From $599 USD per person (see price list below for conditions)
Unguided Albany River Tributaries Package
Multiples of 4 persons – 2 to 21 Days Unguided fishing canoeing
Everything is included but your gear and spirits. Using our Norseman aircraft, the minimum number of your party must be two, however, four works well. The maximum number of your party is unlimited. We will take you to rivers and streams that are hardly if ever fished before and where this generation of fish has hardly if ever seen a fisherman! These kinds of virgin waters can be found North Of Latitude 50 in the tributaries to the world famous mighty Albany River. The fishing here can be as good as it was in the time before man. West Caribou Air will take you to these virgin waters where the Ontario Speckled Trout (Brook Trout), have probably never seen a lure or an artificial fly before! Our North Of 50 Albany tributaries fly-in fishing package for Speckled Trout will provide you with a fishing experience in near virgin waters for a price you can afford.
We have several secret rivers that we have researched in the Albany River area. We do not divulge the names, coordinates, or locations of these secret streams for competitive reasons, I’m sure you will appreciate this when you get there, and you haul in one after another beautiful Speckled Trout. This calls for the truly dedicated fly fishermen to fish the best of the best un-pilfered Albany River tributaries during prime season. You will paddle down stream, fishing at all the pools and rapids along the way, and camp alongside the river in tents. Depending on the river flow and fishing quality, campsite locations may be setup abeam a fishing hotspot. Each day you can range to work the prime fish pools in search of that trophy Brook Trout. A guide is available on request at extra charge.
Completely Unspoiled Secret Rivers
What's Included
Our Albany Tributaries Unguided fly-in fishing trip North Of 50 includes the following.
Loading and unloading of your bags and equipment on our aircraft.
Introductions made to your guide (if applicable) and pilot.
Pre-flight briefing questions and answer session when necessary.
An equipment check to insure you have brought the necessary personal items listed below.
Flight in with passengers, gear and canoes, and pickup down stream on the agreed upon date) in our aircraft.
Emergency satellite telephone. (Available at extra cost, book early to reserve).
Detailed written flight notification stored at our base camp showing your departure date, return date, GPS Coordinates of your route and passenger names and other detail as required by Transport Canada.
What You Bring
(Remember, all must be carried in a canoe, and you may need to portage. See note on weight limits)
If flying by commercial airline, your cost of flights to Sioux Lookout Ontario.
Transportation to our float plane base from Sioux Lookout if arriving by commercial airline.
Transportation costs to our float plane base if arriving by automobile.
Personal Clothing and toiletries.
Sleeping bags.
Tents
fishing rod and tackle.
Hip or chest waders.
Live Bait.
Hotel Expense for late day arrivals.
Dishes and pots and pans.
Compact cooking stove
All meals and beverages.
Canoes, paddles, lifejackets (We have canoes for rent if you don’t have one)
Emergency kit required for canoe and a first aid emergency kit. (We have these kits for rent if you don’t have one)
Getting Here - Arrival and Scheduling
Your all inclusive trip with West Caribou Air begins at Savant Lake Ontario. Arrive at least one hour in advance of your departure time.
It takes about an hour for introductions, your preflight briefing and to load the aircraft. You must arrive at least one hour before your scheduled 'Latest Possible Departure Time'. If you arrive in either Sioux Lookout at such an hour that you cannot arrive at our float plane base at Savant Lake one hour before your 'Latest Possible Departure Time', you will have to arrive a day early and stay overnight in a hotel at your expense. There five hotels in Sioux Lookout and one hotel in Savant Lake.
We recommend an early or mid morning departure from our Savant Lake Ontario float plane base. The flight to your North Of 50 drop-off point and virgin fishing can take from 1 hour to 1 1/2hour. You must confirm the 'Latest Possible Departure time' for your trip. Like any airline, we also have hourly schedules and commitments made in advance to our clients so you must insure that you arrive at our float plane base at the agreed upon hour or risk missing your departure window. Upon such an event, it may cause a delay of many hours or even a day to reschedule your departure time.
View our map.
