Awesome Fall Fishing adventures at Tazin Lake Lodge Saskatchewan in the January issue of Midwest Outdoors Magazine.

1. Page 28 January 2024
by John Cleveland
It’s hard to resist the intoxicating wonder
of wild places, and the remote regions
of northern Saskatchewan are among
my favorite places to find the unfiltered
adventures I dream about. My friend Bob
Vogel and I were invited to Tazin Lake
Lodge in northern Saskatchewan by the
owners, Barry Prall and Trevor Montgomery,
to explore fall fishing in September. With
an estimated 100,000 lakes and rivers,
Saskatchewan has the reputation for yielding
exceptionally big trophy lake trout and
northern pike. Fall is my favorite time of year
to chase big lake trout with both fly rods and
conventional gear. As they begin moving
into shallow water to get ready to spawn,
they offer sight fishing opportunities and
spectacular battles when hooked in skinny
water.
When we arrived from Detroit in Fort
McMurray, Alberta on September 1st, the
smoke from forest fires in British Columbia
and the Northwest Territories had socked in
the area with a thick haze, and our pilot had
to land on instruments. The next day when
our float plane was to fly us to the lodge, the
visibility was too low to take off, and we were
sent back to our hotels and told to report
back to the airport the next morning at 7 am.
With visibility just above legal minimums
the next morning, our plane lifted from the
tarmac and flew an hour and a half northeast
to Tazin Lake. We found out later that our
plane was the only plane allowed to take off
that day from Fort McMurray.
As the float plane settled onto the lake, the
acrid taste in the air from distant wildfires in
the NWT was unmistakable. A thick, smoky
haze enveloped the crests of the steep hills
surrounding the lake, creating a surreal vision
with only the jagged tips of the hills visible,
giving us the Jurassic illusion of the thorny
backs of sleeping dinosaurs napping at the
edge of the lake.
After an enthusiastic greeting from the
camp’s staff, we headed up to the lodge, which
is perched on a sandy beachfront with an
expansive view of the lake. Following lunch
and a brief orientation to the coming week’s
fishing program, we headed to our assigned
cabins to gear up and start chasing fish.
The cabins at Tazin Lake are cozy and
paneled with the classic wilderness comfort
of knotty pine. They have hot and cold
running water, and a cast iron wood stove to
keep the cabin cozy and warm.
Tazin Lake is an emerald gem mounted in
a setting of birch- and spruce-covered slopes
accented with steep, rocky, Precambrian
chutes and outcroppings. The lake is of
modest size at 22 by 12 miles. But most
importantly, it is rich with ideal structure for
producing trophy lake trout, with depths up
to 900 feet, endless drop-offs and more bait
balls than I have ever seen on a fish finder. I
knew Tazin Lake held the DNA of monster
lake trout, as I have had several friends fish
successfully during the spring and summer
months, regularly catching lake trout 30, 40
and even 50 pounds and larger.
Keeping the faith
On the morning of our third day at
the lodge, I stood on the front deck at the
break of dawn. Temperatures had dropped
overnight to 36 degrees, and chilled
raindrops were ricocheting off the porch’s
shingles from a passing front. I watched a
stream of purling white smoke ascend into
the wet air from the fieldstone chimney of
the lodge and inhaled the scent of the rain-
infused wind, sipping my first cup of coffee
while pondering the past two days of fishing.
We had spent the past two days covering
as much water as possible, with Trevor in
search of spawning lake trout while trying to
pattern their movements. The surface water
temperatures were unseasonably high at 57 to
59 degrees. Lake trout generally don’t begin
to congregate to spawn until the surface water
temperatures drop to 54 degrees or lower. We
were swimming upstream against the odds.
Yet with the 36-degree temps registering
this morning, and a forecast for cooling
temperatures the rest of the week, Bob and
I were optimistic and kept the faith that our
luck was about to change.
We fished hard all day, targeting pike
in a channel that led into a bay called “The
Tree” that held excellent structure and
expansive cabbage beds. We caught dozens
of respectable fish, but just couldn’t make the
connection with the trophies we were hoping
to find. In hindsight, I think the big girls
(large trophy pike are females) had moved
into the deeper water where the temperatures
were cooler and the bait more plentiful.
When they disperse to deeper water, thry
can become difficult to locate as they are
spread out and suspend throughout the lake.
A couple of the other guests in camp had the
good fortune to land a 43- and a 46 1/2-
inch pike today. Tomorrow we will focus on
finding trophy lake trout.
tempt 'em.
