Family Fishing Adventure

Kids Fishing at Cree River Lodge & Pilot’s Lodge on Fond du Lac

We backtrolled into the strong current to keep our jigs at the bottom of a steep drop-off. The fishing lines pulled downstream at an angle but didn’t keep the telegraph of a bite from running through my graphite fishing rod. A subtle hook set put a good bend in the rod, and another walleye was brought to the side of the boat. My daughter Addy looked at me with a grin as she struggled to reel in a fish at the same time. It was a special moment watching my two daughters battling fish on their kids fishing poles.

Less than four hours earlier, we had boarded a charter airplane in Edmonton, Alberta, for a flight to Stony Rapids in the northwest corner of Saskatchewan. On arrival in Stony Rapids, the local ground crew ferried us to the river, where we boarded a floatplane and careened over the tree tops to Cree River Lodge on Wapata Lake. Whisking people to camp on aircraft is part of the lodge package. It allows for maximum fishing time while minimizing travel to a remote area, a must for keeping kids attention on a kids fishing trip.

The family adventure had everyone grinning from ear to ear. Our twin girls, Maya and Addy, had never been on an airplane before, and getting to take off and land on runways and water made for an exciting day. The travel seemed like high adventure, but we no sooner stepped off the plane’s float and onto the dock when the Cree River Lodge crew had our bags up to a cabin. The chef in camp went over the brunch laid out for our dining pleasure. The whirlwind of activity was an adrenaline dump. However, our guide Eric had us on fish within minutes of leaving camp and before our lunch had fully settled in our bellies.

It is hard to beat Saskatchewan hospitality and northern culture. A fly-in fishing trip is a dream for most anglers, and taking our children along to make it a kids fishing trip was a blessing. Maya was tired from the travel and content to watch the birds, play with tackle, and giggle when a fish was brought aboard. My wife Stef focused with determination and worked to detect the most subtle walleye taking her bait. She may be a little competitive in nature, which helps ensure that everyone catches fish and enjoys their time on the water. Addy was determined to catch the biggest and most fish and glanced at me with a mischievous grin, letting me know she was in the game and serious competition.

Rough water kept us from going far, but it didn’t hamper the success of the fishing. Addy landed her personal best pike a couple of hundred yards from camp. Stef yelled with excitement as she fought another walleye. Maya provided a cheezy grin for a photo as she held up her sister’s fish with grippers.

The early introduction to angling and adventure for our girls is partially selfish. Introducing kids to adventure travel and world-class angling is a wonderful feeling. Meeting the people along the way is an education in diplomacy and an integration of social skills that will benefit them in the future. Most of all, it helps ensure there will be someone in my future to take me fishing when help is required. Growing old is a privilege, and preparing to spend it with family and friends doing what we love may be selfish. However, it has tremendous rewards for everyone involved.

Whether or not you get a discount for kids is irrelevant. Introducing our children to the wonders of the great outdoors is as important as attending school. The education is unique, mind-broadening, and worth every penny.

The other guests in camp are a consideration. That said, during our stay, everyone at the lodge took the time to engage our girls and appreciated their inclusion in such a special trip. Lodge owners Pat and Lori Babcock told me it wasn’t unusual for guests to bring children. They have a few parties yearly when an entire family with several generations book a trip. It usually leads to incredible memories and family time that you could never put a price on. I knew my concerns had no basis when one of the couples in camp skipped fishing one morning to play with the girls and build a ferry village from things found in the forest. The play time was extraordinary and meaningful.

Stef and the girls fished with Kyle the next day and caught some big pike and plenty of walleye. They saved enough for shore lunch, and when we met up at noon, we enjoyed swapping stories. The girls entertained Kyle by making fish-eye soup in the boat and commandeering the bailing bucket. I fished with Darren and hunted pike on some prime backwater bays.

Cree River Lodge has produced my best northern pike at 49 ½ inches. It was taken on a fly that Stef had tied for me, and I continue to dream of breaking the 50-inch mark. Stef and I caught pike in the mid-40-inch mark and enjoyed the tussle and excitement. Spending a day on the water with Pat and guide Sol was a highlight. We fished large beds of submerged vegetation with explosive action for big pike. Finessing walleye in the current ensured a special meal before we had to leave.

