Good morning,
My friend and I are going to go fishing in the kipawa area May 18-23. We want to fish for trout first two days then add walleye and pike after the 20th when the season for them opens. We want to camp. We are in a 14' aluminum with a 9.9hp in good condition.
We were considering launching from the "Public" Boat Launch at Taggart Bay. What do you gentlemen with more experience in the area think? Or could you suggest better options? We want to know where we would have the best luck to get big trout, pike and walleye. I have only been to kipawa twice and we just fished the first bay next to the town of kipawa. Fishing was ok there, but we are hoping if we go further back, maybe the less traveled areas would be better? Good small islands to camp at would be nice too, but they seem easy enough to find if you look. Mainly want to know where the fish are.
Any ideas, and discussion is encouraged. Thank you very much for your help!
I wish I knew where the fish are too! Would make fishing easy.
Launch at Mungo Depot on Lac Grindstone and into Lac McLachlin; prime 'eye and pike territory early in the year. I'm sure there is laker habitat close-by. Stop by Puckster's place...he's over there somewhere...
Thanks for the tip T-Bone!
So you guys think Lac McLachlin will be better than Taggart Bay? I will lookup where that is.
Phil-
Launch at the public launch in Kipawa. The 18th will be slow since its a Wednesday. Drive your boat 6.5 km up the lake due North. Just before the first set of narrows called Chenail Beauvin there's a 5 acre island. Plenty of firewood and flat ground for camping. You'll be protected from the wind if there's any. Venture through the narrows and fish that body of water for lakers. Lots of small bays in that lake. Fish around your camp for pickerel. There's smaller islands there with plenty of structure and shallows.
The island i'm talking about is located at 46°50'13" N and 78°58'46" W. On Google earth, it's shaped like an arrowhead pointing east.
You know what's funny, last time I was there in September that's the exact island I camped at.
You think the fishing near the narrows is better than the seemingly more remote taggart bay and lac kipawa?
There's always people fishing near those islands when I go by. They are local cottagers, I'm sure.
I can't speak of fishing the Laniel end of the lake...never fished there.
Ok, thanks for the info. I was thinking the same thing that there are always people fishing there at the narrows and at that shallow rock garden near the island kind of. That's why we were thinking of going to a more remote place a little farther from the town of kipawa crowds.
Anyone have any experience with the more remote areas? Is the fishing better than the more easily accessible areas?
While I have not fished Lake Kipawa since Sep 2013, I did spent 17 weeks fishing there over 12 years. I always fished the north eastern arm out of 3 Seasons Camp (boated in from Taggart Bay Lodge dock area). There are numerous lake trout runs in the north eastern arm of the lake and none better known than the channel that runs right past 3 Seasons Camp. Two other trout runs up there are in Loon Bay out in front of Two Moon Lodge and in the east side of the lake in Belisle Bay. If you haven't already, get a copy of the bathymetric maps for Lake Kipawa. I was going to post the web reference for them but when I visited the site this morning, there was a message that bathymetric maps are now under the purview of the Environment Department. I'm waiting for a response from Environment about how to access those bathymetric maps again. Sure hope they didn't dispose of that info.
As for walleye and northerns, they are where ever you can find them. The north eastern arm is full of structure conducive to good walleye fishing.
Lastly, just a caveat. Even though you mentioned that you have fished Lake Kipawa previously, IMHO, a 14 foot tinny with a 9.9HP outboard is a stretch, especially on the larger expanses of water. On one occasion, poor planning on my part ended up with us out in Hay Bay in four footers trying to get back to camp. Hay Bay occasionally produces rollers over 6 feet.
If you opt for fishing the north eastern arm and put in at Taggart Bay, there's a nice island called Picnic Island that you might consider camping on. Going south from Taggart Bay, Picnic Island is near the entrance to Loon Bay.
Jay
Thanks for all the great info guys! We will definitely stay safe (near shore if any windy weather).
I agree with Jay. A 9.9 and 14 ft. boat could get very interesting in bad weather. If you put in at Taggarts you will have to cross Queens Bay. On a windy day that can be scary in a 16ft. with a 20 horse. Last year my son and I had 2-3 foot waves rolling down the bay. If you're heading towards the Narrows and the area Jay mentioned the waves will be hitting you on the side of your boat. There have been many times I didn't risk it in the 16ft fiberglass boat. If you do get through it Wolf Bay holds pike and walleyes. I'm not sure if Picnic Island allows camping, you might want to check that out first.
