solopaddler

PM answered, thanks for reaching out.

BEAUTY fish!! Must have been a blast to catch. Thanks for posting the pic! Have to say I totally agree.

Have you caught any giants through the ice? I'll bet it's a fun lake to ice fish. Dan MacLachlan told me he caught a 32lb fish through the ice on that lake.

Very cool, sounds like fun!

Maybe the other guys will chime in, but I "think" I remember passing a U-Haul towing a small car LOL! Are you actually moving to Vancouver? (I can't picture you driving a Mini for some reason )

Really? That would have been cool to meet. What were you doing way up there?

Call me when you're ready, I can help.

No he's adapting, perhaps even evolving like one of the X-Men. He's transforming into an ultra gay Wolverine.

He's also allergic to nuts, all vegetables, horseradish and deodorant.

Thanks guys! Yep we ate a few, they were delicious! Except for Bill, he's allergic to fish. Thanks bud, would love to see some of your panoramics!

Thanks guys. I'm really not a pro when it comes to video in fact my 10 year old daughter can do better. I'm still learning how to use this program and I know there's a few glaring errors with the soundtrack and some of the title pages. I'll learn quick though, the videos will only get better.

Thanks a bunch Rob, glad you liked!

Figured I'd post this separately so it doesn't get lost in shuffle. Lots of nice scenery, fish, and some cool underwater shots: Also did a short cabin tour video. It's included in the long video, but again wanted to make sure it doesn't get lost in the shuffle. Hope you enjoy, Cheers, Mike

Normally all of my major trips are planned many months in advance and that was the case once again with this particular trip. Originally we were slated to fly into a pike/walleye lake the last week of May but the late spring threw us a curveball and our week was cancelled. With less than a month to go I called Dan MacLachlan of White River Air to see what he had available. White River Air operates 21 remote outpost camps, some more deluxe with running water and showers, some a bit more basic. Most of their camps have pike and walleye but some have brook trout and lake trout. In years past I’ve flown with White River into several of their brook trout lakes but had never sampled the lake trout fishing. Dayohessarah lake in particular intrigued me. At over 8km long it’s one of the larger lakes in the region and it’s well known for producing numbers of fish as well as trophy sized specimens. Dan confirmed that an early June date was available and I quickly booked. Joining me on this adventure was my longtime friend Joe as well as BillM and Doug (Skud), both great friends and well known to the readers of my reports. Nothing makes a good trip great more than the people you’re sharing it with and I knew this would be a special one. We had a seamless drive to White River and checked into the motel on Thursday June 5th the night before our scheduled fly in. Two nice surprises awaited us. First the owner of the motel asked us if we’d mind staying in a cottage rather than two motel rooms. It turned out to be an amazing place, far nicer than two separate rooms and she didn’t charge us a dime extra. Second, checking in with Dan we were informed that our flight in was scheduled for 6am the next morning! Having had to wait countless times at various air bases over the years we were tickled pink. The day dawned bright and clear as we arrived early at White River Air’s base on Tukanee Lake just outside town. Dan showed up shortly afterwards and we wasted no time loading our gear onto the weigh scale then into the plane. Flying in an otter with only 4 guys there were zero issues with weight. The terrain surrounding White River is spectacular. Heavily forested with high rolling hills, sparkling lakes and very little signs of logging. With perfect conditions the flight into camp was awe inspiring. As we circled to land the camp was clearly visible on a small point jutting out on the west side of the lake. The camp was a beauty. The boat dock on the back side was totally protected from the wind. The picture window and deck at the front of the cabin overlooked a broad expanse of water and was perhaps the nicest view I’ve ever enjoyed on a fly in trip. A log structure with 3 bedrooms (2 large, one small), wired for electricity with a small generator, and the aforementioned view, the cabin was basic but incredibly nice. It didn’t take us long to settle in and ready our tackle. With brilliant sunshine and warm temperatures we suspected the fish might be deep, but we were prepared for that. Leadcore trolling rods, a variety of heavy jigs to be used with our lighter tackle and a couple of other rods for casting and flatline trolling. Rigged and ready Joe and I headed out making a beeline for a cluster of small islands directly across from camp. The very first pass trolling a Live Target smelt in 15’ of water I nailed this beauty. Great way to start the trip! That was a sign of things to come and the first couple of days all 4 of us caught countless lake trout mostly trolling and casting 15-20’ depths adjacent to structure. It didn’t really seem to matter what we used, but several standouts were large floating Rapalas, Husky Jerks, Williams HQ spoons, gold and red Cleos, Mann’s Stretch 20’s and #9 Shad Raps. There are billions of whitefish in Dayohessarah and occasionally we’d catch one. The trout liked them as well. Jigging off an island with a 4” white X Zone Swammer Joe nailed this decent fish with a gigantic whitefish sticking out of its mouth. I honestly can’t believe this fish felt the need to eat more. With temperatures soaring into the mid to high 20’s every day and very little wind most of the time the latter half of our trip was mostly spent targeting trout in deeper water. We were typically running anywhere from 6-9 colours out on our leadcore reels. With roughly 7’ of depth for each colour that meant we were running our lures in anywhere from 42-60’ and sometimes deeper. Jigging was also highly productive and just an absolute blast. Joe and I mostly used the Swammers rigged on 11/2-2ozheads, but I know the other guys used Hopkins jigging spoons with equal success. The hits were quite savage and almost always on the upswing. Even though it was deep water the stiff graphite rods and light braid transmitted everything. These are wild lakers and many of them were sporting reddish fins and vermiculations very much like brook trout. Check this out, very pretty fish!! As I said initially the lake is a known producer of trophy sized fish and we did have our chances. I hooked one jigging in 50’ of water that I could do virtually nothing with. I fought it for maybe 5 minutes and was starting to gain ground when of all things my snap opened up. It wasn’t a cheap snap either, I couldn’t believe it. I hate to guess at size without even getting a glimpse but my best estimate was mid teens. The real heartbreaker was an absolute behemoth that Joe hooked trolling a pink/purple stick bait with 5 colours of leadcore out. He fought that fish for at least 15 minutes which felt like an enternity. At one point he handed the rod to me so I could feel it myself and it felt like a cannonball was tied to the end. Just unbelievable weight and power. We had the fish within 20’ of the boat when sickeningly his leader parted. If anyone’s interested that particular battle was captured on a lengthy video which I posted separately. We had no complaints though, we caught hundreds of fish during our week long stay and even the smaller fish fought like crazy. It was a really nice change from the usual pike and walleye fly ins I do. I’ve said the lake was as pretty as a postcard, here’s a few shots of the terrain. All in all it was a fantastic trip and I wouldn’t hesitate to recommend this lake and outpost camp to anyone! On my end I’d love to go back again either in late May or perhaps late September. Big thanks to my crew of friends, Joe, Doug and Bill. You guys were a blast to fish with and I can’t wait to do it again! An obvious thank you also goes out to Dan MacLachlan of White River Air. I deal with numerous outfitters and you guys are one of the best, can’t wait to return. For more info on White River Air and their operation check out northtoadventure.com If anyone’s interested I filmed a short video tour of the Dayohessarah camp. In my experience they’re pretty valuable for anyone who might be considering a trip to this lake. I also made a full length video which I posted elsewhere which includes lots of underwater footage as well as some nice fish. Just in case anyone misses it, here it is: Hope you guys enjoyed! Cheers, Mike