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Smoke on the Water in Northern Saskatchewan
Tazin Lake’s staff greeting new arrivals at the dock.
Sharing a wilderness adventure with friends is what it is
all about.
Trevor Montgomery hoisting Bob Vogel’s well-earned trophy lake trout.

2. January 2024 Page 29
Patience and persistence
The mists of morning hovered over the
lake like a predator as I stood on the front
deck of the lodge, sipping a cup of hot coffee.
The view across the lake was spectacular, as a
horizonal fog bank cascaded down the steep
hills across the lake like a waterfall spilling
into the lake. Bob and I were confident today
was the day the magic would happen, and the
trophy trout would come out and play.
We encountered challenging conditions
on day four with temperatures in the low 40s
and the wind sporadically blowing pelting
rain throughout the day from the west at 15
to 25 mph. Trevor suggested we head directly
to a reef called “Trout Rock” and troll for lake
trout. Bob had just cracked a joke that he
was done fishing and ready to start catching
when his baitcasting rod buckled with the
strike from a powerful fish. He worked hard
for the next 15 minutes to respool the 150
feet of line the trout was connected to before
swinging it boatside, where Trevor rolled the
huge trout into the net for a win! This was
Bob’s first trophy lake trout at 45 inches and
estimated to be 35 to 37 pounds. After a few
victory whoops and grip-and-grin photos,
Bob eased the trout into the lake. With a
powerful swipe of its broad tail, it headed
back to the reef to rest.
Shortly after Bob landed his big fish, I
was jigging a Rocket Devle in front of a large,
boomerang-shaped arc on the fish finder
when my rod was almost yanked out of my
hands by a powerful take. I played tug-of-
war for 10 minutes with what turned out
to be one of the most powerfully stubborn,
18-pound trout I have ever fought. Patience,
persistence, and a good guide had finally
paid off for us. The remainder of the day, we
hooked and released 15 to 20 smaller trout.
The stocky, muscular condition of all the fish
we caught this week speaks to the healthy
forage base of ciscoes, sculpin and other
baitfish we regularly observed as “bait balls”
on the fish finder screen while trolling.
After 10 hours of fishing in the wet chill
of the day, we headed back to the lodge and
our cabin to fire up the wood stove. And to
celebrate the kind of day that makes you
feel alive and tested by the harsh elements
of an untamed land. There is something
particularly satisfying about striking a match
to the kindling in a wood stove, the spark
and pop of the local spruce logs and the first
push of hot air as the logs begin to burn. We
were quickly rewarded with the radiating
heat from the stove’s iron skin as we changed
into dry clothes and headed to the lodge for
a great meal, fish stories and the satisfying
camaraderie that develops with new friends
met at a remote fishing lodge.
A spectacular theater
Our final day was spent trolling and
jigging in the morning while watching the
ethereal images of elusive trout on the fish
finder, with little effect other than to enhance
our frustration at their lack of enthusiasm
for our baits. Trevor suggested we give
pike fishing a try in a nearby bay. As we
slipped into the mouth of the bay, I noticed
two bald eagles resting their wings on the
morning thermals above us, their majestic
presence adding to the magical vision of
the shallow pike waters we were about to
explore. The water in front of me exploded
as a pike absolutely blasted the Dardevle
spoon I cranked in at full speed on my first
cast. For the next two hours, almost every
cast we made with our Dardevles was met
with big takes from enthusiastic pike. It
was an absolute blow-out finish on our last
day, hooking more than 50 feisty pike in a
spectacular theater set with beautiful fall
scenery.
If we are lucky enough, we ultimately find
more than just fish on a wilderness adventure.
The scenery, wildlife, the chase and challenge,
and the people we share it with are the
elements that paint the memories of an epic
fishing adventure. Once again, northern
Saskatchewan and Tazin Lake Lodge have
provided the perfect canvas on which to paint
another inspiring adventure. MWO
John Cleveland is the Marketing Director for
Dardevle spoons, made by Eppinger Manufacturing
Company. He is also an award-winning freelance outdoor
writer and featured speaker on topics relating to his
passion for catching big fish in wild places with fly and
conventional tackle. Email: john@dardevle.com.
MidWest Outdoors “Helping you enjoy the outdoors!”
Tazin’s main lodge is perched on a sandy beachfront with a spectacular view of the lake.
The smoky morning haze blurred the sun’s rays like a watercolor, turning the land into a mystical painting.
For more information…
FishHuntSask.ca or TazinLake.com
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