Whitewater Lake - Land Of The Giants!

[solopaddler]

As a very young child and one already obsessed with fishing I can vividly recall devouring the 1972 edition of the Garcia Fishing Annual. In it was an article documenting the fabulous fishing for trophy northern pike in Whitewater Lake north of Armstrong Station in Ontario. Described as “the best pike fishery on earth”, it planted a seed in my young head that was finally realized in the summer of 1995. As a young man I spent most of my summers paddling solo in Ontario’s far north and that year saw me travel to Wabakimi Park as part of two month expedition encompassing large portions of the Ogoki and Albany river systems. A highlight of that trip was the time spent exploring Whitewater Lake. It’s a vast body of water over 26,000 acres in size and almost 25 miles long. The Ogoki River flows in at the west end, and flows out in the north east corner. In between are hundreds of islands, neck downs with current, steep rocky bluffs, some of the nicest sand beaches I’ve ever seen in the north and just stupid numbers of fish.
It was one of the best summers of my life and looking back it changed me profoundly. The freedom to do precisely as I wished, the confidence required to travel alone and the raw beauty of the landscape all had an effect.





A lot of water has passed under my boat since that golden summer. I’ve travelled to countless wilderness locales and experienced a lot of amazing fisheries, yet Whitewater still beckoned. It’s a lake that gets under your skin and I knew that one day I’d return again. This past September that dream came to fruition, although in much more lavish fashion than by pack and paddle.



Effortless Travel And Dazzling Digs
Armstrong Station is a long haul from southern Ontario. In my younger days that never deterred me, I’d just tack on an extra day or three for travel. Nowadays time always seems to be at a premium and a long drive simply isn’t possible. With that in mind my group of four which included good friends Rick Filman, Chris Brock and Eddie Misiak chose a more civilized option flying to Thunder Bay and renting a minivan. The flight itself was surprisingly cheap and even factoring in the vehicle rental it was great value. Especially so once you consider the cost of gas and being able to avoid the mind numbing drive.

Our venue for this adventure was Mattice Lake Outfitter’s mini lodge located in the eastern basin of sprawling Whitewater Lake. Mattice Lake has a well earned reputation as being one of the best fly in outfitters in the business, and shockingly I’d never fished with them before. As always I do an enormous amount of research before booking anything and was unable to find a single negative review of the operation. On the contrary speaking directly with several past guests the consensus was the entire operation was first class. This made our decision to book with them pretty easy, and as you’ll see the reality lived up to the expectations.

It’s a leisurely 21/2 hour drive from the Thunder Bay airport to the float plane base and once we’d purchased our groceries for the week we were off, arriving at Mattice Lake in early evening.



I was told to check the office when we arrived and if no one was there they’d leave a note. Mattice Lake has a series of guest cabins at the airbase for people flying in the next day, an awesome bonus in my books.





The guest cabin was incredible and in keeping with the theme Don had left us a couple of perks. Waiting for us were two large coolers for our perishables as well as 4 freshly laundered sleeping bags, no extra charge. Flying into Thunder Bay with a somewhat restrictive weight and baggage limit this was a big help and another example of the attention to detail these guys are known for.








Our flight was scheduled for 7:30 the next morning and after a quick meet and greet in the office followed by some much needed coffee we had the van backed down to the dock and quickly transferred our gear into the waiting Otter.



Wabakimi Park is a special place and at least in my opinion Whitewater Lake is the crown jewel. The terrain is wildly beautiful and our flight into camp that morning afforded us a birds eye view.
The boys were hopping with excitement as we landed and taxied up to the dock.  
 



As mentioned earlier Whitewater is known for its spectacular beaches and Mattice Lake’s camp is located on perhaps the best of the bunch. We were there in mid September so really weren’t able to take advantage of it, but it would make an incredible venue for a summer trip with the family. Something I plan on doing in the future.





The camp isn’t a big one, with only four guest cabins each one spread out adequately along the beach to ensure privacy. In addition there’s a full time caretaker on site with his own quarters. John is a local native. He’s soft spoken, intimately familiar with the lake and an all around nice guy. His help and input made our trip that much more successful.

Our cabin was located off to the side on a rocky point adjacent to the beach. Spotlessly clean with 24 hour electricity, indoor bathroom with toilet and shower and a deck overlooking the lake it was easily the nicest cabin I’ve ever experienced on a fly in trip, and that’s saying a lot!







