Well we made it back from another opener at Grassy Lake Outfitters (fished Fri/Sat/Sun) â€" this is our 5th year staying with Jimmy â€" but our 10th year on Grassy (camping the other 5yrs)
The roads were alright â€" this was our first time bringing in a boat on a trailer â€" we usually have boat racks for the trucks â€" 3.5 hrs from Kipawa to the camp â€" others in our group with boats on racks made it in 2.5 hrs
The Maniwaki road was in great shape â€" average speed 60km â€" Red Pine Chute was pretty rough â€" average speed was about about 10km - the Bearn was in decent shape probably average about 25km - washboard on the hills and some loose rock and the final part of the journey Jimmy’s road was in really good shape like years before.
The fishing was amazing as it always is â€" the new slot size (12.5†to 18.5â€) â€" broke a lot of hearts to throw back a nice 3-4 pounder lol â€" in our group we had 11 guys (8 veteran fisherman and 3 relatively new to walleye fishing) â€" we had no problem eating our share and bringing out our limit. Jig and leech or salted minnow was the preferred method of fishing.
Fish Tales â€" our biggest pike for the 3 days â€" 12 pounds / biggest walleye for the 3 days â€" 8 pounds
Trip out was long after noticing our trailer had a broken leaf spring â€" but we limped it home.
Some of our group were stopped by the ministry in Temiscaming to check there fillets â€" everything was good â€" we were about 2hrs behind them and there was no check point when we went thru.
Any questions â€" let me know.
Good luck everyone
Smitty
Sounds like a great time. Thanks for sharing.
Jeff
Thanks for your trip report Smitty. Sounds like you guys know the lake - only 3 days of fishing and still you guys had lots to eat and brought home a limit each. I can easily relate to having to put bigger walleyes back, but the new protective slot limits are long overdue. I'm convinced that protective slot limits will essentially guarantee a sustainable walleye fishery for the long term.
Jay
@Smitty, is there a website for the outfitter on Grassy Lake?
Jeff
Hi Jeff
No website - but Jimmy does have a Facebook page
https://m.facebook.com/Grassy-Lake-Outfitter-286736768141552/?tsid=0.22098019858822227&source=typeahead
He hasn't posted much this year yet.
If you need a phone number I could get that for you
Thanks
Smitty