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QueticoMike
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01/14/2017 10:34AM   (Thread Older Than 3 Years)
If you could build your own ultimate fishing lake in the northwoods how would you describe it? Maybe one already exists for you, how do you describe it? What are the features? Why do you want the lake to be as you describe?

I wouldn't want a lake that was too large, I would want one that I could thoroughly fish in a week's time. So a small lake for northwoods standards.

I would want it to have many points and small coves with weeds.

Downed trees along the shorelines.

It should have have several humps. Some under water, some sticking out of the lake where you can see them.

Would want different variations in lake levels. Deep enough to hold all fish, but shallow in areas to help warm up that part of the lake early in the season.

Good spawning areas, many slightly sloping gravel areas.

A nice 5 star island campsite with walleyes near by for lunch.

And most importantly I would want moving water. Several incoming and outgoing water sources.

What would your lake look like?
 
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mastertangler
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01/14/2017 12:07PM  
I like discovery and exploring so I would gravitate towards big water. On big waters you can spend lots of time, sometimes a lifetime, and still not learn it all.

And I would defintely have to have a lake which had ciscos. Fish get big and fat and sassy.

 
missmolly
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01/14/2017 06:15PM  
My ultimate lake would have smallmouths, muskies, perch, and ciscoes. I like to eat perch more than walleyes and the smallmouth and muskies would provide sport. Lots of islands and bays to provide places to fish on windy days. I actually know a few lakes that meet my criteria.
 
missmolly
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01/14/2017 06:15PM  
My ultimate lake would have smallmouths, muskies, perch, and ciscoes. I like to eat perch more than walleyes and the smallmouth and muskies would provide sport. Lots of islands and bays to provide places to fish on windy days. I actually know a few lakes that meet my criteria.
 
01/14/2017 07:34PM  
Mine already exists, Poohbah in Quetico.. monster fish , and a lot of them. Beautiful scenery, and a beautiful journey to get there.
 
01/14/2017 07:40PM  
When I saw the title I thought for sure you were posting something about Knife.
 
yogi59weedr
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01/14/2017 08:41PM  
My ideal lake.... hmmmm.
I'll start with some moving water.
Mid size, maybe no more than 2000 acres irregular shape.many points jetting out to deeper water.
Lots of Rocky reefs surrounded by some under water vegetation.
Some shallow water with Lilly pads on the edge of deeper water.
Piles of under water logs.
It would have only 1 boat ramp, in my back yard,by 8 ft fences with razor wire.
Drive up Tiki bar with pizza and burger..
Oh ya fish can't forget the fish.
Big gills and slab crappies,wally and smally. Monster northerns.jumbo perch.oopps forgot Lakers
A drive up nude beach would be nice....

Ok you guys can wake me up anytime now
 
tnvol
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01/15/2017 08:26AM  
If Thursday Bay had lakers, then Crooked would have it all in my mind.
 
QueticoMike
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01/15/2017 10:48AM  
quote tnvol: "If Thursday Bay had lakers, then Crooked would have it all in my mind."


So what is it about Crooked that makes you think it is the ultimate fishing lake? Just trying to see what is important to people on this board when it comes to the lakes they want to fish in the Boundary Waters. What do most people look for in the lakes they want to fish there?
 
QueticoMike
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01/15/2017 10:52AM  
quote mastertangler: "I like discovery and exploring so I would gravitate towards big water. On big waters you can spend lots of time, sometimes a lifetime, and still not learn it all.


And I would defintely have to have a lake which had ciscos. Fish get big and fat and sassy.


"


You don't require a lot for the ultimate fishing lake. Big lake with ciscoes. Your lake doesn't require any other features?

The reason I don't want to be on big water is that I don't want to spend a good majority of time searching for fish, I would rather spend that time actually catching fish during my short visits. With say only 7 days on a large lake it might take me a bit longer to find and catch fish which would be on the downside for me.
 