Arriving By Commercial Airline at Sioux Lookout:
You can fly to us by commercial airline. Fly to Thunder Bay Ontario or Winnipeg Manitoba and book a connecting flight offered by either Bearskin Airlines or Wasaya Airlines, to Sioux Lookout Ontario. Rent a car to drive to Savant lake or we will have you picked up at Sioux Lookout and return you to Sioux Lookout at the end of your trip for a total cost $270.00.
Connecting flights to Sioux Lookout are available from Thunder Bay Ontario or Winnipeg Manitoba using Bearskin Airlines 807-485-2441 http://www.bearskinairlines.com/. Wasaya Airlines 1-877-492-7292 http://www.wasaya.com/. The flights are approximately One hour and fifteen minutes and one hour and fifty minutes respectively.
Your package begins at Savant Lake. It takes an hour or so to travel from Sioux Lookout to our float plane base at Savant Lake. Therefore any parties not able to arrive at Sioux Lookout earlier than noon on departure day must plan arrive a day early and stay at a hotel overnight in Sioux Lookout. Rent a car from Sioux Lookout for a week and drive to Savant Lake or we will have you picked up at your hotel about 9:00 am on the day of departure and drive you and your party to our float plane base at Savant Lake. Total cost to be picked up at and returned to Sioux Lookout by our method is $270.00 for a party of four.
Arriving By Automobile at Savant Lake:
Your package begins at Savant Lake. View our map. The driving time from Thunder Bay Ontario to our float plane base North of 50 at Savant Lake is about four hours. Driving time from Winnipeg is about six hours.
Questions - Call Don or Clayton Downton at 807-584-2944 (summer) 807-476-0323 (winter)
E-mail:
(We offer the best Speckled Trout fishing in the world simply because the fish are bountiful and the virgin waters we take you to have hardly if ever experienced any fishing pressure because of the extreme remoteness of our secret spots.)
Virgin Fly-in fishing North Of 50
"Virgin fishing" is the right label to describe our Albany Tributaries fly-in fishing trip. Most of mankind has never experienced virgin fishing North Of 50. The concept of Virgin fishing is unimaginable to lifelong fishermen have never fished North of 50! The idea that a stream exists that has never or hardly ever been fished before just does not seem creditable.
Our ultimate package "Virgin fishing North of 55" means flying even further north to the Hudson’s Bay Tributaries and into regions that have hardly been explored let alone fished before. To go further north means traveling near the tree line and the arctic tundra.
Our North of 50, Albany Tributaries Virgin Fly-in fishing trip consists of two to twenty one days (same cost) of fishing including the trip to the drop-off location and the trip from your downstream pickup location. Transportation is provided by our own Norseman Aircraft. A large and comfortable float plane constructed for bush flying operations. Speckled Trout are the main species to be caught on our North of 50 Albany Tributaries Virgin Fly-in fishing trip. However, the Albany also holds some of the best Walleye, Northern Pike, and Sturgeon fishing found in the world. You can catch 5 to 10 pound Walleye, 20 to 30 pound Northern Pike, and dinosaur size Sturgeon. Speckles in the 2 to 4 pound range are common; 5 to 8 pound Speckles are possible. Speckles can be fished with light spin cast tackle or fly rods. You can bring both.
Our Package Description North of 50
Our North of 50 Albany Tributaries Virgin Fly-in fishing trips of two to twenty one days (with guide, satellite phone and canoe if required),
On guided trips, food can be supplied at an extra cost, or you can bring your own favorites. Your guide will help erect your tent (some help is needed), help in the cooking of meals, lead you down the rapids, and portages, show you how to catch that majestic Brookie, and lookout for your well-being.
On unguided trips, you provide your own tent, food, and other items detailed above. While we offer fixed length trip packages, unguided trips can be planned for as few as two days and as long as you like.
Common features of all West Caribou fly-in fishing and hunting trips are: the high level of service we provide, the quality of our equipment and the safety considerations we make. The experience and skill of your guide cannot be rivaled. Hospitality is provided in the warm and gracious tradition of all Northern peoples. Our motto is "No Surprises" and we take time and care to explain all aspects your fly-in trip from beginning to end. We start however by first describing the fishing, and your wilderness fly-in canoeing adventure.
Why Tent Fly-in fishing?