A Sensational Start
Whitewater Lake is renowned for its trophy pike fishery and mid September is prime time in Ontario’s far north. No you won’t catch the crazy numbers possible early in the season, but the fish are thick, fat and putting on the feedbag in anticipation of the cold months ahead. Typically in mid September I have my best luck casting reaction type baits like spinnerbaits and bucktails on structure directly adjacent to deeper water and current. When the water cools in the early fall the big girls will make constant forays onto these feeding shelves then slip back into the deeper water to rest and digest their meal. Happily Whitewater Lake has an abundance of structure exactly like that. Conferring with the boys the decision was made to make the long run to the Ogoki River outlet, there we’d find the deep water and current we were looking for.

While we caught an endless amount of small to mid sized pike the giants were eluding us and there was almost no green weed as the water was surprisingly cold. Most was already browning and rotting in the shallows and I was beginning to suspect turnover had already occurred. This would explain the dearth of larger fish in the shallows. Typically under post turnover conditions the fish will hang out in deeper water, especially with a lack of green weed.

Still, we persisted and in mid afternoon on our very first day Chris Brock landed an absolute brute of a pike casting a 3/4oz gold Johnson Silver Minnow. An unbelievable fish that renewed our confidence and frankly couldn’t have happened to a nicer guy!

I shot this short video of the event after Chris called me over on the two-way radio, his only words being “I got a big one”. Indeed.










Chaotic Weather And Flukey Pike
Sometimes I need to be bonked on the head with a two by four to drive a point home. Spurred on by Chris’s huge fish we continued to ignore the obvious concentrating most of our efforts in the largely fishless shallows. It didn’t help our cause that we experienced the most wildly fluctuating weather I’ve ever encountered on a fly in trip. Each and every day saw wind blowing from a different direction, sometimes with force. Whipped into a cauldron of ice whitecaps, as John loved to say, “there’s a reason they call this lake Whitewater!” Stability is the key when it comes to establishing a pattern in the fall and at least initially we were confounded.

On the eve of our second day Rick and I were headed back to camp when we spied the boys standing on a sand bar with their backs to the wind. While we had caught fish almost to the point of physical exhaustion we still hadn’t captured any giants. Motoring over they informed us that they’d caught a number of nice fish, all within sight of the camp. Go figure. Simply looking for a relaxing evening of fishing they’d stumbled onto something special. The sand bar extended like a spine all the way from the camp across a huge expanse of open water to the south end of Best Island. With gale force winds whipping across the bar almost like current, there was a huge calm back eddy behind the point they were standing on that was filled with fish.



 



 





We hopped out on the point joining the boys not really expecting much and almost instantly Rick hooked into a goliath pike casting a jig on light spinning tackle. I managed to shoot this short video of the action…




Spirits were high that night as we enjoyed a fantastic meal and with drinks in hand a raging bonfire after dinner. The bonfire was Chris’s nightly ritual the entire week and regardless of how cold and blustery it was he persevered. The man is a champ.






Cracking The Code
To this point the weather had been cool and blustery, but not what I’d call cold. That was about to change. The next morning we awoke early and were shocked to see a blanket of white covering everything. Mid September is far too early for snow even in Wabakimi!





This was just the bonk on head required for a complete change in tactics. The water was already cold before the snow and this would drop the temperature even more. Talking about the situation over coffee we all agreed that the big fish would head for deep water. In my experience deep structure, usually rock directly adjacent to the deepest basins in the lake will sometimes hold fish under these conditions. I abhor trolling, but in this instance it’s the only way to approach things. You cover far more ground and give the mostly inactive fish more time to inspect your offering. Slightly larger baits are also key as the bigger fish usually won’t waste their time chasing down a small meal. It’s a tactic that’s produced both large pike and musky for me in the past once a cold front has hit in late fall.

Before embarking I clipped a sucker patterned Depth Raider onto my heavy baitcaster. That bait typically runs at around 20’ for me on a long line with 30lb braid and has caught a lot of fish over the years. I didn’t take it off for the rest of the trip.

I had a particular spot in mind to start that morning, a rock pile in front of a small bay. On the lake side it dropped quickly into 20 feet then even faster into a deep 50’ basin. The day before I’d marked enormous clouds of baitfish in this area and made a note. It was perfect structure, exactly what I was looking for.

Sliding up to the spot we both fired out our baits and began a slow zig zag troll. I think we’d covered maybe 100’ when the rod was almost yanked out of my hand. You gotta love it when a plan comes together! As you’ll see in this video we had a near disaster with the cradle, but ultimately persevered.



The balance of the week saw us catch many more big fish employing the exact same tactics. The lake is vast and loaded with deep water and structure. We’d simply cruise around until we found what we were looking for then begin our hunt anew. In between the larger pike we caught untold numbers of small to mid sized fish and at some point I actually began to appreciate the act of trolling. Troll, catch, rinse and repeat, it was some of the most enjoyable fishing I’ve ever experienced on a fly in.