QueticoMike
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01/15/2017 11:02AM  
quote missmolly: "My ultimate lake would have smallmouths, muskies, perch, and ciscoes. I like to eat perch more than walleyes and the smallmouth and muskies would provide sport. Lots of islands and bays to provide places to fish on windy days. I actually know a few lakes that meet my criteria."


That's a good point, I would want places to fish during windy conditions.
 
mastertangler
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01/15/2017 12:39PM  
quote QueticoMike: "
quote mastertangler: "I like discovery and exploring so I would gravitate towards big water. On big waters you can spend lots of time, sometimes a lifetime, and still not learn it all.



And I would defintely have to have a lake which had ciscos. Fish get big and fat and sassy.



"



You don't require a lot for the ultimate fishing lake. Big lake with ciscoes. Your lake doesn't require any other features?


The reason I don't want to be on big water is that I don't want to spend a good majority of time searching for fish, I would rather spend that time actually catching fish during my short visits. With say only 7 days on a large lake it might take me a bit longer to find and catch fish which would be on the downside for me."


Well I guess everybody is different. I could go back and build on previous trips and really get to know a body of water and just catch'em but I get bored easy. I'm good for 3 or 4 hours of whacking 'em and then i want to catch something else. How many can you catch and let go before its time to try something else?

I am totally into the challenge of getting on a big complex body of water and figuring out where, why and when. I like leaving a lake wanting more. I rather enjoyed the feeling of having been beaten on Lake Trout at Musclow and not having caught a walleye over 24" in several days of fishing. It left me wanting to figure the big lake out.....what did I need to do different? It stirs ones imagination and the feeling of having deciphered the clues and scoring on the big ones is very satisfying if you can pull it off.

Plus there is new sights to see, new places to paddle. New reefs to discover. Next year is another series of large new lakes. Eventually I might find a home lake and settle down but for now I like exploring and sampling new waters.
 
tnvol
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01/15/2017 01:58PM  
I like the combination of big water and smaller water areas, current, variety of species. Lots of easy to find structure so I don't feel handicapped by being in a canoe without electronics. Also lots of similar areas such as weed beds, current areas, flats that can produce patterns to key in on. I also like fishing water with a little bit of stain to it, water like Crooked has produced more reliably for me than super clear water like Knife or Clearwater. I've caught sauger,perch,crappie and largemouth from crooked, those bonus fish are neat for me. You know what, I can live without lakers I guess, Crooked is my ultimate fishing lake!
 
mastertangler
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01/15/2017 02:34PM  
quote tnvol: You know what, I can live without lakers I guess, Crooked is my ultimate fishing lake!"


In spite of my "everyone is different" comment I would draw the line at Lake Trout. The "perfect" canoe country lake simply must have a good lake trout population. And ideally would have the big 4 as well as good largemouth and panfish........thus big waters such as Basswood float my boat! You could spend a lifetime on Basswood and could still learn new things.
 
cgchase
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01/15/2017 03:36PM  
My ideal lake.

First off, it would be a very large lake with a diverse population of both shallow and deep water species. It would have many, many coves, inlets and islands..so it would have a small water feeling in many places, even though it's actually a very large lake.

It would have numerous rivers and streams running in and out of it. Not only does this make for running water, it also provides a way for fish to enter and leave the lake...makes for large-scale fish movement in high water/floods, etc . .basically keeps the lake from getting stagnant.

The water would be on the clear end of the spectrum. Not gin-clear but clear. The bottom would be mostly rocky and there would be lots of cliffs and rocky points along parts of the shoreline. There would be lots of places where the depth change is severe.

There would also be numerous shallow flats and shallow, weedy coves. And ideally a few pinch points . .places where the lake gets pretty narrow and lots of water flows through.

It would definitely have all 4 main BW species..plus crappie. There would be tons of campsites..you could spend anywhere from a day to a week paddling around it and not get bored.

And small lakes nearby to day trip to.

Basically a lake I could fish yearly for the rest of my life and keep learning new things about it.

