---

Remember to take a kid fishing for he will be taking you when you get old!Jon Hibbard

---

Ryan’s pike wasn’t just any catch. After he reeled in that 45” beauty, we went on to land a 43” and two 40” pike—back-to-back-to-back. It was a record for us that I doubt we’ll ever break. When Ryan first hooked the fish, he thought he was snagged on a rock. Twenty minutes later, he was holding that 45” “rock” with an enormous grin on his face.

At Kakinagmak, you never know what surprises await. My youngest brother caught a 35” lake trout while jigging for walleyes in just six feet of water. That catch brought out a sky-wide grin too. We tried out every bait in our tackle boxes just for fun. To save time switching lures, I hung them on a moose antler shed on the front of our boat—it became known as my “Kakinagmak Tackle Box.”

Over the years, my brothers, sons, and I have fished Marchel, Barnett, Nemei, and Kakinagmak during spring, summer, and fall. Every time, no matter the season, the experience has been reliably fantastic. Together, we’ve caught multiple trophy trout, walleye, and northern pike. My youngest brother is a chef, my middle brother is a master with a fillet knife, my middle son has a gift with a jig, and my youngest son? He’s our good-luck charm.

One evening, my son and I were tasked with catching a couple of walleye for dinner. Sixty-five walleyes later, we came back laughing under the rising moon, thanks to a tube jigging frenzy on a reef we stumbled across.

For all of us—my sons, both engineers, and my brothers, who run a finishing company—life is demanding and fast-paced. But at Kakinagmak, it’s like going to church. Peace and quiet. Just us on the lake. Our only job? Making fishing memories that will become the stuff of family legends.

I’ve been traveling to Canada as a sportsman since 1978 and even have a cabin in Saskatchewan. But in recent years, I keep finding myself at Kississing. Whether it’s spring, summer, or fall, the lakes and the experiences are always incredible. The days are long, offering hours of fishing under breathtaking sunsets and the haunting calls of loons.

Kississing sets the bar high. Over the years, I’ve fished at lodges where the pilots were unreliable, the planes needed jump-starting, roofs leaked, refrigerators didn’t work, and water systems required “MacGyvering.” At one place, we even had to deal with dead birds on the bunks!

At Kississing, none of that happens. Matt, Eric, and the other pilots are seasoned pros. The coolers are always full of ice, the staff performs fly-over camp checks, and they’re responsive if any issues arise. Jasmine, one of the Trip Coordinators, is incredibly organized and a delight to work with. Their team goes above and beyond to make every trip the experience of a lifetime.

After countless trips, Kississing has become the yardstick by which I measure all other fishing adventures.

---

…the trip was better than he imagined or expected! We caught over 1,100 fish total on this trip.

---

The fishing was unbelievable this year! The new guest with us was speechless when it came to the fishing. He said the stories we told him about our prior trips were not exaggerated, and the trip was better than he imagined or expected! We caught over 1,100 fish total on this trip. I have included photos of a giant walleye of 26-inches, and a 38-inch pike caught on Siers Lake.

We also had an amazing half day at Einarson Lake, catching approximately 50 walleye in about four hours, with 15 or so of those 24 inches or larger. The biggest was a 28-and-a-half-inch hog shown in the first photo featured in this story.

The service was great, as usual, and we have already booked our trip for next year!

---

Fishing was terrific, and all the fish seemed healthy and strong.

---

A few of the things that we thought completely set Kississing apart from the others:

1. Cabin was well maintained and the fresh exterior stain/metal roof/upkeep was something we have never seen.
2. The cabin surroundings were clean and free of debris!
3. Loved that there was NO gas house with a leaking 500-gallon gas tank. The clean 5-gallon cans neatly lined up was a treat - as simple as that may sound!
4. Kitchen furnishings were great and there were no missing utensils.
5. Shower and cabin were CLEAN! That was a new experience for us!
6. Pilots were terrific, friendly and very service oriented.
7. We had motor trouble (and were stranded) on Guthrie, and within 2 hours a pilot found us, landed, towed us away from the shore, and installed a new motor. It was a pretty incredible experience and a 1st class response!
8. Fishing was terrific, and all the fish seemed healthy and strong.
9. The trail to Guthrie was well maintained and obstacle free.
10. Loved the boardwalk from the dock to the cabin. No more tracking mud, dirt, debris into the cabin. That was impressive.

