Another Trip Report - Pic Heavy - Northeast Saskatchewan Lake Fishing

[Albertadiver]

So after much anticipation, my wife and I (and Duke of course) made the 14hr trek up to the Canadian Shield for the first time ever. We met up with some fantastic old friends that are primarily from Saskatchewan. We trekked up to Northern Saskatchewan to a lake near Flin Flon Manitoba.

Being my first time that far east, and my first time to the Canadian Shield, we had an amazing time. Weather was a mixed bag. Hot and sunny the first few days, then pouring rain, then WIND, then rain, then sun again.

We split the trek up over two days, leaving around suppertime from Calgary due to some prior commitments. Stopped near Drumheller for the night, then straight shot to Flin Flon.





I personally caught over 100 walleye in 6 days of fishing. I caught and released another 30 or 40 slew sharks (pike)FANTASTIC eating! We had deep fryers with fish crisp, and did a ‘poor man’s shrimp’ night feeding 40 of our closest friends with fresh fries, deep fried walley bits, and chicken wings. We filled the whole campground with our group. Lots of families with young ones. Probably 15 RV trailers and a half dozen tents. A few rented cabins as well. Spent a day in Flin Flon at a friends and promptly got the quad stuck. (this one’s for you duffy)

[Albertadiver]

The lake was fantastic. I’ve never seen anything like it with so many islands. For a new person coming there, you really need a person that’s been there before. Lots of rock reefs and easy to get turned around. You can boat into 3 different lakes from the one we were on. Truly an amazing place that I can’t wait to go back to.

[Albertadiver]

We had 7 boats brought up, and everyone got out on the water. It was a blast with a bit of boat to boat rivalry, and just catching up with old friends. I loved the visiting more than the fishing. We saw tons of wildlife. Moose, deer, bear, eagles, and a black animal that looked a lot like a fisher run across the road. We made squirrel traps to entertain the kids, and enjoyed the campfire under tarps in torrential rains.

[Albertadiver]

We did have one potentially dangerous situation though. We went out one afternoon, knowing the weather was going to act up later. At about 2:00pm on our trip home, we saw the main lake getting pretty rough. We were bouncing over rollers probably 3 feet in size. Not too bad, but something to pay attention to for sure. Another boat in our group was fishing another part of the lake, and left around 3:00pm. After a few waves swamped the boat on the way back, the captain pulled to shore to a native trapping cabin he knew about. One of very few sand beaches on the entire lake.


Needless to say, they prepared to spend the night. We sent out a jet boat to search after the anticipated arrival time lapsed. My friend and the boat owner found them after about a half hour, but the winds were wild and the waves were even wilder. The jet boat was washed onto the beach even farther than the first boat. They loaded everyone on, and my friend (he’s the size of a mid-sized grizzly) pushed the boat against the waves and got the boat going after raking the jet impeller. They made a harrowing trip back to camp fighting 6+ foot waves. The gps said they were making 8mph progress at full throttle. They’d get to the bottom of a trough and look up at the next wave.

















Everyone made it home safe, and the next day we made the rescue mission for the boat. The camp operator brought one of their boats, and a gas powered pump. I had my hip waders and we emptied it out, dug out the sand and debris, and put in a fresh tank of gas. Drove the boat home. It was in much better shape than we thought it would be upon arrival.

Anyhow, here’s some pics I wanted to share of this beautiful place. As much as I love Alberta, this is something spectacular.

I have not had this much fun in a LOOOONNNG time.

[elkhunter11]

Interesting pictures, but why are they posted in the Guns&Ammo section?

[Albertadiver]

Originally Posted by elkhunter11

Interesting pictures, but why are they posted in the Guns&Ammo section?

Crap - I meant to post in General. I'll pm a mod to move the thread. Thanks for the heads up.

[Alberta Bigbore]

Nice pics....looks like a crazy adventure.

[bb356]

Great Pic's ........ Thank's !!!

[Albertadiver]

Here was a typical day:

Get up around 8 am. Eat deer and elk sausages with maple syrop and eggs.

Chop some firewood

Pack the tackle box and gas up the boats

Fish for hours including a shore lunch

Come back to camp and have a rye in the filleting shack with buds

Fry up some fresh walleye while watching the stanley cup finals on satallite

BS by the fire and have some drinks while teaching some of the young ones how to sharpen a pocket knife and whittle some sticks.

Watch the stars and go to bed.

That was a wicked awesome day.....

[Clgy_Dave2.0]

Originally Posted by Albertadiver

Can always recognize that "Saskatchewan sand and water". Reminds me of Emma and Christopher lake.

Originally Posted by Albertadiver

I love that dog. Ours would love to play with him....

[Albertadiver]

Originally Posted by Calgary Dave

Can always recognize that "Saskatchewan sand and water". Reminds me of Emma and Christopher lake.

There are only 4 or 5 sand beaches like that in several hundered km of shoreline. They were super lucky to be able to off-load the boat in bad weather at that location.

They were rescued by two people in a pretty powerful jet boat, and if it weren't for the sand beach both boats would have been smashed on the rocks.

Other than those locations, Jan lake is pretty much canadian shield rock. For never seeing the shield before, it felt like we were in the rockies, minus the mountains.

