Wakami Lake Provincial Park
Drive-to camp/fish/paddle destinations in Ontario don’t get much better than this
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#3 The lake is unspoiled, interesting and paddle-friendly
Wakami Lake is long and narrow, with numerous bays to explore, making it a pretty good destination for kayak fishing, which is my preferred way to get on the water. Thanks to those nooks and crannies, I could always find comfortable spots to paddle and fish, even when it got a bit windy. Although many campers have motorboats, they tended to be modestly powered craft. Water-skiers and personal watercraft also seem rare, which I consider a big bonus. It makes for a quiet, pleasing time on the water.
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Even better, other than the small campground itself, and a few backcountry sites, Wakami’s shoreline is undeveloped—no cottages, access roads or anything else. So the water, the shoreline and the skies are just full of life, in a way you don’t see on busy lakes. And yes, that life includes plenty of fish.
#4 The walleye fishing is really good
Walleye were pretty clearly the favourite target of most campers. And though I’m not much of a walleye angler, and I was exploring a large, unfamiliar lake by kayak, I still struck gold on my first afternoon (above). Here’s my best fishing advice for Wakami (and any other unfamiliar lake): Get a good hydrographic chart. Mine was worth its weight in walleye.
So, just how good is the lake? According to Ontario Parks biologists cited in this report, Wakami is the most productive walleye fishery in FMZ 10 (which encompasses a big piece of north-central Ontario.) Just don’t tell anyone, OK?
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