St. Lawrence Outfitters offers a variety of fishing opportunities from fully guided fishing trips to simply providing comfortable and affordable accommodations in the heart of the 1000 Islands region of Eastern Ontario.
Starting in early May, SLO offers fantastic Walleye and Northern Pike fishing; later in June we offer outstanding fishing for Smallmouth and Largemouth Bass. During the fall months the area boasts some of the best trophy Muskie fishing in the world.
Walleye is one of the most popular sport fish in North America. Many anglers enjoy the challenge of these finicky fish. In recent years the population of Walleye in the St. Lawrence River has really improved. We have incredible numbers of fish in all size and year classes. Average Walleye in the river run 2-3 lbs and fish in the 8-10 lb class are available as well.
In the spring Walleye are found staging near their spawning grounds. Under the cover of darkness they move up shallow for their yearly spawning ritual; the fish are stacked up and very concentrated. These fish are usually found in water 18-30 feet deep. Early spring is a great time to catch numbers of fish on bucktail jigs tipped with either live bait or Berkley Gulp leechs, blade baits, trolling deep diving crankbaits and worm harness either drifted or slowly trolled.
As spring progresses into summer Walleye become more of a challenge . At this time of the year the fish tend to move deeper and spread out . Best techniques are trolling deep diving cranks, drifting worm harness, as well as Hand Lining. Fish will be found in 30-70 feet of water along current breaks and the various channels along the river. Best fishing is in the evening, early morning or during the overnight hours.
Pike is one of our favorite fish to pursue especially in the spring. In the last 3-4 years the Pike fishing in the 1000 Islands region has really improved, so much so that it offers some of the best fishing in Eastern Ontario. Most days a guided boat can catch 30-75 quality Pike. The spring finds Northerns located in shallow weedy bays or concentrated just off the first drop offs waiting to move shallow to spawn. After spawning Pike have an incredible appetite and are easily caught. The best techniques are bucktail jigs tipped with soft plastic trailers, suspending jerk baits, large spinners,and spoons.
The river contains plenty of 3-4lb Pike with the bigger fish pushing the 10-12lb mark. In June 2008 at St. lawrence Outfitters’ Annual Cast & Blast Challenge we had 15 teams participate in the Pike fishing tournament. Each boat was to weigh their 3 largest fish. We had an average weight of 20 lbs with most boats having a fish over 8 lbs in their bag. The largest Pike was an 11.5 lb fish caught by Bruce Wallace.
As the summer progresses the Pike move to the deeper water located along weed flats and drop offs near thick weed cover. Jigging at this time seems to be the most productive as well as trolling the drop offs with larger crank baits..
Bass season opens the last Saturday in June and marks the start of fishing for one of natures true challenges. The river offers incredible angler opportunities for both Largemouth and Smallmouth bass. Fish numbers in the river are as good as anywhere in the world. Largemouth will be found in the many creeks, shallow weedy bays and along shorelines with plenty of cover. As the summer progress Largemouth migrate out of the shallows to the first deeper water they find where they remain for most of the season. During the fall they will school up in deeper water.
The St. Lawrence River is home to a great trophy Smallmouth Bass fishery with many 4-6lb fish. They can be found in the early summer in shallower bays with a mix of sand and rock or other types of hard bottom as well as shallow points with a current pushing across them. As the summer progress they tend to move to deeper water near shoals and weed edges. However, big active Smallmouths can always be found feeding shallow.
A variety of techniques can be utilized to catch them including soft plastic stick baits, jerk baits, worms, creatures, tube jigs, drop shots, grubs, crank baits, surface baits, and spinner baits.
St. Lawrence Outfitters employs a Lund 1900 Pro V. It’s very comfortable for fishing parties of up to 3 anglers. We supply all the equipment for a safe and fun day of fishing. We use top quality Shimano rods and reels. For larger parties additional boats and guides are available.
$400 + HST per day for the boat. upto 4 people.