2017 opener, where to stay for best fishing

Looks like I will be camping the week after opener up at leech. Looking at either stony point or the federal dam campgrounds. Both will suit my needs as far as camping goes but which place is better located to get on the fish? I have fished leech in the fall for the last 12 years. Usually fish the Pine point, goose island, narrows area. Don’t make it up north much. I’m not opposed to new areas or having to put some miles on the boat but if my best bet is fishing the south/west side of the lake I’d rather choose a closer campground.

I’m biased as I fish the Walker, Pine, Stony point areas primarily, but Stony would get my vote. Good central location, and if the wind kicks up plenty of great spots nearby. In my 4 years of opener fishing there, we haven’t had to go further east than Stony to get on fish(we launch on the north end of Walker Bay).

I have never stayed at the Federal Dam Campgrounds but I launch there all the time. It is a beautiful area! After launching you have maybe a mile boat ride to get to the lake through the waterway. Portage Bay is fine for finding fish. Numerous areas of grassy flats that hold fish along with sharp breaks that hold fish. Little Stony, 5 mile point and even Sugar are within a short boat ride of that access. Keep your eye on your GPS and you can find plenty of areas on your own. There is also a brand new (couple years old…) fish cleaning facility that is state of the art. Really cool area…Good luck! RR

BigWerm wrote:

I’m biased as I fish the Walker, Pine, Stony point areas primarily, but Stony would get my vote. Good central location, and if the wind kicks up plenty of great spots nearby. In my 4 years of opener fishing there, we haven’t had to go further east than Stony to get on fish(we launch on the north end of Walker Bay).

That’s pretty much how I am too. I am really familiar with that part of the lake. I have only been up by the federal dam area once.

Looks like we will go stony point this year. We can always run up to portage Bay for a day and check it out. I’m intrigued by the area because someone shared a location for some huge fall perch.. But this is a spring trip.

I stayed for 5 days the weekend after opener last year on pine point. I had great success on pine point and surrounding area. I would say stony is where I would pick for camping. As Bigwerm states I am bias because I have never fished the federal damn area. I had good luck on Grand vu flats in the am and pine point in the evening. I was surprised to see the huge crowd move off of pine point when it was dark. I had my best luck after dark when they all left. Also, I would go up into sucker Bay during the day and catch a lot of northerns.

It’s funny, I keep my boat on a lift in Walker bay from May-November but usually head to Portage bay on opener to avoid crowds. You really can’t go wrong with either location.

Phil Bauerly wrote:

It’s funny, I keep my boat on a lift in Walker bay from May-November but usually head to Portage bay on opener to avoid crowds. You really can’t go wrong with either location.

You bring up a question I should have asked. How busy should I expect it to be during the week? I’ve managed pool 4 in the spring should I expect the same type of thing?

The landings will be busy, so launching early is a good idea if possible. Most of the major main lake points and flats will be covered-up with boats. Weekends in May and June have been pretty crazy with boats the past few years, I suppose it’s all relative though.