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

Be prepared to work a little harder on a boat-in trip

Boat-in trips cost less than a fly-in, but the trade-off is that you may have to sweat a little. The Kanipahow team were pros at moving guests into the Northwind outpost. But naturally, we helped with the hauling. So there was more lugging around of gear than at fly-in outposts, where all your gear is just unloaded out of the plane, and on the dock.

Though as I stood at the boat launch looking at our impressive mound of stuff, I did wonder if we’d taken our packing freedom a little too far. I apologized to Jamie for the volume, but he said it was no problem, and pretty typical for a group of four. And then he added with a grin, “If you show up with a Sherman tank, we’ll get it in here for you. We want to make sure you’ve got what you need to enjoy your trip.” A few days later, while hiking into a portage lake, I started to think a tank might not be such a bad idea, but that’s a story for later.

We knew it would take some effort, so we were ready with work clothes, bug nets and sturdy boots. Ultimately it’s just another reason why outposts tend to be so economical, and give you access to some pretty special places for less money than you might think. Still, there were a few moments when I was lugging gear up to the cabin, through a dense swarm of mosquitos, when I thought: This better be worth it. A couple of days later, I had my answer. It definitely was.