Pakwash Lake Makes it In Ontario Out of Doors

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Following the Yellow Brick Road
Like gold seekers, anglers will find lots to explore along highway 105 to Red Lake

By: Bruce Ranta

In
1926, a discovery in northwestern Ontario led to a gold rush that
newspapers at the time stated was reminiscent of the Klondike days. The
deposits of gold ore at Red Lake have proven to be the richest in the
world and among the largest. With the price of the yellow metal climbing
to record highs, Red Lake is a boom town once again.Red Lake lies 500 kilometres northwest of Thunder Bay and a little less
than 100 kms from the Manitoba border. Until the 1940s, the only ways to
get to it were paddle and portage, walking, skiing, or by bush plane.
In 1936, Red Lake’s Howey Bay airport was the busiest in the world.A road connecting Red Lake to the outside world was envisioned, but
there wasn’t any money in government coffers, due to the Great
Depression. Then along came World War II. In 1942, mines were removed
from Canada’s list of protected wartime industries and many miners went
to war. Mining activity ground down and there wasn’t much talk of a
road.However, when the miners returned after the war, gold was again produced
in enormous quantities and the need for a road was greater than ever.
Post-war stimulus dollars flowed freely and construction of a gravel
road to connect Red Lake to Vermilion Bay began in 1945. It took only
two years for the Deptartment of Highways to get the job done. On August
27, 1947, the road, designated King’s Highway 105, was officially
opened to public travel. In 1963, the road was paved.

Much Better Now

These days, the two-lane highway is reasonably well-maintained and many
treacherous sections have been straightened and improved. The Red Lake
Highway is still the only drive in or out of Red Lake. It’s one of the
most northerly highways in Ontario and its 174 kms slice through a huge
chunk of what is still mostly a wilderness of forests, lakes, and
rivers. As it’s always been for miners, the road leads to riches for
thousands of anglers and hunters. I’ve driven this highway many times,
for work and pleasure. It’s a long drive, with not many places to stop
for supplies. During the summer tourist season, there’s a gas bar, a
couple of stores, and an LCBO outlet in Perrault Falls, a tiny hamlet
near the outflow of its namesake lake at the north end, about a third of
the way between Red Lake and the Hwy. 17 junction at Vermilion Bay. Ear
Falls, a town of less than 2,000, is the only year-round community on
the highway, and from there it’s still another 70 kms to Red Lake.I hadn’t wet a line in any of the myriad waterbodies the road leads to,
with the exception of Red Lake itself, where the brother of my spouse,
Lil, has a cabin. I’d wanted to, as the lakes always looked inviting,
and there 35were always stories being told about big pike, muskie, and
lake trout. So, last summer I made a point of spending a couple of days
on the highway to sample some of the accessible waters and become
familiar with others for future reference. I’m glad I did.Narrowing the Choices
I was most interested in the area near Perrault Falls. There are four
big lakes (ranging in size from just under 6,000 to more than 15,000
acres) accessible here: Perrault Lake itself, Wabaskang, Cedar, and
Cliff. They’re the backbone of the Cedar River Watershed, a geographic
area that serves as a framework for fisheries management. All four lakes
have walleye, pike, smallmouth bass, muskie, and perch. Two lakes also
have lake trout. There are also other species, including whitefish and
black crappie. In addition, there are numerous other lakes nearby. I
opted to spend a day cruising the highway, talking to people and casing
things out – and maybe trying a little fishing downstream of the Ear
Falls dam. I was told it was good right from shore and, besides, I
didn’t want to spend a whole day talking to people about fishing without
wetting a line.

Hitting the Road
In late August, I took a drive up Hwy. 105. I left home early, hoping to
see wildlife, but saw only one deer in the fields north of Vermilion
Bay. Once past farm country, the highway slices through deep woods, with
a number of logging-road offshoots. I recalled having spent part of a
day up the Camp Robinson Rd., a popular moose-hunting destination. The
large clear-cuts were attractive to moose and sharp-tailed grouse. Some
of the best sharpie hunting in Ontario can be found along this section
of 105.

