Shoal Lake Pike?

[blackdog34]

Hey guys,

Im trying gather some information on fishing for pike on Shoal Lake.  I have been interested in fishing it for a while now but havent had the chance to get there yet.  I like fishing for big pike (catch and release only) with tip ups, especially in march, but earlier winter too. 

Can anyone offer any general tips for fishing pike on this lake?  Is it a decent lake for pike?

Also what are my options for acessing the lake?  I have a snowmobile and 4 wheel drive pickup....

Im not looking for anyones secret spots or anything, just some general tips.

Thanks for any help you can give me

[blackdog34]

Anyone?

[big b muskie]

go to rush bay. start from there . Do some home work and have a look at some maps. If you can find a bay or flat that is  less than 12 feet you have a great place to start from mid Feb on. Fish the mouth of bays the closer it gets to march. if You are using tip ups your bait cant be too big! Hope this helps!

[blackdog34]

Awesome!  Thanks for the help!  I really appreciate it!

[Snakehunter]

I fish Shoal every winter with my friends but I target whitefish. We almost always get a pike or two and sometimes they are huge. I would buy a topo map of the area and sled into the shallower bays and poke around on the points. The hydro map that boaters use will be good if you want to fish the southern end of the lake but most of the islands and structure are in the northern half. No depth markings on that map on the north at all. Best access to the north end is Clytie Bay Road off Rush Bay Road from Highway 17. I fish Rush Bay for crappies but haven't much experience there otherwise.
If you want to target pike you should consider Lake of the Woods. There is such variety of structure there and the hydro maps will let you target the depths and bottom consistency. Ice Roads are better too.
Good luck,
Glen

[blackdog34]

Thanks for the replies guys.

I have been looking for Rush bay....Ive found a rush bay road on the north end of shoal lake, and rush bay over by dryden.....

Is rush bay on shoal  lake?  Like I said, I have found the road, but havent seen the bay on any of the maps ive found.

Sorry for the stupid question!

[Snakehunter]

Geography lesson - Rush Bay, Echo Bay and a few other smaller bays are part of the larger Clearwater Bay area of Lake of the Woods. Shoal Lake is connected to Lake of the Woods but is distinctively seperate. Clytie Bay is on Shoal Lake.
To access Rush Bay you travel down the Rush Bay Road which is approximately 40kms west of Kenora. The road goes south of the Trans-Canada Highway 17. Keep on that road and eventually you'll come to a big boat launch. That's Rush Bay itself.
Pretty much the only public access you can drive to. There is an ice road that goes from there to Clearwater Bay and onto Ptarmigan Bay and eventually Lake of the Woods. Be forewarned though, the slush out there off the main roads is suicidal according to a friend of mine who was there yesterday.
Good luck.
Glen

[blackdog34]

Got it!  Thanks for the lesson!  I hope to get over there in a couple weeks.  Now I just have to find some decent sized herring or mullet.  Thanks for the help, I really appreciate it!