Alwaki June 1-8

[JohnPK]

Sorry for the late posting but sometimes it takes a couple weeks to get over the depression of knowing another trip to Kipawa has come to an end.
Left SW Ontario on Friday morning June 1...approx. 4 am and arrived at Temiskaming QC around noon. Breakfast at the nice restaurant just down the road from Pro Nature...a stop at the Liquor Store and Gas Station for beer. Back to Pro Nature to secure our supply of leeches...5 lbs for the week for 8 of us then off to the boat launch. Lake was a bit choppy heading to Alwaki but nothing serious. After unloading and a quick hello to Brian and Tina we were out for the evening fish. 2 of us in my boat...we almost exclusively still fish rather than troll. I have a decent fish finder so we cruise our "spots"...no fish marked then we don't even bother. After finding a few fish we anchored up and caught a few. This year was our first year of using my "clicker" which I use on lake Erie for perch so as not to exceed limits. Daily details are vague as each day runs into the next it seems. Overall the 2 of us boated just over 200 Walleye for the week. 99% caught on a simple slip sinker rig with a leech. Over the past 8 or so years, yes that has been the most productive method we have found. Could actually do the trip with a couple dozen size 4-6 hooks and slip sinkers and small split shot....naturally though I take two tackle boxes full of stuff that never gets used.
Many fish were in the slot size so enough for eating and 6 to take home was not an issue. Largest fish of the week was 22 inch. I would say over 75% of the fish were over 16 inch.
Most of our fishing is done within a 5-10 minute boat ride (I have a 115 Merc.) of Alwaki...but we did make 2-3 trips to Hunters...one trip was very very productive at the narrows...the next night not so much.
We only fish the mornings and evenings...usually 7-11 or so am and 6-9 pm. Miss the odd morning for sleep recovery or rain or evening due to intoxication  Had a couple mornings of 40 fish...likely 20 fish on avg. A couple times out didn't do well as could just find find concentrated fish with the fish finder. Over the past 10 years of Kipawa trips we have our "go to" spots...sometimes going and finding new spots is almost more fun but tough to do as catching fish is what you want !
Anyways...for all those with their Kipawa trip coming up...ENJOY !
JohnPK

[Greg]

Great report John - thanks for posting!  You definitely had some great success!

I am heading up to Alwaki in just over 3 weeks - very anxious and your report only intensifies that!

Greg

[JohnPK]

Forgot to include. SAVE your route via GPS...trip out from Alwaki the fog was thicker than pea soup. Trip back to launch without my route would have been impossible at best !
Also a tip..Gas in North Bay was 10 cents per litre less than in or even close to Temiskaming.
60 pack of beer cans in QC was $73.00 Cdn...back in Ontario is would be not quite double that.
60 oz Bacardi Rum was about $10.00 less than back in Ontario...not as great a deal.

[T-Bone]

Thanks for the report; nice to hear you did well. Your schedule sounds a lot like ours...but morning fishing for us is wholly dependent on how late the night goes on. Of recent, morning fishing earlier than 9AM is rare. 

Nice tip on the basic slip sinker rig...may have to give that a go.

Can't wait to get up there....5-weeks from tomorrow.

T-Bone.

[Hodgey1]

John, sounds like a great trip, little over a month away for me.

I'm new to boating and more importantly fish finders. I have a garmin 7sv and I smartly agreed to follow Brian in and plotted the course to Alwaki last year and glad I did. Once your out there the coast really begins to all look the same. Now it's mostly just follow the screen and watch for floating debris.

Thanks for the report, it helps get the juices flowing!

Hodgey1

[WillageD]

Nice report. Sounds like a great week. I just explored the Alwaki area for the first time myself last week, seems like there lots of spots to explore in that area of the lake!

[bucknbull]

Nice report JohnPK.
Thanks for sharing.

I'll be in that area for a week at the end of July, but I'm pretty much a newbie, having only fished the north end once many years ago.

[johnny walleye]

THANKS