Simcoe January 23-27

[RStock521]

Hey Guys,

A buddy and I are coming up Jan 23-27 for our now-annual fishing trip.  Last year we did Green Bay for whitefish and had a blast, this year, we are coming up to Simcoe.  Right now, our plan is to get an AirBnB at Jackson Point and fish Virgina Beach area.  We don't have a machine, so we will be walking.  Is Virginia Beach a good area to go, or would you guys recommend somewhere else?  We'd love to catch whitefish and/or a laker, but would be perfectly happy with perch.  My buddy has two kids with one due in the next few days, so he's just happy to get out there for a few days.  Any suggestions you guys have would be much appreciated!

I called and spoke with Donna at DW & Sons and she was very helpful. I'll definitely be buying everything I need at her shop when we go up there!

[Chuck Enwinde]

VB can be good early season - then it becomes a bit more hit and miss but there are fish around all year long.  Parking can be a bit of a pain though.  3hr max on the side streets - then they ticket.  Consider heading up the road to Port Bolster if the bite isn`t great at VB.  Taj runs Casey's fish huts and is very helpful - he has bait (and accommodations) and will usually provide taxi service out to the fishing grounds for a nominal fee.  Its a bit of a hike if the conditions aren`t great for walking.  Better chance at bumping in to whitefish or trout out there too.  Typically he`ll have perch huts out in the 20- 30ft range then further out he`ll be set up for lakers/whities in 50-60ft.  If you want you can PM me before your trip and I might have some up to date info if I can pull myself away from the walleye's.

[RStock521]

VB can be good early season - then it becomes a bit more hit and miss but there are fish around all year long.  Parking can be a bit of a pain though.  3hr max on the side streets - then they ticket.  Consider heading up the road to Port Bolster if the bite isn`t great at VB.  Taj runs Casey's fish huts and is very helpful - he has bait (and accommodations) and will usually provide taxi service out to the fishing grounds for a nominal fee.  Its a bit of a hike if the conditions aren`t great for walking.  Better chance at bumping in to whitefish or trout out there too.  Typically he`ll have perch huts out in the 20- 30ft range then further out he`ll be set up for lakers/whities in 50-60ft.  If you want you can PM me before your trip and I might have some up to date info if I can pull myself away from the walleye's.

  Awesome Chuck, I really appreciate the tips!  I've been watching Seabass Outdoors like crazy on YouTube trying to learn everything I can.  I've also been hearing a lot about Casey's fish huts, so I'll definitely keep them in mind.  We are excited as all get out to be up there.  Now we just need some ice!

[Chuck Enwinde]

You can check out John Whyte too.  He runs a Simcoe massage board and has some good videos up.  Real good fisherman that's been at it or a long time.

[RStock521]

Checking out John Whyte's YouTube videos now.  Thanks!

[Gunflint]

You can check out John Whyte too.  He runs a Simcoe massage board and has some good videos up.  Real good fisherman that's been at it or a long time.

Great videos by a guy who knows how to fish and he won't try to sell you a Frostbite rod or lure.   

[RStock521]

Great videos by a guy who knows how to fish and he won't try to sell you a Frostbite rod or lure.   

LMAO!! 

Also, if anyone wants to meet up that weekend to do some fishing, let me know!

[RStock521]

Just a follow-up to our trip...

Day 1 - Got in around noon and went to The Bait Bucket in Barrie to get some Meegs, vibrato's, tubes, drifeters, and minnows, then headed Johnsons Beach.  Fished until about dark with some marks, but no takers.  Nobody else around us was catching either. 

Day 2 - We went to "Heart Attack Hill" at Big Bear Point, and they are not kidding when they call it that.  That hill was intense.  Didn't catch anything and barely marked.  Around noon, we packed up and went to Cook's Bay out of Cooks Bay Marina.  We went to the pack and caught about 10 million dink perch, not a single keeper.  Moved around a lot, but didn't find any bigger fish.

Day 3 -  We met up with a buddy I met on another forum and went straight out of Barrie.  We marked a few whities, but couldn't get any to commit.  We did catch our limit (2 each) of herring and someone else in our group caught a nice pike.  Around 11am, we went to the north end out of Moons Beach.  We walked out and I was watching Navionics to find some shoal.  We found 3 holes that were already drilled in the area we were thinking about fishing, so I dropped my meegs down and caught a nice whitey within 10 seconds.  We stayed in that spot and I caught one more by the end of the day.

Day 4 - We met another buddy I met on Facebook at the Moons Beach access point, and he knew the area very well.  We went out around the same area and did some hole/shoal hopping.  We covered a ton of ground, and my buddy who I went up there with finally caught his first whitefish.  A little it later, he was turned to grab something behind him in the shanty and a giant laker snatched his vibrato and took him for a ride, peeling drag like nothing he's ever hooked up with before.  In a panic, he tightened his drag down and broke the fish off.  It's almost been a week and it's still haunting him.  He did end up sightfishing and seeing a whitefish grab his meegs, but it got off right before the hole.  My buddy who we met is experienced at fishing Simcoe caught 3 and missed 10+ more fish.  I got skunked, but missed a couple possible bites.  On day 3 and 4, we left the ramps and returned at the same time as Tom and his group from Fatal Force Outfitters.  These guys know their stuff, and next time I go up, I'm going to hire them for the first day of the trip to master the meegs technique.  Day 3, they had 35 fish, plus counless more hookups, and day 4 they had 25, but said it was a "tough" day lol.

Overall, we had an absolutel blast and I will definitely be going up there again.  Everywhere we went, the people were super friendly, especially the two guys that I met that graciously let us tag along with them.  We made some lifelong memories and did a lot of learning.  Love Simcoe.

[Gunflint]

GREAT report. Thank you for the info.

Your realistic report from a Newbe on the lake is insightful. I watch many videos of Lake Simcoe and they all make it look easy and productive. I suppose it is for those experienced on the lake, but you demonstrated that it takes time to "learn the local rules" as to what works or not. And that it makes a difference in real like.

Wonderful story.

[viciouscircle]

Thanks for taking the time to post up that report! i'm nowhere near there, but have been fishing a walleye/whitefish/pike lake all week. Same story with the whitefish, they are being very picky. You can have two or three under your line for an hour, throw every combination of lure/bait you have in arsenal ( and I have a lot of options) but they won't commit. Then suddenly, for no apparent reason the fish that has been checking and chasing your lure for an hour will decide to hit, they remind me of cats, they do everything on their timetable....lol.