# Tunnel Lake, Ontario



## thebige22

Has anyone fished Tunnel Lake, Ontario? It is about 90 miles northeast of Sault Ste. Marie. My dad, father in law, oldest son (13 yr old) and I are fishing there in mid June. Hoping for some good fishing but will enjoy being the family members. Any info would be appreciated. Thanks.


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## river runt

we fish tunnel a couple times a year.....we will be on it june 21st


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## river runt

river runt said:


> we fish tunnel a couple times a year.....we will be on it june 21st


bige 22
where are you going to stay?? I can give you a lot of good places to fish..... just let me know....


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## thebige22

We are going June 14-21. I think we are staying at The Outpost Lodge on Lake Jobamageeshig, which is a few miles north of Tunnel Lake. I will be taking my own boat (17 ft with 90 HP motor) so I am willing to drive to different lakes to catch fish. Any info you could give would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.


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## river runt

you have a pm


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## BigDCat

BigE22.......

I've spent a couple of weeks on Tunnel Lake, and my first trip to Canada in 1988 was at The Outpost. It must have been Jim and Ann's 1st or 2nd year of running the place.

Here's what you are going to find...........

Tunnel Lake is an underestimated Walleye fishery. We had no trouble finding them, and did pretty well. There are some great smallmouth in Tunnel. I saw an old dude catch a 4 lber right against the rock wall where the Outpost puts their boats in on Tunnel. So, don't forget the smallies....

Lake "Jo Mama She's Big" has some nice lake trout in it, and some big yellow perch. Just ask Jim. I'm not into fishing for Lakers, so we didn't even try.

Jim can also send you to another little lake which is a great Pike fishery. You will catch tons of 30" - 36" pike in the weeds. I don't remember the name of it, but The Outpost has a couple of boats on that lake, as well. The dirt road is pretty nasty to get back into that lake. If its muddy, you might need a 4WD to get back in there. Then again, they may have fixed that road since I've been there.

In summary, you won't have fish jumping in boat, like some expect in a Canada trip, but if you know how to fish, you will have a successful week. Hey, you are going to Canada..........It could be a lot worse. 

PM me if you want specifics on lures, techniques used, etc.

Good luck, have a safe trip, don't get all hung up on "fish count", and enjoy your trip to Canada. 

P.S...........On a "Safety-related" side note...........
Tunnel Lake provided me and my partner with one of the nastiest boat rides of our life (lol). If I can find a photo to show you, I'll post it. Bottom line, we ran all the way up Tunnel into the river system in the morning. Went to leave at mid-day, and when we returned to the main lake, the wind was howling, and there were massive rolling whitecaps blowing straight down the "Tunnel" and crashing into a big rock-face cliff about mid-lake. To make a long story short, we wound up leaving our boat in the bay, and got taken out by a much larger boat about 3-4 hours later. Jim went and picked the boat up the next day. Ask him about it, and he will probably remember it. Just keep in mind, even though Tunnel Lake is not a huge body of water by many's standards, that wind blows straight down the shoot much of the time, and it can get pretty nasty.


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## thebige22

BigDCat,
Thanks for all the information. This will be my son's first trip to the "great white north" and I'm really hoping it's a trip he'll remember for a lifetime.
I met Ann at the Columbus Boat Show this past February and she was very helpful with my planning needs. She did brag about their evening dinners and my son is at that age where he can really put it down.
Thanks again.


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## BigDCat

thebige22 said:


> BigDCat,
> Thanks for all the information. This will be my son's first trip to the "great white north" and I'm really hoping it's a trip he'll remember for a lifetime.
> I met Ann at the Columbus Boat Show this past February and she was very helpful with my planning needs. She did brag about their evening dinners and my son is at that age where he can really put it down.
> Thanks again.



No problem, BigE22..........

