Windsor Lake's Bounty: Exploring New Water On The Attawapiskat

[solopaddler]

Poring over maps has always been a favorite pastime of mine, especially when planning trips in Ontario's far north. Looking over a detailed topographic map of Windsor lake, a widening of the fabled Attawapiskat River, the opportunities seemed endless. 

It encompasses thousands upon thousands of acres of fishable water, and with the obvious potential for trophy fish it's a destination that's long intrigued me.

 

Last year Eddie North acquired an older outpost camp on Windsor lake, his goal being to open it up to anglers in 2014. Life, not unexpectedly, tends to throw us a curve every once in a while, and when a proposed September trip to northern Saskatchewan fell through Eddie stepped up to the plate.

 

"How would you guys feel about fishing Windsor in mid September? The camp isn't completely ready for guests yet, but it's in decent shape and I'd love to see what the fishing is really like before I open it up next year!"

 

Pretty easy decision for me. A call to my friend Joe, and two other board members, Rick and Julian had the cast of characters quickly pinned down.

 

We'd be fishing Windsor on the week of September 13. With the full moon on the 20th and blessed with a favorable weather forecast expectations were running high...

 

 

 

An Inauspicious Start

 

As the otter banked and began its descent onto Windsor I was struck by two things: Water, its course convoluted in nature and littered with islands, stretched in every direction as far as the eye could see. Also evident were thousands upon thousands of rocks. The river was obviously low and presented a literal mine field of hazards.

 

The pilot, a capable young woman, circled the camp and merely shook her head. "No way we're landing there!" With nothing else said she dropped the plane onto a rock-free zone and taxied over to a beach a good kilometer east of the camp.

 

With the wind blowing she hopped out barefoot with a rope as we watched.

 

 

 

 

We quickly followed suit shedding our shoes and socks and jumping into the frigid water to help unload the plane. Visions of Castaway popped to mind as in short order our gear was piled high on the beach along with two motors and a drum of gas. Of course we had no boats, they were at the outpost camp.

 

"Good luck gentlemen, hope you have a great week!" And with that she revved the engine and was quickly gone, a tight schedule to maintain.

 

 

Rick quickly set out along the shoreline heading for the outpost camp, his goal being to get one of the boats and paddle or pole it back to beach.

 

We busied ourselves organizing gear and donning dry socks and boots, and in no time at all it seemed we heard a whoop from Rick as he turned the point with one of the boats.

 

 

We quickly had one of the outboards clamped onto the transom and began loading our gear. It took a couple of trips to complete the task, but we were soon unloaded at the camp and quickly set about unpacking and settling in. 

 

As promised the camp was in decent shape, and with a bit of work it has the potential to be great. Still, there were a few issues that needed attention. First order of business being installing the woodstove.

 

 

A bit of sweeping and  cleaning, some screening tacked up onto a couple of open windows in the screen porch, some dry wood cut and split and we were good to go, we were home for a week. The dock, while in good shape, was left mostly high and dry with the low water so we had to improvise there too. Fortunately for us there were two old log boat ramps set back high on the bank and buried in the weeds. With a bit effort we dragged them both down to the waters edge, one on each side of the dock. They would prove to be an ideal substitute.

 

 

 

With our chores out of the way we put our tackle together and readied the boats, it was time to fish.

 

 

 

A Plethora Of Pike

 

When I'm fishing a location that has the potential to produce a trophy pike on any given cast I find it difficult to fish for anything else and this trip was no exception. The problem was where to find them? With such a vast amount of territory to explore and fish eliminating unproductive water and quickly establishing a pattern was essential.

 

Being familiar with the pike in this system I knew that bays or feeding shelves directly adjacent to main river channel and associated current were key. A large percentage of this waterway is comprised of backwater areas, some kilometers away from the deeper water and current. While I'm sure they'd be hotspots early in the season, it was an easy task eliminating them in September.

 

Still there was a lot of water to cover, and cover it we did exploring every inch both upstream and down from camp.

