For the first time since 2019, Nick and Curt Harrington were able to head back north of the border to enjoy the fishing up in Canada late-July into early-August 2024. They chose to go to the same place they last visited, Canada North Lodge, which sits on the Woman River system north of Ear Falls, Ontario.
Canada North Lodge sits on Little Bear Lake, which is one of the numerous lakes along the system including Snakeweed Lake, Rosen/Hawk Lake, Loon Lake, Bear Lake, Little Woman Lake, Spot Lake, and Woman Lake. These interconnecting lakes make for a complex fishery, with an abundance of weedlines, islands, points, bays, and humps for anglers to target fish.
Throughout the summer months, the best overall bite is found along the weeds in 7-13 feet of water and both jigging between the submerged weed stalks and bottom bouncing along the weeds can be highly effective. Casting crankbaits can also produce very well, particularly for larger pike, and slipbobbering can prove to be an effective strategy on calm days as well.
The system features an abundance of fish between 12-17 inches, with an “over” slot limit of 18 inches. Consistent year-classes, the protected slot, and selective harvest means there is a plethora of fish that can be caught between 12-24 inches throughout the entire system. A great number of northern pike, yellow perch, and smallmouth bass are also present as well as lake trout, though these fish are predominantly in the main basin Woman Lake throughout the summer months.
Day One
Day One started Saturday afternoon, with mild temperatures and a stiff breeze blowing through the system. Nick and Curt started by jigging a weed flat they had previously done well in, and they were instantly rewarded. The winds had stacked fish along the weed flats in 8-13 feet of water and they were easily able to put 20-30 fish in the boat throughout the afternoon and into the evening.
Overall the fish were excellent eater quality, with numerous fish 15-17 inches, and several shorter as well.
They ended in one spot, where Nick threw a #7 Rapala Shallow Shad Rap looking for larger quality walleye and northern pike. Nick was instantly rewarded, with an upper-30s pike whacking the crankbait.
Day Two
Saturday night saw a massive storm hit the system, which can really put the fish in a funk. Storms will both scatter fish, give them lock jaw, and force them deeper into the weed beds. This is a difficult recipe for anglers, but despite this Nick and Curt set out to run about 12-13 miles up the system to an area that has produced big overs for them previously.
Approximately 8 miles into that run, they encountered a boat from a neighboring lodge, Woman Lake Camp, that was dead in the water and needed a tow home.
After getting them back safely to their camp, they headed back up the system and ultimately pulled into their spot a little later than expected. The storm, late start, and up and down nature of the spot made the fishing challenging, but after a couple adjustments to focus more on weed areas they were able to put a couple nice fish in the boat!
The strong winds following the storm system really made boat control difficult, but the winds died in the evening and they were able to put a couple more fish in the boat as they continued to pattern the fish and get a feel for the system for the rest of the week.
Day Three
Day Three saw a different challenges, with flat calm conditions starting out the day. This makes fishing extremely difficult as well, as the shallow nature and clear water can make walleyes very spooky and boat shy, which is a challenge for both vertical jigging and bottom bouncing. Pitching jigs and slipbobbering produce some bites right away, but overall the bite was tough right away.
The wind picked up in the afternoon, which allowed them to bottom bounce along the windblow weeds. This really helped pick the bite up and pattern the bite, which produced a lot of nice eater quality fish.
Day Four
Day Four saw a bit of a change of scenery, Nick and Curt headed to Snakeweed Lake, which is a portage lake from Canada North Lodge. This lake remains connected to the Woman River system, but is inaccessible by boat from the main body. This means a change of boats and access points, which also means even greater reduced fishing pressure as well.
Snakeweed generally produces more “over” fish, but is regarded as one of the best fisheries along the system. The goal right away in the morning was to get four fish for lunch, which proved to be successful and complete right at noon!
The sunset bite is generally speaking the best bite on the system, which is when they focused on the “overs” and that went very well! After one “over” in the morning, they were able to put another seven in the boat that evening as well as numerous other fish!
Day Five
Day Five was back on the main body, and the goal was to run up and see if after a few days of steady weather the over spot would produce. Sure enough, the bite was better thanks to the more stable conditions!
After jigging all day on Snakeweed Lake, they went back to bottom bouncers and were able to put one quality fish (near) the boat and an even better one in the boat!
Day Six
Day Six was back on Snakeweed Lake with the same plan as Day Four, catch lunch right away in the morning then focus on the overs.
The plan changed a little bit, when the first bite of the day was the biggest fish of the trip!
The hump that produced quality fish produced that and one other over, but the bite for eaters was slow. The wind had shifted and was blowing into a weed line and after setting up and pitching into the stalks, a limit was very quick!
That evening, the goal was once again overs and the bite was fairly decent for quality fish, but not quite as many overs as were present the couple days before.
Day Seven
Day Seven, the final day, had one goal and that was to catch a larger over. The over spot was of course the pick, and bottom bouncing with large blades was the hope for a big one.
While the big bite never came, three more overs were able to enter the boat to cap the trip!
Overall, the fishing was again excellent despite the storms, heat advisories, and mid-summer conditions. The Woman River system is an excellent fishery and Canada North Lodge makes the perfect base camp for a trip on it!
