Nipigon Bay Ice Fishing

[Jared720 10]

Looking to come up and icefish on Lake Superior between Nipigon Bay and Rossport. Mainly interested in herring and whitefish since surveys show there is a large population of them in the bay, but also wouldn't mind targeting deep water lakers and shallow water rainbows. The varied structure looks promising east of Vert island, near Garden Bay and between Simpson/Vein islands and near Rossport. This is alot of ice to cover, just trying to focus in general fishing areas and public landings where I can park my vehicle and run with my skidoo on the ice.

Also, is there any lodging that anyone can recommend near those areas I mentioned? I see Nipigon has various motels, Gravel River has a motel and Rossport has a few B&B's with reasonable prices. A motel/lodge with a fishing background would be preferred.

First off, I am looking for a safe ice fishing experience (first timer here in Nipigon Bay) where I won't have to worry about currents underscoring the ice which probably excludes Simpson and Vein island areas off the bat, correct me if I am wrong though!

Any advice on general ice fishing areas/ motels/ bait preferences/depths would be highly appreciated.

Thanks!

Jared

[kbrest 151]

Nipigon offers some nice hotels for reasonable rates and just a quick trip down to highway to access superior at several different spots. I would be very very wary about going across to Vert or Simpson, Lots of open water showing and unpredictable ice conditions at the best of times is what I have noticed (grew up in Red Rock)

Theres really no need to go that far though, the northern shoreline offers great icefishing spots. My recommendation would be Kama Bay/Point area, several yards off Kama point. The river mouth is east of this area and is great spot. Closer to town, if you drove into Red Rock, head east from the marina to a point off the east cliffs (visible from google earth) is another great spot. Farther than Kama for icefishing closer to Rossport though I am not sure.

[Jared720 10]

Kbrest,

Thanks for the information. My dad used to fish out of Rossport/Nipigon for many years during the summer and has done very well on lakers which prompted me to start looking into the Rossport/Nipigon area for hard water fishing. Net surveys, amazing structure and common sense tells me that the areas you and I have mentioned hold a nice multispecies of fish. I just want to be safe out there, catch some fish and have an enjoyable stay at a decent resort.

Vert/Simpson islands were my Dad's favorite places to fish due to wonderful structure for lakers and loads of smelt/herring for them to feed on hence why I brought this area up. I do hear you loud and clear about unpredictable ice conditions, so I'll scratch that area off my list.

What are the main species found around Kama?

I enjoy my herring and their generous bag limit (none) and whitefish are the filet mignon of lake superior fish in my opinion. Then again I also enjoy my ling which most people toss back. My favorite way to catch whities is using a hammered gold #3 pimple as a dropper and 1 ft. above that I have a small hook with meat on it. I pound that pimple into the bottom which drives the whities crazy and they smack that little hook with meat on it 9/10 times. For herring, I use a small blue/silver Nilsmaster shad, similar to a jigging rap but better quality body/hooks and run that about 10 ft. under the ice tipped with a small white rubber egg with a tiny tail on it. Herring go bananas over that combination!

For my lakers I use a bait called a beetle, tipped with cut herring or a smelt with white or green and black being my best colors. I also use a large vibrato untipped and that works well out in anything deeper than 30 meters since it's calls the fish in on the upswing of your jig and imitates a fleeing smelt.

I'll look into accomodations, hopefully they'll have some fishing/ice condition knowledge as well since I am pretty much blind coming into this area.

Jared

[kbrest 151]

Lots of local knowledge in that area if you ask around. You will find whities, herring, lake trout int he deeper sections and of course steelhead. I primarily target the steelhead and lakers through the ice....(with no success as of yet this year I might sadly add) White tube jigs, some of which I have modified bu cutting the tentacles off and instead wrapping white bucktail with some orange or green bucktail around the hookshank. I dont have tonnes of experience icefishing, but have done well in those areas growing up. It has been a few years since going to kama. But you will find the steelhead cruising that area with the rivermouth nearby that gets a very good steelhead run during the spring. There are also coaster brook trout roaming the shorelines as well you may pick up but should be promptly released as they are closed as per Zone 9 Regulations for superior, open 4th Saturday in April until Labour day. Whitefish open all year and I believe the limit is 12 with a sport license. You should have good luck out there and I like the sounds of what you are rigging up for bait/lures!

There are more users that are still in that area that will have a lot more information then I will.