 

 

Not unexpectedly we were somewhat constrained by the low water. Many channels which would otherwise be navigable, were high and dry.

 

 

 

Still, the navigable water was endless and we enjoyed every minute spent exploring it.

 

 

 

 

 

Being September and in the midst of a prime moon phase I wasn't anticipating finesse to play a big role and that proved true.

 

Casting spinnerbaits, inline bucktails, a variety of spoons and occasionally 6 inch twister tails along deep weed edges and always adjacent to current we found success. Copious amounts of large, aggressive and willing pike came to play.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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A Windfall Of Walleye

 

With such phenomenal pike fishing the walleye by and large took a back seat. That however doesn't diminish the quality of the fishery. Elsewhere on the Attawapiskat I've caught trophy sized fish, many in the 7-10lb class. While on Windsor we never did capture any behemoths, but the numbers were unprecedented. Windsor in a nutshell is a bona fide walleye factory. If you strictly concentrated on them you could easily catch 100 a day. Mostly in the 17-21" range, with a handful larger, Windsor's walleye are fat, feisty and will seemingly hit anything.

 

As always I brought a flat of worms with me, but they were completely unnecessary. Ultimately we mostly used 4" Fin S Fish and Northland minnows. Run clean on a 1/4 or 3/8 oz head they inflicted grievous harm on the walleye population.

 

Every single current area, and there were lots of them, held scads of hungry walleye.

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Breathtaking Vistas And An Unexpected Visitor

 

The terrain at Windsor is something special. Mile upon mile of convoluted twisting water interspersed with countless islands, neck downs and current areas all set in a backdrop of northern taiga. It has a wild feel, a true sense of remoteness and quite easily gets under your skin. It's a special place.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Late one evening around 7:30 Joe and I were working a small rock pile not far from camp when we heard the unmistakable drone a float plane drawing closer. With less than an hour of light left and being so far north we were surprised to say the least.

 

It circled it overhead then quickly landed about a kilometer away. 

 

I knew it wasn't Nakina Air and honestly didn't quite know what to expect as I fired up the outboard to drive over and greet them. It never dawned on me for a moment that it was the MNR, I honestly would have been less surprised to see a pink unicorn land on the lake.

 

They were on a milk run that day hitting up all the remote outpost camps to check on the occupants. Windsor being the furthest north was their last stop of the day before flying back to Geraldton. With the sun sinking fast they were polite enough gent's, but a bit rushed.

 

When asked if they could check our cabin for fish, I told them sure no problem, but you'll have to hop into my boat if you want to.

 

"Why's that?" asked older guy in charge.

 

"Water's too low, you can't dock your plane at the camp" says I.

 

"Never mind then" says older guy in charge.

 

After checking our boat thoroughly as well as our licenses older guy asks what's in the thermos?

 

I had one beside me in the boat filled with coffee as the day had been cold.

 

He unscrews the lid, smells it, then says "I think we have a problem."

 

"Really, why?" says I.

 

"It appears as though there's Bailey's in your coffee sir!"

 

I explained to him that it was actually French Vanilla flavored Coffeemate.

 

"How sure are you that's Coffeemate sir?"

 

"100% sure, although I wish I had some Bailey's right about now."

 

He looked at me kind of dubiously as he handed the thermos back. My impression was that I had just narrowly escaped some big trouble.

 

Nevertheless we chatted pleasantly for a spell before they went on their way.

 

 

 

 

Tax payers dollars hard at work!

 

 

The Camp And A Tip Of The Hat To The Boys

 

As I've said the Windsor outpost is nice, but has the potential to be truly great with a small amount of cleaning and fixing. For our purposes it was an ideal venue, and being a single cabin outpost on such an outstanding body of water I'll definitely be back.

