I got the full fly-in fishing experience in Canada’s backcountry—without actually flying. Here’s how

SELF-RELIANCE

When a floatplane drops you off, you’d better be happy where you are. If something goes sideways mid-trip, you’re calling the airbase on a satellite phone and hoping they can come get to you. And you’ll pay big bucks for the privilege.

On a boat-in trip, however, the door isn’t locked behind you. During our Northwind trip, for example, our vehicles were still accessible, just two boat rides and a short hike away. Forgot your fishing licence, pancake mix or landing net in the car? You can go back and get it. If someone needs medical help or a family emergency pops up, you can get out on your own. You hope you never need that option, but it’s comforting to know it exists.

AWESOME ANGLING

Like most lightly fished backcountry lakes in northern Ontario, Northwind held plenty of fish. Pike and walleye were the main attractions, with a few surprisingly chunky smallmouth bass mixed in. Vezina, which we traversed en route to Northwind, also holds lake trout and whitefish, along with bass, pike and walleye. We intended to fish it for a day, but there was so much else to explore we never got around to it.

Most of our fish went back into the lakes we fished, but we did keep enough for a feed one night of Steve Rudd-style pike tacos—crispy, shallow-fried fillets topped with coleslaw, chopped tomatoes and sliced green onions. Simple, but excellent.

In most backcountry lakes, there’s usually a great distribution of fish sizes, especially with pike. Northerns in the 24- to 28-inch range—two-footers, as I call them—are common, aggressive and a lot of fun between walleye sessions. Catching fish in the backcountry isn’t usually difficult. Catching big ones can be another matter—especially on unfamiliar water. It takes time, experimentation and a bit of luck.

Before long on Northwind and one of the nearby portage lakes, we started to figure things out and eventually connected with some very nice fish. It turned out one of the most effective tactics for both pike and walleye was trolling or casting crankbaits.

One of our crew, Don Willoughby, landed a particularly fine pike (top of page) on a trolled Mann’s Baby 1-Minus, a clear sign the lake was holding some impressive fish. It’s one thing to read about trophy pike in guidebooks, but quite another to figure out their routines on water you’ve never fished before. The effort—the paddling, portaging, tinkering with lures—makes the success feel truly earned.

(Another bit of side of advice: Big pike love smallish, bass-oriented crankbaits such as the classic Baby 1-Minus, but the standard hooks and split-rings are a little small for big gators. When heading into trophy territory, swap in sturdier hardware to avoid coming home with a tear-soaked, one-that-got-away story.)