So I think this makes the 16th consecutive year I’ve been to this lake. We’ve dealt with 3 owners and about 10 different arrangements of transportation and management. This year’s adventure included landing a small private plane on this abandoned airstrip so we could get picked up by the float plane. Beavers had apparently decided to build a dam that backed up water on one end of the runway… not good…

Fortunately our two expert pilots managed to make yet another wonderful landing and within a couple of hours we were fishing.

This year the area had been colder than usual. As a result we didn’t find the concentrations of fish where we often do. The first day the wife and I managed to put 45 walleye in the boat but we didn’t catch any hogs and most of the other boats caught fewer fish than we did. The second day we started to adapt and found that most of the walleye were feeding closer to shore on rocky bottoms. Most of the day I threw a suspending jerk bait and caught a ton of walleye and northern including this guy:

43 inches and good for big fish of the trip (and a few bucks)!

Day 3 the wife and I hiked up to a smaller lake where we often catch big walleye and this year was no exception. We each caught several in the 20+ range including this one:

I also snapped a few pictures of our youngest members really getting into some fish

The fourth and final day was hot and sunny. The wife and I found a windblown bay in the afternoon that was covered in pollen and baitfish. The walleye and northern were in a feeding frenzy like I’ve only seen one other time in my years up there. We brought 76 walleye in the boat plus probably 50 northern. Several times I’d have her wait to bring her fish in so I could get mine back in the water. It was incredible:

We only kept enough fish each day for a shore lunch. We’re booked for the same week again next year after all!

I’ve been fortunate enough to visit Canada nearly every year for more than 25 years. I’ve visited several fishing operations over those years ranging from full service to no-service. Without a doubt this is the best combination of quality fishing and freedom without being uncomfortable. If anyone is interested in contact details drop me an email. Everyone should experience Canadian fly-in fishing at least once.

The chick was actually hidden in the grass near where we were fishing. We could hear something chirping so we investigated and found him hidden there:

The parents were nervous so we cleared out and let the family reunite and swim off. The Wife wanted to keep him for a pet…

I got in this plane about 8:00 am today and if the weather holds I’ll end up in Pine Dock, Manitoba in the early afternoon.

The group will meet up in Pine Dock for dinner. Half will fly in private plane, several will fly commercial, and a few will drive with all the food, supplies and luggage. The next morning we’ll fly a mixture of small planes to a small gravel runway and then onto a float plane. Hopefully we’ll be fishing by 10:00 am Friday.

The goal is these:

And these:

I’ll have a report with plenty of pictures when I get back in the middle of next week, but don’t forget to check back while I’m gone.