OUTPOSTS ARE FOR EVERYONE
Think only expert anglers can have a fun and memorable backcountry adventure? Think again
Advertisement
Wes with one of French Lake’s innumerable mid-sized pike#4 Outpost lakes are full of fish, just steps from your door
The whole point of going to a remote cabin in the wilderness is to enjoy the kind of fishing you can’t get elsewhere. At the French Lake outpost, like most of the others I’ve been to, we were not disappointed.
French Lake boasted plenty of interesting features, including large bays, points, flats and drop-offs, along with several inflows and outflows. In fact, using the satellite view in Google Maps, I was able to identify a pile of potential fish-holding structure and cover. And here’s the great thing about backcountry fishing: Since the lake gets so little fishing pressure, all of those spots held pike and walleye.
Advertisement
On busy water, the obvious spots get hit by every angler, which can drive the fish to less-obvious ones, but not in the backcountry. Of course, there are ups and downs based on external factors—like an appalling heat wave for our first few days—but at least you know the fish are there.
The author with a lunch-sized walleye, though that one went free (photo: Wes Nelson)On top of that, the fish are literally right outside your door. At home, almost all of my fishing excursions begin and end with a drive of at least an hour, and often a lot more. At the cabin, the fishing was just steps away, night or day. That alone is a little piece of heaven.