# MacGregor Bay in the North Channel



## frank515 (Aug 4, 2021)

I am starting to research new musky fishing destination for myself . I am thinking of bay of islands in the north channel of lake Huron or MacGregor Bay in the North Channel . Any info on these areas would be very helpful 

thank you 
Frank


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## rector piscator (Jun 12, 2008)

I was there in 2005, 2006, 2011. All three times I was there, it was early June (before SMB season). I was targeting pike, and unfortunately they had still not rebounded from the Cormorants. We found pike, but not in the numbers that I had hoped for. The real surprise was Rainbow Trout. There are numerous commercial Rainbow Trout farms in the area and they experience escapees as well as draw in native fish. The bay of islands is beautiful, but also very easy to get turned around.....especially the further you go in. 

Baie Fine is the long skinny bay just south of MacGregor. At the far end there is a section called the POOL. Lots of pleasure boats at times anchored up, but when it was quite, the pike action was pretty good. Never hooked into a musky on any of my trips. Good luck


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## Stubee (May 26, 2010)

I’ve been to the area I think four times but it’s been 10 years or so? I went with a friend who eventually bought a cabin on a smaller island about eight boat miles back and we always went early, as close to ice out as possible. We fished primarily for pike.

The rainbow trout fishing rector mentions is truly remarkable and that’s the only place we’d see other fishermen. It’s quite the thing to see big rainbows swim under your boat on their way toward the little artificial spawn you fished with a slip sinker. They’d pick it up and swim off like a carp and you’d then set the hook. Great fun!

One day we stopped in a shallow bay to cast for pike on the way back from rainbow fishing. We had the biggest pike I’ve ever seen swim up to us in maybe 8’ of water, holding right by the boat. These were true monsters, like 48”. They weren’t interested in our spoons, jigs or anything else we tried. I finally realized they’d been attracted by the overflow from our live well with it’s rainbow trout scent. I’ll bet a strip of cut bait would have been magic, but we stayed legal and never hooked one of those hogs.

My friend hooked one big musky by a tiny island near his cabin but no more, so he was really surprised when I hooked the one below about 20 miles away. I’d made him take me near a rock ledge that I bounced my spoon off just before it struck.

It’s a beautiful place. All of our trips involved an extensive cabin or other work project—like a new roof—and with my arthritis I couldn’t keep up these days with my much younger friend, so I haven’t tried to get back. The guys I was with threw about every lure in the tackle box, but I used only one lure for pike, that musky and the only two walleye I ever caught: a Syclops Lite spoon in I think lime green? It’s a very light spoon so hard to cast in wind but you can flutter it around the rocks with fewer hang ups, and it’s easier to free if hung up. I pinched the barbs down and still have the original Syclops Lite I caught nearly every fish on, albeit with new hooks!

It’s a great place to explore and like rector said, hone your boating skills. You could get in serious trouble there if you don’t know what’s ahead of you.


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## rector piscator (Jun 12, 2008)

Stubee, when was the last time you were up there? I have had tentative plans to go, but Covid threw a curveball into spring 2020 & 2021. Have the pike rebounded? Here are some rainbow trout pics.


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## Stubee (May 26, 2010)

I haven’t been there in years, Rector, but I know my friend was up there a bunch until last summer. He’s an excellent pike fisherman, and told my years ago on a pike fishing fly-in with him that “me hunting for big pike is like you with whitetail”; it’s his main thing. I’ll check and let ya know what I hear.


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## rector piscator (Jun 12, 2008)

Thanks, appreciate it.


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## piketroller (Oct 24, 2016)

Back in 1998 I spent a week a little further east near Pointe sun Baril in mid August. Spent more time chasing pike than anything else, and our two boat group landed around 10 small muskie total. Nothing big, but we weren’t chucking big baits looking for big fish. The Great Lakes have changed a lot since then, but that many small muskie has to mean there’s really good spawning habitat there.


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