The Interior

Canada’s interior offers a serene wilderness and is mostly unknown to outsiders, despite being dotted with thousands of productive lakes and untapped fisheries. The northern portions of Alberta, Saskatchewan and Manitoba offer some of the best northern pike fishing in the world with numerous locales producing brutes to 50 inches or more. And because these are remote, sparsely populated regions, anglers chase these northerns—and big lake trout—in true wilderness solitude. These waters offer a longer fishing season than subarctic lakes, which translates into longer periods of time—especially during spring—when big northerns can be targeted in shallow water with surface flies.

Farther east in northern Ontario lie the Sutton and Albany watersheds. These waters drain into Hudson Bay and offer, arguably, some of the world’s best brook trout fishing. Brookies here may average four or five pounds and on the best days anglers could land a couple dozen or more fish. The Sutton offers a hundred miles of navigable water, making it a true wilderness experience with the chance to catch the biggest brook trout of your life . . . repeatedly.

Southern Manitoba and Ontario, in area that’s called the Canadian Shield, offer fantastic musky and bass fisheries. The best smallmouth action occurs during spring while pre-spawn fish are schooled up on the flats. Summer offers the best largemouth bass fishing, when stripping topwater frogs and poppers over the lilypads proves to be a deadly technique. Musky also are abundant, but these ultimate warmwater predators are a serious challenge. Musky are called “the fish of 10,000 casts” for good reason, but some southern Ontario rivers are loaded with smallish 35-to 45-inch fish, giving fly fishers a decent chance of hooking and landing one or more per day. Trophy hunters who don’t mind putting in their time can chase monsters on Lake of The Woods and the St. Lawrence River. These massive 50-plus inch long and super aggressive fish can make the most hardcore musky angler get a case of the shakes!

In far southern Ontario, the Great Lakes offer a unique “steelhead” fishery that is best described as a run of oversized rainbow trout. These fish behave similarly to their West Coast cousins and are often targeted with spey rods and swung flies. However, these Ontario steelhead waters are mostly smaller than those found in the Pacific Northwest so most anglers fish single-hand rods and egg patterns. Salmon, lake trout, and large brook trout are also caught as anglers target the steelhead spawning run.

Canada’s interior offers a range of accommodations, from remote fly-in fish camps and cabins, to five-star luxury lodges. Let us know your preference and we’ll get you there.

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