This post covers our trip to Cat Island Lodge for Fly-In Fishing at Trout Lake Ontario. While the trip occurred in August, 2024 the planning started back in February.
My fishing partner on this trip was Bill from Pennsylvania. An 88 year old electrician and serial entrepreneur who has been a sportsman his entire life. I really got to know Bill in August of 2023 when he and his girlfriend stayed with us when they returned from a houseboat adventure in southern Ontario. His girlfriend is a long time friend of Jae and I.
Invitation
This trip started with a text from Bill in late February, 2024. He asked if I might be interested in joining him on an Ontario fishing trip in late August. He has been making these trips for many years.
Normally, I would not consider a fly-In fishing trip like this due to the cost but several things were happening in my life that made me consider it. I had just turned 70. My recovery from my second hip replacement was not going well. Financially, I was in good shape. Discussing it with Jae, I realized that there was no good reason not to go.
Deciding Where to Go
Bill had two places in mind. One was a lodge that he had stayed at before called Uchi Lake Lodge. The other was a new destination called Cat Island Lodge. Both were fly-in fishing lodges near the end of the road in northern Ontario.
Uchi Lake Lodge was a known quantity. Bill had been there a couple times and knew the lake well enough that a guide would not be needed. The lake is smaller, with lots of bays which would make the wind less of an issue.
Cat Island Lodge, on Trout Lake, was kind of an unknown. The lake was much bigger, to the point that with strong winds we might have trouble getting out. It was also a complete unknown to us, which means that we would need a guide.
Costs were comparable. Amenities were similar. In the end, it came down to two factors:
- Going to Cat Island Lodge was on Bill’s bucket list. Bill is an active 88 years old. So completing a bucket list item is important.
- Bill knew Bertha, who is now part of the Cat Island staff, that he meet at Uchi Lake. Bertha suggested that Cat Island Lodge would be a good place to visit. In the end, she was right.
After a lot of back and forth emails, discussing costs, pros and cons we decided on Cat Island Lodge and made the deposit.
Preparation and Packing
Since a fly-in fishing trip was a new experience for me I had to rethink how I packed. I am used to taking my boat on fishing trips so there are not any limits on what can be taken. But when you fly in, you have to take everything you need and there was an 85 pound weight limit. The limit included clothes, beer, rods and tackle. If you forget something you are kind of screwed.
I needed to take rods that could be used for walleyes, pike and lake trout. Plus, I needed spares because if something breaks there is no store to buy replacements. In reality, the lodge does have spare equipment in a pinch. I ended up buying a new rod suitable for bigger fish, such as pike and lake trout. The rods needed to be protected for the flight in and out. I looked at buying a rod case but being as value driven (cheap) as I am, I ended up making one.
Bill shared with me what tackle he was taking. I realized that I needed some additional lures specifically for pike. So off to Fleet Farm for some big spinners and spoons. Plus, a few stickbaits, hooks, leaders, braided line, etc.
Packing everything else was pretty easy. I used the same duffel bags I use for pheasant hunting. When I was done packing I had about 65 pounds of gear. Add to that a six-pack and I was done.
Drive Up
The drive from Rosemount to Red Lake, Ontario was over 10 hours. Since Rosemount is on the south side of Minneapolis/St Paul and we were leaving on a weekday, we needed to head out before rush hour. We planned on leaving about 6 AM and were out the door shortly after 6.
The drive through the cities was smooth sailing. Minnesota roads are generally very good so we had no issues all the way to International Falls.
In International Falls, the Waze app lost its mind. It had us driving away from the border crossing. Fortunately, Bill had been up this way several times and he figured it out.
The crossing into Canada was pretty straight forward. The border agent was efficient, polite and professional. We were through with no hassles.
Once in Canada, Waze got lost again and was routing us who knows where. Bill got us back on track and we were on our way. About the only minor hassle was converting the metric speed limits into miles per hour.
The road to Red Lake, Ontario was two lanes with speed limits between 40-52 mph. We made good time to Ear Falls then stopped for the bait that Bill had pre-ordered. From there we finished the drive to Red Lake and the motel. We ate dinner at the motel bar with a noisy crowd of locals and construction workers. After dinner, I took a walk and visited a local park dedicated to a specific type of float plane.
Fly In
The next morning we were up and ready to go. It was about a 15-20 minute drive from the motel to the air base. We were getting breakfast at the lodge so we did not need to stop. We arrived at the air base, unloaded our gear onto a cart and checked into the office. The whole process was pretty painless.
Boarding
The next step was for them to load the gear and lodge supplies into the plane. This was interesting, as the plane is on floats tied up to a floating dock. It was amazing how much they could pack into that small place. So as the staff loaded, the plane and dock were moving around.
Once the plane was loaded the pilot conducted an informal safety briefing while we were standing on the dock. We each had a small life vest in a pack attached to our waist. We were shown how to put it on and how to inflate it. Keep in mind that there are only four seats, including the pilot.
