Section: ontario-hotspots
Bill RiversFly-in Bass CampsBoleau Lake |  |
| Boleau Lake is actually two small lakes connected by a narrow navigable channel. Their combined length is three miles, and they are much less than a mile wide. Boleau Lake features clear, warm water and extensive weedgrowth, especially in the shallower, soft-bottomed back bays which interrupt the shoreline. In those same areas, many logs and blowdowns litter the bottom and shoreline, creating excellent cover for largemouth bass. Bucketmouths to six pounds are caught every season, with most groups topping 5 pounds over the course of a short stay. | |
| Live-bait tactics always produce at Boleau, especially soft-shell crabs and frogs. Rigging live baits on snelled hooks, Lindy rigs or beneath floats / bobbers is a simple and effective way of catching bass. Fish along weedlines or dropoffs, over a submerged weedbed, or adjacent to good shoreline cover. At Boleau Lake, the absolute best fishing is right off the dock early & late in the day. Toss a spinnerbait or shallow-running crankbait into the adjacent channel and hang on ! |  |
 | Tossing spinnerbaits and crankbaits is one of the most effective approaches to bass fishing, especially for shoreline or cover-oriented fish. Good choices include 1/4 or 3/8-ounce, white, single spin or tandem willowleaf spinnerbaits tipped with a pork chunk and a mid-size, craw-pattern crankbait or rattlebait. In the heavily weeded back bay near the cabin site, a weedless spoon tipped with a pork chunk is an exciting way to go after bass that have buried themselves in pads, cabbage or coontail. On top, a weedless plastic spoon or creature bait is best; in pockets of open water, a metal spoon (Johnson Silver Minnow) or spinnerbait will tempt bass. |
| Plastic worms, crawfish and lizards are ideally suited for fishing in cover. Go with dark 6 or 7-inch worms and lizards or 4-1/2 inch craws. Pitch or flip them into the thickest cover - blowdowns, sunken logs, weed clumps. Crawdad-finish crankbaits are deadly, especially along shoreline breaklines and weedlines, or adjacent to fallen timber and stumps. |  |