Well, we made it back from our week long trip in Ontario. Overall it was an excellent week. The weather cooperated with few rain showers, the temps never got above 77 degrees, the bugs were minimal and the accommodations were great as was the fishing.
Day 1. With approximately 12 hours of time in the drivers seat, I lose track of the other two vehicles in our group. When I get back to them, everybody is in the ditch looking for something.
Turns out I threw a bearing buddy off my trailer within 5 miles of Pasha. A little duct tape and ½ a pop can and we are back on the road to the resort.
The rest of the evening was uneventful. We got checked into camp, organized our gear, explored the resort and surrounding lake area and settled in for a nice relaxing evening of conversation and adult beverages.
Day 2. After a leisurely breakfast we were on the road to North Wind Lake. This lake is approximately 25 miles to the north. All the roads in this region (except for the main road) are gravel. Not the gravel we are used to down here in the states. They use a very large rock in the gravel and it makes for in interesting (rough) ride. Also many of the gravel roads are not owned/maintained by the government. They are owned/ maintained by the logging companies. While we were there, they were grading to roads, so they were in the best shape possible.
With the lake being 25 miles away, it took approximately 1 hour from cabin to boat in the water. Part of that had to do with the fact that very few lakes up there have what we would consider a landing. Most of them are a couple tracks on a sloping hill that happen to lead to the lake or river.
On North Wind, the landing was actually on a shallow creek that leads into the lake. It was just deep enough to get both our boats through. I actually ended up having to get out and push my boat through the shallow spots.
With a little advice and some knowledge of what to look for we found a spot we thought would hold some fish. One pass over that spot showed multiple fish on the graph. Nicole didn’t have her jig in the water for more than 30 seconds and it was fish on. We fished out that spot for about an hour and it was pretty much fish after fish, mostly 17-19” walleye. The fishing significantly slowed on that spot after I caught a 32” pike.
After that, we went in search of new spots to learn and possibly find some bigger fish. We bounced around for the rest of the morning with similar results. One of the really cool things is that this lake has “regular” walleye and “blue” walleye. A very cool looking walleye.
Around lunchtime we found a very nice spot for a shore lunch. This was the first shore lunch for 3 of the people in our group. Fresh fish on a rock in the middle of a lake in Canada is everything I remembered it to be.
The rest of the day we decided to try dipsy divers in search of large suspended walleyes. We didn’t find much for big walleye, but we did find plenty of active 19-20” walleye to occupy our time. It was time to head back to Pasha and relax with diner and drinks.
Day 3. Today we were up early as we had a 50 mile drive on the same rough dirt roads I mentioned earlier. It took us approximately 1 hour 45 min to make that trip as the last 8 miles were really rough and 2 of them were on a “trail”, not a road. After getting the boat in the water mom gave the rope a tug and off it came. So it was back down to my underware and going swimming for the boat.
We were to meet Chad up there with a group who were headed to Jackfish River for the 100 walleye a day fishing. It’s a 20 mile run by boat to Jackfish from this “landing” and we were going to follow Chad’s group. However Chad’s group had a flat tire which made them late. We thought they decided not to make the trip, so we went off on our own and did some exploring of Ombabika Bay on our own.
After a short boat ride, we found an area that looked interesting. We dropped a jig and about 30 seconds later we had a nice 19” walleye in the boat. We fish this spot for a couple hours with many walleye and a 38.5” pike coming to the boat.
Just about a ½ mile from our fishing spot was a beautiful sand beach in an isolated little bay so we motored into the beach for a break from the sun and little lunch. When we pulled up on the beach, we immediately noticed a fresh set of moose tracks in the sand. Unfortunately the moose must have walked along the beach just before we got there.
After some food, relaxation, and a little exploring, it was time to get back to “work”. We decided to explore a sheer cliff area and see what we could find there. It was a very unique spot. I could touch the “shore” with my pole, but we were still in 24’ of water. We didn’t pull a lot of fish out of that spot. I caught a long skinny pike and Mom fought something extremely large for a few seconds before it spit the hook. It was fun to see her set the hook, hear her get all excited, see the rod bent over and neither her nor the fish give up any ground. Not sure what it was, but it never moved off the bottom.
It was getting time to get back to the “landing” as we knew it would be challenging to get the boat back out of the river and we had a long drive back. So we set off for home.
The landing was pretty smooth. We had to land and launch the boat with the trailer basically out of the water, (the back rollers just touching the water from a very steep angle). Overall it went fairly smooth. The trailer did get a little hung up on the bank trying to pull it out. But a little 4X4 and some lead foot got it out just fine. Well, maybe a couple scratches in the trailer. We weren’t sure if we could get my big boat in there, but after putting dad’s in and taking it out. We felt that we could get mine in there, next time. I would recommend having a #2 shovel or two and maybe even a grub hoe in your truck for some of these “landings”.
