 to 75 metres, but then straight gravel until the next corner!  I get corners is where you need grip for safety, but so much gravel is going to deter people from using it regularly.  The only way I would use that road again is if I was in an old truck, that I already arranged a trade in amount for and have a contract, and picked up my new ride the day after my last trip down the 533!!!  Please share any info you find out about their highway road repairs web site - or even the link - I hope they return it to a half decent state (end to end) - until they do, I will not use it again.

As for marking walleye - we did mark some as deep as 30 or 35 feet, but we just couldn't hook them up - so we trolled up to 17 feet along shore lines and when we jigged, we didn't really go below holes or structure below 25 feet.

Lake trout trolling depth - most productive was DEEP!  We marked and caught more in 100+ feet, with 240 to 280 feet of line out then we did (traditionally, I was taught to troll shores with sharp structure and up to 75 feet).  We did more trolling in the center of various areas of the lake than ever before - and hooked up more.  We were happy with our lake trout results because we adapted and were successful (spoons and depth adjustments).

Good luck on both your trips!

Greg

[CaptainCrappie]

Very detailed report Greg.  Your report makes for a longer enjoyable reading time.  It's always nice and expected to read of the fishing results in the trip reports but there are other bits of info/experiences that make every trip special to the writer. 

C.C.

[getthenet]

Greg,I've found trolling in reverse will help slow you down,bet the drift socks is probably your best option. There have been times we haven't had a drift sock and just dragged a 5 gallon bucket.It actually works quite well !

[T-Bone]

Great report Greg...thanks for taking the considerable time (I'm sure) to put that together.

Can't wait to get up there....a mere 5-days from now!!!

T-Bone....

[limacharley]

Now that's a detailed report. Great to read.

Kipawa has a lot of hats and sunglasses at her bottom. You're not the first to lose stuff.

You were trolling with gang trolls which IMO are less sensitive to speed. I troll with downriggers and William Wobblers and keep my speed between 2.2 and 2.8 MPH. I never troll less than 2 mph. If I do, the wabblers don't action properly. I really don't think it matters too much because aggressive lakers will eat no matter what the speed.

The little flies that bite your ankles are Sarcophaga aldrichi and they are native to the great lakes area. They are most abundant when tent caterpillars are at their peak because they feed on the larvae.

HWY533- I was hoping they never fixed the road cuz that's where us locals get all of our specks. There's some dandy trout fishing back there.

The water this past Sunday at my end of Hunter was 77°. It was like swimming in my pool at home.

[GregL]

Great report!..thank you!

[Ozzy30]

Great report Greg, sorry to hear about the slow lake trout fishing.  I noticed it slower this year also but didn't really spend the time I usually do.  What size is your new motor?  I use a 90 fourstroke merc with troll plate and brings my speed down perfectly to troll lakers.  If you want to pm me I will send you some information on artificial bait I use.  I live just outside of Ottawa and use these baits even around home.  I gave a setup to T-Bone I think 6 or 7 years ago and I still can't convince him to fish lake trout.   lol.

[Greg]

Hey Ozzy30 -

My new motor is a 150 Evinrude ETEC - (one of the clean burning 2 strokes).  I had a trolling plate on my old 90HP Merc also and it slowed me down enough - I think I will look into the drift socks and see what I can find.

Greg

[Ozzy30]

I've never tried a windsock but the gentleman that stays in cabin 4 the week we are up there just uses the electric motor

[Greg]

Yes, we did use the electric some last week (ha, I was in cabin 4 also) to try it out (it had to be turned up to over half to get going about 2.5 to 2.7km/hr) - but we wanted it primarily for working shores and casting and I had no method to charge the batteries so we tried to conserve it.

A friend last week had a portable generator and he charged his batteries while he was docked - what a great idea!

Greg

[Ozzy30]

The generator is exactly what they use to keep batteries topped up.  He either has I-pilot or co-pilot on his electric motor so just runs with the remote.  Do u usually troll that fast?  I usually try to stay between 1.5 and 1.8 mph.