North Caribou Lake - A Mecca For Trophy Pike & Walleye!

[solopaddler]

I’ll cut right to the chase. This was easily the best fly in fishing trip I’ve ever been on, bar none. The size and beauty of the lake, the quality of the fishing, the accommodations, the boats and motors, the ease of getting there, all combined to make it as good as it gets. I’ll get into the details shortly, but according to camp owner Rob Brodhagen I set a record for the number of 40” plus pike caught by one angler in a week. Walleye fishing, if possible, was even better. Honestly in all my years I’ve never experienced anything quite like the fishery on this lake!

The lake in question was North Caribou located in far northwestern Ontario. It’s a sprawling island studded gem over 81,000 acres in size. It’s difficult to fathom an 81,000 acre lake unless you actually experience it, but speaking as someone who loves big water it’s literally breathtaking. The amount of fishable water is endless with countless bays, inflowing creeks and rivers, islands, points, saddles and neck downs.

Joining me on this trip of a lifetime was my family, wife Joanne and two young kids Brendan and Riley. What made this trip even more attractive to them was the logistics involved in getting there. North Caribou has been on my radar as a possible destination for years. Problem was in the past they flew from the small town of Pickle Lake. Getting to the jump off point at Pickle Lake was never an option for me living in southern Ontario. It’s simply too far away and I don’t have the time to make that trek. Happily I found out that North Caribou Camp would be flying direct out of Thunder Bay starting this year and with Air Miles accumulated the flight to Thunder Bay was cheap. That made the decision to book a no brainer and we quickly snapped up the last full week in June, the 21-28.

The package is inclusive from Thunder Bay and includes a free nights stay at the Valhalla Inn the night before you fly into camp. It was a thoroughly civilized process that we enjoyed immensely.

North Caribou supplies you with an extensive list of staple food items as part of the package but we still had to shop for perishables (meat, cheese, bread, eggs, etc..) after we arrived in Thunder Bay. We brought a large soft cooler with us on the flight to Thunder Bay and once it was packed with our food the Valhalla put it in a gigantic walk in cooler/freezer for us. Honestly the entire process was so seamless, stress free and easy it left me wondering why I haven’t flown to my jump off point more often.

Every Friday evening the camp owner, Rob Brodhagen is there in Thunder Bay to greet his newly arriving guests. In our case we enjoyed a good bit of conversation over dinner Friday night with Rob going on at length about the lake and the fishery, extolling its virtues and explaining his thoughts on how we should target the fish. Our anticipation was rising…

Early the next morning we met in the lobby and were shuttled over to the Wasaya Airlines base next to the Thunder Bay airport.The next leg of our journey would be in a 16 seat prop plane to the remote native community of Weagamow Lake.

Spirits were running high as our cargo was weighed and then loaded onto the plane. We soon followed and by 9am we were onboard and ready for take off.







It was roughly a 1 hour flight to Weagamow. To me it seemed we just reached cruising speed and we started to descend. This part of Ontario has almost more water than land and the view enroute was amazing.



Arriving in Weagamow Lake (formerly known as Round Lake) we were greeted by several friendly natives who quickly piled our gear into pick up trucks and shuttled us over to the float plane base and the final leg of our journey to North Caribou.










There were all kinds of scruffy looking dogs trotting around everywhere and while we waited for the float plane to get loaded my two kids acquainted themselves with one particularly friendly young pup.




As I said the terrain up there is inspiring and as we approached the lake I shot this short video clip. Bear in mind you’re only seeing a tiny fraction of the available water. Vast is an understatement!




The camp itself is extremely nice for such a remote place. The main facility has three sleep cabins with a maximum capacity of 16, a central kitchen cabin and a large central shower house with hot and cold running water and flush toilets. 300 yards down the beach is another smaller cabin with both kitchen and indoor bathroom for smaller groups that would like some privacy.









Rob’s son Dusty Brodhagen is at the camp all season long. He keeps the boats gassed, everything clean and neat, and is there to guide and assist guests in any way that’s needed. He’s a perfect man for the job and his easy going nature is hard not to like.

After unpacking and settling in we sat down and chatted for a bit as I picked his brain about various spots on the lake. I filmed this short clip where he talks about the history of the lake and the camp as well as its amazing fishery. Very interesting.



