Camp Mc Intosh French River Outlet Dallas Rapids Georgian Bay Ontario, Canada

Camp Mc Intosh I recently came by their facebook page.

This is the best really big yellow pickerel ( walleye hole in all of Canada ).

If you do not believe me just try to rent a cabin out there when the big ones run each year.

Hundreds of over 15 pound yellow pickerel have been taken here in the summer usually somewhere around June 10 when the big ones come in off the big bay & head up the French River to Dallas Rapids which is as far as they can go.

All the cabins & lodges are usually booked in advance by experienced walleye fisherman during these times each year.

They are only around for about ten days each year so the timing has to be right.

This is no secret to fisherman who know the area & have fished there for years.

The method is to troll at night using the 7 inch silver & black floating Rapala trolled slowly behind the boat.

I never let out more than 50 feet of line using this method at night & I place a split shot sinker 18 inches ahead of the Rapala & then jam the knot down on the eye to make the lure run right with the nose of the lure headed downwords.

The last time I was there I got a 17 pound yellow pickerel using this method at night.

The water in the French River was way up that year & roaring over Dallas Rapids which you could not even get close to becuase of the rapids & dangerous fast water.

I released the fish after I towed it back to my campsite & weighed it.

I did this because my son had the net in his boat.

My son had the camera in his boat also so no photo was possible as he was off trolling out on the big water.

Below are photos of the best Rapalas for night time trolling for monster walleye ( yellow pickerel ) on The French River Dallas Rapids area of Georgian Bay. Always use the floating models for this type of trolling.

The smaller Rapala is for trolling really shallow along shoal lines at night.

The yellow pickerel will feed very shallow at night on shoals in Georgian Bay & the big Rapala runs to deep when they are in real close.

Personally I use twenty pound ( 20lb. ) regular Clear Blue Stren for trolling the big Rap & 12 pound test for trolling the smaller one.

Many new lines have come out on the market over the years claiming this & that but the truth is none of them have ever equalled The Du Pont Regular Blue Stren ( in my opinion ).

I have tried many other lines but still prefer the first line I ever used even though I know Du Pont does not really need my little bit if money.

No other line has the stretch Stren has which makes it hard for big fish to break on fast runs & it is proven over many years to be very strong line & durable in the twenty pound size.

It cast very well as it is not stiff like many of the lines claiming to be superior or stronger which is basically just sales talk made by pros who do it & say it just for the money.

If anyone tells you there is a better fishing lure for trolling for big yellow pickerel than the ones I have pictured below take that with a grain of salt.

No other fishing lure has even began to come close to the originial Rapala for fish catching ability or most importly sales.

It is not the best & largest selling fishing lure in the world for nothing & it now sells for around $13.00 each or more.

They buy these lures because they work better than anything else on the market especially for trolling in Georgian Bay French River Area French River Provincial Park Ontario, Canada.

Where I live in Ohio you can tow these lures around behind your boat all day & night long & most of the time all you will catch is boredom as they simply do not work around here period.

Leave all your fancy colored & cleverly designed deep divers at home unless you enjoy towing weeds around all day & night long.

Near Dead Island, Aalto’s Isle & Key River Swirl Holes Georgian Bay

These photos were sent to me by one of the local cabin owners who fished this area for over 40 years.

He also sent me the photo of Ivan Kewakundo the guide at Key Harbour Lodge for many years.

He found this picture of Ivan in a book called North Eastern Georgian Bay & It’s People.

I would have to say this picture of Ivan brought a few tears to my eyes & opened my heart.

Send me your photographs, stories or historical website links about this area or it’s history you would like to share & I will post them.

email adress: bd@billdice.com

Bill Dice

Ivan Kewakundo Key River Area Fishing Guide Key Harbour Lodge

This is Ivan the native person that was so kind & nice to us when we camped out in The Key River Area Of The Georgian Bay.

He told us to follow him when he took out fishing parties for Key Harbour Lodge & he would show us where all the good spots were.

He always used & red & white Daredevil ( middle sized one ) & 20 pound line.

As I recall Ivan would sometimes put his head on top of the boat motor & sleep while his party was catching one fish after another in the same spot.

Ivan knew this area better than anyone & could take you places way back in very few knew about.

