The Ultimate DIY and Drive-To Smallmouth Bass Fishery

What can be better than going fishing with a friend? How about a drive-to-fishing trip for a week with a bunch of friends? That is a wonderful opportunity to annually fish and socialize with friends, some of whom even live far away. 

For the last 12 or more years, my friends and I have planned spring and fall fishing trips to Algoma Country, in Northern Ontario, Canada, to catch the massive-sized smallmouth bass this region is famous for. There are numerous drive-to resorts, cabins and even motels where we can stay and base our daily fishing excursions. 

Aubrey Falls Trading Post Fishing

This past September, we travelled a little farther north of the Trans-Canada Highway (Highway 17) than usual and stayed at a new location approximately one hour from Thessalon. As it turned out, this new location was adjacent to one of the best smallmouth bass fisheries we’ve ever experienced! That location? Aubrey Falls Trading Post. Built back in the early 1920s, this unique trading post has it all. Accommodations, a convenience store, and even a full-service restaurant! Best of all, it is located right on the 129 Highway which winds along the Mississagi River and is next to Aubrey Falls Provincial Park. This provincial park has full public access and features the little-known Rocky Island Lake. As we discovered during our week of fishing Rocky Island Lake, the lake is probably one of the best smallmouth bass fisheries we’ve ever experienced in all our years of visiting Algoma Country. Created by a series of small dams from the water flow of the Mississagi River, Rocky Island Lake is long and thin, ideal for small boats or kayak anglers.  

After we checked into our accommodations with Sheri and Randy at Aubrey Falls Trading Post, we then drove a fairly short distance into the provincial park and launched our boats at one of the numerous boat launches available for anglers. The lake features steep-sided cliffs, islands, submerged shoals, and even large gravel beds left by the last ice age. 

Everywhere we cast seemed to hold good numbers of smallmouth bass and we even caught some walleye with our streamers! On this trip, there were six of us and we brought three boats. So, each day we would bring our maps of the lake and split up to explore the many bays, inlets and gravel flats the lake possesses. You definitely need a fish finder to help you locate structure and ideally, you also have the navigation guide on your system so you can avoid hitting shoals. There are LOTS of shoals throughout the lake which can pose a hazard to unwary anglers travelling too fast. 

But from another perspective, these numerous shoals are also loaded with large quantities of big smallmouth bass. How big are the bass? We assessed that our average smallmouth bass was 14 - 16 inches in length, but we caught lots of 18- to 22-inch bass as well which weighed 4 - 6 pounds! We used our electric trolling motors to navigate around structure while casting. One angler would use a surface popper and the other would cast a streamer which would help us assess the aggression of the fish each day. 

Tips for Success When Fishing at Aubrey Falls Provincial Park

Late day seemed to be best for topwater action, and all day we had incredible success casting smelt patterns (such as Scotty McFly) or cone-headed woolly buggers in tan, black or purple. Sizes for these flies were best in 4 - 6 long shank streamer style with a relatively wide gap. Early morning, we found the cool evenings had dropped water temperatures and slow presentations near bottom was the key to success. As the day went on and water temperatures increased, the smallmouth bass became more aggressive and faster jerk-strip retrieves were the magic formula that worked well. We were ecstatic with the fishing and each boat averaged at least 50 smallmouth bass a day. Even better, we only saw a few other local walleye anglers during our visit. The smallmouth bass are not usually targeted by anglers as the lake is known for its abundant walleye population. 

We’ve already booked a Spring fishing trip to again explore more of Rocky Island Lake as it is part of Zone 10 with the Ministry of Natural Resources which allows for smallmouth bass fishing in May or June. We think those large gravel bars and shoals will be loaded with pre-spawn and post-spawn bass and should provide exceptional topwater action with poppers! So, if you’re looking for a great drive-to and DIY fishing trip, then I strongly recommend you book a week with Sheri and Randy at Aubrey Falls Trading Post and fish Rocky Island Lake. You won’t be disappointed with the five-star fishing!

Aubrey Falls Trading Post

https://aubreyfallstradingpost.ca
PH: (249) 525-5296

Showing 'Edited Body' is no longer supported.