Isolated Perfection

For years, I had wanted to find a Canada fly-in operation that offered serious kayak fishing. Merging two of my passions — fishing from a kayak and seeking adventures on remote northern Canadian lakes accessible only by floatplane — had never been in reach. In the summer of 2022, finally, my passions merged.

Our group of five anglers and a couple of photo/video pros piled into a de Havilland Otter at the Blue Water Aviation floatplane base in Bissett, a small town in Manitoba and a three-hour drive north of Winnipeg. With the co-pilot seat open, I climbed in and was rewarded with a superb view as we winged our way 60 miles north to Shining Falls Lodge. As we made our way north, the flat and generally dry landscape transformed into a breathtaking chain of water in endless configurations: lakes and ponds, rivers and creeks. The lakes went on farther than I could see, with countless islands of varying size and relentlessly vermicular shoreline creating innumerable bays. A person could devote several lifetimes to exploring northern Manitoba’s lakes and hardly make a dent.

We dropped onto Family Lake, sliding up to the lodge’s dock at the southern end of the vast, irregular-shaped body of water. Family Lake offered the quintessential far-north lake experience I had craved — vast, lonely and eternal. I’ve always felt a sense of isolation, bordering on desolation, fishing northern Canada lakes, something I’ve never felt anywhere else.

Being alone in a timeless place is profoundly embodied in the haunting cries of loons. There’s no other sound like it. To hear those mournful calls echoing across the dark waters offered a reminder of what compels me to return to these lakes. This was my first time fishing a remote northern lake solo in a kayak, rather than in an outboard-powered aluminum boat with another angler or two on board. The difference was dramatic and powerful.

After unpacking and organizing gear inside my cabin — which was Spartan but clean and comfortable, with bunks in two bedrooms and a kitchen packed with the essentials — I joined the group, ready to head up-lake for some fishing. As we grabbed lunch in the main lodge, Tobias Becker — who with his wife, Ellen, owns and runs Shining Falls — dashed about getting things ready. When I say dashed, I mean it literally. The man is a dynamo in constant motion, and seldom slows down. Along with his right-hand man Simone Tielkes, he had six Old Town Sportsman pedal-driven kayaks lined up on what I came to refer to as the landing craft — an ingenious design of an open wooden deck atop pontoons. With two 20-hp outboards pushing it, Becker can take the kayaks to spots far up the lake at a good clip.

Anglers in the lodge’s Lund aluminum skiffs followed the landing craft’s roostertail through bays and weaved around islands and rocks. Becker anchored off a rocky point, and anglers began sliding kayaks into the lake. Soon, like the others, I was sitting in my Sportsman, busily organizing the essentials — pliers, lip gripper, tackle boxes, Thermos — and adjusting the settings on the Humminbird Helix 5 plotter/sounder. Then, unlike the others, I pedaled away as the rest of the group began jigging up walleye on ultralight gear.

Becker had promised plenty of action, and right off the bat the kayak anglers were tight using small leadhead jigs with a shiner on the hook. The lodge supplies frozen shiners, which are generally irresistible to walleye. Also effective are small, soft-plastic tails, such as those from Z-Man baits and Gulp.

Why did I not join them? The decision lay not in any anti-social roots; to me, fishing from a kayak impels independence, which explains why I do a lot of trolling from kayaks. And that’s just what I did — I pulled a Halco Hamma crankbait, perhaps too large for walleye action but not for northern pike. These are the two primary gamefish in Family Lake, and both abound. When I got a solid whack on the light spinning outfit, I immediately thought pike, but it was a walleye, a good one at that. A trophy for this lake measures at least 24 inches and stretches to more than 30. That’s a mighty big walleye anywhere.

By the time I reeled in my walleye, I could still hear happy shouts across the water. I tied on a smaller deep-diver and pedaled toward a large island. Working off its rocky shoreline, in 15 or so feet of water, the rod arced viciously. I grabbed it quickly, trusting the track-mounted rod holder only so far. The fight that ensued brought to mind a big jack crevalle, a species I’m familiar with. The fish turned out to be a good-size pike. On light braid, the thing fought with impressive tenacity, making several long runs. The fish was a barn burner.

