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
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
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.
How & Where To Catch Large Yellow Pickerel (walleye) Trolling At Night On Georgian Bay
The seven inch black & silver floating original Rapala is the best yellow pickerel trolling lure for anywhere in Georgian Bay or Canada for night time slow trolling.
Jam your knot down to the bottom of the eye to keep the nose down & place a split shot eighteen inches ahead of the lure & do not use a wire leader.
I always double my line & tie the knot with doubled line to make it stronger.
Sometimes I tie short four inch solid s.s. wires on mine with wire bending pliers just in case a pike or muskie hits.
If you know how to tie The Albright Special knot you can attach a cable to your line & tie that to your Rapala with an s knot to keep the action perfect with a leader.
The s knot will not fail even though it looks like it would.
If you know how to tie a Bimini Twist you can double your line for four feet ahead of your lure & there is no stronger arrangement as it is used in heavy salt water fishing.
Both of these knots can be found in fly fishing magazines.
I have never caught very many pike or muskie after dark so it really is not necessary.
I prefer twenty pound test line for all Georgian Bay casting & trolling but you can go as low as twelve to fourteen pound test & the lure will run deeper.
I have caught many big pickerel with the twenty pound line & the last time I was out at Dallas Rapids in June I got a seventeen pound pickerel with it.
Put the lure into the water & test it’s action with a flashlight to see if it is running nose down & side to side action is right & adjust your trolling speed accordingly.
Let out only fifty feet of line or no more than seventy five feet & hold your rod tip to the water & hold your rod in one hand while you steer & operate the motor with the other hand.
This way you can feel if the lure is touching bottom & move your boat in or out further to adjust accordingly.
You want the lure to run one to three feet off the bottom but not touching bottom.
Big pickerel in Georgian Bay move into shallow water after dark to feed in & around rocks & shoals & that is where you will have the best luck.
The bay just past Key Harbour Lodge is good at night at times & just about anywhere you find shoals out around islands in the big water you will find yellow pickerel feeding at night.
Crystal clear water is best for night time trolling & you will find that out & around all the islands & shoals close to the big water.
The pickerel are very hard to catch in this clear water in the daytime as they stay in deep water at that time for the most part.
In Georgian Bay pickerel travel in schools & follow large schools of ciscoes where-ever they go.
If a school of ciscoes move into the area you are fishing & you are trolling Rapalas you will get them & quickly.
Troll right down the side of the shoals in shallow water but keep the lure from hitting bottom.
You can use the smaller Rapala in four foot water as it does not run as deep as the seven inch model which goes down to about seven or eight feet with fifty feet of line out.
Just keep at it & troll real slow until you catch them feeding or find where they are.
The best nights are when the wind & water is dead & there is no fog on the water.
The full moon nights are the absolute best.
Do not worry about the short line length at night.
I have caught hundreds of them with fifty feet of line out.
Believe me they will come after your lure when they see it as it looks like a cisco & that is their prime food in Georgian Bay.
Trolling in back bays is hard because of weeds so you have to go out where there are no weed-beds in the water that will foul your lure.
The best big yellow pickerel night time trolling is out on The French River in The Dallas Rapids area & the best time is usually around June 10 of each year.
They make their big run there every year & it lasts for about ten days.
They get plenty of yellow pickerel fifteen pounds & up to seventeen pounds is quite common.
The Bad River area is also good.
There are lodges at both places & you would do well to contact them before you go to get all the information ahead of time.
I do not know what the name of the lodge at Dallas Rapids is but it is usually booked for the yearly run anyway.
It used to be called Camp Mc Intosh or something like that.
The Bustard Islands are fabulous for night time pickerel trolling also but I have never been out there.
They are thirty five square miles & surrounded by dangerous shoals & storms are really bad out there at times.
There is no better place in North America for really big trophy yellow pickerel & most of them are taken using the methods I have described.
There are plenty of places to camp out & around French River & Bad River if you can not get a cabin or lodge.
This is bear country & there are many out there & you need to be aware of that.
There are also many rattlesnakes on the islands.
From the road this is a twenty plus mile trip by boat depending on your route or how rough the bay is so you will need to take extra gasoline & a small spare motor with you & do not forget anything.
I prefer my twelve foot Lund & 9.9. H.P. Johnson for slow trolling because bigger motors shake to much at slow speed & the Johnson is smoother & quieter.
The fifteen H.P. also trolls smooth as it is the same motor as the 9.9 with bigger carb.
Some fishermen put a trolling motor bracket on the transom of their big boat & use this motor to troll & use their big motor to get places fast.
The 9.9 matched with a twelve foot Lund like mine really moves out with one man in it.
We usually take two twelve foot boats & fish one man to a boat.
Get the biggest landing net you can find for Georgian Bay.
You may need it.
Big Georgian Bay Yellow Pickerel Will Chase Down A Seven Inch Silver & Black Floating Rapala Trolled Slowly At Night Fifty Feet Behind Your Boat & Literally Knock The Hell Out Of It & Try To Yank Your Rod Right Out Of Your Hand.
If It Feels Like A Snag It’s A Big One.
If you are not the trolling type & prefer live bait fishing & know where the good holes are you can catch big yellow pickerel by dropping nightcrawlers (worms) down in 35 feet of water.
I know one good hole & there are usually boats there fishing for them down deep & I have seen them take many up to 17 pounds this way.
