If you are looking to ensure you have the best shot at a great fishing trip, there may be no more important element than doing some research in advance. I was fortunate to fall into a great outfitter for my first fly in adventure, but since then I’ve done extensive research of scores of lodge owners to ensure I was going to be working with a top notch company. If you are looking to book at trip, I thought you may enjoy a “round up” of the trips I’ve been on to learn a bit about each company and lake. Each of these was either a fly in trip, or a drive to destination known for exceptional fishing. I’m also happy to share what I know about other outfitters, just reach out. I don’t have any relationship with any outfitter, so it would be one anglers opinion. Here then, are my trip reports in the order that I went on them, enjoy…
Esnagami Wilderness Lodge, Esnagamil Lake:
This was my first ever fly in trip, and was, at the time, thought to be a “once in a lifetime” affair to Esnagami Wilderness Lodge. This was a Father and Son trip, for 6 days on a full American Plan. Esnagami Lake is a large body of water, but also afforded portage lakes, which we took full advantage of by doing two day trips to adjacent water bodies. Read the full report here.
Hilmer Lake, Hearst Air:
After thinking my first fly-in trip was a once in a lifetime, I started researching various options hard, including attending any sportsman type show I could drive to. It was during one of these that I visited the booth of Hearst Air, and learned that you could do a fly in trip on more of a budget, particularly if you were willing to cook your own food. This was a group of 6 guys, for seven days in early August. Ready the full report here.
McLeister Lake, Hearst Air:
Having experienced great success on our previous trip with Hearst Air, we went back the following season, but chose to move to a different lake. This was the same group of guys, but we went earlier in the season, late June / early July. A unique feature to McLeister Lake was a long stretch of navigable and fishable river. Read the full report here.
Hilmer Lake (take two), Hearst Air:
Our third trip with Hearst Air took us back to where we had started. We had hoped to try a third (and different) lake, but scheduling conflicts put us bak on Hilmer Lake. That was fine with us, we had great fishing on Hilmer and the cabin was superb. This trip we took a couple guys on their first ever fly in trip, and that added a real element of excitement . Read the full report here.
Brace Lake, Brace Lake Outfitters:
On this trip our group of 4 headed back to Nakina, for our first trip with Brace Lake Outfitters. This was our first time moving to a Spring trip on opening weekend, and wow did we experience some weather. I’ve never been in a snow storm on a fishing trip, and I’ve never needed a boat to be shovelled out before it could be used. Despite the weather, we caught a lot of fish, and some big ones to! Read the report here.
Lady Evelyn Lake, Ellen Island Camp:
This trip was a departure for me. It was a drive to destination to Ellen Island Campç on Lady Evelyn Lake, and it was a two person trip with just my wife Carolyn and I. As a drive to, we were able to pull our own boat, which was a great advantage for overall speed and comfort. Our fishing results were not strong on this trip, but make no mistake, this is a quality body of water, and our hosts were nothing short of superb. You can read out the trip here.
Shekak Lake, White River Air:
This was our first trip with White River Air. We chose this outfitter for a number of reasons, in part because they offered outpost camps, but ones that included some more creature comforts such as lights, showers and flush toilets. Despite our first experience with spring weather, we stuck with opening weekend, and boy it it pay off. We had a lot off fish, including some big ones, and we had one of the better camps to enjoy as well. You can read the report here.
Pickle Lake, White River Air:
We were back for another spring trip with White River Air, this time to their popular Pickle Lake. It was an odd winter and spring, and when we landed on Pickle, we faced some extremely cold water temps, and some of the most difficult wind I’ve ever fished in. The conditions were challenging, but we still managed to pull in a good number of fish, though not the size we would have expected. This trip proved to us that regardless of how remote the fishing is, you still need skill and cooperative weather! Read about it here.
Jembi Lake, White River Air:
This was a first for two reasons, it was the first time I’ve done two fly in trips in one season, back with White River Air, and it was the first time I was doing one as part of a two person group. Part of the fun of trips is the social element of a large group, but I learned that fishing with your brother can be just as special. It doesn’t hurt that the two of us fish exactly the same way, and it proved fortuitous as we landed the most fish we ever have on a fly in, and did it at the end of August, with no live bait. Read all about it here.
Hopefully these reports will help guide you in your own selection for your trip. Remember, there are a lot worse things than being on a fishing trip in a remote area with people you care about, enjoy. If you have any questions, feel free to reach out to scott@canadianfisherman.ca. As always don’t forget, to sign up and have my most recent post sent right to you!