Fishing Photos
The Brook Trout, also called the Speckled Trout by most Canadians, is the most beautiful trout, the best tasting trout and one of the hardest trout to catch. It's easy to walk along a small stream and catch small trout. Bigger Brookies in the bigger streams and rivers can be elusive as they are very sensitive to weather and water temperature.
There are no Brook Trout in Big Pine Lake. Between Wawa and Chapleau are many streams, rivers and spring-fed lakes with outstanding Brook Trout Fishing.
Small Streams: There are many small streams where you can fill-up your creel with nice little pan-fryers. These streams can be very sensitive and located in marshy areas so it's best to bring hip-boots and walk through the bush and then fish the stream while walking up stream. Small streams have Brook Trout all year because there is no place to go. Usually if you see Water Crest growing, there will be Brookies.
Large Streams & Rivers: There are a few larger streams and rivers in the area that have excellent Brook Trout fishing in the spring and early summer. The Brook Trout will congregate in rapids just below wide areas of the river. They wait for the May Flies to hatch. Once the May Flies hatch, they gorge themselves and then when the hatch is over, they take off up or down stream to find springs and cooler water. This is where they spend the summer. Only a local guide can show you where these summer hot spots are. In the larger streams, Brook Trout can get as big as 4 pounds but 1 to 2-pound Brookies are more common.
Lakes: There are many spring-fed lakes in the Chapleau that have been stocked with Brook Trout. In the spring you fish from shore. In the heat of the summer, you will need to fish deeper using a 3-way swivel rig. The biggest Brook Trout in the area come out of lakes. There have been lots of trout between 4 and 6 pounds caught but they are most common in the 1 to 3-pound range.