Planning to visit the Key River Area of Georgian Bay some time this summer. I have not been on this web-page much the last couple of years due to other interests such as wildlife photography. Than you for your interest in this web-page. I have never placed any ads on this web-page for pay but WordPress has to offset their cost of running the blog page. I could say & write much more about The Key River Area of Georgian Bay but half the fun of wilderness camping & fishing is discovering for yourself the many marvels of the great outdoors. The Georgian Bay is big & there are many places you can explore & lots of wildlife to excite. If my blog page got you there it has served it;s purpose. Talk to the old timers who camped there in 1930 to 1950 & hear their stories of the great yellow pickerel runs, the huge pike & muskie. The fur traders who used canoes to move their goods across country. The fishing & canning industry worked this area for many years. You will see the remains of their businesses. Hope to see you there soon.
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
