Best Fishing Trip in 25 Years!

Going out we grabbed the wrong gas tank for the portage to fish the river. The water in the tank got into the carburetor, and every time we went a few hundred yards our boat sputtered to a stop. Fishing was severally hampered that day, as we "only" caught 40 pike and 10 lake trout. But we didn't care. It was the last day of our 8 day trip to Northern Saskatchewan's Misaw Lake and we really needed a rest. By a conservative count, the four in our group caught between 7 to 8-thousand pounds of pike and lake trout! A 50-fish day was a welcomed relief.

My trip actually took several years to develop. Camp owner Bernie Golling had been trying to get me up to try his newly acquired camp for several years. He said they get quite a few nice-size pike, and there are some lake trout. He was very low key, and quite frankly, I don't think he really new how good the fishing really was. Quite a few nice pike? Does 23 pike 40-inches or larger out of one boat in one day sound good? That was one day on Misaw. How about there being "some" lake trout. The first morning my partner Mike Cox and I tried for lake trout we caught 55 up to 40-inches out of two spots several hundred yards apart. And we got them all by casting in moving waters. What battles!

Our trip took place in late June of 2002. I was so impressed that I booked the whole camp for a week the following year. Word of mouth between friends filled the camp so fast that I could of really filled up three weeks. Catching lots of pike is no big deal in a lot of places, but catching lots of quality pike is a big deal. Out of the hundreds of pike we had in our boat, I don't think we had a dozen small "snakes". The majority of the pike were over 35-inches, with lots of 38-inch plus fish. We didn't catch any giants, with the biggest 46-inches, and another half-dozen within an inch or so. But so many quality fish! And many came out of depths of less than 3-feet deep that we saw hit.

On our trip the number one pike lure was a spinner. My all-time most productive Canadian spring pike lure is a number 5 Mepps Aglia. I always have a spinner on one rod and a jig/plastic or slow falling soft plastic lure on another rod for the tougher to catch pike, which are often the big ones that sometime just follow the spinner. Our killer jig was Lindy's 6-inch Tiger Tube, with the trailing treble hook removed. This lure was also deadly for the biggest lake trout. Many of those 35 to 40-inch "tanks" would just follow our compact, 1-ounce spoons, then dart back into the current. But when we tossed a Tiger Tube down stream at a 45-degree angle and jigged it in the current, every big trout that saw the tube dancing and pulsating in the current hit it.

The ideal pike/trout outfit for early-season action on Misaw is a 6 1/2 foot medium-heavy baitcasting rod, matched with a standard size reel. A good value is any Abu-Garcia Ambassadeur, but the best reel I've ever used is their Morrum. I'd spool up with 17-pound test mono, or 30 to 50-pound super braid such as SpiderLine or FireLine. A gutsy 6 1/2 foot spinning rod spooled with 14-pound mono, or 20 to 30-pound super braid will also suffice.

While we fished Misaw in late June, the fish will still be there in July and August. For anglers going later in the year mature weed beds, rock structures, and deeper water around rapids should be the key areas. Bigger lures such as musky-size bucktails, Johnson Silver Minnows, and top-waters are usually great around summer weeds. During hot weather lake trout will be bunched up in deeper holes, and should be pretty easy to catch.

We had tremendous fishing at Misaw, but we also had great weather, and eight consistent, warm sunny days in a row. The cabins were comfortable and clean, and the food was good. Make sure you try at least a few shore lunches, especially when they make pike Alfredo. All the guides were excellent, and would do anything to make your trip successful. I can't wait to go back and again tangle with all those big fish.

Misaw Lake Lodge

For more information on Misaw Lake Lodge contact Bernie Golling at 1-888-75-Misaw, or visit their web-site at www.misawlakelodge.com. If interested in joining me on a future trip to Misaw, call 1-815-455-7770.