Quote from: OttawaPhil on May 05, 2016, 09:35:19 AM
You know what's funny, last time I was there in September that's the exact island I camped at.
You think the fishing near the narrows is better than the seemingly more remote taggart bay and lac kipawa?
All my trips have been to the hub area except once down to Red Pine Chute end. That one wasn't worth dealing with the Maniwaki road.
My suggestion would be to travel another 7km north to the shortcut just before Corbeau Island. The only two times I camped on Kipawa that's where we camped. There are at least two sites there on the right. During the week you won't have a problem. This puts you right at the hub of the whole Kipawa watershed, so you can travel in any direction from there. You are in prime Laker water for sure, with lots of islands to get out of the wind if need be. Once walleye opens areas like Kelly Bay, Sandbanks, and of course down past Alwaki to Turtle Chute once the sanctuary opens up. My PB Walleye came from the back corner of Corbeau island one late June full moon night at 10:30. Over 11lbs, it easily won the Corbeau lodge largest Pickeral of the week contest. Paid for my gas for the trip and chunk of the booze. ;D And while I'm bragging lol, my buddy Jim that week also caught a Laker over 10lb that won the biggest trout of the week. I tell you what, it sure felt good showing up all those fancy Americans with their expensive rigs. With my 14ft Yukon and an old 20hp Johnson we easily had the plainest rig at the lodge. My Lowrance 1510B paper graph excepted hehe.
You are going up there real early season Phil, which to me means targeting areas closer to Walleye spawning grounds as they disperse. Hence the areas I mentioned. Sandbanks always has boats on it most evenings all summer long. Some of those main lake shoals that are good for evening fishing in the summer might not produce as much yet.
Don't worry too much about the 14 footer. Fish the calm times of the day. It's the 9.9 that really limits you the most. My first trip up there was camping with a 12ft smokercraft and a 1972 6hp Johnson. Haha. The next year I bought the Yukon new. Borrowed an old 68 20hp for a few years before buying my 1980 industrial model. Still own both rigs actually.
Good luck on your trip. I can only wish these days.
Cheers
I have fished the Laniel end for the last 40 years. The Walleye don't move in to our end of the lake until early June. The Lake Trout fishing is good. After the 1st week of June the Laniel end is great for Walleye but you need to know the area
So is this still launching from the town of kipawa? then boat through the narrows and keep going to corbeau island?
We are still trying to decide where to go. Leaving in 44 hours 8-)
I also made a mistake, I thought he had a 14' and a 9.9, turns out it is a 12' and 9.9. We will pack light ;-)
Quote from: smitty55 on May 09, 2016, 12:17:34 AM
Quote from: OttawaPhil on May 05, 2016, 09:35:19 AM
You know what's funny, last time I was there in September that's the exact island I camped at.
You think the fishing near the narrows is better than the seemingly more remote taggart bay and lac kipawa?
All my trips have been to the hub area except once down to Red Pine Chute end. That one wasn't worth dealing with the Maniwaki road.
My suggestion would be to travel another 7km north to the shortcut just before Corbeau Island. The only two times I camped on Kipawa that's where we camped. There are at least two sites there on the right. During the week you won't have a problem. This puts you right at the hub of the whole Kipawa watershed, so you can travel in any direction from there. You are in prime Laker water for sure, with lots of islands to get out of the wind if need be. Once walleye opens areas like Kelly Bay, Sandbanks, and of course down past Alwaki to Turtle Chute once the sanctuary opens up. My PB Walleye came from the back corner of Corbeau island one late June full moon night at 10:30. Over 11lbs, it easily won the Corbeau lodge largest Pickeral of the week contest. Paid for my gas for the trip and chunk of the booze. ;D And while I'm bragging lol, my buddy Jim that week also caught a Laker over 10lb that won the biggest trout of the week. I tell you what, it sure felt good showing up all those fancy Americans with their expensive rigs. With my 14ft Yukon and an old 20hp Johnson we easily had the plainest rig at the lodge. My Lowrance 1510B paper graph excepted hehe.
You are going up there real early season Phil, which to me means targeting areas closer to Walleye spawning grounds as they disperse. Hence the areas I mentioned. Sandbanks always has boats on it most evenings all summer long. Some of those main lake shoals that are good for evening fishing in the summer might not produce as much yet.
