I’ve done my share of fishing trips over the years, and I’ve driven to most, and flown on bush plane to several, but in the summer of 2022 I mixed it up, and took the train! MarMac Lodge is located on Esnagi Lake, and is well known not only as a great fishery, but also as a top notch outfitter. Offering both Housekeeping and American Plan for their guests, as well as train in or fly in options, you have some amazing choice of adventure.
My son and I drove from Waterloo Region up to Wawa, where we enjoyed an evening meal and a good sleep at one of the many local motels. Over the years I’ve stopped staying overnight in White River, as there are limited accommodations and restaurants. Staying an hour away in Wawa solves both of these issues, and it’s not a crazy drive to make the morning of your trip. This year, taking the train, meant that there was no questions as to when we’d be departing, and weather was not a factor at all. This, coupled with the fact that you were not limited in weight like you are when you fly in, made it a very relaxing prep!
The train, known as the Budd Car, was a three-carriage unit. There was a locomotive that also had seating for passengers, a passenger car, and a cargo car. You handed your gear up to the staff, who loaded it into the cargo area based on your destination, and they let you chose your seat in the passenger area. The train ride was about 1 hour, and was not only smooth, but a great way to see nature. This was a father-son trip, and Jacob was able to see a moose from the train. Once we arrived at our destination, Mile Marker 88, the train stopped on the tracks and we exited the car. It was an interesting site as there was a crowd of people standing around a campfire, gear stacked beside the tracks, and a trail down to the lake. As our gear came off, the outbound folks loaded their gear on, and the the train was off. Staff from MarMac were there to greet us, take our stuff down to the lake, and load it onto a boat. Our short ride to the lodge began.
Jacob and I were met by Ken Johnston, one of the owners of MarMac, who showed us to our cabin while the team brought up our gear. We had a tour of the grounds as well as the main lodge, before we settled in and rigged up the rods. We were both keen to get out and catch some fish! We’d be on our own the first day, but Ken had gone over a nicely detailed map of the lake, which included some of the current key spots.
We had a successful first day of fishing, mostly catching walleye, but a few nice pike were secured as well. We had a great meal in the main lodge, and were ready for bed. Our second day we had a guide, Andre, who took us fishing as well as cooking an amazing shore lunch. Jacob caught a couple of pike over 30inches, as well as the fish we ate for lunch that day.
We were at the lodge for a total of 4 days, and had good fishing each day. Esnagi is a big lake, so if you want to explore it all, I’d suggest you make it a full week. The meals we had were exceptional as well. Hot breakfast in the morning, bagged lunch or shore lunch (you pick the night before), and a hot dinner with dessert!
If you want to see where we stayed, and how we got there, check out the video above.
The boats we used were 18 foot cedar strips, which are amazingly comfortable to fish out of. As someone who usually fishes outpost camps, where our group is on our own for a week, it was refreshing to have helpful staff around at all time, meals cooked for us, and our cabin turned down each day. If you are looking for a full service lodge, on a great fishery, why not give Ken or Debbie a call at MarMac Lodge?
