TBT: Wanzatika Lake

It’s hard to tell if I’ve hooked a pike or a walleye, but when the chartreuse worm harness emerges from the stained water, what feels like a substantial fish turns out to be a walleye on the front hook and a pike on the back. I’ve never hooked two fish at a time before, but at Wanzatika I’m not surprised. The lake is loaded.

Wanzatika Lake Outpost Camp

The Wanzatika Lake Outpost Camp is one of six owned by Hearst Air Service Ltd. A low ceiling means owner and 30-year-veteran bush pilot Georges Veilleux skims over the swamps, ponds, and meandering creeks of the flat boreal forest. We cross a wide, slow stretch of the Missinaibi River, and Veilleux banks hard to follow her north, where dark waters funnel through a rocky gorge to spill over cataracts, including famous Thunder House Falls.

The Beaver float plane touches down on less turbulent Wanzatika Lake. My wife, Francine, and I carry gear to a cabin, while our link to civilization disappears with a drone. It’s our first trip away from two young children, and the tranquility is a bit of a shock. We mill around the cabin. On one wall are the angling archives of past guests, scrawled on everything from paper plates to driftwood. Consumed with the need to verify the fish tales, our next move becomes clear.

Walleye in the weeds

The first few walleye come quickly along the rocky shoreline in front of the cabin. With the presence of fish confirmed, we opt for an afternoon cruise
to scope out the lake. The graph reveals a maximum depth of 25 feet (7.6 m), with most of the lake around 15 feet (4.6 m) or shallower. At roughly three miles (5 km) long and one mile (.62 km) wide, the lake is small enough to navigate in a few hours, provided you don’t fish. We make it about a quarter way around before being seduced by a thick weedbed, where we cast jigs into breaks to pluck out chunky mid-day walleye.

Just about every bay is thick with cabbage. We anchor over another bed just a cast away from the cabin. Francine dunks a jig and worm into pockets under the boat, while I suspend a jig and leech under a slip-float. It’s a relaxing way to fish and accounts for numerous walleye to 22 inches (56 cm) and perch to 14 inches (36 cm).

After a solid dose of angling we’re able to unwind. Huge front windows within the vertical log cabin look out over a succession of pine-capped, round granite bluffs leading to the water’s edge. Propane fridge, stove, and lights are put to use as I crack a cold drink and prepare a plate-load of fresh fillets in the fading light of early evening.

Wanzatika’s shallows and depths

After sampling Wanzatika’s shallows, I head out the next day to probe her depths with a bottom-bouncer and crankbait. Francine opts for a bit of reading, but I promise to provide a full report. Nothing newsworthy results from trolling the depths until I locate an elongated hump rising to 13 feet (4 m) and tie into a good fish. I throw out a marker and criss-cross the hump. Every pass produces walleye either on top or along its edge.

Simply trolling the shoreline I connected with all species, but locating mid-lake humps, weedbeds, and shoreline dropoffs was the key to walleye and perch. Small pike lurked in every shallow bay, but larger ‘gators took jigs at the base of dropoffs.

More info

Location: 62 miles (100 km) northeast of Hearst.
Fish: Walleye, pike, perch.
Wildlife: Bald eagles, osprey, hawks, moose, waterfowl, herons, loons, bears, beaver, otter.
Season: May to September.
Accommodation: Log outpost camp, $695 May to June, $595 July to Sept., weekly.
Maximum number of guests: Six, more with extra cots.
Guides: Unnecessary for angling.
Gratuities: Appreciated for good service.
Payment: Cheques accepted for deposit only. Balance paid by cash, money order, traveller’s cheque.
Contact: Georges Veilleux, Hearst Air Service Ltd., P.O. Box 2650, Hearst, Ont. POL 1NO; phone 705-463-5700 (base), year-round 705-362- 5700;
E-mail: [email protected]