MAKING THE RIGHT CHOICE
Over the last forty years I have visited many wonderful places across the prairies and Northwestern Ontario. Not all have been fishing related, but most have. It has allowed me to fine tune my approach on where I want to go and the experience I am looking for. With travel opening up people are anxious to get out and enjoy the great country and province we live in.
CHOOSING A LOCATION
What separates some angling destinations in this part of the world from the rest of the crowd? A complicated question, one that people in the Tourism Industry have been dealing with for many years.
Priorities, based on my personal experience, vary with individuals and groups, depending on what they believe is an experience worth having. For many, it is ease of access with a chance to have a quality angling experience along with the chance to catch a trophy fish. The big fish part of the equation comes with experience and expectations from years of hardcore fishing.
TICKING OFF THE BOXES
I fished all the western provinces during my 20 years of filming my television fishing show, The Complete Angler, coming to fully appreciate what we have. Many of those adventures are contained within the pages of my recently released book, The Complete Angler, 40 Years of Fishing with Don Lamont
REFINING YOUR CHOICES
My choice of destinations has been refined during that time, along with expectations. This past couple years with the pandemic, our family wanted to get together for one trip during the summer. My daughter is 33 and my son 27 and both like to fish as does my wife. Having said that they just didn’t want to fish. There was plenty of family time playing games, cooking good food and relaxing. We had a family meeting and I supplied them with options which included the following.
FLY-IN OR DRIVE-TO?
This was an interesting question because neither my daughter nor her partner had been on a fly-in trip. If we did fly-in though, we wouldn’t be able to fish out of my full equipped boat. That was of no concern with them. So two years ago we opted for a fly-in trip.
HOW MANY DAYS?
They all insisted that wanted to go for at least four days as this was to be the highlight of the summer. This makes sense for a lot of reasons. For one, the weather could be lousy, and you might not be able to fish some of the time. When people ask me how -long they should go on a fly-trip I recommend at least five days. This also reduces costs somewhat as longer you stay the price per day goes down. You are going to have air travel costs so you might as well enjoy the time.
CLOSE BY OR FURTHER AWAY?
My family did not want to deal with an eight-hour car ride somewhere. That meant we had to choose a fly-in within a reasonable ride time, less than four hours.
FINAL CHOICE
I have been on many fly-in trips and know all the operators. My only stipulation is that I wanted to go to some place I hadn’t been to. In the end we settled on the Carroll Lake Outpost cabin located on the Gammon River system. I knew the owners well from various outdoor shows and even a trip the previous year up to Wallace Lake Lodge. Carroll Lake is one of their outpost camps and I hadn’t been to that part of the world for a long time.
Carroll Lake is located within Woodland Caribou Provincial Park. It lies within the Nelson River drainage basin, which is part of the Arctic Watershed. All water flows westward into Lake Winnipeg and the Nelson River, then eventually north to Hudson Bay.
Carroll lake supplies anglers with an incredible diversity of structure and places to wet a line. It would be easy to get lost if you didn’t take special note of direction. Luckily for us we made sure each boat equipped with electronics that included GPS tracking. My Helix 5 is perfect for a fly-in trip, especially rigged with a Lithium 7-amp battery. With the fear of getting lost behind us we spent a wonderful three days exploring the myriad of bays, narrows and islands.
How was the fishing? I would put it as interesting. We didn’t really find the walleye in spots that you would consider middle of the summer areas. They were not stacked up on deep reefs or points. They did move into necked down current areas in the evening and supplied some incredible action. The biggest walleye of the trip measured in at 66 centimetres.
On the third morning we were in large bay casting for pike when I spotted several marks on my Helix 5 that looked like walleye. These fish were in three metres of water off a deep cabbage patch. I quickly grabbed my walleye rod rigged with a jig and Berkley Flatnose minnow. Bam, fish on. After that it was non-stop action for a half hour. I spent most of it netting walleye for my wife and son. It was the best action of the trip and we ended up catching a pile of fish all day long.
While the Carroll Lake outpost is on the Manitoba side of the border, most of the lake itself lies in Ontario. This requires both a Manitoba and Ontario license depending on where you fish.
CLOSE BY FLY-IN OPTIONS WORTH CONSIDERING IN EASTERN MANITOBA
Shaun Jackson and his family run a large airline (Adventure Air) and fly-in service (Jacksons Lodge & Outposts) out of Lac du Bonnet. They have a great fleet of aircraft and a wide variety of outposts to choose from, 20 in total to be exact. I have been to their main lodge on Amphibian Lake a few years back. We had a fun time exploring the many arms of the Pigeon River. It is a remote camp and you will have the lake to yourself. You even have the option of Deluxe Outpost or a Full-Service American Plan Lodge. Having a total capacity of 16, this location consists of four private guest rooms, each with 4 beds and a separate three-piece bathroom. There is a fully equipped kitchen if you want to do your own cooking.
I have also been to Harrop Lake Deluxe Outpost. Harrop Lake camp is unique in the sport fishing industry. The camp offers amenities and services usually found only at American Plan resorts – a float plane only accessible location, and accommodations for large & small groups, families, or corporate retreats. The fishing is also spectacular with tons of water to explore all by yourself.
https://www.hookedmagazine.ca/harrop-lake-outpost-spring-is-just-around-the-corner/
One of my all-time favourite trips was three-day fly-in to Big Echo Lake. Shaun has built a beautiful log cabin on the lake to serve as an outpost. It is also the quickest float plane ride I have ever been on, less than ten minutes. I had fished the lake before so when we went, I had a good idea what to look for and it did not disappoint. All these adventures are available to read on the Hooked website. Here is the link for Big Echo.
https://www.hookedmagazine.ca/big-echo-lake-in-whiteshell-provincial-park/
Sasaginnigak Lodge
The Johnson family has owned this property for a long time. I first visited in 1992 when I filmed an episode of The Complete Angler there. How things have changed. I visited again two years ago, and the place was totally redone into a five-star fly-in experience. Karmen Johnson and her group have built new cabins, docks and main lodge. Their airline, Northway Aviation, has also grown with the times, making transportation too and from the lodge a piece of cake. In fact, it is a short 45-minute flight.
Prime dates are now available in June, which is a unique opportunity to get in on some of the hottest fishing action of the year. This non-guided fishing experience is loved by Manitobans for the freedom of choosing where you want to fish and the flexibility to spend as many hours on the water as your heart desires. Hit the hot fishing spots in their 16 foot custom boats, with 30HP Yamaha’s. Masters are waiting for you!
Great family dates are available as well. Sas makes for a great family trip, for kids big and small. Kayaks, paddle boards, fishing off the dock and hikes on tower island can round out those lazy summer days. Take advantage of special rates for those 15 and under. All cabins are private and have spectacular lakefront locations. Cabins come with full kitchens plus propane barbecues and outdoor deep fryers. This is all perfect for enjoying time with friends and family, making those great summer memories!
More than just a change of scenery, Sasaginnigak Lake is a spectacular backdrop of boreal forest and wide-open skies. It is a jewel in the heart of Atikaki Provincial Wilderness Park and the Pimachiowin Aki UNESCO World Heritage Site.
Please contact Sas Lodge for a custom quote for your group. 1-888-536-5353 info@saslodge.com