Enjoying Lake Herridge Lodge & Resort

It is funny how new adventures become much-anticipated traditions. For us, one annual adventure began when my now 13-year-old son Tristen and I decided to kick off summer with a father-son trip to Lake Herridge Lodge & Resort, just south of Temagami. The lake options were intriguing, and the combination of wonderful hosts, fantastic fishing, and comfortable accommodations have kept us coming back each summer since.

One year, we arrived on Canada Day and were promptly greeted by friendly owners Nathalie St. Amour and Brad Ferguson. The lodge dates back to 1942 and the pair took over as hosts in 2018. After exchanging updates and fishing intel, we unloaded our gear and fired up the barbecue.

The evening provided us the opportunity to fish some shoreline on Herridge Lake, where a few smallmouth bass eagerly attacked our surface poppers. With sunlight fading, we settled into our cabin excited about what the next day would bring.

Back-lake travels

Lake Herridge Lodge and Resort is situated on a chain of lakes. From the lodge, it’s a 15-minute portage into Iceland Lake, and a further five-minute portage into Driftwood and Wasaksina lakes. Both are easy walks with a cache of boats waiting at the end. All you need is fishing gear, safety equipment, and lunch. These lakes all have walleye, smallmouth, and pike. The largest in the chain, Wasaksina, also has a good population of lake trout.

The back lakes would be the focus of our trip. The next morning, we left early and portaged to Iceland, flushing a ruffed grouse on the trail. After a quick boat ride to the next portage, we cleared Driftwood and headed down the Driftwood River and its tangle of logs and blowdowns. We cautiously navigated this short and interesting stretch. The river opened into Wasaksina and I revved up the 9.9 to get us to our first spot. We set up on a mid-lake cabbage bed and immediately found smallmouth.

Tristen started with a green pumpkin curly-tail jig and boated a 17 incher. It was fun fishing, but the next half dozen smallmouth were small, so we were keen on another option. “Let’s go for some walleye, Dad,” Tristen called out.

Island walleye

We moved to a large island point that Brad mentioned had been producing well. Tristen dropped his jig and I watched his rod double over as he set into a big one. “This is really heavy!” he shouted. He played the fish calmly and brought a monster walleye to the net. At 31 inches, it was by far his largest to date. He was elated and excited and I could not have been prouder of him. We took a few photos before the release.

With our sonar marking fish, Tristen hooked into walleye number two a minute later. Then I got in on the action with a 22.5 incher, fooled by a nightcrawler on a slow death rig. Then the smallmouth made themselves known again. We caught several double-headers — our biggest would be a sassy 18.5-inch fish Tristen landed.

We soaked it all in. The fish, the scenery, shorelines cloaked in pine and cedar, the isolation. A bald eagle flew high in the sky over us.

After a couple of hours, we moved on to a favourite bay from previous years. There were no walleye, but the smallmouth cooperated. More than a dozen put on aerobatic displays. We could have stayed forever, but it was a sizzling-hot day and we left early in the afternoon to get back to the lodge so we could cool off at the beach.

The bite continues

Our next three days offered repeats. Smallmouth fishing was consistent, and we mixed in many nice walleye. A highlight came one afternoon when a gusty wind triggered mid-lake reef walleye. Casting lipless crankbaits and minnowbaits produced a quick succession of fish. Wasaksina has structure galore and it would take much more than a week to check out all the potential fishing spots.

We awoke on day five to cool temperatures and rain. The weather change was welcome but anticipated storms later in the day kept us close to the lodge on Iceland Lake. Scenic Iceland is a gem and my favourite in the chain. This small lake has it all, from high cliffs to weedy bays. We trolled the shoreline with minnow baits and hooked our first walleye in no time. The rain started falling harder but the fishing was good and we landed a mix of walleye and pike. Tristen caught our last fish, a beautiful 18-inch smallmouth, before a distant rumble prompted us to head back.

More than fishing

The Temagami area is known for its old growth white and red pine and hiking trails, both of which are short drives from the lodge. No visit is complete without a trip up the Temagami Fire Tower.

Tristen scampered to the top while I, being less than excited about heights, took a slower, two-hands-on-the-rail approach. The view from the top was magnificent.

Lake Herridge Lodge and Resort is open year round and offers drive-to remote fun for everyone. Families with young children enjoy staying on Herridge Lake to enjoy the beach and water toys. The impressive guest lodge is a great rainy-day option with satellite TV, pool, and card tables.

Hunters can take advantage of both spring and fall bear, small game, and moose.

We put an end to another great trip. Some truly fine fish were caught, and we explored a lot of new water. There is still much to see and do and we are already looking ahead for our next trip back.