Lake Talon was my final stop on a summer fishing road trip through the Northeastern Ontario region and it was quite a memorable end to such a fun adventure.
At approximately 11.3 km in length and 1.7 km wide, Lake Talon isn't a huge lake but there are plenty of species within to keep anglers busy, and also lots of water to roam in the connecting waterways. Lake Talon holds largemouth and smallmouth bass, walleye, lake trout, musky, and more.
The Mattawa River flows through Lake Talon, which is surrounded by Mattawa River Provincial Park and protects the land from future development. This area is a paddlers' paradise with plenty of water to cover and areas that are not accessible by boat.
Not only a paradise for paddlers, but there is also lots of water for boaters to enjoy, too. During my visit, my fishing partner and I stayed at Camp Conewango located on the north shore of Lake Talon. This place is a gem, with scenic views of the lake and rustic accommodations to match. There is also an on-site restaurant and after sampling the menu, I can say it was deee-licious. Our private waterfront cottage had its own beach and a fire pit. It was lovely.
Looking for a lifestyle change and having a love for Northern Ontario, owners Wendy and Chris purchased Camp Conewango in the spring of 2016 and haven't looked back since. They fell in love with the property the moment they stepped foot there, just as their guests do.
Many of their seasonal campers have been coming to Camp Conewango for years and years, forming a special community. We had a chance to sit down and meet some of them one evening to share fishing stories and their experiences at the camp. They are such a wonderful and lively group of people.
Upon getting out to explore the lake, my fishing partner and I found out that Lake Talon was living up to the stories. Fishing was great!
After putting the boat in the water at the nearby launch, it didn’t take us long to get into some smallmouth. We targeted musky for a little while and then were distracted by seeing some tiny schooling bait on the sonar and hungry bass feeding on the bait.
Eric landed a nice smallmouth on a drop shot that spit up some bait, so we were able to get a closer look at what the bass were feeding on. We fished on a weed edge along a saddle connecting a point to an island and caught a few nice bass here on our first evening.
During our visit, we encountered quite a bit of rain. This didn’t dampen the fishing at all though as we were able to get into some smallmouth, largemouth, northern pike, and even some perch. We spent most of our time exploring the top half of the lake, focusing on weedlines, shorelines, and even a few docks.
The big bass of the day—and of the trip—was caught by Eric on our last afternoon. It was pouring rain and Eric tossed a Chatterbait next to a dock. The fish smacked it immediately and was lightly hooked. In desperation, Eric craned it into the boat right away before I was even able to grab the net. The moment it touched the deck, we both screamed and cheered, as it was noticeably the biggest bass of the trip!
We filled up the live well with water and placed the fish inside until the rain passed through, and I was able to bring out the camera to snap a few photos. What a gorgeous largemouth! It seems each time we visit Northeastern Ontario, we come home with such great memories. Of course, catching "the big one" always adds to the excitement! This fish was released to be caught again and enjoyed by another angler. What a memory!
