Dreaming of a trip to Canada’s remote northern waters? Here’s a primer on the north’s iconic fish

LAKE TROUT

I remember watching The Red Fisher Show when I was a kid, mesmerized by Red’s Scuttlebutt Lodge tales about fishing remote waters. The episodes that intrigued me most were always about Red catching lake trout. Arguably the most iconic of our northern fish, lakers are the species most anglers think of first when imagining a trip to northern Canada.

These coveted fish are widely distributed across Canada, found in every territory and province, except in P.E.I. and the island of Newfoundland. While Lake Superior holds some very large lakers, the biggest fish are mostly confined to lakes in the N.W.T. and the northern reaches of the Prairie provinces. Manitoba’s Nueltin Lake, Lake Athabasca straddling the Saskatchewan-Alberta border, and the N.W.T.’s Great Bear Lake, Great Slave Lake and Lac La Martre are probably the most well-known destinations for producing trophy-class lakers. That said, large fish can be found in most of our distant northern waters.

In those more northern lakes, where water temperatures remain cold throughout the year, lakers can be consistently caught in less than 20 feet of water, and often much shallower. These are relatively unproductive waters, where the trout will aggressively attack any large, slowly trolled lure. The likes of #4 Len Thompson and Eppinger Huskie Devle spoons are popular, for example, as are Worden’s T-60 FlatFish.

Arguably our most iconic northern fish, lakers are the species most anglers think of first when imagining a trip to northern Canada

Populations in more southern lakes migrate from shallow water in the spring to cooler, deeper holes in the summer months, then back shallow in the fall to spawn. I recall one day on Alberta’s Andrew Lake when we searched fruitlessly for several hours before finally finding fish congregated in an isolated, 80-foot-deep hole. Having cracked the code, we jigged up one lake trout after another on one-ounce polar bear hair jigs until we tired of the game and went searching elsewhere.

While most anglers fish for lake trout with hardware, fly anglers will also get in on the game, especially during the shoulder seasons. My most memorable lake trout experience took place on the N.W.T.’s Stark River. Anchored in fast water, my partner and I landed 105 fish in one day, casting large white streamer flies into the agitated water. Our casting arms became so worn out by the constant bulldogging of hooked lakers that we ended up holding our fly rods in our off hands and reeling backwards.

Lakers don’t freeze particularly well if you plan to keep some for the table, so they’re best enjoyed freshly caught. And nothing screams Canadiana like a shorelunch of freshly caught trout cooked on an open fire alongside sliced potatoes, onions and a can of beans.