Bill got into one of the back seats. They offered me the chance to ride up front, which I took. Except I could not figure out how to get into the seat. I ended up with my butt on the front seat, with my legs still in the back seat. Considering after two hip replacements I do not bend like I used to I ended up riding on the back. It was still a great view.
Flight
I thought I had recorded video on my GoPro of the entire flight but I ended up only capturing us taxiing. Bummer. As we left the dock, the windshield was fogged up, on the outside. The pilot taxied us out so that the sun was on the windshield. Once it cleared up, we taxied out into the middle of the lake and took off.
The flight was great. We were never that high so we could see a lot of detail. After about 20 minutes of flight time, the pilot landed on Trout Lake and taxied to the dock.
Arrival
We were greeted by the camp manager, the camp handyman and the camp dog. We were hustled into the dining room and fed breakfast while our gear was deposited in our cabin. At breakfast we met our first guide, Bear and I got to meet Bertha. Bertha is a lively 80-year old with a quick wit and very friendly demeanor. She is also an accomplished cook and baker.
After breakfast, we assembled our rods, got our tackle together and met Bear at the boat.
Fly-In Photo Gallery
Trout Lake
Trout Lake is big lake with clear water, lots of rocky islands and lots of bays. It is very similar to lakes in the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness (BWCAW) that I have spent a lot of time in.
Having a guide was critical. There were so many islands, bays and reefs on the lake it would have been a real challenge to find fish, let alone navigate without running up on reefs in the middle of the lake.
There is no cell service on the lake. The GPS on our phones worked but nothing else. One of our guides carried a satellite communication device for emergencies but that was a personal choice. If I go back I will take my Alpha 200i GPS handheld because it is capable of satellite messaging.
Cat Island Lodge
Cat Island Lodge is first and foremost a fishing camp. It has cabins for guests and staff. Their electricity is generated on site by a generator that kind of hums in the background. There are wooded boardwalks connecting all the buildings. There are the usual out buildings like a fish cleaning house, cabins for the staff and tool storage buildings.
Facilities
The lodge is a log structure with attached decks. The dining room has the usual mounted fish, native objects and a good view of the lake. The WiFi connection was good in and near the lodge but would not reach some of the farther cabins. There was a game room but I never went into it.
The cabins are rustic and vary in size. Each cabin had a bathroom, beds, a small refrigerator but not much else. This was fine because we were either eating, fishing or sleeping.
Meals
Breakfast and dinner were served in the dining room. Bertha was our primary server although Sheila, the cook came out often to see if everything was okay and if we needed anything else. The food was excellent. If we wanted more, all we needed to do was ask.
Staff
The lodge staff were all friendly and busy. The facilities were clean and well maintained. The camp dog is a Husky-Shepard mix who, like most huskies is happy to “allow” you to pet him, as long as you do not expect anything in return other than maybe a slight tail wag.
Cat Island Lodge Photo Gallery and Video
This is a quick video made up of clips from around the lodge. Hopefully, it provides an idea of the layout and the facilities.
Guides
As I mentioned above, having a guide is critical. They know the lake very well. Regardless of weather conditions the guides were able to get us on fish. In addition, they bait your hooks, remove your fish, clean the fish, cook shore lunch and keep you safe. Guided trips include the guide, their boat, 4 dozen minnows per day, shore lunch and their expertise.
While we were deciding on which lodge to go to, Bill had gotten the names and phone numbers of some previous guests. He called them to ask about the lodge and guides. From those calls he got two guide recommendations. When we made our reservation, he requested both guides.
The guides worked hard to keep us on fish. If it was slow, they would fish and try variations on lures and techniques. If they found something that was working they would tell us and we would adapt.
Bear
Our first guide was Bear. We had him for the first four days of the seven day trip and he did a good job for us. He had lots of stories about the lake and growing up in different parts of Canada.
Bear put us on Walleyes every day, trolled for pike and showed us how to catch Lake Trout.
Darryl
We had Darryl for the last three days. It turned out that Darryl was from a area in Ontario that Bill had visited as a boy. They shared stories about the area for 45 minutes while I sat in the front of the boat catching walleyes.
With Darryl, we had shore lunch out on the shore two days. One was the traditional fried fish but the other day we had a fish boil. That was something new for both Bill and I. It was really good.
Darryl was very focused on customer service. He made sure that we were getting what we wanted and that everything was running smoothly.
Fishing
The whole reason for going on this fly-In fishing trip was to catch fish and that we did. The lake has walleyes, pike and lake trout. We knew that the lake also held perch and had hoped to catch a limit of jumbos but could not find any. I suspect that few perch ever reach jumbo size given the size and quantity of the walleyes, pike and trout.
Tackle wise we were well prepared with jigs, stickbaits, spoons and spinners. In the end, we used mostly jigs for walleyes, spoons for the pike and huge jigs for trout.
In terms of bait, I used the provided minnows with good success. Bill used minnows, crawlers and leeches with comparable success.
Walleyes
We usually started the day fishing walleyes, which was amazing. The guides all had spots according to the wind and cloud cover. We would try a spot and if we did not catch fish we would move. Eventually we would hit a spot and they would be biting.