Don't worry too much about the 14 footer. Fish the calm times of the day. It's the 9.9 that really limits you the most. My first trip up there was camping with a 12ft smokercraft and a 1972 6hp Johnson. Haha. The next year I bought the Yukon new. Borrowed an old 68 20hp for a few years before buying my 1980 industrial model. Still own both rigs actually.
Good luck on your trip. I can only wish these days.
Cheers
12 foot aluminum........good luck with that !
You better hope there's absolutely no wind during your trip.
Quote from: Riverrat on May 09, 2016, 09:16:30 PM
I have fished the Laniel end for the last 40 years. The Walleye don't move in to our end of the lake until early June. The Lake Trout fishing is good. After the 1st week of June the Laniel end is great for Walleye but you need to know the area
Since we start wednesday and walleye and pike dont open until saturday, I think we are leaning towards laniel start and camping near strawberry island. Then we can have good luck on the lakers hopefully. Opinions on this plan? Looks like that way will not have any scary bay crossings, and hopefully the lake trout fishing is good there.
Quote from: Jay Thomas on May 05, 2016, 11:37:55 AM
If you haven't already, get a copy of the bathymetric maps for Lake Kipawa. I was going to post the web reference for them but when I visited the site this morning, there was a message that bathymetric maps are now under the purview of the Environment Department. I'm waiting for a response from Environment about how to access those bathymetric maps again. Sure hope they didn't dispose of that info.
Jay
I have heard back from the Department of the Environment in Quebec regarding accessibility to bathymetric maps. The maps are available at ftp://ftp.mddep.gouv.qc.ca/
Click on CEHQ
Then click on cartes bathymetriques
Then click on PDF
You just have to know the PDF file number to access the bathymetric map of the lake you want. Learning the PDF file number involves tedious searching, at least for now. My problem is that I do not know how to open dbf files. The Excel file (Index_2016_05_02.xlsx) provides lake names and PDF file numbers
I'm going to contact them again to learn how to find the PDF file number easier. In the meantime, the PDF file numbers for some lakes of interest are as follows:
Lake Kipawa 1162
Lac Sasseginaga 1193
Lac Pommeroy 1180
Lac Ogascanan 1175
Lac Ostabonique 1177
Lac Kikwissi 7204
Jay
Hi Jay... I just tried that web site and get an error message - can you confirm its the right URL please?
Thx.
Hey, Ottawa Phil, I agree with lima charley. Do not bring a 12 aluminum to this lake. Especially loaded with camping equipment. The surface temp right now is 39 degrees. There is still ice along the shore. You would not stand a chance if you went down. The wind has been out of the North West all weekend and the lake has had 2-3 footers. Even if there wasn't any wind the waves from another boat could swamp your boat. Not to discourage your trip but, Get a bigger boat or find a smaller lake. After being here for 29 years this lake is unforgiving!!
Wayne is right! a 12 footer is a REALLY bad idea on Kipawa. If you were to launch at Taggarts you would have Moose Bay to you left and Queens Bay to you right. Both are big and can be tough in a 16 footer on some days. I've been going to Taggarts for 18 years and I would never attempt those waters in a 12 foot boat. The weather changes quickly and getting to an area might be easy, but getting back, not so much. You might ask an outfitter about renting a boat. I don't know if they do that, but it's a much safer option if they will. Good luck.
Quote from: Greg on May 16, 2016, 02:17:51 PM
Hi Jay... I just tried that web site and get an error message - can you confirm its the right URL please?
Thx.
Sorry Greg. I thought I was putting in the correct URL but obviously I wasn't. I have corrected my error.
Jay
Ok no big bays for sure and we are stuck where we are if any wind comes up. How about Laniel to strawberry island? Stay near shore and only fish if the wind is low? No bay crossings just stay
as close to shore as possible from launch to camp near strawberry island. Seems reasonable or still too much?
I'm gonna have to agree with the guys on this one....12 footer on Kipawa is a recipe for disaster.
We run a 22 footer and I kid you not Kipawa has gotten rough enough to push it around a bit.
Storms on this lake have a way of blowing up out of nothing and can bear down on you in a matter of minutes......
Ok we are going to start at Laniel. We are packed light. Going to head straight for strawberry island area and find a camp site. If waves come up we stop and wait wherever we are. Then we only fish in low winds. Same with leaving, only in good weather. If we have to leave early or late due to weather then no problem, better safe than sorry.
Head down the maniwaki, there are a number of smaller lakes that can be accessed by truck.
