South Bay Lake Nipissing Report, Sandy Bay Cottages

Headed to an area of the lake I've never ventured to before and not knowing what to expect.

Pulled into Sandy Bay Cottages last Saturday early evening and settled in. The cottage was amazing! Better than we had hoped and even nicer than the photos. This cottage resort is very family friendly with an awesome beach, games for everyone, amazing fishing (and I mean amazing fishing) and lastly our hosts Jeff and Kim were very friendly and welcoming.

We settled in and unpacked and headed out on the water for an hour or so of fishing, We went straight for a close rocky shoal that Jeff recommended and were into good smallie action right away!! My wife and I nailed several and lost many more! I lost a tank that felt HUGE, bigger than any other of the trip and I know it was a smallie...When the sun started to set we moved closer to home and still hooked up on good smallies on docks in a foot or so of water! Last cast of the night we got really lucky, I nailed a bigger fish that I knew wasn't a bass. It barely fought but felt big... Good walleye... "GET THE NET" I'm not here for anything but bass but with a scoop my wife had a legal eater walleye over the 18.1" mark in the net!!! I was thinking wow this is easy... I ALMOST let it go because I didn't feel like filleting any fish but it ended up getting released covered in bread crumbs in a pan of hot oil! So SO SO DELICIOUS!!!!

Day 2: More amazing smallie action on an island well off shore. We really started figuring them out! They were relating to wind blown rocky shoals and islands. Both the front of the windy side and the current breaks on the down wind side. They seemed to be taking advantage of the currents the way a trout in a river would!

Day 3: More of the same of day 2. We slaughtered them!

Day 4: (Canada Day) Wind and Thunderstorms kept us off the lake so we headed to North Bay... The weather there was just windy so we checked out the waterfront festivities! It cleared up in the late afternoon, after we returned but not before we had indulged in a few wobbly pops... We fished from the dock! I had played the wind off the break wall with a wacky worm and got smoked by a good bass!!! LOST IT!!!! damn... threw back in... another hit!!! LOST AGAIN!!! the fish ate 2 more times and lost it each time!!!!!!!!! Bit off half my senko!!! My wife tossed in and she made no mistake and the fish took drag!!!! SNAP!!! She broke off... Dinner time... After 45 minutes I went back down with anothe rigged wacky worm and hooked up right away... Landed it... my wife's broke off hook right beside mine!!! stupid fish!!!!

Day 5: I need a green fish!!! I want a largie. I head to Huntera bay and hit the reeds pads and weeds... I lost 1 on a spinnerbait. That was if after covering a huge amount of water with various stuff. I gave up and went back to slaying smallies.

Day 6: I NEED TO CATCH A LARGIE!!! I headed to the south river and the thick weed covered edges covered in pads and other amazing vegetation!!! Worked the pads like crazy for an hour decide to forget it. Jenn takes a last cast and a bass explodes on her frog... it shakes loose... A few minutes later I have a bass explode on my frog from the pads. Jenn does a great net job and I have my first... wait... wtf... A SMALLIE in the net... in the pads?????? I'm stumped... We went back to the rocks and Jenn gets a good pike in the boat!

Day 7: Last day at Sandy Bay! The weather is perfect, sunny with cloudy breaks, a light breeze and just a slight ripple. We skip the largies and try out some new water. Right away I'm in to one smallie after another. In the mix I get another fish I know is not a smallie!!! WALLEYE!!!! good one! Jenn scoops it up and I'm 2 for 2 for walleye and they are both keepers!!! In bass waters!!!

Overall, an amazing trip with incredible bass fishing! Best I've ever experienced in my life! I've always headed to the lake to enjoy the walleye but the bass don't see a bait in a life time!!! If you want numbers of good 2-3lb smallies go there! There's a few good one's in there too... and one monster that I felt for a few minutes!!! These bass spend 80% of the fight out of water so if you have a weak heart I don't recommend it!!!

Thanks again to Sandy Bay Cottages! Looking forward to our trip next year!!!
http://www.lakenipissingoutdoors.com/sandy-bay-cottages.php

Photos and a video coming soon!

great review, looking forward to the pics!

What were they hitting?

Can't wait for the pics

Here's a few pics... part of my smallie relocation program to get the kids into some fish on the docks!!!

more

the first delicious walleye!!

Well done beautiful smallies.. Getting into a pile of those would be fantastic...

I wish.

Thanks for the report, great read..

Yes I have experienced that as well, on some lakes the smallies are so abundant they actually take over the largie territory.. I gave the same look when a fish smashed my frog in the lily pads and out comes a smallmouth..

Hey! Sorry for the delay to reply to this missed the post! Lol

There were a few key baits that were working: mid day tubes in green pumpkin were effective but they were hammering a power team lures crawdourve in green pumpkin rigged on a football jig head! Senkos in red / black were okay and earlier mornings and evenings the Schoolio Bully jerkbaits were slaughtering them in Perch and bluegill colours!

Those are some sweet bass! Gotta get me some of those jerk baits. Does Simcoes do mail orders?

Yes they do!!!

Great report krae, sounds like you had a great week of fishing. Stayed at Sandy Bay a couple of years ice fishing, Jeff runs a great operation.

Nice fish in the attached pics, walleye looks delicious

Krae..........awesome report and glad you got into them

Sandy's is usually a good spot for smallies.

Nice eyes for dinner as well

great pics... but where's the pics of the largies?

thanks for the report, sounds like a blast

Great report ,,, smallies are biting good this year ,,,