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Hey there OFC Community! I've booked a fly-in fishing trip out of Wawa, Ontario at Pine Portage Lodge for the end of May. I'd seen the place featured on several shows over the years; Fish'n Canada, Fish TV & most recently on Canada In The Rough. All shows gave it stellar reviews. I had to check it our for myself. The fishing looks amazing, accommodations awesome & the owners are very friendly (met them at the Toronto Sportsman Show). Now to the important part. THE FISHING !! I'm looking for any tips for that body of water you can offer please. The lodge is located on Kabinakagami Lake, commonly known as "Kaby Lake". I have a few GPS points the shows mentioned, but more info is always better than less. Thanks in advance and I'll be sure to post a full report once I'm back. Thanks! Bassive @PescaInCanada

KESAGAMI 2013. 　 　 Reflections... 　 A calm apprehension while sitting with a warm coffee at Maurice's kitchen table. Stealing the occasional glance from his window out over Lillabelle, and the fully loaded Cessna parked afloat at his dock, each passing cloud whispered of a lifting ceiling to come. Best laid plans to depart at sunrise for camp on Partridge Lake were put on hold a time but, Brenda and I were okay with that. Racing from our jobs back home after having quickly packed the girls away, the drive and sleepless nights preceding our arrival north were threatening exhaustion, so it was welcoming to simply stop, take a breath, relax a little, and enjoy Maurice's hospitality. The evening of January 27th, 2010 I opened an email from one Maurice Robin. Recently acquired from Gardiner Air Services, True North Air Service was Maurice's new business, which provided access to several fishing camps north of Cochrane Ontario. A friend of mine had given Maurice my name, possibly explaining to him that I write online fishing reports, and am rather partial to chasing trophy pike on one of his accessible lakes, Kesagami. Maurice had me hook, line and sinker first cast really, as my interest is always piqued when it comes to fishing my old northern home, but I needed to make it clear to him that I don't hold back with what is chosen to report. That fishing is not professional for me, it's honest, rewarding and instead quite personal, often to be shared in trust with friends. So, if his service could deliver or not, it would be written. To my surprise Maurice answered, "I'm new to this business Andrew, and the truth is exactly what I'm looking for." With Kesagami there was little doubt fish would be caught, although my best experience was through the ice. Part of me wondered if I would actually drown his hopes on the soft-water. Over a couple emails, a few phone calls and the recruitment of some buddies, a deal was struck for all to fish with True North in 2010. It turned out to be incredible and even better than expected. During the weeks short evenings between four of us we caught hundreds of walleye just on Partridge Lake alone, and through the long days we fished Kesagami we managed 17 pike over 40-inches, one near 48, and dozens of 35-40 inchers. The fishing delivered and then some, and so did Maurice. His camp was meticulously kept after being newly renovated, attention to every detail quite evident, and nothing was left wanting for any of us. Carl, Mike, Grant and I marveled over every minute of it. Because Maurice is a person one can respect, early on it became easy for me to admire him. An entrepreneur, a self-made man, and quite peculiarly a risk-taker given his rather careful and organized manner, it was an adventurous spirit and a will to be challenged which superceded his cautious other self, when ultimately taking on True North. At his table, sharing pike, walleye and brook trout fishing, work and life stories, and reliving his wild-rapids, Naden boat trip down the Kesagami River to supply lumber and materials for rebuilding Partridge Camp, his enthusiasm and spirit was palpable. Although our pre-flight morning skies were grey and cruddy for a time, listening to experiences such as Maurice's surely brightened the horizon. This past spring Maurice emailed to announce he was selling the business. Partridge and another brook trout camp on Echo Lake were doing well, but his costs and personal demands of outfitting many lakes were only breaking him even. Sad with the news it took awhile for me to properly respond. Brenda and I had been considering fishing Kesagami through the comforts of the lodge this summer, but unfortunately our vacation dates could not align with their open season. Kesagami Lodge is a beautiful spot with excellent food and service; something Brenda would probably appreciate most, yet truthfully my heart with that lake has always marched to a more solitary beat. Understanding that with Maurice you can step from the bush to the beach and gaze outward on the lake knowing you and your company are the only people there, the only one's fishing and exploring it that given day... well that is, and pretty well always has been the chosen Kesagami experience for me. Over the years Brenda and I have enjoyed our time on Kesagami immensely. Our first trip March 25th, 2005 was a cold, blustery, four hour icefishing fly-in which yielded 24 walleye and one big fish bite off. Two days later I returned with a friend and his father and caught my first trophy pike at forty inches. Return winter trips annually over the next six years would allow us some fishing days out there of multiple trophy pike, and upwards to a best day of ninety iced walleye. I would catch and release some kind of new personal best each season, and when others would join us they too would almost certainly catch trophies of their own. Experiences that have put countless smiles on friends and our faces. It was magical in all sense fishing those times, a wonderful place on ice where we were often dropped and left alone to laugh for hours while setting hook after hook. I would study Kesagami, dream about it, live for it each year, challenge it, and between that first day and today make 23 fly-in trips to the lake, fishing all months February thru August and hoist many, many big beautiful northerns and plump golden walleyes. Continued...