Fly in trophy pike and walleye fishing at Ontario's top fishing lodge.

It was at the sport shows across the Midwest, that I first heard rumors about the pike being taken from Kesagami Lake in Ontario’s James Bay Frontier. As a pike columnist for a national fishing magazine, I was making the rounds on the sport show circuit doing fishing seminars, and the name kept coming up in conversations about trophy pike destinations.

After hearing my fill of tales of monster pike bring fought and released at the remote Ontario lake, I posed a question to a travel representative of one of Ontario ’s top fishing districts. I asked what lodge he would recommend for me to visit to have the best chance of photographing some true “bruiser-sized” northern. I felt as though I was about to be offered a deal on a Rolex as he took me aside, out of earshot of the busy exhibit booth.

“Much as I hate to send anyone someplace out of my area,“ he whispered, glancing over his shoulder nervously to catch any eavesdroppers who might expose the turn-coat travel agent, “I’d recommend Kesagami.”

That did it! Six months and six hundred miles later I was greeting my guide for the day after stepping off a float plane on the shores of massive Kesagami Lake .

Within hours I was fast to the first of that week’s several “picture pike,” a 47-inch fish that did its best to pull the 23-foot boat on a Nantucket Sleighride before succumbing to the release cradle, and this in the middle of what owner, Bob Mattson, referred to as an “off” week in mid-August.

SOUTHERN HOSPITALIY IN THE GREAT NORTH WOODS

Mattson and business partner, Marsha Gibbs, are not your typical Canada fishing lodge owners. For one thing, they’re American and hail from far south of the Mason – Dixon line. For another, they’ve got a combined three-decades worth of hospitality experience behind them, for they operate one of the most successful barbecued rib restaurants chains in Florida. With locations in Naples, North Naples and Marco Island, Michelbob’s Ribs' reputation extends well beyond the Sunshine State – all the way to their lodge some 550 miles north of Toronto. Guests at Kesagami are served Michelbob’s famous ribs twice a week, and they enjoy five-star hospitality their entire stay.

Perhaps most important to the success of the operation, both Marsha and Bob are avid anglers themselves and know what American fishermen come to northern Ontario to find. In fact, Bob was looking for his own, personal, Canadian fishing getaway when he stumbled upon Kesagami.



	Kesagami's King-Sized Pike
	BY DAN ARMITAGE
It was at the sport shows across the Midwest, that I first heard rumors about the pike being taken from Kesagami Lake in Ontario’s James Bay Frontier. As a pike columnist for a national fishing magazine, I was making the rounds on the sport show circuit doing fishing seminars, and the name kept coming up in conversations about trophy pike destinations. After hearing my fill of tales of monster pike bring fought and released at the remote Ontario lake, I posed a question to a travel representative of one of Ontario ’s top fishing districts. I asked what lodge he would recommend for me to visit to have the best chance of photographing some true “bruiser-sized” northern. I felt as though I was about to be offered a deal on a Rolex as he took me aside, out of earshot of the busy exhibit booth. “Much as I hate to send anyone someplace out of my area,“ he whispered, glancing over his shoulder nervously to catch any eavesdroppers who might expose the turn-coat travel agent, “I’d recommend Kesagami.” That did it! Six months and six hundred miles later I was greeting my guide for the day after stepping off a float plane on the shores of massive Kesagami Lake . Within hours I was fast to the first of that week’s several “picture pike,” a 47-inch fish that did its best to pull the 23-foot boat on a Nantucket Sleighride before succumbing to the release cradle, and this in the middle of what owner, Bob Mattson, referred to as an “off” week in mid-August. SOUTHERN HOSPITALIY IN THE GREAT NORTH WOODS Mattson and business partner, Marsha Gibbs, are not your typical Canada fishing lodge owners. For one thing, they’re American and hail from far south of the Mason – Dixon line. For another, they’ve got a combined three-decades worth of hospitality experience behind them, for they operate one of the most successful barbecued rib restaurants chains in Florida. With locations in Naples, North Naples and Marco Island, Michelbob’s Ribs' reputation extends well beyond the Sunshine State – all the way to their lodge some 550 miles north of Toronto. Guests at Kesagami are served Michelbob’s famous ribs twice a week, and they enjoy five-star hospitality their entire stay. Perhaps most important to the success of the operation, both Marsha and Bob are avid anglers themselves and know what American fishermen come to northern Ontario to find. In fact, Bob was looking for his own, personal, Canadian fishing getaway when he stumbled upon Kesagami.			“I wanted a place with big fish and no public access. I wanted a true fly-in-only site,” he explained. He had seen too many other lakes in Ontario ruined by easy access and overkill, and had no intention of allowing either to take place at the location he finally chose. KESAGAMI’S CONTROVERSIAL CATCH-AND-RELEASE RULES That attitude explains the mandatory barbless, single-hook-lure, catch-and-release policy in effect at Kesagami, where even the release of walleye is urged. This controversial and rather unique policy in a region famous for supplying visiting anglers with freezers-full of fillets has lost Gibbs and Mattson more than a few bookings in their first two years of business. Those who chose to go elsewhere the first year the Mattsons operated Kesagami Lodge missed out on a season that saw more than a thousand pike over 15 pounds taken and released, including more than 100 pike that topped the 20-pound mark. Walleye up to 10 pounds are taken each year from Kesagami, and last August I personally caught what averaged-out to be the largest yellow perch I’ve ever seen. “We don’t mind people taking home a few walleye fillets, or cooking up some perch for a shore lunch,” said Mattson, as he supervised the frying of a huge pan of fillets over the driftwood fire. “But we draw the line at northern pike.” As her partner saw to the needs of some of their guests down the beach, Gibbs elaborated, “We’re both of the opinion that we want our children’s children to know this lake as it is, and to have the chance to catch these fish. These pike are of a unique size and age, and we think they are unique to this lake. We’ll shut down the lodge operation and keep this to ourselves rather than risk losing this fishery.” GRUNGE ROCK AND JIMMY HOUSTON You’ve got to sample first-hand what Gibbs describes to appreciate those words. I was lucky enough to do so with a fishing guide who seemed as out of place as Jimmy Houston in a mosh pit. Come to think of it, his greeting minutes after the plane landed (“Hey, let them boahs git them bags, and let’s us get to feshin’”) sounded a lot like Jimmy. Rather than the traditional Cree guide one comes to expect in these latitudes, fishing guide Vern Fulmer hails from South Georgia, from which he guides anglers to the giant largemouth bass of Lake Istokpoga, Florida. Fulmer also operates a fishing guide school (he’s got a master’s degree in education), and he taught me a thing or two about fishing for giant pike with single-hooked lures that I won’t soon forget...... Click here to go to page 2
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