I managed to capture a couple of more videos of the action. The second fish was an absolute pig of a fish, have a look!






Mucho Walleye And A Downstream Tour
With our focus squarely on the pursuit of trophy pike the incredible walleye fishing was somewhat overlooked. Still, among the four of us we caught hundreds during our week long stay and I can safely say the lake is a walleye factory! Both the Ogoki River inlet and the outlet are walleye hotspots, not surprising considering the amount of current in both spots. However the middle portion of the lake was the most interesting at least to me. There’s a major neck down here separating the large western and eastern basins. With countless small islands congested into this confined area there’s a myriad of narrow braided channels all with current and all teeming with walleye. A diehard walleye angler could spend an entire week fishing that water and still not cover it thoroughly.
Normally I like to jig for walleye, especially when I’m targeting unsophisticated fish on a fly in trip. On a number of occasions in certain key spots we did just that, catching fish as fast as we could lower our jigs to the bottom. Much like the pike though, the bulk of our fish were caught trolling. Either incidentally on oversized pike baits, or scaling things down and catching them on more typical walleye sized lures. To be honest everything works up there, but we crushed fish using a variety of #7 deep diving Shad Raps as well as a Live Target smelt that ran at about 17’.
One of the very best spots was the same sandbar close to camp where Rick caught his big pike. It runs like a spine directly across a vast area of open water connecting the mainland where the camp sits to a large island directly north. The top of the bar is clearly visible along its entire length ranging anywhere from 2 to 4 feet deep and on one side quickly drops into 12 feet. Trolling shallow running stickbaits along the edge of this bar produced fish after fish for us. It honestly became boring and the nice part was it was right in front of camp! Most evenings we’d head out after dinner for a relaxing fish and had a riot. The bar always held fish but they really moved onto it en masse as the sun began to set. We generally fished within sight of each other and numerous times we all had fish on at the same time. Truly a killer spot!

Here’s a short video highlighting some of the great walleye action we experienced on our trip including the amazing sandbar:




   
























If you navigate the Ogoki river’s outlet downstream from Whitewater you come to a point where you can’t go any further as the rapids simply become too rough. Back in 1995 when I paddled this system I had an amazing experience below these rapids. Portaging my canoe around them the river widens again and long lines of reeds border a deeper channel dug out by the current. Downstream even further another heavy set of rapids blocks access from Whiteclay Lake the next big lake in the system. Unless a serious amount of effort is taken this effectively cuts off access on both ends making this short section of river virtually untouched.
While paddling this water all those years ago I caught 5 pike over 40 inches and it was easily one of the highlights of my trip.

Chris and Eddie both enjoy a bit of adventure and after telling them this tale they both decided they’d check it out. The trail around the rapids is over a kilometre long and full of blowdowns. Beyond that they had no clue whether there was a boat on the other end. I told them it was pretty unlikely but they were undeterred. Troopers that they are, early one day they made the long trek to the end of the river’s outlet and found the trail. Packing a couple of rods, a bit of tackle and some food they embarked on their quest.

 
 
Surprisingly they found scads of blueberries along the way, untouched by frost or animals.







It’s been said that fortune favours the bold and astonishingly at the end of the trail they found boats!



Unfortunately the aluminum boat was unusable, however the canoe was intact and shockingly there were even a couple of paddles!



I don’t have a lot of photos from their odyssey, however fishing from shore initially they caught gross numbers of walleye below the rapids.





According to the boys they took the aluminum canoe downstream to sample the water where I had the bonanza all those years ago. While they didn’t catch 5 pike over 40 inches Chris tied into a behemoth that towed the canoe around in circles before finally breaking his line boat side. Gotta tip my hat to both of those guys, they took the risk and with a bit of effort experienced something very special.
In Chris’s words “That day made the whole trip for me!”

 

 

Continued....

[solopaddler]

Tale Of The Happy Hermit
There’s some interesting history at Whitewater Lake, first and foremost the fascinating story of Wendell Beckwith. Born in Whitewater Wisconsin in 1915, Wendell was an engineering and science buff and largely self taught. For a time he worked as a research engineer for the Milwaukee Electric Tool Company where he designed and patented several pieces of equipment. Until 1955 he also worked as a consultant to Parker Pen receiving four patents for writing apparatus and machinery.

In 1955 he left his wife and 5 children wanting a quiet place where he could do pure research into gravitation and radiation. After a considerable search Wendell deduced that a particular spot on Best Island on Whitewater Lake was the centre of the universe, and so he travelled north.