Great report and I'm guessing a much needed getaway! Cheers

WTG Cliff, nice fish!

I searched high and low to find an outfitter that fit your budget and schedule. Can't tell you how pleased I am that you guys enjoyed a good trip!!!

Very cool! I just returned from a fly in trip out of White River for lakers and the gold/red cleo was also killer. FWIW that lure has traditionally been a killer for lake trout so I'm not surprised! Many of our fish last week were already deep and a large number of them were caught on leadcore.

Thanks for posting Rick, the Apisabigo camp looks outstanding! Interesting to me as it seems I may be fishing this camp in September. Cheers

No replies to this great report? C'mon people! (a separate report wouldn't be a bad idea though) Just returned myself from White River, very glad to see you had another great trip! I've said it before, but you're the king when it comes to eating on a fly in trip.

Great report Mark! (I finally know what you look like ) By all accounts Chaudiere is a heckuva place. Hope you don't mind me posting this here Mark, but I've got a great working relationship with the owner of this lodge. If anyone might be interested in a trip to Chaudiere please drop me a line!!

Have fun! Have fished it myself on a couple of occasions, nice lake.

Hey I'm a part of OFC too. According to OOD there were a lot of entries, over 5000 I believe. I'd be willing to bet the majority came from this board. I know they were very happy as well. Here's hoping the trip is a successful one! In the meantime I'm headed to White River early Thursday for another fly in, this one for lakers. Prepping for that one right now.

Joey beat me to it. You drive right past it, couldn't be more convenient.

Oftentimes we'll grab our groceries enroute to our camp in QC at the Independent supermarket as you're heading through town on your right. They have these huge thick steaks that they call "beefeaters". Just unreal and very cheap.