One thing that was unusual, is that the fish would start biting in earnest at about 10 AM regardless of the weather. We would catch fish before 10 but at 10 it was like an alarm went off and they all were ready to bite.
The size structure was also unusual. The vast majority of the fish were in the 20-22″ range and heavy. Although we did catch a few in the 17-19″ range, they were few and far between. We had at least one that we thought would have been about 24″. We asked Darryl about all the fish in the 20-22″ range and he said it has been that way for over 10 years. It was not unusual to catch 20-30 walleyes in the morning and more later in the day. Other guests at the lodge reported 50 walleye mornings.
Mornings we would catch a couple fish for lunch and then go to catch and release. Having two fish on at the same time (a double) was pretty common. We even had a triple once when Darryl had a fish on at the same time we did.
Below there is a photo gallery and a video. I used a GoPro all week and captured a ton of walleye clips. The video only has a few significant clips.
Walleye Fishing Photo Gallery and Video
Northern Pike
There are pike in the lake and based on the trophy board in the lodge there are some big ones. However, even though we tried, we were not able to catch any at the trophy level. We did catch several smaller fish while casting, trolling and jigging.
Pike Fishing Photo Gallery
Lake Trout
Neither Bill or I had really fished for Lake Trout in a lake like this. So it was a new experience for us. I was using a heavy spinning rod with 30 pound braid and a 20 pound fluorocarbon leader. Bill was using a medium rod that he also used for Pike.
Bear took us out for our first attempt. He gave us 1 ounce jigs to use along with a frozen shad. The technique was different than fishing for walleyes. We were fishing in 80-130 feet of water. We would drop a jig all the way to bottom then jig it three times before reeling it all the way back up. This allowed us to fish the entire water column.
I caught the first trout on the way back up. It was a battle to reel in. After a few minutes we were able to net it. Bear estimated it at about 26″. Bill was next with a fish that hit near the bottom. It fought all the way to the surface. A few minutes later I got a hit on the 3rd jig. This fish was taking line. I eventually was able to get it to the surface. Bear netted it and it measured 33″. Bill hooked up again and horsed a 30″ trout to the surface. That was a blast.
We tried again a couple days later with Darryl. He was spotting fish but nothing would bit. After a while we quit and went walleye fishing where Darryl caught a smaller trout between walleyes.
Trout Fishing Photo Gallery and Video
Most of the video I shot on the trip was with my hat mounted GoPro. When we went trout fishing I switched to a chest mount so I could wear by wide brimmed hat because of the sun.
The disadvantages of the chest mount are that the reel and hands are directly in front of the camera and I have to point my chest where I want to record. I figured some of this out while recording the trout fishing.
Note that I sped up the playback of the clips in the following video to shorten the overall length of the video. It took a while to coax the fish to the surface from the depths.
Shore Lunch
One of the benefits of having a guide is that they cook a shore lunch every day. Bear prepared and cooked our lunch in the lodge pavilion which was nice because we could go back to the cabin if we needed anything or if there was rain. Darryl cooked our lunches on shore, while we were out away from the lodge.
With both guides the day started with fishing for walleyes to catch our “lunchers”, the fish we would eat for lunch. In many cases, we were looking for some of the smaller fish. The lodge will also provide bag lunches, on request, if you are planning a long run up the lake or get tired of fish.
Traditional Shore Lunch
The traditional shore lunch consists of fried potatoes with onions, canned beans, canned corn and freshly caught fried fish.The lodge provides a simple breading for the fish along with the usual condiments.
One day Bear prepared “popcorn” fish which was a variation of the traditional fry. For the popcorn fish, he cut the walleye fillets into bit sized pieces before frying.
Fish Boil
Darryl suggested that we try a fish boil on our last day. We agreed. At lunch time he found a nice protected rocky shore. He built a fire and started heating a big pot of water. While the water was heating he cut potatoes and carrots into bite sized pieces. Once the pot was boiling, the potatoes and carrots went in. Then he cut up celery and onions before adding them to the pot. Next came 4 sausage patties cut into pieces. Once all of the vegetables were almost done, he added the walleye fillets. Five minutes later, he drained the water. We were ready to eat. After dishing up a plate of fish and vegetables, we added melted butter with garlic. It was excellent.
Shore Lunch Photo Gallery
Fly Out
The flight out was similar to the flight in except that I did get to ride in the front seat. This time I got one leg forward before sitting down. That left my left leg stuck in the middle but the pilot grabbed my boot and helped move it forward. Next time I need to wear running shoes or get both legs forward before I sit down.
I also managed to video the take off and landing and will include a video below.
Fly Out Video
This video was shot using a hand held GoPro. Of course, my battery was running low so I did not record the middle of the flight. When I edited the video, I did speed up the clip once we were airborne to keep the total video length reasonable.
Summary
This pretty much covers our trip to Cat Island Lodge for Fly-In Fishing at Trout Lake Ontario. Bill and I had a really good time. The fishing was excellent, the guides were great. The food was good. The lodge and cabins were just fine for this type of trip. I am glad I went.
hey, that was great. Thanks. Mom