One of the finest and most unique pike lakes in Ontario is Kesagami, a little-known gem in the northwest corner of the province about 60 miles south of James Bay.  By any standard, Kesagami fits the Ministry of Tourism appellation “Crown Jewel”.

                An isolated water without road access, Kesagami Lake makes up most of Kesagami Provincial Park.  Covering more than 100 square miles, the lake is situated in a flat and poorly drained region of peat bog and muskeg.  The surrounding terrain contains flora rare or unique to Canada, including the fen meadow, and it is noted for high peat banks, some 13 feet deep.

                Kesagami is an unusually shallow lake:  the average depth is only 7 feet (maximum depth is 29 feet).  The lake has 180 miles of shoreline, many bays, and seven islands, one of which recently produced a 17^th century French axe, musket barrels, and bone fragments.  Speculation is that the island may have once been an aboriginal cemetery.

                Being shallow, Kesagami  warms early, which helps explain a growth rate well above normal for the region.  This, combined with a baitfish population of ciscoes, suckers, and whitefish, produces a prodigious number of walleyes and many unusually plump northern pike.

                Indeed, there are many pike here that go 15 pounds or better, and some are in the 25- to 35- pound range.  In two days, Charlie McDonald and I caught two 20-pounders and one 25-pounder.  I’ve heard that in one year during the late 1980s the owners of the lake’s only lodge sent fifty northern pike over 20 pounds to a single taxidermist.  Three years ago, Bob Mattson and Marsha Gibbs purchased Kesagami Wilderness Lodge, a four-star Swiss Alpine facility, and instituted new conservation policies, including barbless hooks and catch-and-release for pike.  The season was shortened to limit overall fishing pressure, and each boat was equipped with a fish cradle instead of a landing net.

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