Aside from the fact that with all the pictures it was probably too big to send by e-mail I thought it might be of interest to any members that have never been on a fly-in fishing trip. 
CREE LAKE FISHING TRIP
July 14th
The day has finally arrived! After a year of anticipation and planning our fishing trip to Cree Lake in Northern Saskatchewan is about to become a reality. The trip begins in Kemptville at 11:00 a.m. when Ralph, Bob, Clark arrive from Lansdowne, pick up Larry and depart for the Ottawa airport. Arrived at the airport and board our Westjet flight from Ottawa to Hamilton (1 hour) where we caught a connecting flight to Saskatoon. As we neared Saskatoon the area was experiencing tornados and hail the size of baseballs so it made for a very bumpy flight coming into Saskatoon. Unfortunately, Ralph is a very nervous flyer so it is something of an understatement to say that Ralph was not able to relax through this rough weather. In fact, from his silence and the forlorn look on his face we did not want to even guess at his mental state. Fortunately he had already discovered they served alcoholic beverages on the flight and so he continued to take considerable advantage of this medicinal solution!
After landing in Saskatoon we picked up our rental truck, checked into our hotel and then embarked on a shopping expedition for the liquid refreshments and food necessary for our trip. By the time we had left the Safeway supermarket everybody in the store knew we were four guys from Ontario on a fishing trip. This probably had something to do with our sophisticated shopping methodology that involved running willy-nilly all over the store, holding numerous ad-hoc aisle meetings, and presenting ourselves in a manner that must have been awe inspiring to the Saskatoon natives uninitiated to the ways of the Ontario male in a grocery store. Our trip to the liquor store was slightly less entertaining to the locals as we all felt more at home in this particular environment. Following a few beverages to calm ourselves after our stressful shopping expedition, we were in bed by midnight with a wake-up call set for 4:00 a.m.
Time to Load Up and Head Out
July 15th
We are on the road by 5:00 a.m. and quickly discovered that people in the West do not start their weekdays too early. We drove around desperately looking for a coffee shop or restaurant but could not find anything open. Being optimists we jumped onto the highway and headed north with the expectation we would see a truck stop or coffee shop along the way. After a lengthy drive in a state of caffeine withdrawal with little sign of human life we finally found coffee at 6:30 when we discovered an open Macdonald’s in the city of Prince Albert.
Following coffee and breakfast we continued north for several hours to Pinehouse, which is a town on a Cree Indian Reserve, where we filled the truck up with gas. Much of this trip was on dirt roads built by mining companies solely for the purpose of shipping in supplies and shipping out ore from the mining sites.
Nice Scenery but Dusty Road
Although the 4X4 GMC Yukon we are driving is a very comfortable vehicle we find it difficult on the bumpy roads to keep the ice from sloshing out of the refreshment glasses of the non-drivers. After a lengthy drive we finally reach mile marker 176. This is the point where we turned off into a short road that led to a dirt landing strip and met the airplane that would fly us into Cree Lake.
Seeing the small airplane and the short, dirt landing strip cut out of the forest did not impress Ralph our nervous flyer. Thank God we stocked up at the liquor store in Saskatoon. Ralph did take some comfort in knowing the pilot of the airplane is also the operator of the grader, so he has a vested interest in keeping the landing strip in a safe and usable condition (he hoped). The plane we are flying in is an old six seat, twin engine Cessna. With the four of us and the pilot weighing in at about 1200 pounds (500 kilos for the non-metric challenged) combined with another 400 pounds of luggage, food, booze and fishing gear we are approaching the upper load limits for the aircraft. To make the flight more of an adventure (particularly for Ralph) there are high winds and the pilot tells us that there are thunderstorms all around us. As already mentioned Ralph is a less than enthusiastic flyer at the best of times but, being a brave adventuresome person (and knowing it is the only way he is going to get to the fishing camp), he slugged back 6 medicinal shots of straight whiskey and climbed on board for our flight.
Lets Load Up and Go Fishing
The Last Leg with our Bush Pilot
Following a very bumpy forty-five minute airplane ride we arrive at another dirt landing strip on an island in Cree Lake. The scenery on the flight was fantastic with a welcoming, spectacular view of Cree Lake at the end of the flight.
Hmmm.... This Looks Fishy!
Man, Look at All That Fishing Terrain
Our Island Landing Strip in the Distance
Cree lake is approximately 80 kilometres long and 70 kilometres wide with hundreds of islands. Although he didn't do it, I could tell that after we landed, Ralph was fighting an urge to kiss the ground. Bob and Clark were looking very excited, with big dopey grins on their faces and an unusual glint in their eyes. I do not like to make accusations, but I have to admit that I was starting to suspect there might have been more than Pepsi in their glasses during the trip from Saskatoon. At this point we transfer our gear across the Island to a boat waiting for us at Crystal Lodge in preparation for a trip across the windy lake to our camp. This camp is a very remote single cottage that will sleep ten and is situated on an island quite far out into the Lake.
At the island we were met by Mort and Christine, the owners of our camp, who had flown in earlier that day with their single engine sea plane to make sure they had the camp all ready for us. They were waiting at the dock to haul our gear up to the camp with the camp's four wheeler and trailer.
What…..We Didn’t Even Have to Carry Our Gear?
After giving us a quick run-through of what we needed to know to operate the camp during our stay Mort and Christine departed in their airplane with a promise to see us in a few days.
We are Now on Our Own
The camp is a large, modern building with a full kitchen, large living area, three bedrooms with three bunk beds in each and a bathroom with a large shower and vanity.
Roughing It ?
