Have you tried it? If you haven’t……………..do!
First of all, the destination for my little group was, has been most often, and probably will be always, www.carrolllakelodge.com. All you have to do is go to that site, leave a message and a fellow named Steve Brinkman will contact you and will handle everything from the time you land in Winnipeg. After that, a van will pick up your party and head for the float plane. It’s about a one hour trip. You’ll fly about 45 minutes to the lodge and start fishing that evening. You have to know that by the time you read this, you’ll be making plans for 2017 along with me.
Where is it? Carroll Lake is six thousand pristine acres of clear water in the Woodland Caribou Provincial Park on the border between Ontario and Manitoba. The website will direct you as to location in Canada.
When to go? I’ll be there in 2017 in late May for four days and probably the first group visiting. The lodge will be ope
n until mid-September, about 12 weeks. I like it early. The ice has just broken up and the fish are shallow and hungry. I have visited most often in middle to late August. Fishing is fabulous no matter when.
Who goes? The great thing about Carroll Lake Lodge to me is that it’s small, exclusive (only your party of 8 or 10 can be there). It’s doubtful that you will have to deal with strange people from Pakistan or Russia or even Arizona. The faulty personalities present for evening conversations and meal time chatter will be the persons you recruit so you can’t blame anyone but yourself if they are unpleasant.
What will you be catching? Using small 1/8th oz. Road Runners on light line fished in about 15 to 35 feet of water, you’ll be catching Walleyes up to about 24 inches with most being 14 to 18 or so. If you insist on catching Walleyes in the 30 inch or over range, you can toll over the deep structure with large deep diving plugs but that’s incredibly boring and your boat partner will get tired of seeing you get hung up and likely losing the baits you’ve loaned him. After getting the knack of it, you’ll catch and release about 50 or so per day. For Northern Pike, you’ll cast into the weedy coves around the grass and lily pads with a spinnerbait (doesn’t matter what color as long as it chartreuse) or a weed-less spoon and trailer. Most of the Northern will be in the area of 22 to 28 inches with an occasional gangster topping 30 to 48 inches. Travis caught one last year at 48 inches, a real whopper for this far north. The Carroll Lake record is 50 inches. You’ll catch about 40 per boat per ½ day. Let’s figure that out for a moment…………say at 100 catches of Walleyes and Northern Pike per day for four days per 5 boats is 500 per day or over 2000 per trip. Enough?
Accommodations? Small cabin for two out on a little rocky point and two lodges that can hold five guys each. I suggest you keep your party at 8 or certainly no more than 10; 2, 4 and 4 or 2, 3 and 3. You’ll be served breakfast each morning at 8A, lunch will be fresh Walleye at 12:30P and dinner at 6:30P. You can have whatever you like, steaks, roasts, hamburgers, whatever, as a group. I suggest Walleye every day. I mean, why not? Where I live and fish, Walleye is not accessible so I get it while I can. After the first meal, you’ll vote for Walleye every meal also. There is no better fresh fish out of freshwater than Walleye. With un-hurried meals, it doesn’t sound like you’ll have enough fishing time. You will: after breakfast, after lunch, after dinner. See note above about 500 fish per day.
How to pack? Light outfits, jacket first for the mornings, rain suit early in the year. Pack light though, remember you’ll be taking a float plane in with limited space. There is a washer and dryer there anyway if you need it. Steve will import beer and adult beverages on the flights before you get there. I mean, really…….you can’t fish all the time and the beverages spawn some outrageous stories. They are lies mostly but they are fishing stories so are supposed be lies from the start.
Fishing gear? As you read this, take note, I’m a minimalist and will use a little as possible. Road Runners, Gold ½ ounce weed-less spoons and 100 curly tail plastics in white. You can use the plastics on the jigs and spoons. Two light action spinning rods wound with 6 or 8-pound mono and two free spools with 12 or 14-pound test.
Do I you need a guide? No, you’re on your own. If you’re an angler at all, it shouldn’t take you more than 30 minutes to figure it out. Again, see details about daily catches earlier in my note.
Don’t forget the following gear, a couple of sets of pliers, one for each fisherman in the boat, heavy gauge mouth spreaders, and 12 inch thirty-pound test wire leaders or the Northern and a satellite phone just in case. Don’t bring anything with treble hooks. You don’t want to be digging out multi-hook baits from a big Northern Pike’s toothy grin. Bring along some Bug Band bands, lotions and sprays. The mosquitos there are professionals. I say that but using the Bug Band stuff, I’m never been stung.
What else do you need to know? Telephone my radio show at 800-wsb-talk on Saturday mornings from 4 to 6AM eastern and I’ll tell you all about it. You can listen on the internet. Reread the column and contact Steve Brinkman. He’ll fix you up.