[ganderblaster]

Aahh I miss that country so beautiful to bad the blueberries aren't out yet.Is that Silence of the North you are at?

[JohninAB]

Nice pics and story. Congrats on a great trip. Gotta love the shield lakes.

[winged1]

but where's the fish?

Some of the best country I know of. There's a ton of unique geographic features up in that neck of the woods, but a guy needs a couple of lifetimes to get it all in. We're doing much the same trip next week, north of Pelican, but with a short flight segment to leave the crowds behind.

[Mutter87]

Man, That looks like a great time!

[S-in-Cochrane]

Grew up there, pretty spoiled on the fishing compared to out here.

Makes me feel like I should make the trip sometime soon... haven't been back that way since my brother got married 3+ years ago.

Thanks for the pics!

[Albertadiver]

Originally Posted by winged1

but where's the fish?

Most of the pics have friends in them, so no pics on AO. Average keepers were in the 3-4lb range. Caught a 13lb pike that went back in the lake.

Besides, I'm sure someone will flip over not holding the fish properly....

[fishmonger]

Great post about a great area. If you haven't been up to that part of the world you are really missing something. It's a great combination of top notch water with great shore structure, tons and tons of catchable fish, lots of wildlife, all with limited fishing pressure...a paradise for sure.

Looked like a great time AD. Really crystalizes what life is all about. Family, friends, fishing.

[Tredeb]

I hope Kim, Eda and Clint treated you well at Fats camp.

Jan Lake is my lake of choice. I love the fact that I can go on a boat trip to my fishing spot instead of pointing to it from the dock.

Are the fish still around Harper Island or have they moved on?

[Mhunter51]

Great to see you had a great time. Nothing, and I mean nothing, can beat fresh walleye. Been to Jan many times and like it also but moved our trip to Besnard Lake 20 or so years ago. Less people and awesome fishing spots. One must respect the wind and weather on these lakes. Good to see it all came out good. Great pics also.

[TomE]

Nice Pics and it truly is Beautiful Country up there. I did a Fly in Trip to Crystal Lodge from Buffalo Narrows..Huge lake and Fantastic Fishing..I will definitely go back..

[Albertadiver]

Originally Posted by Tredeb

I hope Kim, Eda and Clint treated you well at Fats camp.

Jan Lake is my lake of choice. I love the fact that I can go on a boat trip to my fishing spot instead of pointing to it from the dock.

Are the fish still around Harper Island or have they moved on?

Clint helped us salvage the boat that swamped. Eda and Kim were great folks!

We fished Harper's a bit, along with first narrows, second narrows, split rock, and a few points pretty close to the lodge when the weather was bad.

[Tredeb]

Originally Posted by Albertadiver

Clint helped us salvage the boat that swamped. Eda and Kim were great folks!

We fished Harper's a bit, along with first narrows, second narrows, split rock, and a few points pretty close to the lodge when the weather was bad.

Sounds like you hit a bunch of the good fishing holes. I figured you were talking about Clint when you said they helped you pump out the boat. I grew up with him, tough to find a nicer guy.

[Tredeb]

FWIW, Albertadiver, if you, or any other AO members are ever at Jan and see a big guy in a blue alumacraft with an etec, come say hi.

Or, just ask for Trevor at FATS camp, they will know if I am around. It would be great to meet some of you guys up there.

I have a lot (no cabin yet) and I am up there a several times a year so I would be happy to show the way around the reefs and a few of my favourite fishing spots. No need to be secretive on that lake.

[jackrabbit000]

Nice pics and story. Thanks for posting.

[Lefty-Canuck]

Looks like a wicked trip AD! Great pics!

LC

[Steven Noel]

Sounds like a great trip AD! I'm not too familiar with the shield out that way (though my dad just got back from a trip with the guys there), but what fishing I have done in Ryan Lake in extreme north-east Alberta certainly was a unique experience. So unique it was, that I had to fly in three more times for such a once-in-a-lifetime oppertunity. Beautiful country, topped only, in my opinion, by the mountains and foothills. That being said, one must be cautious of rogue Muskox, they've been known to wander into the area...

Glad to hear it was a good one, I'm sure it will be a trip you will remember.

[TreeGuy]

Just seeing this one now as I've been out of town too........

Looks like a heckuva adventure!

Oh and 'Diver.........if that pooch starts looking anymore like his owner should we be expecting you to release a rap album anytime soon?

[Zip]

Originally Posted by Tredeb

FWIW, Albertadiver, if you, or any other AO members are ever at Jan and see a big guy in a blue alumacraft with an etec, come say hi.

Or, just ask for Trevor at FATS camp, they will know if I am around. It would be great to meet some of you guys up there.

I have a lot (no cabin yet) and I am up there a several times a year so I would be happy to show the way around the reefs and a few of my favourite fishing spots. No need to be secretive on that lake.

Thanks for the information Treded...if i get over that way i will look you up for sure...nice of you to offer up your experience to all of us..Thanks a bunch!!

[fajita123]

Looks great. If you're planning another trip up there next year, you should check out Baker's Narrows (Athapapuskow Lake) south of Flin Flon. Awesome campground and great fishing (Pike, Walleye, Trout).

Love the Pike out there as they're a lot less slimy and just as good to eat as the Walleye.