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Eventually, I made my way back to the other anglers, who had spread out considerably from their initial concentration. We had all the walleye we could eat for dinner, and our crew released dozens more when some surprise pike muscled in, grabbing jigs with shiners.

On Your Own

Shining Falls, like nearly all fly-in fishing lodges across northern Canada, relies on aluminum skiffs to fish and explore the lake. Until a couple of years ago, Becker had never even sat in a pedal-powered kayak; now he owns six and can’t get enough. “I’ve been impressed with how fast they move with so little effort, and how easy they make it to hold a position in current and/or wind and waves when vertical jigging for walleye,” he says. That sort of precision positioning is much more difficult in a boat, Becker adds.

Becker recognizes that kayak-fishing for walleye and pike won’t appeal to all anglers. “To fish from a kayak, you have to be in charge of controlling your own boat, selecting lures and baits, and landing your own fish,” he says. “Not everyone wants that.”

You can load up, pedal away from the lodge and find plenty of action, but fishing at various hot spots that are a 15- or 45-minute boat ride away is the best bet. That also means using the landing craft and a skiff or two, and Becker or Tilkes will be on hand in the unlikely event they’re needed.

However independent a kayaker is, it would be a mistake to miss the midday lunch ashore. Aside from being a nice break and time to swap morning fish stories, Becker and Tilkes fry up walleye as fresh as it can be, short of still swimming, as well as onion rings, mushrooms and fresh-cut fries, served with salad, all in a sublime setting. I gained back whatever calories I shed during those fishing workouts. Our top shore lunch took place next to the Pigeon River’s eponymous Shining Falls. The roaring descent provides a mesmerizing and photogenic backdrop. You must plan on at least one lunch next to the falls if you make it up here.

Froggin’ the Back Bay

Becker says Family Lake is one of the best lakes for walleye, but I I focused on pike three-fourths of my time. While much of that was trolling, I also caught pike casting diving lures. One morning, I opted to stand in the kayak and threw a frog into the shallows in the back of a bay studded with lily pads. While I had some action from under those pads, the best bet proved to be throwing the frogs in the really skinny water between pads and tall grass along the shore. I got a few pike this way and missed many more, amid nerve-shattering explosions on the hapless plastic.

While big topwaters with surface-churning props are known pike cheaters, I had limited success with them, though the effort was worth seeing a big pike come out of nowhere and launch sky-high as it missed the lure. Then there were the inevitable swings-and-misses, right next to the kayak, as I was about to lift a lure for another cast. Classic northern pike high jinks keeps anglers from getting complacent.

A fishing trip to Family Lake — whether to fish from skiffs or kayaks — is worth the journey. But for ’yak-fishing enthusiasts like me, it always feels better to blend passions in a kayak.

Planning a Trip

A trip to Shining Falls Lodge (shiningfallslodge.com) starts at the Blue Water Aviation floatplane base in Bissett, a small outpost about a three-hour drive north of Winnipeg. Those flying into Winnipeg will likely want to overnight there and, with a rental car or a van service, make their way to Bissett early the next morning to catch a midmorning flight to the lodge. The half-hour flight, included in all lodge plans, takes passengers directly to the lodge’s dock.

Cabins offer full kitchens, or guests can opt for the “American” plan that includes cooked meals. Lodge owners Tobias Becker and his wife, Ellen, prepared our meals, and our group raved about the food.

Kayak-fishing requires a bit more planning and gear than hopping into a boat. The lodge’s Old Town kayaks are equipped with Humminbird Helix 5 sounder/plotters loaded with waypoints of hot spots around the south end of the lake. All you need are pliers and a lip gripper or net.

The lodge opens the last week of May and closes in mid-September. Weather, of course, is an uncontrollable variable, and Becker characterizes the months this way: May is cool, with daytime temperatures into the mid-60s. June is a bit warmer, with a better chance of storms. Mid-July to mid-August is mostly dry and warm, with daytime temps of 70 to 80 degrees. September is generally calm, with highs of 65 to 70 degrees.

Walleye action is good throughout the season, Becker says, “because they’re so structure-oriented.” Pike are also caught all season, but those keyed in on pike might do well to consider late May through mid-June or September. During those periods, when the water is cooler in the shallows, pike are especially active, and fishing the bays is much easier this time of year, with less weed growth.