[crazyctr 227]

hi jared I was down that way a few days ago there was open water east of gravel river I wouldn't go past kama at this time. if you fish at the end of the jackpine river you should do real good for whitteys and herring out about 200 feet from shore you will be in around 40 to 50 feet of water or fish in closer for stealies

[crazyctr 227]

simpsons island and rossport were mostly wide open water

[Jared720 10]

Thanks Crazyctr for the ice report. I sincerely appreciate your warning about not going past Kama at this time!

I won't be coming up until mid February so hopefully east of Mountain Bay locks up so that whole area is a little more predictable. I have learned over the years that no ice is 100% safe, especially around points and near islands in deeper water. I have experienced first hand ice that is 12" thick as far as the eye can see completely explode under my feet with no wind, no warning and give me less than 10 minutes to travel about a mile back through 6-8 ft. waves on fragmented ice floes until I reached the breakwalls of a harbor. Yes it was a fluke act of God, but it can happen anytime and can happen lightning fast. No fish is worth risking your life and last year we lost 3 guys on the south shore going in sketchy areas. One was a professional guide that made his wife a widow while he was attempting to scout fish for his clients.

On a lighter note, are you familiar with Modis Imagery? If not, Bing it for Lake Superior. It's good stuff and updated a few times per day, clear skies permitting that is. Right now actual ice reports like yours and satellite imagery are keeping me informed on whats going on up there.

Kama sounds like the place to be and it sounds like it gets deep in a hurry unlike the gentle contours within a couple hundred yards off Mountain Bay according to navigational chart 2312 which may not be the most accurate.

Also, according to my chart, there seems to be 2- 60 ft. humps off of Nuttral pt. Have you ever hit those up? They scream "Lakers" to me, but then again, I am not knowledgable about your area, other than what my father has shared with me about his softwater adventures to Rossport, Simpson Island areas.

Tight lines!

Jared

[Guest FreshwaterFisherman]

I was at silver harbour last year and I had 15 inches of ice blow up under my feet. Huge crack formed leaving a nice jump over open water between me and shore. It was scary. Also no wind, pressure built, and it gave. I've never seen ice fisherman run so fast. I'll never forget the feeling.

[Jared720 10]

Our experience was due to gale force North winds on the north shore creating huge waves. On the south shore the wind was light, sun was shining and at least 75 people fishing in a 2 mile by 1 mile section, it was really a beautiful day. I was cranking on cohos and herring in my ice tent when the ice starting creaking and then the hydraulic action of the waves that finally came started shattering the ice beneath everyone. It was the longest snowmobile ride of my life with a loaded otter sled and a person on the back of my ski doo stopping and going from ice floe to ice flow in 6-8ft. waves. Whenever the snowmobile and it's ice flow it was resting on when down in a deep swell, the guy on the back of my machine kept trying to jump off in a panic, I kept yelling at him to stay on, we'll get this..we did eventually.

7 machines went down that day and I was on the last machine that made it in for the day since we were one of the furthest ones out. Most people lost every piece of gear they brought out with them, I was fortunate and only lost 1 ice tent, a jar of herring oil and a couple jigs.

I'll stick behind islands or in protected bays from now on, thank you.

[AB 98]

Jared,

The area around Druid Rock will cough up lakers, whities and herring. At least those are the species I've caught. Check your charts for good looking areas and go from there.

Its not a long run from Nipigon Bay Resort. Just watch the area to the west where a river runs into the bay.

Good luck!

iceman

[Jared720 10]

Iceman,

Thanks for the tip on Druid Rock, it looks pretty good over there, similar to Nuttral Point's humps. Is Nipigon Bay Resort right in Schrieber? I looked on a map and that probably is too far from where I would want to fish at traveling via sled. I also tried calling their number listed and it is disconnected so maybe they are closed for the winter? Ideally I would like to find accomodations near the fishing areas of Kama/Mountain Bay and minimize my drive time in my vehicle if at all possible. I realize it's pretty remote up there and the odds of landing a cabin for rent or resort within walking or short snowmobile ride distance is going to be a challenge.

Thanks!

J

[AB 98]

Nipigon Bay Resort is seasonal, west of Mountain Bay.

There are a couple of access points to the area. Can't give you specifics, its always depends on which road has been plowed, and that can change from storm to storm.

[Jared720 10]

Thanks Iceman for the information!

Hopefully I will be on public property and not private when looking for landings. then again if need be I would offer a land owner whatever he thought was to be a fair price to access the lake via his property and maybe catch a fish or two for his/her dinner.

I can't believe I have to wait 3 long weeks until I can fish up there... Still have to secure a place to stay. It's a shame for us that Nipigon Resort is seasonal and still have not found any cabins for rent in the area. Booking a motel and brown bagging it sounds like what we'll be doing!!!