He built a series of truly amazing cabins and lived out his days there until his death in August 1980. One cabin called the “snail” was built into a hillside and that’s where he spent his winters. Small and well insulated it was easy to heat, its earthen roof providing him with early spring vegetables. The main cabin was something to behold with a carved wooden figurehead at its peak like something out of a fairy tale. Throughout the complex a common design persists of rays of light radiating out from a central core, consistent with his notion this was the centre of the universe. The craftsmanship in all the structures is remarkable and a true testament to the mans skill and ingenuity. Everything from hand hewn shingles to crafty little drawers that swing open on hinges to a hand made birch bark canoe hanging on the side of the cabin. The main cabin was dominated by a gorgeous stone hearth and chimney painstakingly pieced together by hand.

When I visited Whitewater Lake in 1995 fifteen years after Wendell’s death the place was utterly pristine. I felt like a pilgrim at a shrine wandering about the complex checking things out. It honestly looked and felt as though the man had just left days before. That was one of the best summers of my life and visiting Wendell’s place struck a chord with me. I’ve always had a true love of the wilderness and I can appreciate the mans the desire for isolation.

For interests sake here are some of the photos I took back in ’95:






















Returning this past September was surreal for me, feeling like I was transported back in time to that long ago summer. In the snail cabin was a log book on the desk covered in dust where I’d made a lengthy entry 19 years previously. Sadly Wendell’s cabins are in a serious state of decay now, and have unfortunately been picked over by thoughtless visitors. It was with a heavy heart that I toured the site once again.   


















For those interested in a more in depth look I shot this short video of the site while I was there:





All things must pass and there’s little one can do to escape this essential fact of life. Wendell’s cabins are now well on their to being reclaimed by the earth, and it’s just a hunch but I’ll bet he’d be okay with that.



Final Thoughts And A Camp Tour
This trip was a memorable one for many reasons. Sprawling, windswept and wild the lake itself is something to behold and it was a joy to revisit again after all these years.
Of course the amazing fishing played a part and it was particularly gratifying being able to figure out the big pike under such adverse conditions.

The icing on the cake was the great service and 5 star facilities provided by Mattice Lake Outfitters, and a huge thanks goes out to them! There’s no doubt I’ll be returning to Armstrong to fly with them again.

Finally these trips are only as good as the people you’re sharing them with and Rick, Chris and Eddie are all great guys. Thanks for joining me boys, hopefully we can do it again!



For anyone considering a trip to Whitewater Lake I filmed this short video tour of the facilities. As I’ve already said it’s easily the nicest remote camp I’ve ever visited! A summer trip with my family to enjoy that spectacular beach will definitely be happening at some point.



Information on all of Mattice Lakes’s camps as well as their contact info can be found on their website at www.walleye.ca


Hope you enjoyed the story,

Cheers,  Mike

[leaf4]

Wow what a trip, every report I read of yours adds another to the bucket list, thanks for sharing!

[Joeytier]

Hey Mike, you've sure made a lot of return trip promises! . You'll be doing fly-ins until you're 100 years old!

 

Another amazing wrtie-up!

[kickingfrog]

If it wasn't for the coffee pot on the fire I'd have never recognized you in the first pic.

[solopaddler]

You'll be doing fly-ins until you're 100 years old!

 

 

That's my goal.

 

If it wasn't for the coffee pot on the fire I'd have never recognized you in the first pic.

Said the pot to the kettle.

[misfish]

What a chick magnet you were.LOL

 

I loved the old hobit castles.

[Moosebunk]

Blueberries and Windigo pike for Chris!!! Yes!

 

Great fishing, even better adaptation!

 

Coffee went a little cold drinking this report in Mike. It wasn't your snow either... just simply a great read from beginning to end.

[kickingfrog]

 

Said the pot to the kettle.

 

Hay, I was talkin' 'bout remote camping in a denim dress shirt and short shorts.

[BillM]

I'm putting that first pic on a t-shirt! LOL! Awesome man, those are some big snakes!

[solopaddler]

Thanks guys!

 

When I scanned those old photos I did a few more.

 

Lake trout from Quetico Park Must be around the same time cause I'm wearing the same shirt.

 

 

Brookie from a small lake north of Elliot Lake

 

 

Steelhead with my beloved and long gone Clough reel.

 

 

 

I tried to take inventory of my old pic's and a rough guess puts the number at well over 5000. At some point I'll scan them all, and when I do there'll be a lot of stories to tell.

[misfish]

I want to know what you had for wheels back then.

 

Great old shots.

[kickingfrog]

Is that an early stradic in the brookie photo?