Don't forget to try that Pike lake out with your 13yr.old. He will have a blast. I doubt you can get your big boat down that road to get on it, unless things have changed over the past few years. Last time I was there, The Outpost has a couple boats on it. It's weed infested, and your son will definitely catch Pike there. If you don't catch any on artificial baits, just throw on some minnows about 3-4 feet under a bobber, and he'll catch some Pike. Post some photos of your trip when you get back.


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## WillyB

Jim and Ann are great people and the evening meals are great!! Don't forget the smallies on Jabom. Fish deeper than what you would normally think - 30 ft plus for some real nice smallies. We caught lots of them last year between 16" and 20". We would be there this year if it weren't for a scary job situation.


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## Bass assasin

i stayed at Camp Kuha a couple years back, i had a great time. Walleye fishing was slow, but did catch a 31" 11 lber, several 3-5 lb smallies, and lots of pike.


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## thebige22

Thanks for all the responses. One question.... Did anybody try for the jumbo perch? If so, where did you fish. I was just wondering how that fishing is.


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## WillyB

We only fished Jobam last year and did not catch one perch. The little rock bass have taken over this lake and can drive you crazy. I love smallmouth fishing which is why we stayed on this lake all week. We also caught 4 walleye which were all better than 26". Good luck and have a great week!!


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## bkr43050

river runt said:


> we fish tunnel a couple times a year.....we will be on it june 21st


I wondered if this would get your attention. 

River Runt supplied me with some info and I have made a couple or three day trips to Tunnel. It is about 40 minutes from the lake that we stay on every year so it is doable but still somewhat of a hassle for us to go there. Since our fishing the last couple of years on the lake we stay on has been decent we have not made the trip again. I am considering trying to make it again this year. I really like the lake. We found the walleye fishing pretty decent although we didn't venture all the way up to some of the places where River Runt had suggested. It is quite a haul from one end of the lake to the other and without making it a whole day trip it is tough to get there and fish much. I am sure I can not offer near as much helpful info on the lake as what River Runt can but I will vouch for it being a great lake.

Just a word of caution. Make sure to pay attention to the maps for rocks and also pay constant attention to depths. This lake can go from 70+ feet of water to nothing as fast as you can drop the throttle. I had a fishfinder and had several times where I was buzzing along in DEEP water and looked up to take in the scenery and looked back at the FF to see less than 10'. I never hit or came really close but if I were careless I am certain it would have happened.

Good luck to you an be sure to report back on how you did. It may give me enough motivation to get up there in August.


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## thebige22

bkr43050,
river runt has been very, very helpful. He has PM me several maps and valuable info on the area. I hope the weather cooperates while we are there.
Thanks.


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## bkr43050

I believe I have seen those same maps.

I too have been very grateful to have River Runt's help in the past.


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## river runt

bkr43050
one of these years we will meet up on Tunnel....Runt
P.S went to Erie last month...when gonig thru Mt.Vernon i thought of you.....


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## bkr43050

river runt said:


> bkr43050
> one of these years we will meet up on Tunnel....Runt
> P.S went to Erie last month...when gonig thru Mt.Vernon i thought of you.....


Just a little before you reached Mount Vernon I bet you actually passed my house.


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## river runt

I always come up 586 bought a lot of miniatures horses off a guy just south of Mt Vernon to the left........Runt


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## thebige22

Got back from Tunnel Lake last week. Here's a quick report.

The first half of the week we were there the fishing was pretty slow. The later part of the week got much better. Between the four of us we had 3 suppers (at the cottage in canada) of the fish we caught and were able to bring back 14 walleyes, 65 perch and 1 pike. Most of the walleye we caught were in the 12''-15'' range (with a couple larger ones mixed in).
The view of the 500 ft. rock face cliff at the upper end of the lake was amazing.
Although I would classify our fishing as average I would definitely go up there again. The Outpost Lodge was great and all the people there were terrific. Most importantly, my son and his grandpas had a great time.


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## bkr43050

Thanks for the report on your trip. It sounds like you found some fish. I am sure that lake can take some time to learn. I have only been on it 3 times and I know I barely scratched the surface. It is definitely a beautiful lake.


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