Bend News

SASKATCHEWAN FISHING LODGES

All Alone at Bill’s Lake

By Bill Schneider, video by Gene Colling, 9-21-10

A big Bill's Lake walleye falls for "tremors." Ron Striker showing us around Bill's Lake. Gene enjoying an after-dinner read at our "rustic" cabin. Bill fishing Bill's Lake for grayling and one of his prize beauties. And the last cast at Bill's Lake, a sad moment. Photos by Bill Schneider and Gene Collling.

I’ve been to a lot of fishing lodges, and some things are always the same. Mainly, there are other people there--guests, lodge managers, cooks, guides and other human beings.

And some lodges are getting cushy with clean sheets every morning and gourmet meals every evening--and high tech conveniences like satellite TV, wifi and Skype.

But not on this trip, not at Bill’s Lake.

It was a long flight to get into Bills Lake, about an hour and fifteen minutes from the floatplane base in Missinipe, but that only added to the aura of remoteness we wanted. On the way in, Ron Striker, manager of Thompson’s Camps and Outposts, told us about the couple who had stayed at Bill’s Lake before we did. When he flew into get them, they said they were exhausted from catching fish and just couldn’t do it any more.

Yep, that got my motor revved up. That’s an experience I always wanted to have--catching so many fish I just couldn’t make another cast.

As soon as Ron finished telling us how to use the boat motor and generator and showing us his favorite fishing hole, he jumped back in his Cessna 185 and we watched him disappear over the horizon. Then, suddenly, the sound of the wilderness became deafening.

Suddenly, it was only my fishing partner, Gene Colling, and I, staring at each other, saying, “what do we do now?”

Suddenly, we realized that we were not only stranded on a very remote lake up in the wilderness of northern Saskatchewan, but we’d done it on purpose.

And then the fun began.

Really.

Video by Gene Colling

For a new experience, we’d decided to try what’s called an outpost camp, an option offered by many Canadian outfitters, and in this case, by Thompson’s Camps. Outpost camps are usually on smaller lakes--big enough to grow big fish, but not big enough to get lost or support a commercial fishing camp.

It soon became clear that staying at an outpost camp is a little like backpacking. You quickly learn to be self-reliant, because you have to. That might seem un-nerving, but it definitely gives you that sought-after feeling of being alone in the wilderness--at least compared to staying at most fishing lodges. I didn’t even take a watch, so we never knew what time of the day we were fishing or eating--and didn’t care, either.

Thompson’s Camps, like most outfitters offering outposts, makes sure guests get off to a good start by giving tips on where to fish and instructions on running things like generator and boat motors. But then, the outfitter leaves you with no way to contact anybody except with a satellite phone, which is reserved for emergencies.

When you start checking out outpost camps, you might see the word, “rustic” in the description, and Bill’s Lake nicely fit with that adjective. “Rustic” means: A comfy log cabin on a scenic bay or point, often the only structure on the lake; no lights or electricity except what a tiny generator puts out a few hours per day (just enough to keep the beer cold, whew!) and a propane stove for cooking; no bedding, so bring a sleeping bag; no showers, but a whole lake of cold water with nobody around to see you naked; no toilet, but a nice outhouse out back often with a good view. What else do you need to have a memorable wilderness experience?

We stayed at Bill’s Lake for four days. I admit to having a little anxiety at first, but it quickly dissipated. Since I was running the motor, not having to worry about reefs was a big one for me. Some shield lakes have deadly reefs that appear out of nowhere in the middle of the lake, but not Bill’s Lake.

We spent most of the first day learning the lake, finding some good fishing holes, and figuring out the boat motor and generator, so not too many fish ended up in the boat that day. After that, though, we had terrific trip. I didn’t get so exhausted pulling in fish that I just couldn’t do it a minute longer, but we had excellent fishing, and we kept one walleye or pike each day and cooked it up for supper.

Unlike most northern Saskatchewan shield lakes, you can get the “grand slam” at Bill’s Lake--all four major game fish species--arctic grayling, lake trout, northern pike, and walleye. We were there a little late for good lake trout fishing, but we scored heavily on the other three. Of those, my special treat is grayling.

On my annual trips to northern Saskatchewan, I’ve gotten to enjoy grayling fishing more than catching pike, walleye or lakers. The outlet of Bill’s Lake was loaded with these beauties, which can be more fun on a 4-weight fly rod than hooking big pike on 8-weight gear.

One thing I really liked about the outpost option was being on your own schedule. You can fish all day, if you want to, or any part of it, instead of the 8 to 5 schedule most lodges insist on. We were there in June, just before the summer solstice, so we could’ve fished 18 hours a day if we felt like it. And we had our fresh fish dinner whenever we felt like eating it.

I also enjoyed discovering our own fishing holes (and then being able to find them again) instead of being led around by--and depending on--a guide. I’d admit to getting sort of spoiled having a guide fillet the fish, cook shore lunch, run the motor and never get lost, but after a couple of days at Bill’s Lake, I decided we could do just fine without somebody to watch over us every minute of the day.

Think about it. For four days, we were the only people on this gorgeous wilderness lake, a fantastic fishery that only sees about 23 people all year. And it’s significantly less expensive than staying at most fishing lodges and fishing on a lake that sees hundreds if not thousands of anglers each year.

Paradise must be sort of like this, at least for we fishing addicts.

Footnote #1: A few things you might want to take to an outpost camp that you might not take to a fishing lodge: Headlamp, GPS unit, fillet knife, fish grippers and hook removal tools, a good first-aid kit with general antibiotics, painkillers, allergy drugs, and other medicine you might need, and small cooler for boat lunch.

Footnote #2: The name of this lake, incidentally, has nothing to do with the author. I’d sure like it to be my lake, but only in my dreams.

For more information of fishing in northern Saskatchewan, check out the Tourism Saskatchewan website. For more NewWest.Net coverage of fishing in northern Saskatchewan, click here.

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