Suggestion for muskie trip in Ontario next fall

Just got back from LOTW muskie trip fishing about 12 miles west of Morson, ON. Lodge was great and we caught fish…total of 11 fish in 6 days between 4 guys (my partner was experienced). I expected we would catch more, although it was nice that most of the fish were over 40…including two 48 inchers.
I believe fishing was effected by a MASSIVE algea bloom. I’ve fished blooms before that last a couple of days – don’t like them- but this one wouldn’t go away. Even when we could find water where the bloom had dissipated the water clarity was about 6 inches, making casting to structure very difficult.
Is this bloom common on LOTW? If I wanna go back next year….is there any way to plan around it?
If not, any recommendations to another hot muskie location in Ontario? Thanks!

Where did you stay on LOTW? Have no recommendations on Muskie trips, but eagle lake is a popular one. Just curious on where you stayed. Thanks

I’m sure Pat & Micheal will check in. lots of Canadian trips between those two.

Algae bloom every year ,severity depends on heat water temp ect. Worst bloom is the end of Aug usually. Where it ends up thickest depends on the wind.
Sure doesnt bother the walleye and I have caught musky in it as well.
I have a cabin in the morson area and live in the area so I see it every year.

So you were fishing sabaskong.

Good areas. You just can’t go into it with expectations really, especially high ones. It’s Muskie fishing.

What you guys had was not great but not bad success. Sometimes you can go a whole week with all those guys barely moving a fish.. it happens.

Algae blooms suck! How was the weather and air quality?

We fished a lake in Ontario and did not see one for 3 days, then one day they were everywhere like someone had flipped a switch.

To avoid the algae bloom you are generally going to have to go earlier August or later Sept. Its pretty consistently around this time of year every year some years worse than others.
Considering only one experience musky angler, boating 11 fish seems pretty good to me regardless of being in Ontario. They are the fish of 10,000 casts after all.
A later trip might get you into more fish too as the water temps start to drop off more significantly but then tactics for targeting them may be completely different too. Its just good to have several guys mixing up presentations to see what bring them in and go from there. Sounds like you got some real decent fish though that had to be fun.

yes, starting in mid-August you can experience bloom and it can get pretty nasty at times. i’ve run through giant “oil slicks” of it with the boat where you can feel the boat slide and behave differently and smell the chlorophyll as you disturb it. i won’t cast where it’s thick enough that i can’t see my lure or my line drips green. that said, it’s my favorite time to fish up there as the cool nights create some great shallow rock bite opportunities.

so, the answer for us is simply to drive. admittedly, this is easier when you know the lake well, and it can require being willing to burn gas to run 15 miles to the right section of the lake. LotW is huge and has lots of current, so the bloom isn’t piled up like that everywhere. the wind and current will push it up against shorelines or into neckdowns, but on the other side of that neckdown will be usually be clean water. were you staying at Tamarack? that’s a good location to usually be able to reach cleaner water. for example, if the wind is southerly you can find clean water on the south side of Miles Bay, or over in Little Traverse near Alexandria/Huggins. if it’s westerly you can typically find clean water northwest of Boomstick Island. if you’re up for fishing reefs in the open basins there will be less bloom on the downwind end of the basin and more on the upwind end. (when we were up in August this year there was 3′ visibility on the south end of a basin we like, and 6″ visibility on the north end of that same basin.) the hardest can be when it’s calm and the wind isn’t moving the bloom, in that case look for natural current areas where the bloom socks in on one side of a narrows and is cleared away from the other side.

Tamarack Wilderness Island Resort. Foe amenities and service it was the best remote camp I’ve ever stayed at. Nice cabins, clean, great docks and gas pump, tons of power and power at slips, Wi-Fi, and great staff.
It would be a great place to go for walleyes in late May/June. Owner said they are thick until the first mayfly hatch. And kids can catch eyes right off the dock.

East wins entire trip. Rain first 2 days, bluebird and no wind next 2 days, then rain last 2 days

Wow, good info MCW! Thanks!
Yes, Tamarack…other guys who had fished LOTW before were running to other parts of the lake. I was willing to do that but didn’t know where to run. Todd ( owner) told me to head north so I went north about 7 or 8 miles and found some cleaner water…also found one of those algea ” slicks” that surprised me so much I stopped the boat cause I thought something was wrong!
Wind kept me from going north again so I concentrated on nearby areas…w/in a couple miles of Tamarack and Basil Channel. That’s where I caught all my fish.
I generally fish Wisconsin waters…stained a little with iron. I tell ya, you won’t have much luck figure 8ing those fish, but it was just the opposite at LOTW. Half the fish we caught were on figure 8s. They would follow to boat and would not go away. I don’t see that in north-central WI.

Tim Chrouser wrote:

I generally fish Wisconsin waters…stained a little with iron. I tell ya, you won’t have much luck figure 8ing those fish, but it was just the opposite at LOTW. Half the fish we caught were on figure 8s. They would follow to boat and would not go away. I don’t see that in north-central WI.

Best part about LOTW right there!

It’s pretty tough to beat LOTW as a consistent musky fishing destination. I’ve fished a lot of other water up there as well, but many of them are a lot more of an “adventure”, and the fishing doesn’t seem like it’s ever that much better.

If I were you I would try to keep expanding on what you learned on LOTW.

Ok, will do.

I’m sorry my mistake- thought you said 12 miles EAST of Morson, which would be sabaskong.

I used to go to Dryberry. Hands down my favorite place to fish for Musky

I’m not too familiar with the area you mentioned, Tim, but look into red wing lodge in sabaskong bay. They are a great resort and my dad used to hold his Twin cities muskies inc chapter challunge there for years. We also used to go to a VERY quaint, run-down old resort in whitefish bay, run by an old timer named Robert horley. Not sure if his son Peter continued the tradition or not. Great Muskie and lake trout fishing. And of course smallies/walleyes if you want ‘em.

Red wing is run by mike and Anne Bartlett, and maybe their kids now. GREAT people.

Thanks LD1!

Oops not chapter challunge but another big annual trip