Black Bay Questions

[Billy Strings 2]

A friend recently told me about the perch fishing on Black Bay.  He went up twice about 4-5 years ago and fished with a hut rental outfitter and did good with some very nice quality fish.     I am from Northern Minnesota and have done a couple trips to Nipigon so I am familiar with the area but this is the first time I heard about this fishery.   I have done some searching online and this forum seems to have the most information.   It is about a 5 hour drive for me and I was hoping you guys could address a few questions before I book the trip for this year.

 

1.  What is the best time to go?   March is my favorite time to chase perch around home.  Does that hold true for the great lakes perch?

 

2.  Is the fishing still good with good size fish?    I know fishing is fishing and nothing is guaranteed but I am curious if the overall quality of fishing and size of fish is still the same as it was or it declining.       

 

3.  What is the best lodging close to the bay that is open in the winter months?   I am not looking for anything fancy just a clean place with a place to crash.   It doesn't make sense to stay in a sleeper hut since perch don't seem to bite at night.  Correct me if that is not the case on Black Bay.   

 

4.  We are either going to rent day huts or possibly fish on our own with sleds and portables.  Is it fairly easy to figure out on your own if you know how to fish?   

 

5.  Does the great lakes LakeMaster chip have accurate depth maps of the bay?

 

Sorry for all the questions.  Thanks in advance for any info you locals can provide.

 

 

[therealfndeal 61]

Great fishery for sure and the navionics chip works my favourite time to go is definitely march April ish and not to hard to figure out at all plus I have seen sturgeon, steel head , whitefish , ling, big northerns, big walleye, and the biggest perch we have caught was just shy of 18 inches and the outfitter is Hamilton baits and ice hit rentals he has his own site as well to book a hut if need be . Hope this helps 

[RH. 56]

There is a place that rents rooms im pretty sure called hurkett cove lodge that is a couple minutes away from the bay

[AB 98]

 

20 hours ago, Billy Strings said:

 

1.  What is the best time to go?   March is my favorite time to chase perch around home.  Does that hold true for the great lakes perch?

- March fishing is good. But we've also had banner days on BB in Dec, Jan, and Feb. Nice thing about March is the increased length of day light to fish and generally milder temperatures.

            - the drawback is the increased temperatures get the ice ridges rocking and rolling, and river flows running. By late March the ice conditions could be getting dicey if we have early onset of spring conditions.

 

2.  Is the fishing still good with good size fish?    I know fishing is fishing and nothing is guaranteed but I am curious if the overall quality of fishing and size of fish is still the same as it was or it declining.       

 - The bay is literally carpeted with perch. Size and numbers is going to depend on which schools you are fishing. Believe it or not, although jumbos are fun to catch (>13 inches), the best eating perch at the 9 to 11 inchers, 5 of those fish makes a nice meal for two adults.

 

3.  What is the best lodging close to the bay that is open in the winter months?   I am not looking for anything fancy just a clean place with a place to crash.   It doesn't make sense to stay in a sleeper hut since perch don't seem to bite at night.  Correct me if that is not the case on Black Bay.   

 - they actually do bite at night, but its a very late night  bite if a hungry school moves in. Not worth  missing any sleep over.

 

4.  We are either going to rent day huts or possibly fish on our own with sleds and portables.  Is it fairly easy to figure out on your own if you know how to fish?   

 - the bay is literally carpeted with perch. You could catch one out of any hole you drill, but for numbers watch where the huts are. The outfitters move them to keep customers on the bite.

 

5.  Does the great lakes LakeMaster chip have accurate depth maps of the bay?

 - the chips work, but there isn't a heck of a lot of structure out there. its just shallow, deep or deeper. (12 to 35 FOW)

 

 

Billy,

 

Its a great fishery. I embedded my answers to your questions above.

 

Happy Thanksgiving,

AB

[Billy Strings 2]

I really appreciate you guys sharing this info with me.  It gives me some peace of mind before booking a trip.  Our main target is perch but it is nice to know we may bump in to some other species.

 

My dad and I really enjoy fishing (and eating) perch.  Most of the perch fisheries in Minnesota have been over fished and getting on keeper size perch is a lot more difficult than it used to be.  Mostly piles and piles of dinks.  Very few true jumbos with any consistency. 

 

If anyone else has anything to share please post up.

 

Thanks all.  Happy Thanksgiving.  See you in March!

[FrankJobin 2]

Keep in mind that while there are trophy walleye there, it is a sanctuary and they are closed all year. If you do hook into one, ensure a timely and safe release!

[brookiebuster 117]

Hamilton baits or bear track outfitters. Bring you right to the honey holes