I took note of the numerous signs advertising fishing camps. The ones
touting Cedar Lake and showing leaping muskie piqued my interest, so
when I saw a sign indicating a public boat launch, I had to check it
out.

Close to the launch was a nice flat grassy campsite with a couple of
rigs with Ontario licence plates. In a lot of northwestern Ontario,
camping on road-accessible crown land is off limits to non-residents of
Canada. I asked one of the couples, who were from Thunder Bay, how the
fishing was. They told me they weren’t having any trouble catching “nice
eater” walleye. It certainly wasn’t a busy place, with only a couple of
boats visible on the water.

I
drove a little farther north to another public launch on Cliff Lake, on
the west shoulder of the highway. There’s no room there for setting up a
camp or parking a rig – just enough to leave a couple of trucks with
boat trailers – but that morning the spot was empty. Like the launch at
Cedar, it was nothing fancy – no pad, just a gentle and rather narrow
approach, with a couple of boulders that would require a bit of
attention.

After another few kilometres, I saw a sign for Lost Bay Resort on Cliff
Lake and decided to drop in. Inside the main cabin, I found manager Gary
Hoppe to be friendly and a wealth of information. According to him, the
camp had originally been built to house workers during highway
construction. He said the lodge and an outpost camp farther down the
lake had been purchased by a businessman from Wisconsin. The owner had
fallen in love with the lake and had decided to be the sole proprietor,
with the aim of passing his assets to his grandchildren. In the interim,
he figured the lodge needed to be a viable business, and that’s why
Hoppe was there.

While he hadn’t much time to fish himself, it had been good on the deep,
clear lake, he said. He showed me photographs of fish that guests had
caught, as proof. I was more than a little impressed by the big lake
trout (some looked to be in the 20-pound range), 10-pound walleye, and
muskie nudging 50 inches. There were also photos of decent-sized
smallmouths and big pike.

If anglers want to fish elsewhere, Hoppe said the resort had boat caches
on several smaller lakes nearby. Ord is especially good for walleye and
Three-Corne is hot for muskie. For big-game hunters, the lodge
maintains two Bear Management Areas and in most years has two moose tags
to offer.

Hoppe had me thinking that Cliff Lake was where I was going to fish on
my return. I liked the idea of spending the day chasing muskie and
trout, and there’d be no need to trailer my boat on gravel washboard, a
real bonus in my mind. I also recalled that co-worker Scott McAughey had
told me the biggest walleye he’d ever hooked was in Cliff (he lost it).
With time running on, I thanked Hoppe for his help and information and
left. With clear skies, the sun beating down, and the thermometer
rising, I figured the sooner the better, insofar as getting in a few
casts below the hydro dam at Ear Falls.

First, I decided to make one more quick stop. I turned east off the
highway and drove to Jerry and Ellies Cedar Lake Camp. I was struck by
how well-maintained the yard and cabins were. Jerry Dargel was at the
office and, after brief introductions, I asked the necessary questions
about fishing.

I was impressed when he said one group of American guests had boated 12
muskie the previous week. The info he provided on muskie, walleye, pike,
crappie, and perch was great. It was going to be harder than I thought
to decide which lake I was going to fish when I came back with a boat.

Time to Wet a Line
Just before noon, I rolled into Ear Falls. I’d been warned the road to
reach fish below the dam was a bit rough. It’s a good thing I have 4wd –
I needed it! There were deep pools and ruts on the clay-based road.
Fresh tire tracks guided me to a parking spot near the road’s end. A
well-used, but steep, walking trail took me to the water. It was low,
not surprising, given it was late summer and hadn’t rained much in
weeks. There was no discernible current, so I wasn’t optimistic. A small
pike did little to build my confidence. Then, a nice bass followed my
jig, but refused to bite.

I tossed a variety of hard and plastic baits. Still no luck. I went back
to a jig and was rewarded with a good thump and reeled in a plump
walleye. A couple of casts later, another walleye hit and, after that, a
really solid thumper took hold. This walleye, a good 4-pounder, bested
me, shaking free before I had a chance to haul it up the smooth rock
face I was casting from.

Another half-hour of fishing resulted in one more small pike, and the
big smallmouth followed my bait in again. Time to move on.