We had a great trip and are anxious to come back again!

The planning staff at Kississing sent news as it became official and helped us process the necessary paperwork to cross the border. Several days later we crossed into Canada at the Montana border and began enjoying the laid back travel in the prairies of Saskatchewan and Manitoba.

It was Pat’s third trip and my ninth to various Kississing outpost camps. We had chosen Siers, opting to fish three lakes and to enjoy the variety of fish species, targeting fall lake trout.

As usual upon arriving, the staff was helpful and had everything ready to go the morning of our flight from the main lodge to Siers Lake outpost. In less than an hour, we were landing at our cabin and getting organized, while enjoying the crisp weather and fall colors.

Excited as kids waiting for Santa, we were talking about years of past fishing and years yet to come, but were anxious to wet a line.

We always make our trips a bit more interesting by betting on the first fish of the day and the first fish of each species.

Day one, we decided to fish close to camp and test the waters. The fish were plentiful. The weather was perfect for drift fishing. The call of the loons was haunting. We made a short day of day one, eating an early dinner and heading to bed with the loons lulling us into dream-time.

After a good night’s sleep we were up at O-dark-thirty, getting ready for a longer day, enjoying our cozy cabin with a breakfast of hot coffee, bacon, eggs and flap jacks, doused with real Canadian Maple Syrup.

We headed to Einerson Lake, which required a short walk and portage, ready for some lake trout fishing. We loaded the boat and headed out, placing the standard fishing bets.

Pat being relatively new to lake trout fishing was not the favorite of the day for winning the first fish bet. I did give him a bit of advice on how to fish for them to make the odds more even.

---

I’m very sure most days we exceeded 50 fish and were usually back to the cabin by early afternoon, kicked back and enjoying the porch, with a cold and delicious.

---

A nice slow troll produced the first fish of the day for me, a healthy laker, first fish and first laker. A two Loony fish! Since we were fishing deep water, 30-plus feet, which was also colder, Pat had little chance of catching up to my lead by bagging a walleye or northern.

We were drifting, bouncing the bottom. I had on a jig and Pat was using a heavy silver Cast Master. It wasn’t long before Pat announced he had a snag, one of the most annoying fishing problems. I turned around and was about to tell him it’s a clean bottom, then saw the tell-tale slow repeated bend of the pole. I excitedly told Pat I thought he’d hooked a laker, a big one! About the same time, he made the same realization.

Ten minutes later, after several good runs, the fish started to give in. Slowly, it surfaced. I saw the tell-tale white spot on its tail. It was a monster walleye. As the big ones do, down it went several more times before finally surrendering.

Pat eased the fish to the edge of the boat and I could see it was trophy walleye and only lightly hooked. My heart sank at that point as I remembered we had forgotten to bring the net. We’d been in too much of a hurry that morning. I almost made a grab at the lip but knew better than to do that with a walleye, especially this one with its large cat-like teeth. Before it got itself loose of the hook, we both saw it up close and estimated the fish to be an honest 30 inches.

It was great seeing that monster, better than losing it deep, not seeing it and wondering. We would have released it anyway. Surely a walleye that large was a female, producing a lot of eggs over her life and would do the same next spring.

We caught several other dandies during the week, and always remembered to bring the net after losing the monster walleye. We each caught a laker in excess of 30 inches, several more trophy walleye and too many northern. We got plenty of action every day, though we did not count total catches. I’m very sure most days we exceeded 50 fish and were usually back to the cabin by early afternoon, kicked back and enjoying the porch, with a cold and delicious.

WARNING!! I have found the one drawback going to Kississing for your fishing adventures: You get totally spoiled with the fishing and eventually have to leave and wait another year for a premium fishing experience. I did find a bit of remedy for that though. I go up twice a year now.

What a Trip!

Story by Glen Smith

It starts with awesome service and friendly help and that is the tone throughout the trip. We had a pleasant flight (not so high, so you see beautiful lakes and scenery the whole way – it was a 40 minute flight). We landed at beautiful Hassett Lake on a gorgeous day. Water is so clear you can see down to 30 feet.

Cabin is a beauty. Full log, fantastic view of the lake and fully equipped; fridge, gas stove, hot shower, comfortable beds, and a great living room with room to tell tales in front of the fireplace.