He knew where to find big yellow pickerel that would get stranded in deep holes when the spring flow subsided & he would take people there to catch them on night crawlers.

He knew where really big largemouth were & in fact had customers catch them on night crawlers back in the area of the bass hole.

Al Lytle also knew about surface lure fishing for largemouth back there as I can recall him taking his young son back to fish for largemouth one year after we told him they were hitting on the surface.

Ivan went way back in one day & never came out & I heard it took them three days to find his body where he had passed away.

They finally found his boat but had no idea where he had gone inland on this particular island.

Ivan knew all the islands all the way out to the Bad River & beyond.

He was trully a legend to me , countless other fishermen & outdoorsmen who were blessed to have crossed his path.

Thanks Ivan!

Diamond Key Lodge Has New Videos On Key River Area Georgian Bay

This is a good example of what to expect fishing in this area & a great video.

Kind of makes me want to start packing for my next trip now that I have my $122.00 passport.

To watch all of thier videos checkout this link: Diamond Key Lodge

The famous Dallas Rapids French River Yellow Pickerel & Big Musky Fishing

Over the years we have gone out to the French River where it dumps into the Georgian Bay at Dallas Rapids.

There used to be a fishing camp out there called Camp Mc Intosh & that is where people stayed that liked to troll for large yellow pickerel with seven-inch silver & black floating Rapalas at night-time & big musky with large silver flatfish in the day time.

I took the picture of the forty pound musky years ago.

Some of the best big smallmouth bass fishing in Georgian Bay is also to be found in this area but mostly out on the shoals & rocks near the bay itself.

This is without a doubt the best big yellow pickerel (walleye) fishing in all of Canada that equals what The Moon River Basin used to be.

Thousands of big yellow pickerel in the fifteen to seventeen pound range have been taken here trolling seven-inch floating Rapalas at night.

Years ago you had to camp out on the islands as all of the lodges were booked when the big pickerel made their annual spawning run around June 10 of each year which usually lasted for about ten full days & nights.

A hundred boats would be slowly trolling The French River each night & all of them would be taking trophy sized fish.

Camp  McIntosh was full of pictures of the big walleye, pike & musky taken in this area.

I have no idea whether this lodge remains in business or not but when it was it was booked solid.

At the base of Dallas Rapids you can catch walleye, smallmouth bass, channel catfish, sturgeon & musky & do this from the bank when the water is low enough.

I have never caught many yellow pickerel trolling this area in the day time as the water is clear & not real deep for the most part so it is mostly a night-time affair only for the serious fishermen.

However, out around the bay in this area is a different story as it is full of trophy fish & they do hit well trolling or casting lures in the day time.

If I were going to fish this area for a week or more The Georgian Bay Fish Camp would be a good place to stay if you do not like wilderness camping.

This is bear country out here & they can be a problem for campers at times.

There are many areas to explore out here & it is a large area far away from civilization.

You can also go to the Bad River Channel from here which can also be good for yellow pickerel night-time trolling at certain times & The Bustard Islands are not far away either.

The Bustard Islands are full of trophy fish but one should not venture out that way unless properly informed & equipped as bad weather could get you stuck out there or killed if your boat is to small or not safe enough for the big water you must cross to get there.

Boats loaded down with camping gear, gas & food for a week are not safe in big water & a ship to shore radio is a must unless you can get a cell phone to work out there.

I always wanted to go out there & camp for a week but it was never in the cards & we just never made it mostly because of safety concerns.

There used to be fish camps out there but I was told they closed down because of the bad weather problems & fishermen getting stranded & not home on time & all that.

Best to get a guide to take you out there the first few times or forget it just to be safe.

This area is a long way from the road at Route 69 & Key River Junction but well worth the trip as the scenery & beauty of the area is something to behold & especially on a clear day when you can see the Killarney Mountains in the background.

Fox Bay on the way out can be excellent fishing at times along with many other long bays out there.

When you get to Dead Island which is an active Sacred Native Peoples Burial Ground you have to choose to take the inland route to the right which is marked with buoys & winds in & out of islands & bays to protect you from big winds or bad weather or go straight across the big open water if the weather conditions permit.

Use caution here as wind whipped waves can get up to fifteen high in the big open water & do that in an instant.