It didn’t long and I soon had our full arsenal rigged and ready. (And no, I actually don’t have enough rods so don’t ask).



While we were greeted with perfect weather upon arrival at camp, we stuck close the first afternoon simply trying to get a feel for the lake and a few fish under our belts. A trend soon emerged though as we boated walleye after walleye while casting for pike with large spinnerbaits and spoons. These were some of the most unsophisticated and aggressive walleyes I’ve ever seen! Mixed in between were dozens of small to medium sized pike and a great start to our adventure was had.
















I simply cannot give a blow by blow recap of the trip, I would have to write a novel. Suffice it say my son and I fished most hard every day covering as much of this vast body of water as we could. On the pike end of things a simple pattern quickly emerged where we keyed specifically on bays with creeks flowing into them. The water temp’s were shockingly warm reaching 70 degrees each afternoon, yet the pike were still in the shallows in fishable numbers! We used primarily two lures to catch our pike: A brown/orange Northland Magnum Reed Runner spinnerbait and a variety of Doctor spoons. Another lethal spoon was the Williams HQ. It was equally effective on both pike and walleye and some of the colour patterns seemed irresistible.

Ultimately I set a camp record for the most northerns over 40” caught by one angler, 17. My son caught 4 more and my wife caught 2 more, so our family total for the week was 23! That number doesn’t include the crazy numbers of pike in the 34-36” range either. There were tons of them.

My wife and daughter were not nearly as intense as us boys and quite often they’d sleep in late then fish close to camp for walleye. They’d go out off a point 200 yards from the dock, catch 30 odd fish, get bored then head back for a break. Rinse and repeat. It’s as a good a walleye fishery as I’ve ever encountered. First off the walleyes are EVEYWHERE in this lake - literally. Doesn’t matter if it’s 30’ off a rocky point or in 3’ of shallow sandy, featureless water. With water clarity being so good you’d constantly see schools of fish swimming around in a big packs in the most unlikely of spots. It was exactly like fishing in a giant aquarium!

Even more amazing than the numbers was the average size. Numbers walleye lakes are quite common, but normally they’re 15-16” fish. These fish were all thick and fat and were an honest 20-22” average size! Sounds crazy but it’s true. Scads and scads of larger walleyes in the 24-28” range were caught, I honestly couldn't tell you how many.

We jig fished for walleyes “maybe” an hour out of the entire trip as my primary focus was casting for pike. That said we caught hundreds of incidental walleye. I truly believe that if you focussed solely on walleye and fished hard there is virtually no limit on the number you might catch in one day. 100? 200? 500? Anything is possible on this lake.




Pike Fishing Highlights






As usual even though we spent on average 12 hours a day in the boat my 7 year old son Brendan simply couldn’t stop fishing. Most evenings he’d grab a rod and race down to the dock with the wonderful camp dog Brin in tow and fish until we called him in. The water in front of the dock was sandy and shallow but he still caught plenty of fish!










On a glorious bluebird day everyone in camp made the long trek down to where the Thurston River feeds into the lake to fish and enjoy a shore lunch. The Thurston is one of 3 major rivers that feed the lake, the other two being the Donnelly and the Nango and all of them teem with walleye. This is nice as the rivers are more sheltered than the big lake if you happen to have rough weather.

In any case the mouth of the Thurston was a hotspot and numerous quality fish were caught.







 









Midday Brendan and I motored up to the rapids to join the others for lunch. It was spectualarly beautiful, and as we ate our lunch both kids hopped in a boat and fished for walleye…














After lunch the great fishing continued. Brendan and I found a small saddle between an island and the mainland with 20’ of water. Adjacent to the saddle was a weedy bay on the mainland that had good expanse of 6-8’ water with emerging weeds. The bay was loaded with nice fish!!
















There was so much amazing pike water to be fished on this lake, and it all held quality fish!





Another good spot was Stewart Bay, according to Dusty no one had fished it yet this year and that was all I needed to hear. Brendan and I got up early one morning and made the 2 hour run over there. It was a glorious morning. I sipped my coffee with a light hand on the tiller while my little guy crept up into the nose of the boat to escape the wind and nap.






