First Fly In

[4x4bassin]

Hey everyone , well the time has finally come where I will be going on my first fly in fishing trip . Heading to a lodge just east of Red Lake in NW Ontario and leaving the 2nd week of August . The lake holds walleye (big ones so I have been told) and pike . Anyways , lookin for some tips from the fly in experts on what are some must haves and any pattern ideas for the walleye's during this time of year on a remote fly in lake. I would imagine the walleye will be stacked up on mid lake shoals but who knows. Thanks in advance everyone   

Edited July 24, 2019 by 4x4bassin

[Chuck Enwinde]

Fun times.  I'm heading up north of Nakina for the third week of August.  Check out Adam Dempsey's site for comprehensive lists of things you may want to bring.  As usual I'd expect current and wind to be a big draw for eye's.   If there not stacked on humps, I'd check inflows or neckdown areas.   Zman trickshots were definitely the hot bait on last years fly in.  On sale at Sail right now too. Need appropriate jig heads though as the plastic won't slide over the collar of a regular leadhead.

[Big Cliff]

Well I would be happy to share my experience from my first fly-in but to be able to help with pertinent  information tell me more:

What sort of accommodations do you have? A lodge, a cabin, a camp site?

What's the name of the lake you are going to so I can look it up and see what you have to work with.

Does your outfitter have a weight limit?

I presume that you will have a boat and motor to work with. How many people are going on this trip with you?

We found the best rig for us was a pink 3/8 oz jig head with a white twister tail (bring lots) a slow day fishing for us was about 100 walleye each, it was crazy good fishing.

Bet you are excited, planning is half the fun.

 

 

[Old Ironmaker]

Bring plenty of good quality Band Aids for the index finger on your spinning reel casting hand. For stuff you need to bring I've learned if you don't think you will need it you will. I've been to plenty of Fly In lakes that we portaged into over Beaver Dams with a 14' tinnies and 9.9's. Trained hard in the gym to prepare for those trips. Had 2/6 packs, one in each hand! The guys that flew in that we met were none too happy to know you could walk into some. But they were happy to know we could drop off a case of cans of Ale for them, which we did a few times. 

[squirrel761]

We have done a lot of fly ins and for me a portable fish finder was very useful. Being in a remote lake is a great experience and having the fish finder made the task of finding the fish a lot easier. Spoons such as the 5 of Diamonds has always been a big producer for pike. Also William Wobblers.

For the walleye we had our best luck with white jig heads and green or yellow twister tails tipped with a worm or minnow. Depends on the lake. 

You'll love the experience and the stars at night reflecting on the lake are amazing.

 

[npt1]

Bring a quality First Aid Kit,  Imodium and "Baby Wipes"  for your personal hygiene area.

 

[chris.brock]

You mentioned it's a lodge. Does it supply meals, drinking water, fish finder etc?

Being a lodge, I'm sure the people working there will be able to help you get started, spots, techniques etc.

I use mainly jigs and twister tails and various crank baits to cover different depths for walleye.  For pike a few spoons, some weedless spoons are a must.

I 2nd the baby wipes, a handheld GPS, a filter pump for drinking water, 2 way radios if you've got buddies in another boat

 

[Snowball]

Adam Dempsey's Article on Fly-in Fishing:

https://www.canadafishingguide.net/how-to-pack-for-a-canadian-fly-in-outpost-fishing-trip/

[4x4bassin]

22 hours ago, Chuck Enwinde said:

Fun times.  I'm heading up north of Nakina for the third week of August.  Check out Adam Dempsey's site for comprehensive lists of things you may want to bring.  As usual I'd expect current and wind to be a big draw for eye's.   If there not stacked on humps, I'd check inflows or neckdown areas.   Zman trickshots were definitely the hot bait on last years fly in.  On sale at Sail right now too. Need appropriate jig heads though as the plastic won't slide over the collar of a regular leadhead.

Thanks for the tips , actually heading down to Sail this week . Will take a look at those baits , any specific colour seem to work best ?

[4x4bassin]

20 hours ago, Big Cliff said:

Well I would be happy to share my experience from my first fly-in but to be able to help with pertinent  information tell me more:

What sort of accommodations do you have? A lodge, a cabin, a camp site?

What's the name of the lake you are going to so I can look it up and see what you have to work with.

Does your outfitter have a weight limit?

I presume that you will have a boat and motor to work with. How many people are going on this trip with you?

We found the best rig for us was a pink 3/8 oz jig head with a white twister tail (bring lots) a slow day fishing for us was about 100 walleye each, it was crazy good fishing.

Bet you are excited, planning is half the fun.

 

 

The lodge was just purchased by a good friend of mine last fall and he is going to look after us (lucky me) so all the incidentals will be covered . We will be staying in cabins and the lodge will be supplying the food so no worries there . Funny you said pink jigs because that's what my buddy said to bring .  

[4x4bassin]

17 hours ago, Old Ironmaker said:

Bring plenty of good quality Band Aids for the index finger on your spinning reel casting hand. For stuff you need to bring I've learned if you don't think you will need it you will. I've been to plenty of Fly In lakes that we portaged into over Beaver Dams with a 14' tinnies and 9.9's. Trained hard in the gym to prepare for those trips. Had 2/6 packs, one in each hand! The guys that flew in that we met were none too happy to know you could walk into some. But they were happy to know we could drop off a case of cans of Ale for them, which we did a few times. 