A tent rather than a constructed outpost camp is offered and preferable for the following reasons. Virgin fly-in fishing can be found North of 50 with West Caribou Air as your outfitter and guide. We understand that you may prefer, even demand a constructed outpost camp but first consider what you will miss!
At latitude 50 and above we find the greatest concentrations of virgin lakes and streams that provide spectacular virgin fishing. fishing here may be equivalent to what fishing was like at the beginning of time or before man became a fisherman. We offer the best Speckled Trout fishing in the world simply because the lakes and streams we take you to have hardly if ever been fished before. The gene pools of these northern fish have not been devastated as it has been in the south. Trophies can be caught here. Outpost camps are virtually non-existent at the lakes, rivers, or streams where we take you. You can't catch trophy fish on a lake, a river or a stream at any latitude where there is a fixed outpost camp as all the trophies would have been taken long ago. We spend a lot of time looking for and testing suitable unnamed virgin lakes and streams for spectacular fishing. They can only be found where man has hardly ever, if ever fished before!
fishing Pressure
We take our fishing party clients to locations that are extremely remote. Therefore, all the senior trophy fish have not already been caught. Catching a trophy is a thrill but the trophy fishing can't last if we keep going back for more. We monitor the size and weight of the catch reported by our parties to ensure the quality of fishing is maintained. When we must move to a new location, we leave to give the remaining senior fish time to spawn new generations of large fish. If we were to take all the trophies, we would damage the gene pool, so we move to a new virgin location sooner than later. We do not return for a set period of time until a younger generation of fish has grown large! This is mostly applicable to lakes. Rivers and streams are different, as there is moving water; a continuous flow of water brings a food and oxygen supply. This makes for a more conducive habitat for fish. Also, fish migrate up and downstream on the steams, so from year to year there may be a whole new batch of fish.
fishing Locations
Most of our secret lakes and streams are not named and we don't publicize their locations except for our non-secret non-sensitive locations. We will discuss suitable locations with you on the telephone anytime. We only reveal the exact location once you arrive at our float plane base.
Your fly-in fishing destination, or start point location for the canoe expeditions are selected when we understand what fish species you would like to pursue and what other considerations should be made to accommodate the interests, experience and skills of your party. We custom build each and every trip to suit your needs and demands. A written record of your destination and route, including GPS coordinates is on file in our management office. Your official flight itinerary and flight notification is a matter of record required by the Canadian Federal Government and is properly logged before you leave our float plane base.
Known for their breathtaking and brilliant colorations, the brook trout is a fish that has won the hearts of many anglers. The aura, and excitement, of fishing these Brookies giving forth such a scrappy fight, tasting delicious in the pan, and certainly its beauty has landed it at the top of the list amongst our fish in Ontario
For those of you who would like to experience this North of 50 Albany Tributaries Virgin Fly-in fishing trip , but are not interested in having a guide along with you, you can still go and do your own thing. Guides are available at an extra $175 per day. However, there are so many fish up there, that it’s hard not to catch fish. Once we bring you to our secret locations, and then it’s up to you to have the trip of a lifetime to yourselves, take lots of pictures. This package allows you to experience a quality of fishing that you couldn’t imagine for a price you can afford.
Packages and Prices USD
- Albany tributaries Specks, Walleye, Pike
- Unguided Party of 1 North of 50 $1399
- Unguided Party of 2 North of 50 $679
- Unguided Party of 3 North of 50 $829
- Unguided Party of 4 North of 50 $619
- Unguided Party of 5 North of 50 $599
- Guided -All-inclusive Party of 3 -5 days North of 50 4 people $1399
NOTE:
These prices subject to change without notice to account for fuel surcharges and US dollar to Canadian dollar exchange rates. Taxes are not included in the price and must be added. A 3% surcharge is also added for payments made by Visa.
NOTE:
Weight Limits - VERY IMPORTANT Aircraft space is limited. Please pack light and compact. Up to 100 lbs per person is allowed (for gear, food and beverages). For longer flights this limit may be reduced (depending upon party size). Overload charges may apply where additional weight and bulk require additional flights. Please contact us with passenger weights before the trip, and we will advise exactly how much cargo you can bring to avoid overload charges. For packages with even numbers of people, canoes work well. For packages with odd numbers of people works well if one Person CANes a Kayak, or one person is small, such as a child, and sits in the bottom center of the canoe.