There are also shoals all over the area & many of them are not marked well after you get off the channel markers & buoys.

The big water is trout & salmon water & very cold & will kill you in a hurry if you go in so keep that in mind when making choices & decisions about trying to cross big water in small boats or canoes which are heavily loaded with camping, gear, gasoline & food.

Kayakers know how to do this & they also have the right equipment on to avoid hypothermia in case of a rare dumping.

A Kayak is one thing & an open canoe another.

If you venture out this way be careful & enjoy it as it will be one of the most exciting parts of your trip to Georgian Bay.

You will be out where people are few & wildlife abounds.

The beauty of the area will take hold of you & you will always long to return for more exploration & adventure.

There are several places out there I have never been to & now I am thinking about them & what they will be like.

I look at the new satellite maps Google put out & I see inland lakes I never knew were there & I am wondering?

Is this where the record largemouth lurks?

A place where virtually no one goes to find & fish for them?

I think I could hike back in there & catch them from the bank.

I can not wait to get up there again to see for myself.

And what about Tower Lake?

Do big largemouth lurk there also?

It goes on & on & on with me.

It’s in my blood.

The Georgian Bay.

Ivan told me about a lake out near Dallas Rapids that you have to hike back into that is full of trout.

He used to take people out there to fish for them.

I could never figure out which lake it is but I have talked to fishermen he took out there & they came back with trout.

One of them said a six foot rattlesnake crossed right in front of them hiking in there with Ivan & he just stepped right over him & kept moving on like it was no big deal.

They say massasaugas do not get much over three feet long so was this a timber rattler?

There is a picture of a massasauga 4 1/2 foot long that showed up in a Chicago pond & they were thought to be extinct in that area for many years.

Ivan was a full blooded Native Indian that spent his whole life exploring all the islands & lakes in this area & he also worked with the Canadian Wildlife people stocking these lakes with fry from float planes.

He actually stocked this spring fed cold water inland lake with these trout.

It seemed to me they were called speckled trout.

He guided fishermen in this area for years & years for The Key Harbour Lodge.

Lucky for me all the times he allowed us to follow him around.

He used to take people places that would take years & years to find or discover on their own.

Georgian Bay Bass Hole Trophy Largemouth & Smallmouth Bass On Surface Lures Lower Pickerel River Area French River Provincial Park System Key River Area Georgian Bay Ontario, Canada

The Key River Area of Georgian Bay has some of the best big smallmouth & largemouth bass fishing to be had in all of Canada.

You can expect to take largemouths & smallmouths up to six pounds on surface lures if you are there at the right time & place.

The right time means if the bass are hitting surface lures as The Georgian Bay is no different than any other fishing area in this respect.

Sometimes they simply do not cooperate & simply will not take surface lures.

The right place means where the big bass are & sometimes you have to do some searching & experimenting to figure this out depending on weather conditions & water levels in any given year.

Both the Canadian record Largemouth Bass & Smallmouth Bass lurk in this area.

Nine pound smallmouth bass have been caught & released in this area along with largemouth up to ten pounds.

The big largemouth are sometimes difficult to locate as they will always be where the water is warm & deep enough for their liking.

The smallmouth are much easier to locate & catch as they like colder & deeper water areas such as shoals, boulder piles, steep cliff faces & rivers & streams with fast moving water & currents nearby.

Coves sheltered from North winds facing South always seem to be the best place to find the largemouth.

All sheltered coves with deep warm water in them or close by hold largemouth in this area.

I have never caught a big largemouth in warm water areas where there were no deep holes of at least six feet or more.

Some areas look fabulous but do not have any deep holes in them & all you will catch there is small largemouth.

The largemouth & smallmouth bass are not legal in Canada until the fourth week of June when their annual spawning cycle is over which means you have to release them unharmed if you catch one by accident fishing for other species which are legal at the time.

Many rivers that run into Georgian Bay are off limits to fishing certain species in the spring months of the year.

Check the law on this before you go after them.

The Georgian Bay Bass Hole is located in an off limits fishing area for most species in early spring.

We discovered the bass hole fishing for crappies there in early May one year & caught & released one largemouth after another on crappie jigs & round weighted bobbers with 6 pound Stren line.