I agree with the statement that if Crooked held Lakers it would be close to perfect. It is very large, it has lots of coves, bays and islands . .some parts of it feel very small. The water clarity is just about right. There are tons of campsites. There are parts of Crooked you can go and likely not see many people. It has rivers and streams running in and out of it. There are a few great "pinch points"...all the stuff I would look for except lake trout. It could use a few more daytrip possibilities as well . ..there are a few . . .obviously a lot more if you can go into Canada.

 
missmolly
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01/15/2017 05:21PM  
Okay, Mike, I've had more time to think about it.

I fish one lake where there's a saddle between my camping island and another island. That saddle attracts surface feeding smallmouth at four a.m., which is mighty convenient, since I'm out of the tent and catching my first smallmouth 60 seconds later. I'll catch half a dozen before my fishing buddy is also up.

It also has some rocks within casting range that load up with smallmouth again and again throughout the day, so you can catch a quartet, wait an hour, and catch another foursome.

Another lake has a small waterfall emptying into it a short paddle from its camping island. Every hour or so, it reloads with ten bass and walleye, so that's a quick, fun paddle and catch throughout the day.

Its main water source has much more current and is prime for smallmouth and walleye in the early morning. Getting there is a cool, spooky paddle in the foggy morning.

This second lake also has current floating through islands, so there's both current and structure and that combo means you can catch fish there pert near whenever.

Adjacent lakes push a good lake to great!

So, those are some qualities I've come to love.
 
missmolly
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01/16/2017 07:34AM  
P.S. - My number one quality is that no other party is fishing that lake. I'm a pig. I once fished a lake I loved. It had a waterfall at one end and rapids at the other. Below the rapids was a swamp that held pike bass and pike. The lake itself was loaded with big pike and bass. To reach it, you had to cross a long lake and then portage four sets of rapids, so I thought it was safe, but one day, another party arrived and I immediately left, never returned, and never will return. Again, I'm a pig.
 
QueticoMike
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01/16/2017 08:42AM  
@ cgchase - I like how you describe your lake, I could fish there :)
 
Basspro69
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01/16/2017 08:45AM  
quote QueticoMike: "If you could build your own ultimate fishing lake in the northwoods how would you describe it? Maybe one already exists for you, how do you describe it? What are the features? Why do you want the lake to be as you describe?

I wouldn't want a lake that was too large, I would want one that I could thoroughly fish in a week's time. So a small lake for northwoods standards.

I would want it to have many points and small coves with weeds.

Downed trees along the shorelines.

It should have have several humps. Some under water, some sticking out of the lake where you can see them.

Would want different variations in lake levels. Deep enough to hold all fish, but shallow in areas to help warm up that part of the lake early in the season.

Good spawning areas, many slightly sloping gravel areas.

A nice 5 star island campsite with walleyes near by for lunch.

And most importantly I would want moving water. Several incoming and outgoing water sources.

What would your lake look like?"
My lake would look a lot like this one and would also have a very deep basin area. In this lake there would only be three species of fish Brook trout Lake trout and Splake. A few portages away there would be your lake with walleyes Big smallies and Big Pike just in case I got bored with my lake. In between these two lakes would be a lake with 2 pound crappies and 1pound perch, I would never have to leave this area to go fishing anywhere else unless I wanted Arctic Char, Salmon, or Grayling.
 
QueticoMike
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01/16/2017 09:09AM  
I like how people's ultimate lake has to have another ultimate lake close by. :-)
 
QueticoMike
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01/16/2017 09:12AM  
quote missmolly: "P.S. - My number one quality is that no other party is fishing that lake. I'm a pig. I once fished a lake I loved. It had a waterfall at one end and rapids at the other. Below the rapids was a swamp that held pike bass and pike. The lake itself was loaded with big pike and bass. To reach it, you had to cross a long lake and then portage four sets of rapids, so I thought it was safe, but one day, another party arrived and I immediately left, never returned, and never will return. Again, I'm a pig. "


That is a great quality in a lake, no one else there but me and maybe someone there to take pictures.....haha.
 
