Early season question from a newbie

[roger]

Hi Guys and gals,
My wife and I are booked to come to Kipawa May 21-27th this year. Based on your experience will we miss the blackflies or be right in the thick of them? Also.......I would appreciate any advice or tips on fishing the lake at that time of year (lures, depth, techniques). Thanks for your thoughts!

[Oarin]

Hi Roger, welcome! Where are you staying at??

[Canuckbass]

Hi Guys and gals,
My wife and I are booked to come to Kipawa May 21-27th this year. Based on your experience will we miss the blackflies or be right in the thick of them? Also.......I would appreciate any advice or tips on fishing the lake at that time of year (lures, depth, techniques). Thanks for your thoughts!

What area are you staying in? What species of fish will you be targeting?
Should be no flies that I remember.... Dress warm and dry.

[Balsams]

Ha! There will be black flies. As long as there is a bit of a breeze and nice warm sunny days, they should stay in the bush. Fortunately, the best place to evade them is out on the lake in the boat. Find shallow back bays that warm the quickest, nearest to some spawning grounds...in 4 to 14 FOW. Find them trolling a small perch or bluegill shad rap, then throw a slip bobber with jig tipped with 1/2 worm or leech. On the main lake bigger fish might be around islands, troll crank baits. Lakers will be caught on a flat line with deep diving crank bait trolled up and down drop offs. Enjoy!

[Jay Thomas]

Ha! There will be black flies. As long as there is a bit of a breeze and nice warm sunny days, they should stay in the bush. Fortunately, the best place to evade them is out on the lake in the boat. Find shallow back bays that warm the quickest, nearest to some spawning grounds...in 4 to 14 FOW. Find them trolling a small perch or bluegill shad rap, then throw a slip bobber with jig tipped with 1/2 worm or leech. On the main lake bigger fish might be around islands, troll crank baits. Lakers will be caught on a flat line with deep diving crank bait trolled up and down drop offs. Enjoy!

Take note of this experience.

Jay

[Riverrat]

What area of the lake are you going to be staying.  Once I know that I can advise better

[roger]

What area of the lake are you going to be staying.  Once I know that I can advise better

We will be staying with Cedar View Lodge or cedar Valley lodge..........I believe North end of lake but not positive.

[roger]

Hi Guys and gals,
My wife and I are booked to come to Kipawa May 21-27th this year. Based on your experience will we miss the blackflies or be right in the thick of them? Also.......I would appreciate any advice or tips on fishing the lake at that time of year (lures, depth, techniques). Thanks for your thoughts!

What area are you staying in? What species of fish will you be targeting?
Should be no flies that I remember.... Dress warm and dry.

We will be staying at Cedar valley lodge....north end I think. Targeting walleye, lake trout......and who knows....maybe a white fish or two??/

[RHYBAK]

First of all, your outfitter will be able to recommend the fishing spots upon your arrival for that time of the season.

Just north of Cedar Valley will be an area called the Blue Barrel.
A very good spot for an evening fish just anchored and dragging leeches along the bottom.
North of that will be the Sanctuary.
Fishing the outskirts of that will give you a lot of area to cover and again, your outfitter should be able to guide you in the right direction.

Do not skimp on Leeches.
Make sure you have plenty.

And Slip floats.
Fish shallow in the evenings

[T-Bone]

Balsams and Rhybak have given you some good advice. The best tool really isn't input from others on "where you should go". Get a good bathy map, and good sonar/fish finder, and find the best structure. Any suggested location is just too general to really be effective, but it will get you started on examining the structure there...then you'll need to fine-tune from that info the find the high-percentage spot or area that is holding the most fish on that location.

Black flies could be hit or miss; I've been up in that area late-May before where they hadn't hatched yet. I've also been up in early-June where they're absolutely everywhere...including your nose, ears, eyes, underwear, socks...you get the picture.

Good luck!

153.77

[pike mike]

Our group used to fish that area 3rd week of May . We are now 2nd or 3rd week of June .As T Bone has said ,weather dependent ,the black flies are a hit or miss .Be prepared that they will be thick ,bug jackets and hats and plenty of bug juice 

[Mlambert]

Bugs like you can only imagine that time of year, come prepared

[roger]

Thanks so much everyone for your generous feedback to my questions. I have "re-booked" for the last week in June instead. Hopefully the blackflies will be gone and the fishing will be better?! I'm taking my wife for her first experience......so I'm hoping she doesn't get eatin' alive....and she catches some fish........otherwise she may never go again. If anyone has any suggestions for how or where, lures, etc for the northern end of the lake at that time of year please let me know. Thanks again everyone! Oh ya.....we are staying at Ceder Valley lodge......any info very much apprieciated.

[tbayboy]

Hi Robert, my wife and I have been going that week for a few years now.  The bugs at night are still a bit crazy so the evening around the fireplace usually gets skipped but during the day its fine.  Julia wouldn't be going back either if the bugs were too bad so I think you should be fine.  We're around the corner (or 2) from you at 3 seasons camp so I'd think it would be a similar experience. Fishing is still fine then but it can really vary depending on how the spring went and the weather and such but if you listen to the the owners and the old timers in the camps you should be fine. 

As for tips - well there's lot of people here to give advice .  For me I like mixing it up with some 'true and tried' stuff and then spend about 1/2 the time trying random things which sometimes work and sometimes not so much.

The go to's:
- Early evening leaches on a small jig under a float near a drop off, creek, break, etc will get you your dinner pretty much anytime (and the odd giant - my biggest came this way on a 1/16th oz jig)
- Trolling worm harnesses with a bottom bouncer (or similar) along shore lines or around humps usually finds some fish

The 'Sean is messing around' list:
- Spinner baits along the shore lines - still my favourite.  Can catch anything and everything (ok I haven't got a laker this way so maybe not everything)
- Top waters in the morning for smallmouth.  I'm sure a jig and leach or grub would catch more but its just too much fun (just find some rock piles under a bit of water)
- Trolling crank baits (reef runners, husky jerks, etc).  Less hookups then a harness but I find the sizes tend to be better when you do

I'm not much of a trout guy but in the afternoons if I mark some I like jigging for them but I know the guys who really target them have better means than I.

I think all of the above are in last years video:
https://youtu.be/YEJ9MnWTdEU

[roger]

Thanks Sean! What week are you guys heading up this year?