Stewart Bay is a huge area, almost a lake unto itself, but we quickly figured things out and Brendan got on a roll!









I managed a few myself too.







On a couple of mornings I got up extra early, too early for even Brendan and headed out by myself close to camp to fish for an hour or so until the others awoke. As I’ve already said the fish are everywhere in this lake. You could put a blindfold on and stick a pin anywhere on a map of the lake and say “that’s the best spot!”

I filmed this short clip one morning no more than 2km’s from camp. I really think it illustrates just how easy the fishing is.






A few times the four of us went out together in one boat. My wife enjoyed that as it allowed to her to fully relax. It’s not ideal fishing 4 out of a boat, but man did we have fun! Perhaps the most fun we had on the entire trip.























 

 

 

Continued.....

[solopaddler]

Walleye Fishing Highlights


As I’ve said the walleye fishing was incredible and we rarely targeted them. Fishing close to camp on a beautiful calm evening Brendan and I jig fished for one of the very few times on the entire trip. We made our way over to large sandy saddle between two huge islands. Either side of the saddle was deeper water in the 20’ range while right on top it was 8-12’. It was insanely good fishing, literally one right after another and I filmed this short clip of Brendan fighting several…


 




The rest of my highlights are mostly in the form of photos so I’ll let them do the talking.

I mentioned earlier, but the Williams HQ spoon was dynamite. Don’t really know how important that tidbit of info actually is though when a pop can tab would catch fish too.











We fished the other two major inflowing rivers the Donnelly and the Nango and both were stuffed with fish.















Did I mention these fish were aggressive?


















































The Camp And A Thank You


Now a little more detail on the camp. It’s situated on Cemetery Island smack dab in the middle of this sprawling behemoth of a lake. It’s a nice spot as it gives you equal access to all parts of the lake. It was the site of a short lived Hudson’s Bay post in the early 1900’s and is so named because many of its inhabitants were wiped out by a devastating bout of influenza and buried there. The logs along the base of the kitchen cabin are the original ones from those bygone days so there’s a lot of history at this spot.

The main camp is comprised of three sleeping cabins with a maximum capacity of 16, as well as a large fully equipped kitchen cabin and a large shower house with flush toilets and hot and cold running water. There’s also a satellite wifi connection, satellite phone, generator with electric lighting and some of the best boats and motors I’ve ever used at a remote fly in.

In addition to the main camp, 300 yards down the beach and set back in a grove of trees is a self contained private cabin with its own kitchen, bathroom and dock for smaller groups who’d prefer a bit of privacy.
















For anyone who’s interested in a trip to the camp I’m more than happy to answer any questions you might have.

If you’re interested all of the contact info is on their website at www.northcaribou.com

Beyond that as usual I shot this short video clip offering a tour of both the main camp and the private cabin at North Caribou.





Finally a very big thank you from myself and my entire family to both Dusty and Rob Brodhagen. You both went the extra mile to make this trip a success and your enthusiasm and good nature was infectious. I’m already looking forward to a return trip and there’s very few camps that would ever entice me to do that!





Hope you enjoyed the tale,


Cheers,  Mike

Edited July 5, 2014 by Mike Borger

[Pikeslayer8]

Well what do you say about the most anticipated report I can ever remember? Massive pike, beautiful giant walleye and an appreciative wonderful family................. Brought a tear to my eye.

[DRIFTER_016]

Great report Mike.

The kids sure are getting big.

[mattaw]

This report is amazing. I'm so jealous of what you got to do. I may have to try to plan this out for next year! You may be getting a PM or email from me in the next little bit

[Ron]

Well worth the wait to read this report Mike.

 

The idea of flying to T Bay was a good one. 1.5hrs as opposed to a 16hr drive.

[Skud]

I want to be there.

 

OMG what an epic report! Where do you find the time to put that together? Looks like such a beautiful place, and all those fish to catch is a pretty good bonus too. Your son is becoming a real champ at catching fish. I will certainly be a fan of his fishing show when it airs in the near future. Great report!

[Roy]

Well I read this twice last night and again this morning. Very enjoyable, Mike. Fantastic documentation of your trip with the family. Methinks Messrs. Brodhagen will need to build additional accomodations for the onslaught.

