We just had a wonderful family fishing adventure at Blackbirch Lake with four of us guys. Our family has been hunting and fishing for over 100 years and we have been on a dozen trips to Michigan and Canada over the last 50 years. John and Phil are avid fishermen, owning their own fishing boats. John has fished all over the US, in Canada, Mexico, and Central America. Of all of the fishing camps and locations we have enjoyed fishing, Blackbirch Lake has, overwhelmingly, been the one that stands out for it’s far-above-average abundance of fish. The camp was well-organized and comfortable for us, with hot water showers, electricity, and a new satellite internet connection that worked well.
The water levels were low when we were there in late July, and we had to watch out for big rocks in numerous places. The prop guards worked very well at lowest speed in forward and reverse. It took us 2-3 days to learn the lakes, by which time we were able to catch near 100 fish per day between the four of us. We mostly targeted Pike, catching many pike over 2 ft. and up to 40 in. We also caught plenty of Walleye and had more than enough to eat each night.
Mistassin Lake had a rocky, but passable connection, and was the most productive. We tried the south end of the portage lake 2 times, saw some perch, but had almost no hits or bumps, though the habitat looked great. We hooked a big 40+ inch Pike, but it got away on a barbless lure. While that was disappointing, there are enough fish to catch that barbless is a good idea to keep the Pike mouths healthy, even if a few are lost before reaching the boat. It’s a good idea to take an extra small gas can in the boat for the portage lake; just don’t leave it there for the bears.
We were fishing the deeper (3-10 ft) weed beds, the rocky shores with drop offs to deeper water, and the rocky points to get both Pike and Walleye. Phil had a portable Garmin fish finder with GPS that was effective in locating fish depths, and mapping mid-lake humps that produced a lot of fish, especially Walleye, up to 25 inches. For baits, we tried a lot of different types of baits from jigs with twister tails to jerk baits, swim baits, spooks, buzz baits, spinner baits, and spoons. Everything worked on both Pike and Walleye.
So we certainly loved our trip to Blackbirch Lake and would strongly recommend Gray Wood Outfitters to prospective clients. We hope to return soon.