Day 4. Day four found us on Lake Nipigon in search of Lake Trout. From the landing it was a 12 mile run out to Shakespeare Island. Knowing Nipigon can be very ugly under the right conditions. So we made it a game time decision according to the weather. Thankfully today was a perfect day for Nipigon. Little to no wind, few clouds, and high sun.
The ride out to Shakespeare was uneventful, except for the underwater structure. I always find deep holes interesting. There is a 312’ hole between the landing and Shakespeare. The structure in that lake is really interesting. There is a 32’ shelf that drops straight down into 150’ of water.
Once in position and setting lines, I only had 2 of the 4 lines out and it was fish on. Since Barb hadn’t caught nearly as many fish as the rest of us so far in the trip, she was first up. She’d never done this type of fishing and never caught a “big” fish. Thankfully this 7# Lake Trout came to the boat after putting up a great fight. Barb was very excited with her big catch. We decided to keep the Laker and try a little trout shore lunch. The fish received mixed reviews, but overall it was another excellent shore lunch.
That was the only fish caught that day. We had a couple other hook ups, including a huge Laker that took a ton of line before spitting the hook. Later in the afternoon we went exploring and found the “pikey” looking bay. I had one on for a short time and we saw two other pike. But no takers. We did find some more awesome sandy shore lunch spots as well as a water fall. It was glass calm for the 12 mile run back to the landing. The landing near the town of Beardmore is very modern and it was nice to have such easy access to the water for a change.
Just outside of the Pasha driveway, Nicole noticed a fox sitting along the road. I stopped the truck and jumped out to get a picture. Much to my surprise, the fox and its siblings came walking up to me. I was a little shocked until it dawned on me that previous resort goers must have been feeding these fox.
Day 5. Day 5 we woke to overcast conditions and change of light rain. With uncertainty of where to go, we decided to head back to North Wind Lake for a nice leisurely day of fishing. It did end up raining most of the day, but that didn’t keep the fish from biting. We ended up trying varying techniques just to practice other things. The technique of choice ended up being Flicker Shads drug in a Carolina Rig fashion to get down deep enough.
As the rain was getting kind of irritating for most the people in our group, we decided to pack it up. At least the rain knocked down the dust made the roads that much more tolerable.
We kept enough fish for a fish fry back at the cabin. Nicole’s parents were headed home the next day, so we wanted to have one last memorable evening at Pasha with them.
Day 6. The weather on day 6 was another perfect day. So we found ourselves back on Nipigon looking for another crack at the Lakers and pike. While the day was great, the fishing was not. We had a couple Lakers on but none came to the boat. Some spit the hooks, one snapped the line after a long run.
Despite all that, the scenery was as awesome as ever. We hit another unexplored beach for lunch. The rest of the day was slow, so we packed it in.
At the landing we ran into a couple guys from Minnesota who had been coming up to Nipigon for 41 years. They had a lot of good tips and insight into the fishing and why we were having difficulty with the Lakers. They were impressed that we as first timers had dialed in the Lakers as well as we had.
Day 7. The last day of our trip, we woke to mixed weather. It was clear with the risk of thunder storms. We decided to head back to North Wind for one last great day fishing. We were really looking for numbers today.
With the rains over the last few days, the creek had risen enough for me to motor my boat through instead of getting out and pushing. The fish didn’t disappoint either. They were hungry and active. Around mid-morning a big thunder boomer rolled through, showed a couple lightening bolts, a couple claps of thunder and moved on.
We tried a couple different techniques again with mixed results. Did another lunch on a new piece of shore and got to check out some new areas. After lunch we went and checked out some new areas looking for large pike. All we managed in my boat was an 11” perch on a F9 Rapala. Mom and dad saw a huge pike take a swing a duckling, but couldn’t get it to take Dad’s swim bait.
After that, we figured we’ve had a great week in Canada and it was time to head back to Pasha for some food, beverages, and packing. Saturday was going to be a long day with another 10 – 12 hour drive. As we pulled into the Pasha driveway, I noticed my passenger side trailer tire was going flat fast. The rough gravel roads had finally taken their toll on my tire. With a quick swap, we were back in business. Now, the picture looks like I am scratching my head in confusion. I do know how to change a tire, Nicole just got the picture at the right moment.
We fished the lakes we did because we both were running larger boats. There were many many more lakes that we could have accessed with resort boats or with a smaller boat of our own. I don’t feel short changed one bit and I’ll be brining my boat back to Pasha next year. I will say I may have 2 spare tires, 1 or even 2 extra bearing buddies, bearing kits, grease, jerk straps and shovel on my supply list next year.
Great pics. and story Thanks for both. 
looks like Nipigon is still pretty low, the lower half of Canada must not be having the wet summer we are having in the upper 48…..
I love all the pictures. Looks like an area that would be fantastic to have both a big and small boat to maximize all potential fishing opportunities!!
