North River Lake, Algonquin Park - annual spring fishing trip

 

John Verbaas and I have been going on an Algonquin Park fishing trip most spring for many years now. The camping location alternates mostly between Allen & North Depot Lakes and North River Lake. Those lakes have something in common – the North River runs through all of them. 

North River Lake and River

Tracks & WPs on the water (38 km in total)

For two years in a row now, we've gone to North River Lake (NRL). The view is that the trout fishing there is more successful. And this year didn't disappoint – we had enough trout for all our diners and some breakfasts. In previous years, the fishing was usually much better in the North River below NRL. But this year, we had reasonable success in the North River above the lake as well as in the lake. In the past, we had no luck in Merganser Lake (short portage, south), so this year, we didn't bother making that side trip. Also, we didn't take the time to check out the fishing in NRL's big south bay that leads to Merganser Lake.

It was a great camping trip. We mainly had good weather – one evening under the rain tarp. We didn't see an abundance of wildlife (well, except for the Brook Trout). I did catch a few ducks and loons with my camera. Near our campsite, I installed one of my audio recorders and was able to ID a few birds. See iNaturalist for May 1-3, 2024 (denisag2).

More pics of this North River Lake trip are on Google Photos. Click HERE.

Common Loon	Purple Finch (female)
North River from bridge	EWC

Dinner (Brook Trout, very fresh)

An Algonquin Park evening

Bottle Lake and beyond, Lanark Highlands

The Bottle Lake trip was a real adventure in more ways than one. The adventure started when I got to Bottle Lake Road. Due to high winds on previous days, Bottle Lake Road had many trees down on the 4 km road. I was ready to turn around and try paddling somewhere else, but a keen fisherman showed up. He had a chainsaw and a rope to pull trees off the road with his vehicle. After about an hour of serious tree clearing, we arrived at Bottle Lake. 

Bottle Lake, 7km track

The fly fishermen had a flotation chair and used flippers to get around the lake. Bottle Lake has good fishing for Rainbow Trout. I’ll have to bring a rod next year! There’s good access to the lake, but you need to navigate a rather steep trail (50m or so). 

Fly fishing for Rainbow Trout

Tree clearing on Bottle Lake Rd

Bottle Lake is a small lake with less than 2 km of shoreline. For a longer paddle, I investigated making my way south of Bottle Lake via some narrow channels. About 2 km south of Bottle Lake is Cranberry Lake. But I wasn’t sure how far I would get in my 14-foot Widgeon kayak. There was a high beaver dam when I went down the south channel/creek. I managed to pull over into a small pond, but there were soon two more challenging dams to cross. It would have been easier in my canoe!

Dam below/south of Bottle Lake	Another view of a dam
A challenging dam to cross over!	Dark-eyed Junco

After dam 3, I had clear water for the next 1.2 km stretch. More dams were in the way to reach Cranberry Lake, but I left those for another day. This 1.2 km stretch of water/wetland is beautiful and dramatic. The eastern shore has high rocky cliffs, and much of the water is covered in a mat of leatherleaf bushes. I had a late lunch ashore on a rocky outcrop and wished I had more time to explore further south and a large wetland/pond to the west.

Large beaver abode	Beautiful area, below Bottle Lake
14-foot Widgeon kayak	Leatherleaf wetland & rocky outcrops

Next year, I would try at about the same time (first half of April) but bring my canoe instead. The trip may be better done with a canoe partner to make the beaver dams a bit easier and provide some extra layers of safety!

Leatherleaf

Midland Painted Turtle

Three outings on the lower Clyde River, Lanark County

 

In the spirit of local exploring, I’ve wanted to paddle sections of the lower Clyde River for some time. With some effort, I found three locations on the lower Clyde to launch my kayak and explore local waters.

Track for outing #1

Outings #2 & #3

The first outing (Mar 30^th) was beside one of the CR511 Clyde River bridges (the first bridge below Herron Mills Rd). There’s a water gauge station at that bridge and good access to the river’s edge via a 50m path. I only managed to paddle 400m upriver before being blocked by rapids. Back to the bridge, I navigated 650m downriver to the next set of rapids. So, in all, this paddle was only 2.5 km. It’s a reasonably isolated section but a bit short unless you are willing to run some rapids!

Scenery, 1st outing	Eastern White Cedar
CR511 bridge	Under CR511 bridge

For the second outing (Apr 1^st), I went 1.2 km down Lanark Concession Road 4B from CR16 and launched from the side of the road. First, I went 200m upriver to check the rapids. They were running high, so going further upriver was not an option. From the launch spot, I was able to paddle downriver for about 2 km. The river is pretty isolated and calm for the first 1.5 km. There are homes (Dwyer Ln) in the last 500m on the west shore, and the river is running shallower and faster. It made me a little nervous, but I had no problems with the return. This outing was about a 5 km paddle and is worth doing again by kayak or canoe. I might avoid the last 500m, especially by canoe.

Lower Clyde River scenery	Launch on Lanark C4B
Common Mergansers	Painted Turtle

On the third outing (Apr 7th), I launched at the CR16 bridge. The bank is pretty steep, but it’s doable. This launch is a fire truck filling station, so you need to be careful about parking location. The paddle upriver is short (500m), but you can go 2.3 km downriver. Also, there are several side inlets that you can explore in the downriver stretch. In all, my track for the day was 7.5 km. This is an excellent section of the lower Clyde River to explore for nature, which is mainly forested and has a series of significant wetlands.

CR16 bridge	Under the CR16 bridge
Scenery on the lower Clyre River	Scenery on the lower Clyre River
Canada Goose on a nest trying to hide	Midland Painted Turtles

The End.