I have also heard of fishermen tying a ballon to a pickerel’s tail with a long string & following the small balloon to know where the pickerel are & then cast jigs deep with Mr. Twister Tails.
One year I caught a 3 pound Blue Pike in The Georgian Bay Bass Hole & this fish was thought to be extinct so I quickly released it unharmed. Had no camera at the time. This was back in 1988 or so.
A Blue Pike is a walleye (yellow pickerel) that is actually silverish blue all over & really shiny.
If you catch one of these the Canadian wildlife people would be interested in knowing that because this species in thought to be extinct.
I believe there are are few of them still spawning in this area in so much I have caught one in the past. There used to be millions of them in the great lakes. Take a picture & release unharmed for sure.
Bears, Moose, Wolves & Massasauga Rattlesnakes On Georgian Bay Islands
The bears below got into our campsite & would not leave so we did.
Massauaga Rattlesnake Video Ontario Canada Government
I accidentally stepped on this rattlesnake with sandals on & he did not bite me.
It was sitting on a portage trail near a carry going around what canoeist call a drop or normal people call falls.
They are very hard to spot when motionless because they blend in with the rocks.
He did not rattle until I touched him with my sandal.
I was wearing shorts & had no socks on.
Please do not kill these snakes as this is their home & we are visitors & they are important to the ecology of The Georgian Bay.
I have seen many more of them over the years including very big ones up to 4 1/2 feet long & very fat & they are not rare in this area.
If you go in the hot days of July or August you will see them lay out on the rocks near the water & wait for a frog or something else to eat.
When they are in our campsite I always catch them & move them to another area but I never harm them & I also know what I am doing.
If you don’t please do not go near them.
I take special equipment to handle them properly & have hunted poisonous snakes for years in Florida & places like that.
If you leave them alone they will simply crawl away & go back to their den.
After they feed they go back into their dens & do not feed again for awhile.
They like to come out at night when it is really warm.
So always be careful when you get out of your tent at night & always look before you step anywhere at night.
If you get bit wrap the bite area loosely with an elastic bandage & keep beelow the heart & remaim calm & go directly to the road & find out where Parry Sound Hospital is & get there asap & there is also a hospital in Sudbury.
Do not cute the bite area or apply suction devices unless you have The Sawyer Snakebite Kit Suction Device with you which has to be used immdeiately to do any good & then it will only remove about 35% of the venom at best.
It would be a good idea to call the lodge owner where you parked & ask them for advice.
It is illegal to kill these snakes even if you get bitten by one of them.
Do not handle a dead snake as they can still bite after they are supposedly dead.
If you do kill the snake after you are bitten put it in a bucket or bag with a long stick & take it with you so the doctors can see what kind & size it is to determine how much anti-venom you will need which will depend on your size & weight etc.
They probably have to do a test first to see if you are allergic to the anti-venom.
Most people that go to Georgian Bay have never seen one of these rattlesnakes so if you do it is a thrill & an experience you will never forget.
Especially if you end up in the hospital with snake bite.
One of the local lodge owners once told me these snakes were very small & if you get bit is it about like getting stung by a bee as they have a small amount of venom.
She was telling a man that knew better.
This snake has a nasty venom & anyone bitten needs to get help quick or you could lose an arm or leg.
Believe me rattlesnake bites are serious no matter what kind or how large if they inject venom with the bite.
If not consider yourself lucky as that does happen & they call them dry bites & that was probably why she thought that was true.
The Massasauga or pigmy rattler has a very potent poison that can be more powerful than the diamond back, canebreak or timber rattlesnake.
A snake expert in Florida we used to sell live snakes to told me a massasuaga rattlesnake almost killed him & it was the worst snake bite he had ever experienced & he had been bitten over seventy times & even by cobras in the past.
They tell you very few people die but they do not tell you about all the amputations they have to do because of rattlesnake bites & tissue damage & infection & how it rots your skin or turns it totally black.
All rattlesnake bites are serious & require immediate hospital attention.
One year a young boy was bitten by a rattler chasing frogs out around Dead Island when we were up there & I have personally been struck several times but usually had my rubber boots on & did not get injected with venom.
There are wolves in this area but I have only ran across them once in 35 years.
One year we noticed strange scats that looked like dog but we thought they were bear.
They were all over the area we camped & there was a kill nearby with vultures & buzzards high overhead but we did not attempt to investigate it.
The third night we were there the moon was full & all of a sudden the cry of the wolf & right in our campsite were three wolves apparently chasing an injured moose.
They keep howling & chasing & we were shocked & had no idea what to do.
We got out of the tent after they left our camp & jumped into our canoe & started paddling to my son’s campsite about a half mile away.
There were a couple of canoeist there nearby also & all of them were up & confused as no one had ever experienced wolves before.
We heard them howling all night long & then never again the remainder of our trip.
The only regret I have is that I did not have a tape recorder with me as that was the most beautiful sound I had ever heard in my life.
I will never forget it & at that time I had suspected that Fritts may have had something to do with that & was probably up there laughing like hell.
The wilderness does that to you.
We have caught a lot of moose & bears swimming across rivers over the years & sometimes you can hear moose snorting or calling in the morning or a bear turning over rocks or tearing rotten stumps at night while you are in your tent.
You will see trails that go in the water on islands where they swim across & if you camp there they will swim across there & go right by your campsite usually at night.
Ontario Black Bear Photgraphs By Ashley Hockenberry Photography
These Black Bears Are For The Birds