The weather kicked up out on the bay so we went way back in to go after big black crappies in an area we had caught them in before.

We were drifting the jigs behind the boat & allowing the wind to drift us along & we started hooking one big largemouth bass after another up to seven pounds.

In early spring they all gather in warm shallow water areas way back in & up the rivers to the back bays where they spawn.

After spawning most scatter all over the area with the exception of a few that stay in these areas all year.

The best method is called ”Walking The Dog” With The  Zara Spook.

Big surface lures with spinners often produce a lot of big bass & big hits.

Toss them back in the pockets & ledges along the cliff or rock faces where the water is warm & 5 to 6 feet deep or more & that is where you will find most of them laying.

Each big bass has its own little hole in Georgian Bay.

Please release them to fight another day.

Key Harbour Lodge Key River Georgian Bay Ontario, Canada

When Fritts & I first started going to Georgian Bay years ago we would always go to The Key Harbour Lodge to buy gasoline, cigarettes, bread, live bait & anything we would run out of.

Back in those days if you went up in May when the yellow pickerel were running there would be at least 500 fishing parties camped out on the islands & all the lodges were booked years ahead.

This area & The Moon River area of Georgian Bay were the hottest big yellow pickerel fishing in all of Canada for many years.

Fifteen to seventeen pound yellow pickerel were common & very few would run under six pounds when they came out of the big lake & started up the rivers to spawn.

Fishermen would be trolling all over the area & any lure would do but most used the floating black & silver floating Rapalas.

You could easily get your limit in an hour or two or catch & release large numbers in a days time.

When a fishermen got a hook up they would yell out “Fish On”.

We carried on that tradition & always yell out fish on when we get a hookup.

One year one of the guys that went with us tied on a small yellow Rooster Tail & he hooked one pickerel after another & out-fished all of us with six pound line & ultra light rod.

He used the same lure all week & had it when he left minus a few tail feathers.

When we first started going up to the Key River Mrs. Lytle owner of Key Harbour Lodge was very nice to us & took us under her wing.

She knew we were young & inexperienced & worried about us just like any mother would her own children.

We always enjoyed going to the lodge to see the big fish pictures & chat with the experienced fishermen that were staying there.

We would go in the evening when they came in from a days fishing & that way we could see what they got & find out where.

They had an Indian Guide named Ivan Kewakkundo & he told us to get there early in the morning & we could follow him when he took out fishing parties & he would lead us to all the hot spots in the area.

No one knew more about the area than Ivan & probably never will.

Ivan told us to always use twenty pound line in Georgian Bay & he only used one lure A red & white Daredevil the medium or next size down from the standard size model & he always had a wire leader.

Mrs. Lytle’s son Al grew up at the lodge & trapped the area for many years & he had a cabin out on the islands where he & his family lived.

He also showed us where to go & he would help us fix our boat motors when we had a problem.

Mr. Lytle had a stroke & lived at the lodge until he passed away at which time she put the lodge up for sale & retired.

Mrs. Lytle always treated us special even though we never stayed at the lodge & went out of her way to teach us things & caution us about weather & cold water & the dangers of small boats in Georgian Bay storms & bears & rattlesnakes.

She told us to leave some bacon & grease out overnight in a skillet if we wanted to see a big black bear in our camp & warned us about not cooking or leaving anything in our tents that had an odor including soap & things like that.

She told us black bears in Georgian Bay can get real nasty when cornered so we should always give them a quick way out if we got one cornered by accident walking around the islands.

One time we told her the pike were not hitting.

She laughed & told us to catch a few live perch & put them in a minnow bucket & put one out set four foot deep on a bobber & then come back & tell her what happened.

Boy did we.

One ten to fifteen pound pike after another right off the bank at our campsite.

 

From that time on when we told her we got a big pike trolling or casting lures she would always smirk & say “Sure You Were Not Using A Live Perch?”.

The Lytles ran the lodge for many years & all of them were top notch people that helped us every way they could.

They went out of their way to teach us everything they knew.

They always had a big smile when we returned each year.

They also had a pay telephone if we needed to call home for anything.

The last I heard Al Lytle moved to Parry Sound & was selling real estate for a living which is a far cry from being a trapper on Georgian Bay.

