Finding a Trophy Lake

How do we go about finding that trophy lake? My biggest Speckled Trout caught here in Ontario was 8 1/4 lbs. and just shy of 28 inches in length. It came from what I'd consider a remote lake, yet only a short 2 1/2 hr. drive north of Whitby, Ontario where I call home.

The reason I call it remote is that the lake itself is 2 miles off of a cottage road, and the only access to it is by way of a trail cut through the bush. The other reason is that there isn't a cottage on it. Therefore this particular lake couldn 't get that much fishing pressure during the summer, or for that matter, during the winter, because the cottage road isn't maintained and kept open. The only way into it is by way of a snow machine during the winter months and an ATV or portaging in during the summer.

Two questions come to mind here: how'd I find it; and, where is it? Well, the first part I'll share with you, but the second I can't. You see, I'm sworn to secrecy and if I value my Bass Boat . . . well you know what I mean.

To find this particular lake (and other honey holes like it), the first thing I did was obtain a topographical map of the area. I looked for a lake with no cottages on it that lay off of the beaten path. This information is obtainable from all topo maps. The next step was to acquire an up to date stocking sheet from the Ministry of Natural Resources of the area, and any additional stocking sheets that went back two or three years. Once I had found a lake that met the criteria I was looking for, the next step was find out if it had been stocked at least 2 out of the last 3 years, and whether or not the stocking program been going on for some time. This information is available and free from the ministry and is quite valuable in finding your own private sanctuary.

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