Balsam lake provincial park camping and fishing

[Elrik]

Going to camp at balsam with the family next weekend. Will be our last hurrah for the summer, and will be bringing the boat up with us.

Have never fished Balsam before, only ever cruised across it with my parents once when i was a teen. If anyone has any tips on techniques or locations that work there i would love a pm, as it is hard to scout around with the kids along!

Will hopefully have a nice report to post up next week.

Cheers

[Elrik]

Rassafrassasassa... Between looking this aft and trying to book, balsam filled up! Looks like we will be heading to Emily instead!

[Muskyteer]

Just curious - what species of fish are in Emily Lake?

[metalbuckle]

Hey Elrik,
I was going to say, book soon the provincial park camping sites fill up fast, for some of the better spots I used to book six months advance. Emily is nice too. That is the bottom end of Pigeon Lake, nearly every species in the Trent linked lakes swims in Pigeon, namely bass, muskie, walleye and panfish.

[Elrik]

Yeah i have camped and fished out of emily a few times. Hopefully will have better fishing luck this time. Last few times it has just been panfish, last time i lost something nice while jigging as well. Hoping to get out for a couple hours on my own this time where i can try for some walleye or bass. Won't complain if a musky comes along as well!

Muskyteer, emily is the name of the park. It is on the pigeon river a short hop south from pigeon lake.

[Muskyteer]

Thanks for that clarification. I thought the reference was to Emily Lake which is located west of Pigeon lake and drains into Sturgeon lake. I imagine it's more like a swamp than a lake.

[Elrik]

Family had a blast. I think Saturday was one of my fV days on the water all year. For the first time my daughter was actively engaged in the fishing the whole time we were out and she had a blast. Recently upgraded her to her first adult rod and she was handling it like a pro. Started at the launch at the park and just slowly started working our way upriver to Omemee, trying to stay between 4-6ft of water and on the weed edges. Daughter was given the title queen of the perch as she was getting them non-stop and having a blast with it. Everyone else was catching too, but nowhere near her quantity. Fished about two hours then cruised up the rest of the way to Omemee and parked at the launch. Walked into town had lunch bought some supplies and started working our way back downstream for an hour or so before we had to motor back to make a turtle's birthday party

Caught the only bass of the weekend just past the Omemee launch, and wasn't very big. Went out Sunday morning with my son trying for walleye or bass, but had no luck, just some rock bass and larger perch. Went out with the girls as well in the afternoon for perch again, but the bite was just ok. Still had fun, and even without any big fish, i am just a huge fan of spending time in rivers, so it was a great weekend.

[Hank Jr]

Thanks for the report sounds like the family had a great time