Back at the truck, the temperature readout told me it was 27?C. The
fishing wasn’t bad, I thought, given the heat, time of day, and low
water.

The drive north of Ear Falls wasn’t what I expected. Instead of a quiet
ride, I found myself in a beehive of activity. The gold boom had finally
made the extension of a natural-gas pipeline from Ear Falls to Red Lake
feasible, and people were hard at work laying pipe.

I zipped into Pakwash Provincial Park to snap a few photos. The
campground was busy, but not overflowing. Pakwash Lake is known for
excellent walleye fishing and, in fall, is a favourite destination for
trophy pike anglers. A couple of boats bobbed on the water, but most
people seemed to be lazing about enjoying the heat.

I had time to go a bit farther north, although wasn’t planning to drive
all the way to Red Lake. Just north of the park, I spied a small
whitetail doe, which surprised me, even though my brother-in law said he
often saw deer in his backyard in Red Lake, way north of their normal
range. A couple of years earlier, he’d seen woodland caribou tracks on
Red Lake near his cabin, only minutes from the centre of town. Caribou
are also spotted occasionally crossing the highway near the park I’d
just left. I pondered whether deer, their diseases and parasites, and
the predators they attracted would spell the end for area caribou or
would they simply disappear like before. In the 1940s and 1950s, deer
were common as far north as Red Lake, but cold, snowy winters wiped them
out. Since then, until recently, the only place with a concentration of
deer had been Ear Falls, where a small herd wintered.

At Trout River, I pulled into Trout River Lodge, visible from the
highway bridge, and found Bill Deschamps, the owner, manning the office.
As we talked about the fishing, Deschamps pulled out a photo of a
52-inch pike he caught and released in 2009. It looked to be over 40
pounds, which meant it could have been a new Ontario record, had he kept
it. My interest was aroused even more when he told me about the jumbo
perch (my favourite eating fish) commonly caught on, of all places,
Bruce Lake.

I left Trout River and decided to head homewards, rather than continue north for the next 40 kms to Red Lake.

A Refreshing Stop

The drive back to Perrault Falls took a good 40 minutes. I was thirsty
and looking forward to a cool can of soda, so I popped into the Rainbow
Point Store and Lodge. While quenching my thirst, I chatted with a young
lady minding the store. She offered me a brochure and suggested I walk
across the highway and have a look at the picturesque falls the hamlet
was named after. Kids and teenagers were frolicking in pools of the
rapids. I imagined it would be even more impressive during the spring
melt. It also looked like great walleye spawning habitat near the outlet
on Wabaskang Lake. I followed a single lane that ran parallel to the
rapids that brought me to a launch on the lakeshore. It had a large
cement pad, but the turnaround was a bit tight and would be a challenge
in wet weather.

Near the highway, there was a large old clearing with another cement pad
holding up a monument and plaque. It commemorated the opening of the
Red Lake Rd. in August of 1947. I don’t know how many highways have such
tributes, but maybe that’s because I haven’t been looking.

After taking more photos, I continued back down the highway, passing the
public launch on Perrault Lake – noting it was directly across from
Dutchie’s General Store and LCBO outlet. Very convenient, I thought.

I had plenty of time to make good on my plan to meet with Dave
Frankovich at his Pickerel Creek Camp around 5 pm. I’d heard from the
local conservation officers that he was amiable and knowledgeable.

“I love what I do and I love hunting and fishing,” he told me. I figured we’d get along well.

Unlike the majority of area outfitters, Frankovich’s camp wasn’t on a
large lake. His business was centred on fishing a number of waters. He
has 10 lakes with commercial boat caches – and hunting to offer. As it
was late August, Frankovich was busy with bear hunters. He also had a
few moose tags and specialized in the early season archery hunt.

On a business trip to Red Lake in September two years ago, I spotted the
head and cape of a nice bull moose laying on a table in his yard. He’s
also passionate about deer hunting and had some impressive mounts he’s
taken locally on the wall.

