Bruce Peninsula/ Saugeen River

[michigander]

Hello all! Staying in the Lions Head area next week and was looking for some general information if possible please. Probably only going to be able to fish 2 maybe 3 days. No boat ( well we’re staying on the bay and there are kayaks there) but looking more to river/stream fish ( wadeable stretches and I think a lot of the streams may be closed by then). I’ve done some research and the Saugeen sounds like a good option. Also open to small lake fishing (again something my brother and I can wade or fish from shore.) Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated! Not looking for your secret hotspots just some general ideas and possible access points. Also the spot we’re staying is right on the Georgian Bay, is it worth shore fishing? We stayed there last year and the water drops off real fast there, just wondering if any fish get in that close to shore? Long shot, but again any help is greatly appreciated! PM me if a response here is inappropriate and mods delete if the whole post is not appropriate Thanks!
Roger

 

[huronfly]

Resident trout fishing closes this weekend, so you're out of luck there. Depending on the weather(looks pretty warm and dry) fishing for salmon or steelhead might be ok on the Saugeen or Sauble rivers... The Saugeen's Dennys Dam has been under construction for the last couple of weaks and not as many fish have been able to pass the fishway due to this. That mixed with hot weather, and approaching the lowest flows of the year, it's not looking all that promising for you. Although, I lost a steelie on the swing there 2 weeks ago when the water was higher... Your best bet would be to fish the stretch from Dennys Dam down to the lake, but expect to be sharing the water with many other people. There will be a few fish around but conditions could be considerably better. Not sure about shore casting a line in Lions Head, a lot of people troll with downriggers out there for lake trout and salmon but that is all I know.

Here's a link to the regs in the area, pike, musky, bass are all open too:
http://files.ontario.ca/environment-and-energy/fishing/mnr_e001335.pdf

 

[michigander]

Resident trout fishing closes this weekend, so you're out of luck there. Depending on the weather(looks pretty warm and dry) fishing for salmon or steelhead might be ok on the Saugeen or Sauble rivers... The Saugeen's Dennys Dam has been under construction for the last couple of weaks and not as many fish have been able to pass the fishway due to this. That mixed with hot weather, and approaching the lowest flows of the year, it's not looking all that promising for you. Although, I lost a steelie on the swing there 2 weeks ago when the water was higher... Your best bet would be to fish the stretch from Dennys Dam down to the lake, but expect to be sharing the water with many other people. There will be a few fish around but conditions could be considerably better. Not sure about shore casting a line in Lions Head, a lot of people troll with downriggers out there for lake trout and salmon but that is all I know.

Here's a link to the regs in the area, pike, musky, bass are all open too:
http://files.ontario.ca/environment-and-energy/fishing/mnr_e001335.pdf

Danny,
Thank you very much for your response AND the great info, I appreciate it very much! I’ll use your info and make the best of it, thank you again!

 

[ejsell]

We stayed at a cabin on Gillies Lake years ago. Very deep clear lake right at our shore. There was a small shelf and then a straight drop. It was before my fly fishing days but we caught a lot of fish on small spoons shallow water about this time of year. Check out Mountain Trout Camp's website, they maybe able to better help you. We also fished Miller's Lake no success but that was early summer about 10 years ago. We stayed on the Huron Lake side once in the spring and did some shore fishing there without any luck. Sorry couldn't help more but my wife and I love that area and at one time thought about buying a cabin there. I plan on getting up there again and fishing Sauble at some point. Now that I think about it we did see some salmon making their way up the shoreline towards the lighthouse north of Lions Head. (At least I think they were salmon) Again that was 10 or more years ago.

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[huronfly]

We stayed at a cabin on Gillies Lake years ago. Very deep clear lake right at our shore. There was a small shelf and then a straight drop. It was before my fly fishing days but we caught a lot of fish on small spoons shallow water about this time of year. Check out Mountain Trout Camp's website, they maybe able to better help you. We also fished Miller's Lake no success but that was early summer about 10 years ago. We stayed on the Huron Lake side once in the spring and did some shore fishing there without any luck. Sorry couldn't help more but my wife and I love that area and at one time thought about buying a cabin there. I plan on getting up there again and fishing Sauble at some point. Now that I think about it we did see some salmon making their way up the shoreline towards the lighthouse north of Lions Head. (At least I think they were salmon) Again that was 10 or more years ago.

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I stayed at a cottage in the same spot as that 2 years ago, right at the dropoff. Man it's a small world, I don't even know anyone locally that's been to that lake. We caught a few small lakers trolling mid summer, but trout season will be closed on that lake next week... No doubt, late September fishing would be decent there, and same with springtime.

Miller lake is a bust, used to be decent with walleye and pike, but walleye are pretty much gone from the lake and just hammerhandles and smallish bass there now...

 

[ejsell]

I stayed at a cottage in the same spot as that 2 years ago, right at the dropoff. Man it's a small world, I don't even know anyone locally that's been to that lake. We caught a few small lakers trolling mid summer, but trout season will be closed on that lake next week... No doubt, late September fishing would be decent there, and same with springtime.

Miller lake is a bust, used to be decent with walleye and pike, but walleye are pretty much gone from the lake and just hammerhandles and smallish bass there now...

Yes it is. Locals told us Gillies is haunted, a native village was camped out on the ice fell through and drowned/froze. We did hear some creepy noises that week

We use rentcottage.com. Great selection and prices. Owners have alway been great. The last place we stayed at the owners had a second place in Tobermorry on the harbor and invited us over for cheese and wine.

I always wondered about the little lake near the grotto on the trail. Couldnt find any info on it. When we hiked back there it looked like a nice little trout lake but we didn't plan very well and didn't have time to hang around. Didn't really even know about the grotto at the time and didn't see anyone else on the trail that day and it was a perfect day for a hike. From what I've read recently it's become a very popular area.

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[huronfly]

Yes it is. Locals told us Gillies is haunted, a native village was camped out on the ice fell through and drowned/froze. We did hear some creepy noises that week

We use rentcottage.com. Great selection and prices. Owners have alway been great. The last place we stayed at the owners had a second place in Tobermorry on the harbor and invited us over for cheese and wine.

I always wondered about the little lake near the grotto on the trail. Couldnt find any info on it. When we hiked back there it looked like a nice little trout lake but we didn't plan very well and didn't have time to hang around. Didn't really even know about the grotto at the time and didn't see anyone else on the trail that day and it was a perfect day for a hike. From what I've read recently it's become a very popular area.

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That's a bit eerie:shocking:

The two lakes by the grotto have perch, pike, bass, and walleye. No trout lakes around there that I'm aware of... and yea it is super popular now, but it is also a very cool area!

If you are curious about waterbodies in Ontario, check out this link:
https://www.gisapplication.lrc.gov.on.ca/FishONLine/Index.html?site=FishONLine&viewer=FishONLine&locale=en-US

 

[michigander]

Thanks huronfly and ejsell for the information, I really appreciate it! Looking forward to the trip!
Roger