On our way!
The weather forecast didn’t look promising as we boarded our flight north to Burntwood Lake Lodge in early June this past year. Heading up the west side of Lake Winnipeg rain clouds met us most of the way. When we approached the Snow Lake airport, a thunderstorm could be seen just to the east. We landed after the storm had passed and were quickly whisked to the Gogal float plane and helicopter base.
Helicopter service to the front door
Here we boarded one of the three helicopters that service the lodge for a short twenty minute flight. Brad Gogal was our pilot on both legs of this three hour journey. I have known Brad for many years, first flying with him back in the mid 80’s when I was up doing a television show. He was flying a float plane back then but in 2000 the air service bought its first helicopter.
Helicopter service was key to expansion
This was to be a pivotal move for the air service, since now they could charter flights for the exploration companies that were looking for the abundant minerals around this northern community. Snow Lake is alive again, with already close to 400 new jobs at the local mine. The closed gold mine in town is also set to open again with the increased activity. This has kept Gogal Air busy and Brad recently added an A1 Ranger helicopter to the fleet.
Building the Lodge, a family affair
Brad helped his dad set up Burntwood Lake Lodge in 1984 and together they have built up the business to what it is today. Located some 70 kilometres north of Snow Lake, this fly-in only lake was to be our home for four days of fishing, fun and friendship. Brad recently married and his wife Jackie also has her helicopter license, which helps tremendously on the logistical side. His dad still flies the float plane and they also have hired another helicopter pilot to keep up with the booming demand.
The rain storm had disappeared to the east as we boarded the helicopter for the quick twenty minute flight to Burntwood Lake. Upon arrival Brad decided to put us down on the shore near the lodge. The main lodge building is a beautiful wood structure with a big dining room, lounge and meeting area. It’s situated on the northeast corner of this large body of water, close to the start of the Burntwood River. The lake itself is 50 kilometres in length with two rivers entering on the south side. It’s this diversity that allows the lake to produce a massive number of walleye and pike.
Major numbers of fish
As Brad explained when we arrived, you don’t have to go far to have tremendous fishing. The deepest part of the lake is out front of the main lodge and a lot of the best fishing is a short boat ride away. Of course, that doesn’t mean you have to stay close. Part of the fun of a fly in trip is exploring new water and there is plenty of that.
While the pike fishing was good on this trip, the walleye fishing was truly impressive for numbers of fish. In fact, there were so many walleyes, we caught them non-stop while pike fishing with every kind of lure imaginable.
Chasing Master Angler Pike
Our first day was spent on walleye but after having caught so many it was time to chase the big pike that make this a trophy lake. We caught pike in the 90 centimetre range, but couldn’t crack the Master Angler book. On the second day we spent all of it fishing for pike in many different sections of the lake, enjoying the beautiful scenery and abundant wildlife. In the morning we hit the Burntwood River, which was just a ten minute boat ride west of the lodge. Here we jigged for our shore lunch, then trolled some big crankbaits for pike. After a successful morning our guide of the day, Anthony, cooked us a real high quality shore lunch, one of the best I have ever had (that’s saying something).
Big Pike afternoon
For an encore, in the afternoon we headed back past the main lodge to the southern section of the big lake. Anthony said some of the largest pike in the lake come from this section, with huge weed beds combined with current. Our second stop was a rock island and big sand bay that had scattered cabbage and other types of vegetation.
A brisk south wind was allowing us to drift fish right between two islands with a water depth of just over a metre. With the scattered weed growth, I decided to switch over to a lure that would allow me to fish through the vegetation. I tied on a big white tandem spinnerbait rigged with a soft plastic trailer. I caught three pike on three casts, so I knew this lure was getting the fishes attention. As we drifted a little further through the narrows some of the weed clumps got a bit denser. Suddenly my spinnerbait stopped dead, then started heading sideways. Setting the hook, my line began to disappear off my spool as this big fish surged. After several runs a net was put under this real nice pike. Burntwood has had a catch and release policy for several years, allowing these big fish to survive and thrive.
Equipment
Burntwood has a great dock, with excellent boats and motors. It all makes travelling around the lake extremely easy. Like any situation there are rocks to look out for but nothing too radical.
Bring portable electronics
It does pay to bring your own portable electronics though and I never go on a fly-in trip without them. On this trip I brought my Humminbird 387 loaded with a Zero Line card. What makes this card so valuable is that I think almost every lake in North America is on the card. I had no difficulty figuring out where I was at any one time, taking away the worry of getting lost. The cards do not have depths on them, as they are designed for Auto Chart Live, which allows you to do your own mapping.
Outpost camps a popular option at Burntwood
While we stayed at the main lodge with the full meal plan, the lodge does have two outpost camps nearby. McGee and Dow lakes hold both trophy pike and walleye with the cabins remodeled in 2015. They have 16 foot boats with four stroke engines to fish out of. If your in to doing your own thing, this is a great option for an excellent price with excellent fishing.
As is the case with most lodges this far north, big game hunting is a popular option. Burntwood Lake Lodge offers spring and fall bear hunting as well as fall moose.
Check out our video of Burntwood Lake Lodge.
For more information visit their website at burntwood.com.