Thanks to all of those that chimed in to answer my questions. If any of you are in the Nipigon Bay area from the 13th-17th and care to fish with us you are very welcome to join us. Maybe you may learn something from this South Superior guy, but odds are I probably will learn more from you! I'll be sure to have a story or two to share from the south shore, in addition to passing on some stories of my Father's adventures out of Rossport. PM me if interested.

Thanks,

J

[crazyctr 227]

was chatting with a couple game wardens today they told me that nipigon bay around kama has around 2 feet of slush in places

[Jared720 10]

Ouch, 2 ft. of slush doesn't sound like my idea of a fun time. Sounds like I better be prepared for the worst with shovels, come-along (we'll see how the tundra performs) and some muck knee boots.

CO's must have experienced this first hand, hopefully there will be some frozen tracks for us to walk/ride out on to the fishing grounds by the time we get up there.

Thanks for the slush warning! Hopefully someone will chime in with a fishing report in that area soon, otherwise I'll start to think the fishermen are as tightlipped as some fish are. Another possibility is that maybe no one is going out to Kama/Druid Rock/Mountain Bay due to the slush factor. Hopefully it's the latter.

Come hell or high water or slush, we'll be out there somewhere in a couple weeks.

[scandiman 114]

Jared,

I'll almost certainly be heading out to Kama this coming weekend and will send you a report on the ice conditions and the fishing. Cheers!

Markus

[Jared720 10]

Thanks Scandiman!

Heres a couple tips I would like to mention with the whities and herring that you may or may not know about, but I like to play a game of keep away. If the whities come in on the vex (assuming you have one), and don't immediately smack the jig, I'll start reeling up (fast/slow, all depends on what they need to trigger a strike) and odds are the most aggressive whities will follow that jig almost all the way to the ice so I can sight fish them if they haven't struck first. Works pretty much for all species, but whitiies it works wonders for if they are finicky.

Also, on Lake Michigan and on South Superior, I use the dropper technique, which consists of a hammered gold #3 pimple tipped with shiner tails on bottom and 1 ft. up I have a small barrel swivel on and right above that a small octopus hook which is tipped with waxworms. I'll pound the pimple into the bottom which stirs up sediment and will attract those whities in, then if they aren't interested in the pimple itself, they'll smack the hook with the waxies above.

You may want to check the legalities in Ontario for this type of setup since technically it's 2 baits/hooks on 1 line. If in doubt, remove the hooks from the pimple and just have it there for an attractant.

Hopefully the slush will be bearable!

Good Luck and let me know how you do!

J

[SherpaJ 45]

You are allowed a total of 4 hooks on one line in ontario. The dropper rigs can be deadly.

[Jared720 10]

Shrepaj,

Thanks for the clarification on the line/hook details on the ice. Glad to hear you are familiar with droppers! Whities and perch seem to snap best with droppers from what I have found, especially when pounding the bottom jig (pimple) in the sand/gravel and kicking up sediment.

J

[Castnblast 86]

dropper with a wax is a cool idea!

[SherpaJ 45]

I typically do the opposite to Jared though, where I have the smaller presentation tied to the hook of the larger.

[Guest FreshwaterFisherman]

Would that not cause a tangled mess? Unless you allow time for your small hook to sink before lowering the heavier one above?

[SherpaJ 45]

Use fluorocarbon and it doesn't. Fluoro is stiff enough that it will steer the smaller bait. If you're getting tangled, use a thicker (or shorter) piece of fluoro, or a smaller bait.

[Jared720 10]

SherpaJ,

I will have to try this technique you speak of. Its an interesting concept for icing whities/perch and if it works for you, I definately won't be arguing with your success. I'm always open for new ideas to incorporate into my arsenal of whats swimming around in my head especially for ice fishing. I prefer well thought techniques put to use any day over high end electronics or gear.

This is a bold statement, but one thing I have learned over the years is that the guys with the latest and greatest tend to rely more on their gear and electronics as a crutch than they do their brain. You either have instinct or you don't. You can buy all the fishing gear and electronics in the world, but you sure can't buy instinct!

Thanks for the tip SherpaJ, I appreciate it!

J

[SherpaJ 45]

I'll use it for walleye as well. Helps to determine what kind of bite it is. I prefer to have the smaller presentation below since (as you mentioned before) you lift the bait to try and engage the fish to follow, but if they aren't willing to chase, you have lifted the smaller meal right in front of them.