[solopaddler]

I want to know what you had for wheels back then.

 

Great old shots.

 

On all of those really long trips I either took the train with my canoe onboard, took the bus, or bummed a ride from friends.

 

Is that an early stradic in the brookie photo?

 

I have no idea, but it looks like it might be.

[Whopper]

Well done Mike, been waiting for this one for awhile, thanks so much for sharing.

 

Don Elliot and company do a great job. They took over Armstrong Air and Outpost outpost lakes few years back.

As we have talked before I had the pleasure of fishing WhiteClay numeriuos times and it sounds like Whitewater if very similar only bigger. I've also read the Beckwith tale and found it very interesting. It's a real shame nothing is being done to to preserve that place and the other camp (can't recall the name at the moment).

The whole river system in that area is a fish factory and some of the best scenery one can see.

 

Thanks again for sharing

[solopaddler]

Well done Mike, been waiting for this one for awhile, thanks so much for sharing.

 

Don Elliot and company do a great job. They took over Armstrong Air and Outpost outpost lakes few years back.

As we have talked before I had the pleasure of fishing WhiteClay numeriuos times and it sounds like Whitewater if very similar only bigger. I've also read the Beckwith tale and found it very interesting. It's a real shame nothing is being done to to preserve that place and the other camp (can't recall the name at the moment).

The whole river system in that area is a fish factory and some of the best scenery one can see.

 

Thanks again for sharing

 

 

Thanks bud glad you liked!

 

The other camp is Ogoki Lodge and has an interesting history as well. Perhaps it should have been included in the report.

 

Built in 1974 at a cost of over $1,000,000 dollars (a huge sum at the time) for the natives of the nearby town of Collins.

In its heyday it was magnificent and the enormous "teepee -like" main lodge was the centrepiece. Apparently Wendell Beckwith helped construct that building and you can see some of the same craftsmanship.

The camp changed hands numerous times over the years and at one point a massive motel like structure was added to the complex.

It's now derelict and has been unused for many years. For all intents and purposes it's a giant white elephant.

 

Here's a few photos I took while there....

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Rustic-Fisher]

That's a great trip! To bad about the state of the old cabins, truly looked like the living quarters every outdoorsman dreams of.

R

[Whopper]

Ogoki Lodge that's it, thanks for the refresher Mike. Again it's a shame something can't be done to preserve these places.

 

Not to take away from your report but a couple of us came the other direction one year from WhiteClay, came up from the inlet where Whitewater dumps in and walked upstream. Just did some scouting to see if we could get a boat up through there and just shore fished, the walleye were plentiful and easy picking. We've taken some big pike at inflow at WhiteClay.

I have always heard good things about Whitewater and am glad things worked out for you and the rest of your crew.

 

Thanks again for a very good report.

[davey buoy]

What another awesome trip Mike and company.Thanks for sharing,that beach looks amazing!!!!!!!!!!!!!.And the fish weren't bad either!!! .

[Rich Clemens]

Awesome report Mike. Thanks you for taking the time to put this together and sharing.

[mattybculp]

Great read Mike! Great way to start off my Sunday morning ! breakfast and a Borger fishing report.

[RickOnt]

Hi Mike

 

I have been waiting for this report

 

First off Great pic of a young ' Solopaddler' old pictures bring back some great memories. You must have many of your paddling days in northern Ontario.

 

Some amazing Pike Thick and fat!!

 

Pictures and Videos are topnotch. Enjoyed everyone!

 

Great read on the Beckwith Cabin and the Ogoki Lodge

 

 

Mattice Lake Outfitters sure look to be a first class operation, from the overnight cabins, to the flight, camp, boats and of course the fishing

 

Thanks for taking the time to post

Much Appreciated

Rick

[Musky or Specks]

Another great report Mike. I too will join in the laughter at the short shorts. This easily ate up an hour of work time this morning. You my friend are the Bard of OFC entertaining us with these tales.

[wormdunker]

Thanx Mike awesome reading for a Sunday morning. I really enjoyed all of your pix especially the ones of the old cabins!

I did note the website for the outfitter, viewed it & now you got me thinking for next fall. Probably late August.

[adempsey]

What an excellent looking trip you guys had. Thanks for sharing it!

 

That beach looks great, but at the same time I envision sand getting EVERYWHERE in the cabin. I hate sand.

 

When I first read about the derelict Ogoki Lodge I thought to myself, "I have to buy that if I ever win the lottery ;)". Such a cool looking place and it seems such a shame all that effort going to waste. Well, at least I'll have a destination in mind during the zombie apocalypse.

Edited October 19, 2014 by FishLogic