TBT: Wanzatika Lake – Ontario OUT of DOORS
It’s laborious to inform if I’ve hooked a pike or a walleye, however when the chartreuse worm harness emerges from the stained water, what looks like a considerable fish seems to be a walleye on the entrance hook and a pike on the again. I’ve by no means hooked two fish at a time earlier than, however at Wanzatika I’m not stunned. The lake is loaded.
Wanzatika Lake Outpost Camp
The Wanzatika Lake Outpost Camp is one in every of six owned by Hearst Air Service Ltd. A low ceiling means proprietor and 30-year-veteran bush pilot Georges Veilleux skims over the swamps, ponds, and meandering creeks of the flat boreal forest. We cross a large, sluggish stretch of the Missinaibi River, and Veilleux banks laborious to observe her north, the place darkish waters funnel via a rocky gorge to spill over cataracts, together with well-known Thunder Home Falls.
The Beaver float aircraft touches down on much less turbulent Wanzatika Lake. My spouse, Francine, and I carry gear to a cabin, whereas our hyperlink to civilization disappears with a drone. It’s our first journey away from two younger kids, and the tranquility is a little bit of a shock. We mill across the cabin. On one wall are the angling archives of previous company, scrawled on every part from paper plates to driftwood. Consumed with the necessity to confirm the fish tales, our subsequent transfer turns into clear.
Walleye within the weeds
The primary few walleye come shortly alongside the rocky shoreline in entrance of the cabin. With the presence of fish confirmed, we go for a day cruise
to scope out the lake. The graph reveals a most depth of 25 ft (7.6 m), with a lot of the lake round 15 ft (4.6 m) or shallower. At roughly three miles (5 km) lengthy and one mile (.62 km) large, the lake is sufficiently small to navigate in a couple of hours, supplied you don’t fish. We make it a few quarter method round earlier than being seduced by a thick weedbed, the place we forged jigs into breaks to pluck out chunky mid-day walleye.
Nearly each bay is thick with cabbage. We anchor over one other mattress only a forged away from the cabin. Francine dunks a jig and worm into pockets beneath the boat, whereas I droop a jig and leech beneath a slip-float. It’s a calming strategy to fish and accounts for quite a few walleye to 22 inches (56 cm) and perch to 14 inches (36 cm).
After a strong dose of angling we’re capable of unwind. Enormous entrance home windows inside the vertical log cabin look out over a succession of pine-capped, spherical granite bluffs resulting in the water’s edge. Propane fridge, range, and lights are put to make use of as I crack a chilly drink and put together a plate-load of recent fillets within the fading mild of early night.
Wanzatika’s shallows and depths
After sampling Wanzatika’s shallows, I head out the following day to probe her depths with a bottom-bouncer and crankbait. Francine opts for a little bit of studying, however I promise to offer a full report. Nothing newsworthy outcomes from trolling the depths till I find an elongated hump rising to 13 ft (4 m) and tie into a superb fish. I throw out a marker and criss-cross the hump. Each cross produces walleye both on high or alongside its edge.
Merely trolling the shoreline I linked with all species, however finding mid-lake humps, weedbeds, and shoreline dropoffs was the important thing to walleye and perch. Small pike lurked in each shallow bay, however bigger ‘gators took jigs on the base of dropoffs.
Extra data
Location: 62 miles (100 km) northeast of Hearst.
Fish: Walleye, pike, perch.
Wildlife: Bald eagles, osprey, hawks, moose, waterfowl, herons, loons, bears, beaver, otter.
Season: Might to September.
Lodging: Log outpost camp, $695 Might to June, $595 July to Sept., weekly.
Most variety of company: Six, extra with further cots.
Guides: Pointless for angling.
Gratuities: Appreciated for good service.
Fee: Cheques accepted for deposit solely. Stability paid by money, cash order, traveller’s cheque.
Contact: Georges Veilleux, Hearst Air Service Ltd., P.O. Field 2650, Hearst, Ont. POL 1NO; telephone 705-463-5700 (base), year-round 705-362- 5700;
E-mail: [email protected]
Initially printed within the March 2000 concern of Ontario OUT of DOORS
Please test the newest Ontario looking and fishing laws summaries, as guidelines and laws can change
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