Nipissing Muskies - Guiding Services on Lake Nipissing's South Shore and Surrounding Area

Lake Nipissing is a 215,000 acre mesotrophic inland sea with an average depth of only 15 feet. Nipissing’s length stretches west to east, playing host to strong prevailing winds and frequent rough water. The result is oxygenation from top to bottom without the formation of a thermocline. The North shore and west arms are mainly shallow and weedy, in contrast to the deeper, rockier conditions of the south shore and eastern basins. Lake Nipissing boasts some 28 resident species of fish. The high biomass of these fertile waters supports an excellent trophy fishery for both pike and muskellunge. Strict catch and release practices should ensure a healthy population of these great fish for generations to come.

• PLEASE NOTE: To date, and to our knowledge, Lake Nipissing is still free from invasive species such as zebra mussels. If you are NOT from this area and you are planning to fish the North Bay area in your own watercraft, please PLEASE be sure you thoroughly rinse out your bilge and wipe down the hull BEFORE you travel to the lake. In this way, you’ll be helping to preserve this world class fishery in its present state of balance and productivity for generations to come. Thank you for your consideration and we sincerely hope your fishing dreams come true in North Bay!

Dan Colomby has been fishing Lake Nipissing for multi-species since 1989, and began to target the Lake Nipissing musky exclusively in 1997. In 2000 Dan volunteered with the NorthBay MNR for two days of fyke net creel studies. Dan’s knowledge of the local fishery, fueled by the awareness of Nipissing’s trophy potential, have become an ever increasing motivation to represent and protect this fragile fishery through guiding and angler education on the water.

Dan guides from a 20’2” 2008 Triton 202x walleye style glass boat with full walkthrough windshield and standup top,225hp Mercury Optimax, Mercury 9.9hp 4 stroke kicker with Trollmaster ProMax control, Minn Kota Terrova 80lb thrust bowmount trolling motor with autopilot, Stealth 1 recharging system,
and Lowrance and Garmin electronics networked.

III. catch and release techniques for big fish
Dan advocates 100% catch and release with special attention to handling and reviving techniques. The use of a Frabill’s ‘Big Kahuna’ and Protek cradle are employed to land big fish with emphasis on keeping the fish’s head in the water at all times. The usual assortment of tools such as Knipex bolt cutters, side cutters and longnose pliers are always at hand. After being freed from the lure, and if pictures are required or the fish’s fight was strenuous,the musky is lifted immediately into a special custom 60 inch live well, complete with aerator, cradle insert and the use of a ‘Bass Medics’ TM product called ‘Rejuvenade’, a completely biodegradable additive that dissolves extra oxygen into the water, sedates the fish, cauterizes open wounds and sarcomas and promotes the regeneration of slime removed by handling. During warm weather 1.5 litre plastic bottles of frozen ‘Rejuvenade’ are added to the livewell to keep temperatures down, thus decreasing the revival time of the fish. Fish are measured for length and girth in the livewell, lifted once again briefly for pictures and quickly replaced back into the cradle insert in the livewell for further treatment. A special balanced line is attached to the cradle and the fish is lifted back into the lake /boatside where a 100 lb Chatillion IGFA approved ( but not recognized) hand scale is attached to the line, keeping the fish horizontal at all times. One more brief lift in the cradle produces a weight on the scale’s memory bead and the fish is back in the water for good. Release results have been dramatic with fish stabilizing quickly in the livewell and returned fish immediately swimming away strongly. The weight of the empty wet cradle is subtracted from the full weight to achieve the final reading. When extra critical weight measurements are desired a bathroom scale is stood on by the photographed captor for a ‘second opinion’. A 63 inch fish can stretch out diagonally and completely in the custom live well. It is our hope to put these limits to the test in the future.

IV. what to do if YOU hook and catch a potential world record muskie…
Firstly, I hope that you will consider hiring one of a handful of knowledgeable musky guides here on Nipissing, and be shown the ropes. If, however, you find yourself going toe-to-toe with a fish that may turn out to be more than you think you can handle, remember these points:

[1] That fish on the other end of your line is probably 15 to 30+ years old!

It would be an absolute shame to mishandle and kill a fish like this if it is NOT a world record. When working a lake with the potential of Nipissing, always have a sufficiently sizeable net to hold the fish at boatside while you negotiate your next step. Companies such as Frabill make large treated landing nets for this job. Do NOT lift the fish OUT of the water!

Keep the net in the water to allow the musky to continue to breath and recuperate after the battle. Think of your net as an ‘outside’ livewell.

[2] While the fish is recuperating, you can get your tools ready, get your camera ready, and catch your OWN breath! Tools such as large needle nose pliers, bolt cutters (for cutting deeply embedded hooks), and a pair of handling gloves such as Chad Cain’s ‘Musky Armor’ will keep both you and the muskie from excessive injury.

[3] If you Do want to take pictures of your trophy, please remember that these fish are VERY FRAGILE. Just because they look so mean………

Try to have your cameraperson IN POSITION BEFORE you attempt to lift the musky into the boat. Snap your shots and try to keep the out-of-water time to a minimum, not more than 20 seconds if possible. Using the gloves mentioned, grip the fish inside the gill plate, but NOT in the gills! Run your fingers between the gill rakers, (boney needle-like gill protecter),and the lower jaw bone, sliding your hand toward the tip of the fish's lower jaw as far as you can go. Your thumb should create a grip on the membrane (skin) under the fish's jaw. Squeeze firmly and hold on! When lifting the fish, always support the fish’s body in two places, i.e. jaw grip and under the anal pore(last 2/3rds of fish’s body) and hold them horizontally (sideways), NOT vertically (up and down)!

[4] Promptly deliver the fish back into the net, or better yet, deposit the fish into a cradle if you have one, and lower it back into the water. The Frabill Protek cradle has a sewn-in 60 inch tape measure that produces an accurate length of your fish. If you have a soft tape measure, such as the kind used by tailors, you can acquire a girth measurement as well. Do this IN the water, NOT in the boat.

[5] If you don’t have the proper release and measurement tools, or camera, and you find yourself in need of assistance here on the east end of Lake Nipissing, our guide service has a hot-line you can call on your cel. Call (705) 498-0166 (cel) or (705) 752-2600 (land base) and we will respond as quickly as possible to help secure your trophy for you.

Take these phone numbers with you when you go out on the water.

It’s in everybody’s best interest to be prepared for the fish of a life time.

Good luck and have a great time on beautiful Lake Nipissing!

The city of North Bay is situated on Nipissing’s North East shore and is approximately four hours from Toronto and five hours from Sault Ste. Marie. North Bay’s airport receives commercial flights daily. Read about us in the June 2004 issue of Ontario Out Of Doors magazine.