About Brook Trout
Brook trout are one of the world's most beautiful species of fish. They require very clean, cold, fast moving water and must spawn on dirt free gravel under moving water. There are few places anywhere in which these requirements are met and fishing pressure has reduced most populations to a precious very few. The Hudson’s Bay tributaries are an exception. Brook Trout will make late-summer/fall spawning runs up the Hudson’s Bay tributaries. Therefore this would be the time to fish them. In this world famous Brook Trout habitat. Pound for pound, the brook trout is one of the finest fish, and battling one in strong currents is a true test of one's angling abilities.
Bait & Gear:
Brook trout love live bait. A hook, worm, and split-shot combination is a simple and effective way to catch them. They also eat minnows, leeches, hellgrammites, and insects, such as mayfly nymphs. Small to mid-sized spoons, worm-tipped spinners, minnow-imitating crankbaits, small jigs, and artificial flies are also good baits. Silver and gold, accented with blue, green, and red are reliable lure finishes. White, black, or pink can also be the ticket some days. However, landing a trout with a fly rod is a great experience; the muddler minnow is a favorite of fly-fishermen. The Brookie will often dart out from rocks or beneath boulders to take an insect or beetle from the waters surface. For many anglers, this is when the true sport of flyfishing really sinks in, and a cunning game of smarts begins to take over.
Brookies gorge on insects, making them ideal for fly fishers. Dries, wets, and nymph patterns work well, as do minnow imitating streamers. Big specks especially take sculpin patterns, such as Muddler Minnows. These river Brookies can be found in spring holes and cold, aerated pools at the base of falls and rapids.
A light-action 7-foot rod and a spinning reel holding 4- to 8-pound-test monofilament will handle brookies, including lunkers, in open water. Light- to medium-action fly tackle is also effective. For finicky lake specks, customize a large wobbling spoon. Replace the treble hook with a No. 8 single attached to a 4- inch mono leader. Pierce an earthworm through the head and retrieve slowly, imparting a gentle movement to the bait. Use split-shot to fine-tune for depth. Experimentation pays off!
Migration:
Brook Trout need lots of oxygen and a water temperature of 53 degrees or colder. Because of this, Brook Trout actively migrate up and down the rivers all year looking for the right conditions. In the spring, the Brook Trout are easy to find. Any river section with a rapids or strong current will hold the trout. As the season changes into summer, the Brook Trout get ready to migrate. Warm surface water flows out of the lakes and into the rivers. At the mouth of the river, the water is too warm for trout so they migrate down stream. As the water runs through rocks it cools down. Also, subterranean water and natural springs run into the river thus cooling the water. So in the summer months, odds are you will have to travel down stream until the water is cool. The exact opposite can be true. If the head-water for a creek is a cold spring-fed lake, then the Brook Trout will travel farther up stream to the cooler temperatures. You have to look at the water source to determine where they will be.
NOTE:
Please always wet your hands before touching a Brook Trout. They have very sensitive skin and if you hold one with dry hands you will rub the protective layer of slim off their skin and the trout will die of infection. Please only keep what you eat.
NOTE:
To ensure we maintain a strong population of this wonderful species, we recommend catch and release (except for shore lunch of course), and the use of barb less hooks is recommended.
Regulations:
Limit: 5 Brook Trout with a sport license. 2 Brook Trout with a conservation license.
Size Restrictions: Only 1 fish can be greater than 11.8 inches.
Trout Combination Restrictions: You can only have a maximum of 5 trout no-matter what species. If you have 1 Lake Trout, you can only keep 4 Brook Trout.
Open Season: Jan. 1st to Sept. 1st.
Don’t Delay
Brookies are one of the most beautiful fish in North America. The joy of walking or canoeing up a scenic northern stream just adds to the adventure of finding these sometimes elusive fish. They are also the best tasting of the Trout Family. Discover places where serenity and exhilaration combine to give you the best trout fishing trip you’ve ever taken. At West Caribou Air we’ll show you the trip you’ve always dreamed of, so come and join us for a fishing trip of a lifetime!