Fishing was spectacular (see video). We lost count of how many trout and pike we caught the first day.

We did the short walk to Guthrie twice and caught plenty of Walleye for an evening meal, breakfast, and our limit to take home.

Our group of four are very experienced fishers. Between us we have caught over 100 master angler fish in six species. But we have NEVER had three days of such spectacular fishing. WHAT A TRIP!

---

Cabin is a beauty. Fantastic view of the lake and fully equipped; fridge, gas stove, hot shower, comfortable beds, and a great living room to tell tales in front of the fireplace.

---

I hooked into what we thought was a giant trout but turned out to be a 42 inch pike in the first few hours. It was exhausted after the amazing fight it gave. It was the biggest pike I had ever caught.

Guthrie Lake was a beautiful lake that I would suggest bringing a camera to in the evening. Once we found the spot we slammed the walleye and they were in there so thick when Nevin put in a five of diamond spoon, he still caught them, cast after cast. We had a fish fry one or two nights after and that was amazing.

The next time we were on Hassett we had already caught a ton of fish when my dad caught a 34 inch trout. Not too long after that my grandpa caught a 36 inch trout. That evening my cousin had hooked into a fish that was giving a fight I had never seen a fish give. It took over ten minutes when it finally showed itself. When I netted it we went wild! It measured out to be a 43 inch Laker that had to weigh forty pounds.

What a trip with such great service and help. None of us will ever forget that trip. It really was the trip of a lifetime.

---

I wouldn’t be able to guess how many fish we caught in the end, but it was easily into the hundreds between the four of us in three days of fishing. It was by far the best fishing our group had ever experienced.

---

Give Me A Hand With These Hooks

I was out by myself on Kakinagimak, “Kak”, one evening. It was overcast, raining and windy, and Sue had decided to stay in and wash her hair. I can’t blame her. If I had hair, I probably would have done the same thing.

I was having a very good evening. The bigger fish were biting! I probably caught 20 fish in 2 hours, including a 12 lb. pike, a few 3 lb. walleye, a 10 lb. pike (and a bottle of wine). Then things took a turn for the worse.

In Canada alone, I have caught and landed over 30,000 fish. I have probably caught and landed another 20,000 in the U.S. and Mexico. I was pretty sure I knew what I was doing. Or not.

I caught another 10 lb. pike on a Rattletrap with two sets of treble hooks. Normally, I use a landing glove to protect my hand and to get a grip on the fish. Pike are very slippery. For reasons that I can’t explain, I didn’t put on my landing glove. I grabbed the pike around the head with my bare left hand. He jumped and I lost my grip.The rear treble hook went all the way through the “web” between the thumb and index finger of my left hand. The pike was thrashing around while hanging from the hook. Moderate pain. Lots of blood. No panic.

I tried to grab the pike with my right hand and had some degree of success. I got ahold on the fish but, he jumped again, and the front treble went completely through my right thumb. I was “handcuffed” – left hand attached to the lure, right hand attached to the lure and the lure attached to the fish. Pain was up to serious and blood was all over my rain suit and the bottom of the boat. Panic.

I calmed down and was looking around trying to figure out what to do next and I started laughing. I don’t know why. It just seemed like a scene from a Three Stooges or Laurel and Hardy movie. I finally figured that the only thing I had left were my teeth. Then I thought that if I get another hook in my lip, life, as I know it, would be over. Something is going to get RIPPED out. I clamped my teeth on the hook that was in my right hand and pulled it out – almost. I got it out, but the pike jumped again, and I inserted the hook through a slightly different place in my thumb. I tried again. This time I got it out and unhooked the fish.

I assured the pike that all the blood was mine, not his. He didn’t seem to care. I put him back in the water and he swam away happy and covered with my blood. I was not quite as jovial. I pulled the hook out of my left hand with my pliers and called Sue on the two-way radio. I asked her to meet me at the dock with the first aid kit.

After another sip of wine, I found I could barely start the motor or put it in gear because of all the slippery blood on my hands. I finally got the motor running and in gear and headed in. I met Sue at the dock, did some medical repairs, started a round of antibiotics and did the intelligent thing – I went back out fishing.

Good times! Other than a couple more scars, I healed nicely.