Nakina fly-in outpost offers endless walleye and trophy pike—all on a budget

You might hook a trophy fish on any cast, drift or troll

It’s an important mental adjustment, and it’s not hype. If you want to land the fish of a lifetime at an outpost, you need to stay sharp and be aware that it could literally happen on any cast. It could be that moment when arrive at the fishiest-looking spot you’ve ever seen, ready for action. But it could also be off the darn dock. That’s even more the case on lakes like Whittle, where the bigger fish tended to be roaming. In fact, there are so many fish, and so few anglers, that the usual rules of fish location you’re used to at home don’t always apply. (And of course, the fish don’t read Outdoor Canada, even though they should.)

The biggest fish of our trip was a 43½-inch pike landed by Wes (above). It was the biggest fish he’s ever seen outside of the Ripley’s Aquarium—let alone caught. It was a magnificent specimen of a northern, thick, well-fed and powerful. Wes also hooked it first thing in the morning, on about his 10th cast of the day, in the bay closest to our cabin. Fortunately he was ready for it. After some near misses on big fish in recent years, Wes knew five seconds after it hit that he had something special on the line. It was a bit of a rodeo, especially in a kayak, but that’s part of the fun. If you’re wondering, that pike annihilated a classic Johnson Silver Minnow weedless spoon, tipped with a 3” soft-plastic grub, which may be the one lure you should always have on big-pike water.

In addition, two days later Don was drifting across a basin where three channels met behind an island, and bouncing a jig along bottom, when he hooked something big—really big. I know, because I saw the bend in his rod and watched the fish tow his kayak around for about 10 minutes… until it pulled his hook straight. Unless some quirk of time and evolution left behind a mosasaur in the lake, it had to be a huge pike.

On a similar, if slightly less glamourous note, I landed my biggest walleye while casting a 5” long pike fly at the mouth of a bay where (a couple of days after Wes’s triumph) I was certain there’d be a trophy pike. Still, I wasn’t complaining about a nice walleye, which actually puts up a pretty good fight on a fly rod.

Northern Ontario outpost adventures are simply unforgettable  

To sum up, over the course of five and a half days on the water (we lost our final day to a severe windstorm) my group of three kayak anglers landed hundreds of good-sized walleye and pike, along with a true trophy northern, and racked up a nice one-that-got-away story, as well. There were no other people or boats on the lake, and since we paddled (or in the case of Don’s Hobie kayak, pedalled) exclusively, we didn’t even hear the roar of an outboard. It was, basically, heaven. And the flight, cabin and equipment are all included in a price that’s affordable for regular folks. That why a northern outpost adventure just may be Canada’s ultimate summer fishing getaway.

*****

As always, a big tip of the hat to my fishing buddies Wes Nelson, who unplugged from his busy life as a technology executive long enough to catch his biggest fish ever; and Don Willoughby who offered his vehicle and trailer for the drive to Nakina, and crushed the challenging job of planning, buying and packing all of our food.

And finally, a huge thank you to Claudine Leuenberger and the whole team at Leuenberger Air Service for working with us on this great trip. Not only are they running a friendly, well-organized and safe operation, they gladly made the extra effort to accommodate our kayaks. We truly appreciate it.

ABOUT LEUENBERGER AIR SERVICE

It all began in 1960, with Ernie Leuenberger Sr.’s dream, a borrowed canoe and a tent. Today Leuenberger’s has grown to 14 remote fly-in outpost camps, each on a different lake, plus a full service lodge located on Kagianagami “Kag” Lake. They also offer charter flights for anglers and hunters who want to put together their own trips. Every outpost location offers excellent walleye and northern pike fishing, while some also have lake and brook trout—all in the unspoiled wilderness of Northern Ontario.

In addition, there are still a few outpost slots open for the summer of 2022, so there’s a great opportunity for last-minute adventures. Believe me, you won’t regret it.

For more information, see www.leuenberger.ca, e-mail leuenberger.air@gmail.com or call 1-888-246-6533.