Thank you for taking the time to post it to our community.

[Rich Clemens]

Awesome report. We'd all love a trip like that. Thanks for taking the time to put all the together and sharing with us.

[can u fish]

Way to go Mike another great read and awesome report it was well worth the wait the best part of this trip in my opinion is that you got to do it with the whole family.

 

Cheers Mitch....

[solopaddler]

Thanks guys, really glad you liked! I've said this before, but many of my reports this one included aren't masterpieces. They're the literary equivolent of beating someone over the head with a hammer LOL! Still, they do take time, probably more than you might think.

 

 

Well worth the wait to read this report Mike.

 

The idea of flying to T Bay was a good one. 1.5hrs as opposed to a 16hr drive.

Thanks Ron, and yeah, the flying was almost my favourite part. Normally we spend part of our last day on Friday packing, but on this trip I fished 'till 9pm on our last day. Stayed up late and enjoyed some socializing and a few pops around the campfire. Saturday our return flight was scheduled for 10:30am so we had plenty of time to pack and clean things up.

 

So get this. The plane was on time at 10:30. I was sitting in my living room drinking a beer by 6:30pm. It simply doesn't get any better than that!

 

I want to be there.

OMG what an epic report! Where do you find the time to put that together? Looks like such a beautiful place, and all those fish to catch is a pretty good bonus too. Your son is becoming a real champ at catching fish. I will certainly be a fan of his fishing show when it airs in the near future. Great report!

Thanks Doug! It's been a struggle getting this done (you of all people know my schedule). The exciting and scary part is my entire summer will be like this. At least I'm learning how to manage my time. Can I assume you'd be interested in a return trip next year?

 

Well I read this twice last night and again this morning. Very enjoyable, Mike. Fantastic documentation of your trip with the family. Methinks Messrs. Brodhagen will need to build additional accomodations for the onslaught.

Thank you for taking the time to post it to our community.

Glad you liked it Roy. Like I've said it's not a masterpiece, but it still takes some time to put these things together. And you're most welcome.

[Christopheraaron]

Fantastic report Mike! If we wait a week for the report every time will it be this good?

[fishnsled]

Just when you think your reports and fishing can't be any better, you post this! Just incredible MIke!! Thanks for taking the time to post this epic trip.

[Gallie]

Awesome write up, some very nice loooking fish too. Looks like a new bucket list place for me!

[lew]

Wonderful trip Mike, especially with your family going along with you.

[davey buoy]

Have to agree,great report!!!!! Nice to see the young fellow with that kind of fishing determination at his age.Looks like the whole family really enjoyed the trip!!

[4x4bassin]

Looks like a great spot Mike , this place will be on my radar for sure Thanks for putting that together for us .

[solopaddler]

Very glad you guys enjoyed the write up!

 

 

 

If we wait a week for the report every time will it be this good?

 

In a word yes.

 

I leave later this week for the Asheweig where I'm hoping to put the flies you tied for me to good use.

[Skud]

Yes Mike, I am leaving my entire spring schedule open in anticipation of going up there with you.

[AdamS]

Excellent story! sounds like you and your family had the time of your lives out there. Definitely a great experience. I'll have to put North Caribou on my list:).

[woodenboater]

EPIC !!!

[solopaddler]

Yes Mike, I am leaving my entire spring schedule open in anticipation of going up there with you.

 

Excellent, I already have a date in mind.

[adempsey]

Thanks for the write up! Looks like an amazing place. Was always curious about North Caribou and truly enjoy the first hand reporting!

[leaf4]

Dang, now I just need to save up a couple grand lol

[wantabigone]

Thanks for taking the time to post this great report Mike. It was a pleasure to have met you and your family. I would also like to thank you for giving us the opportunity to fish this lake at the same time you were there.

 

In case any of you were doubting, the fishing really is that good. This was the best walleye trip my dad and I have been on both for numbers and average size. The fish were just everywhere.

 

I would like to emphasis just how nice the boats are. The swivel pedestal seats made for great comfort and the electric starts were a blessing. While we did not fish as hard or long as Mike we certainly had 100+ fish days. I certainly hope to be back there some day.