If you are not the wilderness camping type The Key Harbour Lodge is a great place to stay & learn the area.

You can catch big pickerel in the bay at night when they are running & also really big pike over twenty pounds.

They also have guides & tackle & gasoline.

You can fish the areas we fish from Key Harbour Lodge & even run out to The French & Bad River Areas or Bustard Islands when the weather is right if you have a deep boat & 25 HP motor.

We always camped out there when we went because of our small motors.

If you are after largemouth this area is better than The French or Bad River area if you know where to go.

The smallmouth fishing is good out there but the water is to cold for largemouth & they are hard to locate out in the big water areas & bays.

For largemouth go back in & find the warm water bays & swamps with lilly pads with six to ten feet of water nearby.

Low Water Conditions: Mrs. Lytle told us years ago that Georgian Bay has a 35 year water cycle where it goes up for 35 years & then down for 35 years.

If her theory is correct & I believe it is the water levels in Georgian Bay should start going back up again in the next few years as the water started to go down slowly when we first started going up so the down cycle should be about over.

The water has really been low over the last few years & that hurts a lot of the really good bass holes many of which may be high & dry.

The bass are still around somewhere so you just have to find them.

When we were young & full of vigor we would fish from sun up to sun down.

One year one of the local native people stopped by our boat & simply said:

If the fish ain’t biting boys “Why Don’t You Leave Them Alone?”

He said he drops his worm down & if he gets one right away he keeps fishing & if not he pulls up his line & goes home & drinks a couple of beers.

He knew no one could make a fish bite.

We found that out the hard way but it was sure fun trying.

We really appreciated the Lytles & were very sad when they & Ivan were no longer there when we went back up each year.

Big Black Crappie (Pomoxis Nigromaculatus) Key River Area Georgian Bay Ontario, Canada

 

Many serious crappie fishermen consider The Key River area to be some of the best big crappie fishing in North America & many of them fish for nothing but crappie on their annual trips up north.

Maribou Jigs set three feet deep on weighted small round bobbers work best in weed beds.

Small Mr. Twister Grubs & special crappie tube jigs work well also.

Live bait fishermen use minnows & bobber & they can get their limit in a hurry on a good crappie hole.

We use light outfits with six pound test Stren line.

One to three pound Black Crappie are common & when they are hitting you can catch all you want.

Check with local stores or lodges for information on the best places & time.

The Georgian Bay Bass Hole is full of them in Spring & summer & fall.

There is a pan fish hole on The Key River that is full of Big Crappie & pan-fish & the kids can catch them on small twister grubs one after another.

The Key River is full of crappie & you have to know where to find them in backwater bays out on Georgian Bay & around islands.

We have caught black crappies up to 3 1/2 pounds in The Georgian Bay Bass Hole & that one was caught trolling a small deep diving plug & that is how we found out they were there by accident. We turned him loose & had no camera back then. We returned to this same area many times & they were always there & still are.

The Georgian Bay Bass Hole in the top of this blog post with a picture of me fishing it is the best big crappie hole in all of Canada.

You can stand there & catch all the 1/2 to 1 1/2 pound Black Crappie you want one right after another & never leave your campsite not to mention largemouth & smallmouth bass that come in there to feed or the large pike & muskie right behind them.

 

 

Big Channel Catfish Key River Area Georgian Bay Ontario, Canada

 

 

 

The Georgian Bay is full of really big  Channel Catfish & we have caught many over the years.

All you have to do is put out a live fish on a bobber at your campsite & leave it out overnight.

Tie your pole down or it will be gone in the morning.

The best place to catch them is below falls or rapids of any type fishing at night.

They hit night crawlers or minnows or any type of live fish or crawdads, etc.

The catfish Duke caught above was close to 40 pounds & the two at the top were twenty five pounds each & were caught at Dallas Rapids below the falls on night crawlers fishing for walleye.

 

 

Man Eating Bugs & Insects In Key River Area Of The Georgian Bay

There are three bugs up there you have to worry about:

Main thing is to be in your tent when the wind stops & the sun starts going down or cover your whole body with something that keeps them off your bare skin.

I always take head-nets & light gloves & cover all exposed skin when they get bad.

Personally I do no like repellents but for those who do the brands with deet in them work the best.

