Watson Lake 7/28-8/5

[NortonJoe]

Well another one is in the books and what a great trip it was!  This year marked the 30th anniversary for me making the trip to the Kipawa area...some on the trip have been going longer, some much shorter (two years for my one buddy) but one thing is for sure, everyone loved it.  Good company, fishing, food and drink!  Now onto the report...

We left Akron, Ohio at about 6:15 a.m. on Friday, July 28 with two vehicles, seven fishermen and countless high hopes.  Most of the gear, clothing, food and some beer had been packed earlier so it was a matter of adding a few things and taking off.  The weather was really great for travelling (overcast without rain) and, after a stop in Angola for a restroom break and a bite to eat and a quick stop at the duty free shop (just to shore up the supply of liquor and to exchange money), we arrived at the Peace Bridge crossing around 11:45.  Of course, we all had to make the same jokes about smartass answers to the border guard's questions; but they have always been very friendly and, after answering the same questions we have for years, we were through by 12:15 and on our way.  Travel was smooth and we made good time (we always take the 407 bypass which is definitely worth the fee in my opinion) until the traditional brake lights on 400 just outside of Barrie.  Now, I'm sure we have all hit that traffic when it is a literal standstill, so we were pleased that we never actually stopped, as in years past, so no complaints here!  Traffic finally picked back up at the 400 and 11 split.  At some point along the way, it just starts to look and feel more like Canada; more pine scent on the air, granite outcroppings and small, dark little fishing holes all serve to get you excited about the week to come.  We arrived in North Bay for the evening a little after 4:00, checked into our hotel and headed out for some wings and beer to finish out the evening.  As a side note, the wings at Wacky Wings in North Bay are pretty good, especially when chased with a few glasses of a good IPA beer.

The next morning we had our complimentary breakfast at the hotel and hit the store for groceries (the perishables that don't travel well from Ohio).  I've noticed our menu and snacks have gotten a bit more "healthy" over the years.  So, we picked up bread, eggs, butter, milk, fruit and fresh veggies...well you get the idea.  We were packed and back in the vehicles by 9:30 or so for the short trip to Temiscaming to fill up for the final leg before the drive back into the bush, buy a license and get (more) beer...the last of the essentials.  Now, I don't know about everyone else, but crossing the Ottawa River into Temiscaming is, for me, the true beginning of the "Kipawa Experience."  We stopped at the gas station at the bottom of the bypass road and filled up, then at the Depanneur 102 for the final beer purchase and licenses and we were off to camp.  The drive back was much better this year; the Maniwaki Road was fast and smooth for the whole 22 mile stretch.  Red Pine was much better than in years past with the rest of the roads showing little change.  We pulled into camp around 12:00 p.m.  What a great view when the trees open up and you see that lake right there waiting!  We unloaded the trucks, got the boats and tackle ready and headed out for some fishing.

Again, the first time out on the boat just can't be beat!  You've got your cold beer, the smell of the water and the trees, the breeze blowing and a line in the water.  You are relaxing just listing to the water lap the sides of the boat.  This year my buddy and I decided we weren't opening the Bleue (for me) and Molson (for him) until we caught the first fish.  Fortunately we only had our lines in the water for about ten minutes...then BAM! the first fish hits and it's on for the week...oh, and the beer caps come off.  We fished a lot of areas of the lake, trolling, casting, drifting and jigging.  As I said, I've been fishing this lake for 30 years now so we have our favorite spots, but it seems we always find new ones.  We had the greatest success trolling in 15 to 25 FOW with hot 'n tots, but the jigging was also very good (pink jig with half a worm).  Everyone caught his limit of walleye, threw a lot back and we had two fish dinners while up there.  I truly believe that the new conservation model (slot limits) is improving the numbers and quality of fish.  The pike bite was a little off, but we caught enough of those fun buggers to keep us coming back out during the day (when we weren't playing horseshoes, having a cold beer or both).  We would normally head out in the morning to fish for walleye, head in around 11:00 for a quick lunch, nap, beer/drinks, cigar...whatever.  Sometimes, we'd head out early in the afternoon and target pike.  If not we'd have dinner then head out in the evening for more walleye.

One evening late in the week my buddy (his second year up) suggested we fish a shore at the bottom of some rapids just to play around and try to catch some pike. Sure what the heck...I was trolling him along the shore so he could cast and had my lure out the back of the boat dragging it along.  Wham!  I think its a pike.  When I bring it in its a nice walleye...I'll  be darned we never caught them there before.  I caught 4 or 5 nice walleye in that little patch of water...made for a fun evening!  We all caught plenty of fish below, inside and above the slot limit.

The weather was in the high 70s to low 80s during on most days and high 50s at night; perfect shorts and t-shirt weather and very comfortable sleeping weather.  We had sunshine or variable clouds every day except Thursday when it was full cloud cover and sprinkled and Friday with cloud cover and a hard rain in the afternoon...the lake temperature seemed a bit warmer than normal.

Throw in the card games, telling stories, laughing at the same jokes, beer, liquor, excellent food and cigars and you've got the perfect week.  As usual the week ended far to early and we made the trip back to Ohio on Saturday with memories, some new stories and a long time to wait until next year!

[Oarin]

Glad you had a great trip! Thanks for the report.

[Jay Thomas]

Thanks so much for your report. As I read through your report, I was reminded how lucky some of us are - its only 4 hours driving time for me from home to Témiscaming. Our group departs on Fri and all of us look forward to having as much fun as your group did. Congrats on the 30 year mark.

Jay

[Hodgey1]

NJ, sounds like a great time had by all. Kipawa is a perfect place to truly get away from it all!

[SgtCrabby]

Thanks for a great report.  Congratulations on 30 years.   The 'die hards' in my group are making our 10th this year.

@Jay Thomas;  yes, you are lucky to be close. Although I don't feel unlucky to be far - my dedication of the drive shows my fondness of Kipawa. 
The other side of the distance is that I can go fishing all winter without cutting holes in the lake  😆.  There are pluses to all areas.

[Greg]

Great report NortonJoe - reading all these successful and fun-filled reports makes me want to plan a weekend getaway!  A 2nd trip to Kipawa this year would be awesome.

Greg

[NortonJoe]

Just as a little addition...every time we went out we caught fish; most of the walleye were "in the slot".  We actually just put a piece of masking tape on the middle seat of the boat and marked the slot so it was easy to determine.  We did catch a good number above the slot and returned them as quickly as possible after carefully removing hooks.  The largest walleye was at 25" (two of them). My largest was 22".  Largest pike was 30" as I recall.  I tell ya, the pike are just a lot of fun to catch so we would spend time just casting in the weeds for them...ahhhh, miss the place already,  !

[T-Bone]

Nice report...thanks. Like you said..."BAM"...it was on...