Four days of fabulous fishing, entertainment, exceptional shore lunches, homecooked meals, and quaint and cozy accommodations were memorable. I would go back today. When the floatplane came to pick us up, we felt satisfied but didn’t want to leave. The Cree River Lodge team starts as strangers for most anglers but quickly feels like family. We will continue to include our girls whenever possible on special angling adventures. It is a special time for all involved, allowing us to celebrate family and angling.

Boys Trip

In June, an opportunity arose to fish with an old friend, T.J. Schwanky, who hosts television’s longest-running Canadian outdoor and hunting show, Outdoor Quest. We planned to go to Pilot’s Lodge on Fond du Lac River in northern Saskatchewan, where Schwanky would hunt black bears and we would enjoy fishing together.

The trip was a dream for me, as it is on one of the oldest fur trading rivers in the north. The Fond du Lac is often called the gateway to riches and hardship for many adventure seekers. In fact, the main cabin at Pilot’s was built by a trapper who raised his family off the grid over half a century ago. The wilderness fishing, rustic accommodations, and trails to several lakes begged my attention. The folks at Cree River Lodge operate Pilot’s Lodge, and our guide for the week, Dante Tabac, met our floatplane on the dock to transport gear to the cabin.

Dante asked us what we might want for dinner, and our echoed response was, “Walleye!” T.J. organized gear for the next day while I cruised downstream with Dante to fish above a set of rapids. No other boats, roads, power lines, access trails, or signs of civilization existed. It truly was a breath of fresh air.

I tied a white jig to my line and threw it into the moving water. It took an entire eight seconds to catch my first fish. At the same time, Dante cast downstream and hooked up with a beautiful pike over ten pounds. Bear tracks lined the riverbank, eagles soared over the far shoreline, and waterfowl buzzed by with wings whistling. We fished for an hour and had plenty of fresh fish for our first meal in camp.

Norm, the camp handyman, awaited our return and had appetizers ready. Dante soon had hot oil, scalding fresh fish, and home-cut fries. We were so far off the grid that other airplanes didn’t even pass overhead. Nevertheless, we checked our emails and social media with the internet via StarLink, and it worked while the generator was running.

We checked several bait sites the next morning and added some grain and goodies to the barrels. We saw several bears and shot photos and videos while we learned about the lay of the land and the river. We saw some big bears, but T.J. held out for a bigger bruin. Dante had shown us a few trail camera photos, and we knew some trophy-class black bears would be worth the extra patience.

We fished below some rapids and in some back bays for pike. It was a great day to be in the north, and we ate fish for lunch and dinner. The afternoon was special with a trip to the rapids, which stretched downstream for over half a mile. The rushing water could be heard from a long way away, and the eddies and backwaters begged for a fly to be carefully cast to draw an arctic grayling from below. T.J. was the first to catch one of the vibrantly colored sailfish of the north. The arctic grayling is a unique species that looks electric in the water, only to lose its color quickly when lifted out of the water.

Dante worked his flyrod and wasn’t disappointed. I continued to walk downstream and fish new water along the way. I landed a nice northern pike that sipped my fly from the surface. Eventually, I landed a nice grayling and slid it back into the water before returning to the other. The hours spent grayling fishing were world-class, and I would return just for the challenge and excitement of the strong and large dorsal fish of the north.

Some of the bait sites were set up on lakes that would require an ATV ride. Some vintage Honda trikes from previous owners were in camp, and we kick-started our day by firing up the bikes. I was fortunate to get a quad and enjoyed watching Schwanky and Tabac leaning into the corners of the trail to keep upright. It took about an hour and a half to get to Newham Lake, with a rustic plywood cabin with woodstove and bunk beds. The plan was to stay for several days and hunt a big bear that Dante had seen. Newham is an angler’s dream, seeing few anglers in any given year. The entire water surface and incoming and outflowing streams begged exploration.

We checked and refreshed the bait and headed out fishing. Deep pools in the river produced over 50 walleye before we opted to move on. We trolled along a rocky outcrop of the Canadian Shield and slammed some nice pike and more walleye. The sandy beaches and pristine forests left us staring into the distance, watching for moose, bears, and other wildlife. The trail to Newham was littered with moose tracks and scat, and big bear prints on the cabin walls let us know we needed to look out the door before stepping forward.

T.J. and I set up chairs and built a blind out of spruce and pine limbs for the evening bear hunt. Mid to late June in the north means little darkness and a few hours of dusk. There was no way to hunt all day or even for most hours, so we picked the prime times and gathered intel from the trail camera. Hunting a bear that may have never seen a human sounds easy, but we did not see anything during our sit.