FlambeauForest
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01/16/2017 02:50PM  
I'd take a reclaimed mine or a spring fed gravel pit. One of those pits with turquoise water around 20 acres would work just fine. I would have the bait truck stop by every month to keep the fish fat and long.
Crappies, Smallmouth, Walleye, a few channel catfish, and Brook trout.
 
CityFisher74
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01/17/2017 12:39PM  
I would choose Horse Lake if we can eliminate any other human activity and only I have access to it.
 
Wallidave
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01/17/2017 11:18PM  
I like lakes that are big but not big open water. In other words long(several miles) relatively narrow lakes with plenty of islands and bays, with downed trees, rock piles, sand, gravel, some weeds with plenty of shallow to medium depths and several deep basins. I also like the lake connected to other lakes from small to large that would allow fish to migrate back and forth. I really don't care for lakes that are isolated and enjoy the thought of an endless supply of fish and that monster lurking in the depths for decades.

A similar lake already exist and is the reason we take our Quetico trip to this lake every year. I could spend a lifetime here and never get bored...heck we've made umpteen trips to this lake and I still have only explored half of it. If I could add anything to it? That would have to be some slab crappies, medium size perch and drag screaming hybrid stripers.

A few other lakes that fit my ultimate lake would be the north arm of Rainy Lake and the north half of LOTW around Sioux Narrows and Kenora.

I can understand your concern about trying to pattern a large lake when time is a factor. On the other hand at certain times of the year a lot of the water can be eliminated right off the bat. After all our trips we have a pretty extensive milk-run to fall back on...their always hitting somewhere :)
 
01/18/2017 11:06AM  
I once had the ultimate fishing spot. It was about 100 yards or less from our campsite, and just a couple big rocks sticking out of the water. Me and my buddy just sat out there with our chairs, a drink, and cigars. Caught 5 keeper size walleye in 30 min once the sun started to set. Let a couple go too. Repeated this the next night. Its not an adventure, we took day trips and explored the rest of the lake for that, but it was fun and relaxing. One of those, this is the life moments where I was enjoying myself before they started biting and since they did start to bite, we never got bored. Good food when we were done too. Couldn't imagine a more perfect experience. There was even an unexplained current that pulled our bobbers towards one side of the rock we were on from all sides with no wind to add a little mystery.
 
cgchase
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01/18/2017 01:45PM  
quote A1t2o: "I once had the ultimate fishing spot. It was about 100 yards or less from our campsite, and just a couple big rocks sticking out of the water. Me and my buddy just sat out there with our chairs, a drink, and cigars. Caught 5 keeper size walleye in 30 min once the sun started to set. Let a couple go too. Repeated this the next night. Its not an adventure, we took day trips and explored the rest of the lake for that, but it was fun and relaxing. One of those, this is the life moments where I was enjoying myself before they started biting and since they did start to bite, we never got bored. Good food when we were done too. Couldn't imagine a more perfect experience. There was even an unexplained current that pulled our bobbers towards one side of the rock we were on from all sides with no wind to add a little mystery."


The one time I went to Basswood we were lucky enough to get the awesome campsite right at the top of the 'no motor zone'. There's a rather well known spot there - a lot of current funneling through a pretty narrow channel. Lots of motor boats would come up as far as they could and cast into the channel - lots of canoes stopped and fished it while we were there.

From our campsite, though - we could walk a hundred or so yards and fish it from the rocks. We went out there on 2 different nights and hammered the walleye - including some big ones. That was a blast!
 
Laketrout58
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01/20/2017 06:41AM  
Mine would be a smallish lake with clean water, a healthy population of large brook trout. It also would be hard to get to. Very few would try to get here. Wait a minute! I am describing my favorite brookie lake that already exists! Isn't that special! Now if I could remember that name.......Marc
 
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