Just be sure to stay off the zec (unless you plan on registering at the zec office).
Sorry if we're all ruining your fun, but I don't think anyone on this board wants to see someone get stranded....or worse....
Hi Ottawa Phil. I suggest stopping at the zec office. They are very helpful and can point you in the right direction as to what lakes contain what species and camping locations. They will show you a map of the area.It may cost you a few bucks to register and fish,but you will catch fish, good luck, have fun stay safe.
What is the name of the zec office you are recommending so I can look up the location and prices?
We thought we would be ok with Laniel to strawberry as forcast
looks like great weather and it's not far and don't have to cross any bays, but maybe we should look for another camping and fishing option.
Ok, you guys have scared us off for now.
We are going to go to a small lake in ontario for this time.
We will do kipawa later in the season when the weather warms up, and also when I finish rebuilding my 30hp on my 14' aluminum.
Will ask for tips again when we are ready to do sometime between july and september.
Thanks for the tips. Too bad we arent going now, but better safe than sorry.
Hey
@OttawaPhil sorry if we took the wind out of your sails.
There is a Zec office at the corner of chemin be la baie kipawa and chemin manawaki.
When you're heading into Kipawa village chemin manawaki will be the road on your RH side just before you get into kipawa proper.
They can help you out in finding lakes (both on and off zec land).
There are a TON of small lakes in this area so if you're up for a little exploring this might be a good option for you.
As another option, try the many trails and roads off the 533 north of Mattawa, lots of small lakes here as well.
There is a lot of lakes off the VMUTS trails in that area too.
Good luck....
That's ok I appreciate you guys knowledge and info big time. Just sad our boat is too small to do the big lakes this time.
I will be there later when it warms up with my 14' and 30hp.
Quote from: OttawaPhil on May 17, 2016, 01:58:24 PM
That's ok I appreciate you guys knowledge and info big time. Just sad our boat is too small to do the big lakes this time.
I will be there later when it warms up with my 14' and 30hp.
14' with a 30hp? must move along pretty well!
It did 39kmh in 1 foot waves with three people in it 8-)
Good call, we use a 22 footer as well and I've been in it getting beat up. Funny thing, first 4 or 5 trips to Kipawa the weather was the worst and never a smooth ride. It was great to experience Kipawa in great sunny conditions.
Quote from: Canuckbass on May 18, 2016, 01:49:41 PM
Good call, we use a 22 footer as well and I've been in it getting beat up. Funny thing, first 4 or 5 trips to Kipawa the weather was the worst and never a smooth ride. It was great to experience Kipawa in great sunny conditions.
Seems to be Kipawa at it's finest eh? Either dead calm and gorgeous or something resembling Armageddon...
Hey
@OttawaPhil here's a video that will give you and idea how quickly and fierce storms roll in on this lake:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MYqLFPPPYjM
(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MYqLFPPPYjM)
Notice it rolls in in less than four minutes and it was fronted by bright clear skies.
Hey guys - good news I got a nicer used boat 8-)
Now I have a 16'x7' Crestliner Angler 1600 with a 50hp engine. Going to kipawa this weekend 8-)
Two of us are planning on launching at laniel saturday morning and camping on crown land until monday. Thinking maybe strawberry island area, or other clusters of small islands for camping. Want to be away from others for quiet if possible. Let me know if you have camping suggestions, PM if you prefer.
Thanks so much for your help!
Phil
maybe I should make a new post since this one is too long now?
I am pretty sure you cant camp on crown land on Lake Kipawa. Also the area you are suggesting is part of the new park so what are the regs for that?? Just saying you may want to check this out further
yes, you are right about strawberry island, its a park, we will skip that. But crown land camping is legal in Quebec where its not a park or zec
Just to confirm for future travellers, you can still camp on crown land in quebec same as always, not sure who told you otherwise. We just camped on pinakwan just east of corbeau. That made it easy to find, our campsite was right next to several boats parked all day jigging even though there were no fish there to be caught or seen on fish finder. When it is time to head back to camp just aim for the island with the boats anchored next to it ;-)
Glad to hear you had a good weekend and made it back safely to civilization. As for that structure the boats were "parked on all day". I'll bet they were on fish. That is truly a "spot on the spot" piece of structure. We'd have (5) boats within several yards of each other...some so close you could easily toss a beverage from boat to boat. At times, some boats would be hauling in a couple fish per minute...a boat 5 yards away was getting zilch. Very dependent on wind, currents...etc.