Frankovich
filled me in on the area’s fishing. Judging from what he said, and he
had a photo album as proof, it seemed to me there were endless
opportunities for whatever an angler might desire. Lake trout? For
numbers go to Aerobus Lake, Cliff Lake for bigger ones. Muskie? Cedar or
Cliff Lake are good. Both have fish topping 50 inches. Walleye and
pike? There are dozens of lakes to choose from. Other lakes have good
populations of big perch and smallmouths are abundant in some waters.
Most surprising, Cedar Lake has recently become a hot spot for slab
crappie.

Kibitzing with Frankovich was what finally sold me on Cliff Lake. He’d
recently caught a 54-inch muskie on Cedar, but Cliff had been good to
him over the years and, like me, he prefers to fish where you generally
aren’t competing with other anglers. Cedar, although much more
productive, has considerably more development and can be busy. And, I
really like to take a break from casting big muskie baits to wire line
for lakers.

The day had been long, but interesting. I had high hopes of spotting
wildlife on the drive home to Kenora, and was mildly disappointed when I
didn’t see any big game. However, the August day had been hot, so I
shouldn’t have been surprised. One thing for sure, I was eagerly
anticipating my return trip and a full day of fishing.

Cliff Lake Fish-Off
I’d asked fellow OODer Drew Myers earlier about a fishing trip, and he
wasn’t disappointed when I decided on Cliff Lake. Although it has
multiple species, we would be targeting muskie and lakers. Frankovich
suggested some spots to try, and with the contour chart I had, we
decided our first pass would be off a point not far from the landing.
Within minutes of launching, we were pounding the water with big muskie
plugs and spinnerbaits.

The point looked ideal for muskie. It continued as a shallow, rocky
underwater reef with huge boulders scattered about in 10 to 15 feet of
water. There was also a couple of weed patches and the water dropped off
to 30 feet and more. But, after thrashing the spot for 15 minutes, we
hadn’t even had a follow, so on to the next spot. This time we pounded a
big flat with a few deadheads with the same results. On the backside of
a tiny rock island, where patches of pondweed were on the edge of a
deeper hole, we saw our first muskie. They were small – no more than
four or five pounds – and weren’t interested in biting. I nailed a pike
of about the same size, but that was it.

The rest of the morning wasn’t much more productive. Drew latched onto a
couple of smallmouths that smacked his medium-sized stickbaits, feisty
fish for sure, but surprisingly small, considering the size of the bait
they’d gone after. Then, we got into a few medium-sized pike.

Near noon, it was time for trout.There was a long run along a steep
shoreline where my contour map showed more than 100 feet of water. I
tried to keep the boat over 60 to 80 feet.

Steel line can be tricky, but Drew was a fast read and was able to get
it and the Lucky Strike Canoe spoon out without a backlash, a malaise
common to steel. Initially, no fish marked, but after crossing a deep
trough and getting back into the magic 60-foot depth, a few blips showed
on the sonar.

Just when I thought our lures should be close to the marked fish, I had a
sharp tap and was into one.”I think it’s a small one,” I said, and it
was. Plump and healthy, it seemed none the worse for wear upon release.
Then Drew caught and released one of about the same size.

I was making a long, slow sweep when Drew had another hit. “This is a
good one!” he said, but after a short tussle, it fell off.

We were disappointed, but thought we now had things figured out. No such
luck. Another hour of trolling produced nary a nibble. It was now late
afternoon, time to take another shot at muskie.

We decided to try a big fairly shallow bay with extensive aquatic
vegetation. Our hopes were high, and soon we were getting follows. Drew
was working a topwater when he stopped reeling to take care of something
that had fallen in the boat.

“Wow! Look at that!” he exclaimed. I didn’t see anything, but Drew said a
good muskie had been right up to his lure, staring at it, after he had
paused the retrieve.

Shortly after that, I made a bad cast and had to work on a backlash,
letting my bucktail spinner fall to bottom. It took a minute or so to
undo the tangle. When I reeled in the slack, I felt weight. Fish on! The
muskie didn’t give up easily, but eventually I got the better of it.
Drew scooped the respectable 36-incher. Now we were pumped. We continued
to get follows – a couple of fish seemed pretty decent – then all of a
sudden the wind died completely. After that, nothing. We tried casting a
variety of bucktails, plugs, and soft plastic baits in several places
on the way back to the landing, but the bite was over. With the sun just
below the horizon, we called it a day.

