Fishing at Black's Bay LodgeJust to stir the imagination a tiny bit, I've included a few pictures of a fishing trip in Lake Huron, just in front of BBay Lodge during the first two weeks of July. We were in a 25 ft. boat with GPS, fish finder sonar with temperature, depth and graphing capabilities. We had 3 downriggers with the cannonball set for approximately 20 ft. off the bottom. The line was taken to a depth of 10 to 20 ft above the cannonball. We fished in waters from 60 ft. to 110 ft in depth. I was sworn to secrecy on the lures and some other crucial information that I'm unable to share. We caught about 1 fish per hour of trolling, based on 2 separate outings of about 5 hrs. each (dock to dock). |
|
 |
A proud fisherman who has a proud salmon, weighing in at 23 lbs.. |
 |
Judy & Janine made excellent pilots and cheerleaders. They were able to consistently steer back and forth over the "sweet spots". We focused on our rods, and kept reeling them in. |
 |
Camile was the master fisherman for these trips.
It's interesting how people always love doing what they are good at doing. Camile & Glenn caught the following fish:
|
 |
The lighthouse at Providence Bay, taken close to the secret
fishing hole near Providence Bay. I can say no more about this secret spot known to Camile. |
 |
While Judy had never piloted via GPS before, her savvy skills of piloting in Lake Erie for a decade on a similar boat were quick to return for this trip. |
 |
How's that for two Manitoulin beauties?
I was talking about the fish !!! A 24 lb. salmon and a 18 lb. lake trout We cut the lake trout into steaks about 2" thick. The last three inches of the tail we filleted, and got a meal out of just the tail end. When we got home, we had no problems convincing the relative to come over for a fish fry. I dipped the fish steaks in egg, then rolled them in tarragon, basil, parsley, and a touch of fresh black pepper and garlic. After pan frying for 3 min. & 2 min. on the other side, it was time to enjoy. Fantastic ! |
 |
For those with waders or high boots, you may want to give shore fishing a try. |
|
Looking North along the Providence Bay pier (2
km. East of Black's Bay). The water is so clean & clear, you can see the perch swimming 20 feet below. Unfortunately, this added knowledge and capability sometimes adds to the fisherman's frustrations. Boat
launching, ice, bait, finger docks, fish cleaning station, and overnight or
long term mooring are all available. |
Salmon have been caught off this dock. The salmon are big enough to
risk pulling this young angler overboard. How do I know? I had to hold
onto him, or I would have lost him when the salmon struck the bait. |
From Black's Bay, it's just 2 km. to the
government dock in Providence Bay. The water's 30 ft. depth at the
dock allows big fish close to shore. The protected areas in and around the finger docks provides protection for numerous small fish in the area. When there's lots of small fish, the big ones come to feed. Looking Southwest along the Providence Bay dock at a young angler's
concentration on the setting of the hook and reeling in his catch. |
 |
Father was practicing some shoreline casting
while waiting for the ferry. Suddenly, Father caught a "big one", then
yelled to son to get the net from the truck. Father tried to keep
playing the fish until son returned. Son scampered over rocks, got the
net, and returned just in time to see huge lake trout make sufficient
struggle to lose hook and escape when 2 ft. from shore. Estimated size of lake trout: 25 lb. While no fish was landed, two fisherman and 100 bystanders got a thrill in the unintended catch-and-release program on Manitoulin Island. |