 

For those of you interested in a trip to Windsor I shot this short video tour of the camp:

 

 

 

The outfitter is Eddie North out of Nakina and his contact info can be found on his website at eddienorth.com 

 

Once again a big thank you to Eddie who has always been a pleasure to deal with, especially this time accommodating us at the very last minute.

 

You're a good man my friend and I'm sure we'll do it again! 

 

 

Finally I'd like to thank Joe, Rick and Julian. You guys made this trip extra special and I'm sure there'll be more.

 

 

Cheers boys!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Hope you enjoyed,

 

 

Mike

 

 

  

 

 

 

  

[Rich Clemens]

Sure did enjoy this Mike. Ain't no snot-rockets in that water. Looks like a great trip.

[adempsey]

Looks like another awesome trip for the books! The expression on your friend Joes face in some of those photos are priceless, lol. He bears some resemblance to a young Johnathan WInters.

 

Thanks for taking the time to put all that together.

 

BTW, are those jaw spreaders a custom job?

Edited September 29, 2013 by FishLogic

[Nipfisher]

Another stellar report Mike. What was the longest pike and longest walleye caught?

[Pickeral eater]

Great report! Love reading em!! Thanks

[spinnerdoc]

Must be quite a work out getting those shots , those pike are healthy looking. Looks like an awesome fishery. Thanks for taking the time to put out reports like this. The scenery shots are awesome. I am partial to the twilight pics. ..they look cool

[woodenboater]

man that pike took the plastic down pretty deep, didja have to Knipex it out ? hopefully you can make a return visit with higher water.

 

as for the inspection, I understand the law etc but they were prepared to rain down on you cuz they thought you had a splash of baileys in your coffee ? an open Jacks or tall boys I understand but a bit of baileys ??

Edited September 29, 2013 by woodenboater

[kickingfrog]

Thanks for posting that Mike. Great trip.

[spincast]

Another great report with outstanding fish-

nice year you've had there Mike. This year's posts alone are fodder for almost 1/2 a decade of trips for me. I'm going to have to stop reading them soon, my bucket list is running out room between you and Moosebunk.

[chris.brock]

great adventure fishing a place like that, looks like you guys enjoyed that little piece of paradise

 

did you try the new walleye cleaning technique from Buck and Bingwood were you rip once you're near the bottom of the rib cage?

 

there's still lots of soft water time left up there, you can probably get in 2 or 3 more fly-ins (lucky @#$##)

[solopaddler]

Thank's gent's, glad you enjoyed!

 

 

 

 

Looks like another awesome trip for the books! The expression on your friend Joes face in some of those photos are priceless, lol. He bears some resemblance to a young Johnathan WInters.

 

Thanks for taking the time to put all that together.

 

BTW, are those jaw spreaders a custom job?

Adam, I purchased the spreaders at Bass Pro.

Joe will get a kick out of your description of him as well, thanks LOL!

 

Another stellar report Mike. What was the longest pike and longest walleye caught?

44" on the pike and I'm honestly not sure about the walleye, 23 or 24 maybe?

 

man that pike took the plastic down pretty deep, didja have to Knipex it out ? hopefully you can make a return visit with higher water.

as for the inspection, I understand the law etc but they were prepared to rain down on you cuz they thought you had a splash of baileys in your coffee ? an open Jacks or tall boys I understand but a bit of baileys ??

 

Actually the jig popped right out, no harm done. It's always easier when you're dealing with a single hook.

And yes the Bailey's thing was a bit much LOL!

great adventure fishing a place like that, looks like you guys enjoyed that little piece of paradise

 

did you try the new walleye cleaning technique from Buck and Bingwood were you rip once you're near the bottom of the rib cage?

 

there's still lots of soft water time left up there, you can probably get in 2 or 3 more fly-ins (lucky @#$##)

 

Thanks Chris, and no there's not a chance I can duplicate John Moffatt's technique without a ton of practice.

[Dave Jones]

WOW! Those are some trophy gators. I have to get up there some time.

