Think backcountry fishing mean an endless drive? Think again. This fly-in adventure was just hours from the city

Ask most anglers in Central Canada to picture a fly-in fishing trip and they’ll describe, with some accuracy, a full day—or maybe two—of driving north until the Tim Hortons signs thin out and disappear, followed by another stretch of gravel road and, eventually, a floatplane.

This is a reasonable assumption. I’ve done enough fly-in trips to know that the drive can be almost as much of an undertaking as the fishing itself.

True North Airways offers a pretty different proposition. Its base is in Azilda, just outside Sudbury, Ontario, which means the drive from Toronto or Ottawa is roughly five hours. From there, you’re on the water and heading into the bush. This makes the transition from driveway to backcountry happen remarkably fast. That’s the trick: you can get to a genuine fly-in fishing experience without spending a day and a half just getting to the floatplane.