Never thought of the band aids but they are on my list now.

[4x4bassin]

16 hours ago, squirrel761 said:

We have done a lot of fly ins and for me a portable fish finder was very useful. Being in a remote lake is a great experience and having the fish finder made the task of finding the fish a lot easier. Spoons such as the 5 of Diamonds has always been a big producer for pike. Also William Wobblers.

For the walleye we had our best luck with white jig heads and green or yellow twister tails tipped with a worm or minnow. Depends on the lake. 

You'll love the experience and the stars at night reflecting on the lake are amazing.

 

Finders are packed and yes , so are the 5 of diamonds.

[4x4bassin]

15 hours ago, npt1 said:

Bring a quality First Aid Kit,  Imodium and "Baby Wipes"  for your personal hygiene area.

 

Done.... Thanks

[4x4bassin]

14 hours ago, chris.brock said:

You mentioned it's a lodge. Does it supply meals, drinking water, fish finder etc?

Being a lodge, I'm sure the people working there will be able to help you get started, spots, techniques etc.

I use mainly jigs and twister tails and various crank baits to cover different depths for walleye.  For pike a few spoons, some weedless spoons are a must.

I 2nd the baby wipes, a handheld GPS, a filter pump for drinking water, 2 way radios if you've got buddies in another boat

 

Thanks Chris , everything is included so no worries there. Like I said my friend just purchased the lodge and it is a fairly large lake so there will be spots that I'm sure they haven't explored or found yet . Those are the spots I will be looking for. Weedless spoons are on the list...Hmmmm 2 way radios eh , that might be a great idea.     

[4x4bassin]

11 hours ago, Snowball said:

Adam Dempsey's Article on Fly-in Fishing:

https://www.canadafishingguide.net/how-to-pack-for-a-canadian-fly-in-outpost-fishing-trip/

On it , thanks

[Chuck Enwinde]

2 hours ago, 4x4bassin said:

Thanks for the tips , actually heading down to Sail this week . Will take a look at those baits , any specific colour seem to work best ?

Brown Pumpkin and black are my go to's, but brown was the killer last year.  Nice thing about them is they're pretty well indestructible.  Caught a ton of walleye and a bunch of incidental pike and didn't even go through a pack of 6 in a week.  Like I said though you'll want a few jigheads with wire baitholders.  Zman makes some, but Northlands Slurp, or  VMC halfmoons and I'm sure many others will work.   

[Big Cliff]

4 hours ago, 4x4bassin said:

The lodge was just purchased by a good friend of mine last fall and he is going to look after us (lucky me) so all the incidentals will be covered . We will be staying in cabins and the lodge will be supplying the food so no worries there . Funny you said pink jigs because that's what my buddy said to bring .  

So what's the name of this lodge?

Our best results were in the 7-13 fow on the edges or into weeds, the lake we were fishing was tea stained. We also hit some good fish around a small inlet we found, they were right in tight to the moving water and it was only 2-4' deep. We caught a lot of pike too but because we were using light line and no leaders we had a lot of bite offs with the pike. 

I'm really excited for you and can't wait to hear more ?

[DanD]

Good thread guys; lots of great info. On my first fly in, I wasn't sure what to bring tackle wise. We were also weight restricted for the flight. I ended up buying a couple of roll ups for my spoons and body baits. My tackle boxes weighed as much if not more then the tackle. That allowed me more choices of what to bring with me and still be within weight limits. It also helped that the camp owner allowed me to have my beverages of choice flown in prior to my flight; when they had a light load. Who would have thought a bottle or two of rye, weighed that much? LOL

Dan.

[Headhunter]

A couple of things that come to mind...

-tylenol as you never know when/if you are going to need it

-jaw spreaders for pike

HH

[BillM]

Dr spoons, anything with orange for pike and big Williams whitefish as well (Yes you can cast these)   As for the walleye, don't over pack for those things, lol.   I use nothing but ice fishing spoons for them    

[4x4bassin]

17 hours ago, Big Cliff said:

So what's the name of this lodge?

Our best results were in the 7-13 fow on the edges or into weeds, the lake we were fishing was tea stained. We also hit some good fish around a small inlet we found, they were right in tight to the moving water and it was only 2-4' deep. We caught a lot of pike too but because we were using light line and no leaders we had a lot of bite offs with the pike. 

I'm really excited for you and can't wait to hear more ?

Thanks for the tips Cliff .... The name of his lodge is Uchi Lake Lodge . This is the first season for him and by the sounds of it things are going well up there . Can't wait to get up there , its going to be a great time indeed.

[4x4bassin]

Heading down to bass pro and sail tomorrow to pick up some stuff , thanks for the tips and insight everyone.

[Big Cliff]

Oh man it looks wonderful! Can't wait to see your report., take lots of pictures. ?

[Old Ironmaker]

I'm getting excited and I'm not even going. Good luck me man, enjoy and stay safe.  

[Old Ironmaker]

Transfer your Hi Test, rye etc. into plastic bottles Bring drinks like Ice Tea in the little spray bottles for Ice Piks. Traditional fly in libations

Edited July 27, 2019 by Old Ironmaker