[mistaredone]

Great read! Looks like a slice of heaven out there. Some magazine quality pictures too

[irishfield]

Looks like a great trip Mike.. although Eddy might now know why he got that camp with no water at it's door! As for the MNR.. don't get me going on our dollars maintaining a million dollar airplane, while burning $250 + an hour in fuel and two or three guys salary to bug guys out enjoying themselves at a Northern outpost. It's not like anyone is going to be eating or storing more than their limit on those big pike. Somewhere our money could be a lot better spent to cover guys on foot walking southern streams and such.

 

Some great gators for sure.... and I really love the "have fun, I'm out of here" from the gal flying you (almost) in to camp!

Edited September 30, 2013 by irishfield

[darsky]

walleytastic & pikalicious

[can u fish]

Way to go Mike another outstanding report as always looks like you and the boys had an awesome trip I have done a couple of Fly-ins out of Nakina a few years back with Luenbergers and really enjoyed fishing that part of Northern Ontario now after reading two of your posts on the Attawapiskat I may have to make another trip up that way for sure well thanks again for sharing.

 

Cheers Mitch...

[solopaddler]

Thanks a bunch guys, glad I could share the adventure with you!

 

 

Looks like a great trip Mike.. although Eddy might now know why he got that camp with no water at it's door! As for the MNR.. don't get me going on our dollars maintaining a million dollar airplane, while burning $100 an hour in fuel and two or three guys salary to bug guys out enjoying themselves at a Northern outpost. It's not like anyone is going to be eating or storing more than their limit on those big pike. Somewhere our money could be a lot better spent to cover guys on foot walking southern streams and such.

 

Some great gators for sure.... and I really love the "have fun, I'm out of here" from the gal flying you (almost) in to camp!

 

 

Thanks Wayne, it was definitely an experience to remember. As far as the water in front of the camp goes the original dock was missing when he flew in there this spring. They jerry rigged the one that's there now and in the spring with higher water it was fine. Pretty positive he has plans for a new floating dock next year..

[irishfield]

Was there enough water out front that she could have landed and was just over cautious? I can float my bird through skinnier water than I can drive my 25Hp Honda... but an Otter runs a tad deeper than mine.

 

..and I mis-calculated that Beaver fuel burn, was thinking piston vs turbine. Multiply by about 2.5 to 3 for dollars from my $100/hr for fuel..

[beerman]

Awesome once again.. The MNR landed on Yesterday lake, Cochrane Air when we we there? They landed on the lake, we motored over to the plane.. There were 2 young guys and a girl. The girl was on a computer, she said she was watching us from the air? I was like, what the hell? She new we had coolers, fish, etc... Luckily we had NO alcohol, as they were looking for it... It felt kinda strange.. But oh, well...... Great report!

[Aaron Shirley]

Looks like another great trip Mike! WTG

[solopaddler]

Was there enough water out front that she could have landed and was just over cautious? I can float my bird through skinnier water than I can drive my 25Hp Honda... but an Otter runs a tad deeper than mine.

 

..and I mis-calculated that Beaver fuel burn, was thinking piston vs turbine. Multiply by about 2.5 to 3 for dollars from my $100/hr for fuel..

 

Yeah, as long as she stayed about 20' off shore she'd have been okay. Problem was it was an onshore wind and I think she was worried about the plane blowing around. The little beach where we landed was mostly sheltered. She made the right move.

[solopaddler]

Looks like another great trip Mike! WTG

 

Thanks buddy. I miss fishing with you, here's hoping you can join me again next year!

[irishfield]

 

Yeah, as long as she stayed about 20' off shore she'd have been okay. Problem was it was an onshore wind and I think she was worried about the plane blowing around. The little beach where we landed was mostly sheltered. She made the right move.

I just wanted to know where to land... THANKS! LMAO !

[Ron]

Seems like you hit the mother load of the big Pike!

 

Always enjoy your articles Mike.

 

Cheers, Ron...

[Skud]

Love the pics of those gators Mike. Gives me the itch!