How do you enjoy Northern Ontario fly-in fishing without a taking plane? On a boat-in adventure!

Boat-in trips give you extra control and independence

When a floatplane drops you off, you’d better be happy where you are, since it’s not coming back for a week. Or if, for some reason, you need to leave the outpost mid-trip, you’ve got to call the airbase on a satellite phone, hope they can get to you, and pay a small fortune for this special flight.

Because we were just two boat trips and a short hike away from our vehicles, they were still accessible. If you, for example, forget your fishing licence or pancake mix or landing net in the car, you could go back and get it. In addition, if someone in your group needed medical help, or if you got word of a family emergency, you can get out on your own. Of course, you hope like heck that never happens, but it’s a comfort to know the door is open if you need it.

Expect to catch lots of fish, especially walleye and pike

You can usually count on catching plenty of fish in the backcountry, and Northwind didn’t disappoint. Like most lakes in this part of the world, it had northern pike and walleye. As a bonus there were also a few surprisingly chunky smallmouth, here and there.

In addition, Vezina Lake, which we traversed en route to Northwind has lake trout and whitefish, as well as bass, pike and walleye. We intended to check it out on one day, but there was so much else to do that we never got around to it.

Most of our fish went back in the water, but we did keep enough for a feed of Steve Rudd-style pike tacos: crispy shallow-fried fish, topped with coleslaw, chopped tomatoes and sliced green onions (below). Simple, and divine.

In these little-fished backcountry lakes there’s usually a great distribution of size, with plenty of pike, especially, in that 24-28” range (or two-footers) as we call them, which are a ton of fun in between sessions of walleye fishing. But there were bigger fish, too…

Don Willoughby with a hefty Nortwinds Lake pike (Note: Don is 6’2″ with giant hands, so that fish is bigger than it looks)

There are definitely trophy fish to be had

In the backcountry, catching fish may not be all that difficult, but when you’re on new water, catching a big one is never guaranteed. But the more time you spend on the water, getting to know the lake, the better your chances are.

It took us a few days, and a little work, but we eventually got into some seriously nice pike on both Northwind Lake and one of the portage lakes (more about those in a moment). Throughout our trip, one of the hottest tactics for both pike and walleye was trolling or casting crankbaits. The beauty pike above, caught by Don Willoughby, fell to a trolled Mann’s Baby 1-Minus.

The 1-Minus (below) is a goofy little lure, but a legendary bait in the north country. Expert tip: the standard hooks and split rings are a little small for big fish, so change them out for sturdier ones.

There are a lot of ways to lose a big fish, so you need to control the few factors you can, especially in places where you could hook up with a trophy on any cast. Investing in top-quality hooks and terminal tackle is worth every penny. You do not want to lose the fish of a lifetime because your dollar-store snap-swivel opens up.