The camera told us the bear visited the site at about 4:00 a.m., and we opted to try a morning sit while the temperatures were still cool. We had watched the squirrels and listened to loons for several hours before I got the strange feeling that we were being watched. I slowly turned, looked over my shoulder, and saw a huge bear sitting on his haunches, watching us about 50 yards away. When we made eye contact, the bear slowly ambled up the ridge and disappeared.

We fished during the day and enjoyed more fresh walleye with the last of our frying oil. Dante even whipped up one of his university meals, ramen and beans. It was an interesting meal I would leave to the aspiring football star. The evening found Schwanky and I back on our chairs, watching and listening to the boreal forest. Dark clouds started rolling in, and we no sooner put on our raingear than it started to shower. We had just sat down and readjusted our seats to accommodate the extra gear when I noticed ears moving amongst the branches. I whispered to T.J., “Bear.”

The old bruin knew we were there but walked in to check the food. However, before he cleared the forest, second thoughts made him turn and head back into cover. Our hearts sank, but the bear returned on the same trail a minute later and didn’t hesitate to commit fully. T.J. was ready with his trusty Sako rifle, and before the cagey bruin could decide to leave again, a shot echoed across the lake. The bear lurched forward but did not go far before lying still on the forest floor.

We skinned the bear under light showers, and Dante was there to pick us up before the night sky turned to dusk. We slept well, and in the morning, Dante made a quick trip back to Pilot’s Lodge to get more coffee and grub. Pat Babcock had flown into camp and returned to Newham, where we explored more fishing before returning to the main lodge.

The next day, T.J. and Dante hunted for giant pike in the shallows while Pat and I hit another lake that hadn’t seen an angler in years. Pat and I caught dozens of pike and covered the entire shoreline of the little lake. T.J. found pike over 44 inches and a new hole for walleye. Rivers are wonderful places to explore, and they offer a glimpse into the area’s history and how the waterway was a lifeline for people of the past. Blazed trees showed historic portages around rough water, and old campsites along the shoreline had telltale fire rings.

The trip to Pilot’s Lodge and the out camp lakes was exciting and adventuresome. It was tough to leave when the floatplane returned. Everyone should experience a wilderness camp where life slows down, and the only thing left to focus on is your next meal of fresh fish. The camp was rustic, but the A-frame cabins were comfortable and cozy for guests. The trikes were a blast from the past, and riding the old sandy trails was worth the trip.

Whether you are looking for the biggest fish of your life, a wilderness getaway, or a place to explore with family or friends, Cree River Lodge is a special place worth placing on your Bucket List.

Cree River Lodge offers outstanding fishing for walleye, huge northern pike, arctic grayling, and lake whitefish. It also has spring black bear hunts and fall moose and bear hunts. The wilderness camp at Pilot’s Lake Lodge is a special place for consideration. For more information, go to https://creeriverlodge.ca.

Tackle talk

Packaging more tackle than required on a fly-in fishing trip is easy. Here are a couple of “must-have” lures in your tackle box for a kids fishing trip.

Len Thompson spoons are legendary in western Canada, and the #2 and #4 sizes are outstanding for pike, walleye, and lake trout. The smaller versions can be used for grayling and whitefish. The yellow & red, better known as five-of-diamonds, should not be overlooked. Pat Babcock will also tell you to pack on in green & black, which is his go-to frog pattern. https://www.lenthompson.com/

Fin-Tech Nuckleball Jigs are always in my travel tackle box with ¼, 3/8, and a couple of heavier-weight options. The Zone-R is great in current and should be considered when fishing flowing water.

The Johnson’s Silver Minnow was invented in 1923 to fish weedless. The unique spoon is still a big-fish-catching offering and is always in my box. www.purefishing.com/silver-minnow

Berkley Powerbait jig bodies and soft plastics are easy-to-manage fish-catching options. I always have an assortment, but I like the white, yellow, chartreuse, and black in various lengths.

A Williams Whitefish, Bully, or Wabler are all fantastic options for catching big fish. You can’t go wrong with over 100 years of lure-making and the trademark of Williams precious metal finishes of genuine silver and 24K gold. https://williams.ca/

Tourism Saskatchewan

Tourism Saskatchewan has excellent online resources for planning a trip, finding an outfitter or lodge, knowing the rules and regulations, and providing maps for travel. Visit their website for more information.