Growing up in northwestern Ontario’s Sunset Country, I’ve been spoiled with nice fishing all my life, each on open water and ice. Living minutes from Lake of the Woods, I’ve world-class alternatives simply past my door. One Red Lake ice fishing journey, nonetheless, modified my definition of an unbelievable fishing journey.
Years in the past, my associates and I took a looking journey to the Red Lake space, just a few hours north of my Kenora dwelling. We stayed at Five Lakes Lodge, the place I shortly grew to become associates with proprietor Ian Cooke. As our friendship grew, he would inform me extra concerning the nice ice fishing within the space and I was by no means stunned.
Red Lake’s the tip of the highway
Red Lake is actually on the finish of the highway for these heading north in Ontario. It’s not, actually, however you’ll not discover many individuals additional north. The group of little greater than 4,000 is within the coronary heart of the Canadian Shield. Lakes stretch in each path with among the finest walleye, pike, and lake trout fishing on the planet.
If you go ice fishing within the Red Lake space as soon as, I can assure it would be best to make it an annual go to. Since it’s distant, you’ll need a dependable snowmobile or ATV and gear to entry the very best back-country lakes which are fly-in solely in the course of the open-water season.
If you need journey, the very best fishing you may have ever skilled and a very good likelihood at recognizing wolves and moose, this journey is for you. I perceive not all people owns a snowmobile, however if you wish to do that journey the proper method, take into account renting one.
Prepare for chilly
This fishing paradise is much north, the place winter is frigid. Consecutive days of -30 ̊C and snow as much as your waist are widespread most years throughout January and February. If that is your dream journey, I’d counsel moving into March when the climate is nicer, the times are longer, and the fish are biting extra incessantly. There are inns and resorts the place you may keep, however the advantage of a resort is that you would be able to get beneficial data on find out how to entry sure lakes and normal data of the realm.
We visited Red Lake in late March. We needed to attach with pike and walleye that had been staging in entrance of the shallow bays the place they spawn shortly after ice out. These fish, the largest pike and walleye that you just’ll see all yr, make predictable migrations to those areas on the finish of every winter. A beauty of the Red Lake space is that you would be able to arrange in the identical spot to catch each species.
As part of our technique, every angler used a tip-up baited with a big, frozen cisco for pike, and jigged a second line for walleye. This is a productive solution to fish late within the season throughout the north. Sometimes a pleasant pike will hit one of many jigging traces, however the largest pike will all the time take the lifeless bait. We catch our personal bait all through the winter (in keeping with the brand new bait-management laws), normally after we run into faculties of cisco whereas concentrating on lake trout or crappie, however you could find good bait at nearly any deal with store.
Wheels present edge
Snowmobiles and ATVs allowed us to cowl extra water. Since many lakes are shut, we’d fish for trout throughout the way in which after which arrange on good walleye and pike places for the night. Trout Lake is among the largest our bodies of water within the province accessed solely by airplane in the summertime. It’s a large lake with solely a few small outpost cabins. May trout right here have by no means seen. lure earlier than, in order that they hammer your bait. Fishing for lake trout in March can also be glorious as a result of because the snow melts, extra gentle penetrates the water, permitting these predators to see your lures from farther away. Standard lake trout deal with is okay. We had been jigging with spoons, white tube jigs, and smooth plastic jerk shads. You don’t want meat for lake trout on this a part of the province.
Red Lake is a large enough group to offer some choices for locations to remain. There are a wide range of eating places, grocery shops, and retailers. Great fishing may be discovered inside 10 kilometres of city in any path – the chance for exploring and journey right here is limitless.
Getting there
From Kenora, take Hwy. 17 east to Vermilion Bay, after which Hwy. 105 north to Red Lake. That’s a three-hour drive.
Baits to pack
Walleye: jigging spoon w/ minnow head
Pike: quick-strike rig with lifeless bait (cisco or sucker)
Lake trout: tube jig, spoon, jerkshad rigged on jig head
Walleye/pike Lakes:
- Parker Lake
- Gullrock Lake
- Little Trout Lake
- Little Vermilion Lake
Lake trout Lakes:
- Trout Lake
- Medicine Stone Lake
Accommodations
Five Lakes Lodge – www.fivelakeslodge.com
Sportsmen’s Lodge – www.trophypikecanada.com
Howie Bay Motel – www.thehowey.com
Originally revealed within the Jan.-Feb. 2022 subject of Ontario OUT of DOORS