Fishing hadn’t been spectacular, but not bad. As I loaded up the boat, I
thought of all the spots we had tried, and how much of the lake still
needed to be explored. And, we hadn’t even tried for any of the monster
walleye the lake was known for.

I will be back. There are enough lakes along Hwy. 105 to keep an angler prospecting for years.

Accommodations
Cedar Lake
Jerry & Ellie’s Cedar Lake Camp
Perrault Falls
www.cedarlakecamp.com
fish@cedarlakecamp.com
(S) 807-529-6211 || (W) 608-356-7646
Cedar Lake Lodge
Perrault Falls
www.sportfishin.com
cedarlakelodge@tbaytel.net
(S) 807-529-3271 || (W) 204-890-7272
Cedar Point Resort
Vermilion Bay
www.cedarpointresort.ca
fishcedarlake@cedarpointresort.ca
(S) 807-529-6542 || (W) 763-807-4624
Northern Lights Resort
Vermilion Bay
www.clarksresorts.com
info@clarksresorts.com
807-227-2154 or 1-888-749-0049
Keystone Lodge
Vermilion Bay
www.keystone-lodge.com
frostiak@keystone-lodge.com
1-800-723-8623 || (S) 613-480-6080
Cliff Lake
Lost Bay Resort
www.lostbayresort.com
Info@CanadaHuntingFishing.com
262-532-9097 || 888-884-8870
Perrault Lake
Manotak Lodge
Perrault Falls
www.manotak.com
manotak@drytel.net
1-800-541-3431
Peffley’s Wilderness Camp
Perrault Falls
www.peffleyscamp.com
info@peffleyscamp.com
(S) 807-222-3184 || (W) 574-220-9936
Perrault Lake Camp
Perrault Falls
www.Perraultlakecamp.com
perraultlakecamp@yahoo.ca
(S) 807-529-6267 || (W) 780-623-9721
Rocky Shore Lodge
Perrault Falls
www.rockyshorelodge.com
fish@rockyshorelodge.com
1-800-954-3154
Wabaskang Lake
Tall Pines Camp
Perrault Falls
www.tallpinescamp.com
steveandandrea@tallpinescamp.com
807-529-6433 or 1-888-413-3454
Sleepy Dog Cabins
Perrault Falls
sleepydog@xplornet.com
807-529-3165
Wabaskang Camp
Perrault Falls
www.wabaskangcamp.com
stay@wabaskangcamp.com
(S) 807-529-6543 || (W) 319-352-5559
Parkview Camp
Perrault Falls
rgawley@drtel.net
807-529-3137
Kingfisher Resort
Perrault Falls
www.kingfisherlodge.com
themorans221@hotmail.com
1-800-452-8824
Pakwash Lake
Pakwash Lake Camp
www.pakwashlakecamp.com
pakwashlakecamp@xplornet.com
1-888-725-9274 (PAKWASH) or 807-222-3353
Pakuni Lodge
www.pakunilodge.com
pakunilodge@gmail.com
(S) 807-222-3742 || (W) 507-438-9553
Northwoods Bay Resort
Ear Falls
www.northwoodsbayresort.com
fishing@northwoodsbayresort.com
(S) 807-222-3300 || (W) 316-706-1043
Highway 105
Pickerel Creek Camp
Perrault Falls
www.pickerelcreekcamp.com
pickerelcreek@xplornet.com
807-529-3132
Sholwalter’s Fly-in Camps Ltd. & Outposts
Ear Falls
www.fishshowalters.com
info@fishshowalters.com
(S) 807-222-2332
Pakwash Provincial Park
www.ontarioparks.com
Scott.ellery@ontario.ca
(S) 807-222-3346 || (W) 807-223-7535
Trout River Lodge
Red Lake
www.troutriverlodge.ca
info@troutriverlodge.ca
807-222-3265 or 1-877-222-3265
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Ear Falls, Ontario, Canada