They all work for a short while but when the bugs are really bad most people head for the tents or out on the water where the wind keeps them away or they cover up with head nets or bug jackets & tape all pants legs, shirt collars & shirt cuffs with duct tape.

Chemicals in repellents can ruin foam mattresses & other fabrics & plastics so you have to be careful how you store & handle them.

The black fly starts in early spring & can be bad until the last days of June at which time mosquitoes take over.

All you can do about black flies if they really bother you is stay home or leave.

Believe me I have tried everything.

They can crawl over or under anything & get to your skin no matter what you do.

A lot of people go to Georgian Bay on June 28 every year to avoid the black fly & bass fishing becomes legal at that time out around the islands & up all the rivers that flow into Georgian Bay.

Many say it is the all around best time to go if you are going anywhere out past Dead Island where you can catch-all the small-mouth you want on light outfits or fly fishing gear.

Many people go at the end of September to avoid bugs altogether after the first frost.

This is the very best time for big pike short of October which is really harsh weather & hard on campers at times & especially campers my age.

The duck hunters invade at this time of year so don’t be surprised if it sounds like world war two one morning if you are camped out on opening day.

There are a lot of ducks on Georgian Bay.

If you camp somewhere with a breeze off the big water it will help to blow the bugs away from your campsite.

If a big storm blows up it will also help you to lose your tent, boat, food, clothes & camping gear.

When the wind goes dead or the sun goes down the bugs in Georgian Bay come out to play.

You will find that out so always take a head-net, bug jacket, special light gloves & tape your pants legs & shirt sleeves & collar with duct tape if you want to cast & fish at night or cook without doing it in your tent which is a no no in bear country.

Gas lanterns will attract bugs & so will camp stoves or lights.

Campfire smoke drives them away so we always like to build a fire at night.

We liked to exaggerate about all the big ones that got away or tell fishing & hunting stories from the past or recollect the good times.

One more thing.

If anyone knows what to do about deer flies that bite you in your boat out in the middle of the lake when you are fishing let me know.

They can be worse than black flies or mosquitoes at times & they do sneak attacks time & time again.

Sometimes you feel like diving off the side of the boat to get away from a pesky one.

If one of them nails you on the face you will know it when your head swells up & you can not see out of one eye anymore.

Make sure you get a bug bite kit & take it with you & dab the stick on the bites when they happen which they will if you go where I go.

Ammonia will also work if you bring some in a small bottle & dab the bite site with a Q tip.

The Bass Hole is a swamp area & there is nothing bugs like more in The Georgian Bay than swamps.

There is nothing more small fish love to eat than bugs & bass love to eat the small fish that live in swamps & a good reason they like to hang out there in the first place.

No bugs no large-mouth.

Frogs & snakes & birds eat bugs & largemouth eats them.

Everything that lives in Georgian Bay eventually gets eaten by something including bugs.

If you are there in the evening you will know what I mean. Your blood will be the bugs dinner.

The more you fight bugs the more aggressive they get.

I just ignore them & brush them off lightly when I feel them land.

When it gets real hot & the wind is dead they begin their attack both day & night & they love sweat & skin with blood underneath.

You are a much easier meal than the local wildlife as they have heavy fur to get through & no bare spots.

Human beings are like gourmet meals to them.

Always bring one of those bug coils & light it & put it in your tent to kill all the bugs that got in your tent when you opened the doors.

Always do that before you go to bed for the night if you really want to sleep.

I you have ever had a mosquito buzz you at night in a tent you know what I mean especially if he nails you in the face or hand over & over again.

Also know hornets & bees in the bush can actually kill a man if you disturb a nest so leave the thought about honey for breakfast to the bears & beware of hollow rotten logs or holes if you see bees going in & out.

It would be a good idea not to camp there or disturb them.

If bees or hornets attack all you can do is hope you are close to water & dive in it & stay under until they leave.

If you are allergic to bee or insect stings make sure you take the proper shot kit with you just in case.

Adolph’s steak & meat tenderizer with papaya will work on bug bites & bee & wasp & hornet stings to neutralize the venom & keep the swelling down.

The papaya in it does the trick.

 Just get a small amount wet & apply it to the bite immediately.

It works.

Especially on painful bee stings.

Believe me I have used it many times over the years.