The cottage faces south on a hill overlooking the lake. On the beach there are five sixteen foot, wide bottomed, aluminum boats with 20hp motors on each. Much of the lakeshore and the islands are sandy and there are large sand dunes in various shoreline areas around the lake. The water is crystal clear with bottom visible in twenty feet or more of water. The only concern we have is bears. We have an electric fence around our camp to keep them from breaking into the camp and a rifle is leaning against the wall by the wood stove in the living room to get rid of any bears that become a nuisance.
As soon as Mort and Christine left we quickly unpacked our fishing gear and headed out to the lake for some fishing. After all of the misery Ralph experienced on his flights it was only appropriate that he catch the first fish. After three hours of fishing we decided it was time to go in and finish unpacking and prepare supper. In those three hours we caught 26 lake trout with the largest being 7 pounds.
Yes!!!!....There are Lots of Lake Trout Here
While a fresh fish dinner was being prepared Ralph and Bob went back out for some Arctic Grayling. None were landed but Ralph lost two. Following dinner and a few wobbly pops it was 1:00 a.m. and we decided it was time for bed.
At this point, I might as well introduce you to Bob, who is usually the topic of much discussion around our fishing expeditions. As a group of very close friends and fishing buddies we all acknowledge the fact that every fishing trip has to have a Bob. A “Bob†is the person who is going to entertain you during your trips with his ability to keep things lively, is guaranteed to fall out of a boat or manage an incredible bottom hook up, lose something, or do something that will make future discussion of the trip a topic of much humorous and fun entertainment. Most importantly, Bob has to accept he is a Bob and enjoy his notoriety as everyone wants to have a Bob on their fishing trip. We knew from experience that we can always count on our Bob to not only do a great job of fishing and contributing to the trip but also to fulfilling his role of “Bobâ€!
Bob is Getting Ready to Wreak Havoc….on the Fish We Hope!
Because we had travelled so far north it did not get dark outside until 11:00 p.m. and dawn came at 4:00 a.m. This can make for a short night of sleeping and for some of us the night's sleep was even shorter. Ralph and I had rooms to ourselves and Bob and Clark shared a room. During the night we were awoke at times by Bob's snoring at what should have been an impossible decibel level for a human being. At other times we were awoke by the sound of Clark using some impressively innovative adjectives to express his displeasure at sharing a room with Bob. We were also awoke at times by many unusual noises, some of which resembled the sound of a hand striking a human head or of a tossed shoe bouncing off of a skull. These sounds were normally accompanied by Clark's not particularly polite references to Bob's character.
July 16th
When daylight arrived Ralph and I were pleased, and somewhat surprised to find Bob not only still alive, but contentedly snuggled in his sleeping bag and looking very well rested. Clark however was discovered in a semi-conscious trance on the couch in the living room. At 6:30 we headed out for a couple of hours of fishing and caught 11 lake trout, following which Ralph cooked up a great breakfast and we then organized our gear and mellowed out for the rest of the morning. In the afternoon the weather was great so we headed out for some exploring of the lake and a little more fishing. We returned to the camp for supper after landing another 30 lake trout.
You Just Got To Love Fishing Like This
After supper we went back out fishing until 10:30 and caught another 9 lake trout. Our total for the trip thus far is now 76 lake trout with the sizes ranging between 2 pounds and 7 pounds and we still have two days of this great fishing left. If we wished to fish more aggressively we could have caught many more lake trout. Our biggest problem is getting our lures down into the deeper water where the bigger lake trout are likely to be and keeping the lures there long enough to hook into a big trout. Normally before the lure gets near bottom or shortly after it gets to bottom we have one of the smaller lake trout take the lure thus preventing the opportunity to hook into one of the monsters.
Unbelievable Lake Trout Fishing
The lake must have literally millions of trout and they are all natural stock with the meat being a bright orange colour. We know the monster lake trout and pike are there; it is simply a matter of getting past the smaller fish to get a lure in front of them. Many trout and pike in the 15 to 40 pound size are regularly caught in the lake.
It was Difficult Getting Lures Presented to the Monsters
The fantastic fishing and all of the comforts provided by the cottage including the hot showers and wholesome meals are making it a tremendously enjoyable trip. Bob has decided however that he does not need to take advantage of the hot showers as he is on a wilderness holidays. We all applaud his commitment to the spirit of the adventure even though we have been living with him for three days now.
July 17th
In last night's gloating over all of the fish we planned to catch over the next two days we forgot to take into consideration what a perverse sense of humour Mother Nature can have. We awoke to rain and very high winds with thunderstorm forecast so decided we might as well sleep in. Clark having reached the point of exhaustion even managed to sleep past Bob's snoring. We considered going to Mackenzie Bay reputed to contain trophy pike but decided we better wait until noon to check out the weather as it would be at least an hour run on a good day and we could get caught up there for the night if the weather turned worse. We did go out in the boats and cautiously travelled to the lee side of our island where we could fish somewhat out of the wind. We fished from 9:30 until 12:00 and caught another 14 trout. Clark landed the largest trout at 8 pounds 10 ounces. When we returned to the cottage for lunch there were 3 to 4 foot waves.
Nice Fish Clark!
We are now experiencing thunderstorms so decided it would be wise to wait out the storms before going out in the boat again. About 3:00 Bob became restless and decided that despite the rain he would take a tour of the island on foot with his ultra light fishing rod accompanied by some snakebite medicine (the kind that you sip on over the course of the day to protect you from the potential of a snake attack). I believe there was some verbal alluding to the fact that Bob never did know enough to come in out of the rain. A short while later Bob contacted us using his walkie-talkie to advise that he had caught two arctic grayling and lake trout fishing from shore. Bob also gave us a very sad story about having hooked his favourite lure into bottom and was looking for someone to come around by boat to un-snag him so he wouldn't have to break his line and lose his best Arctic Grayling lure. You just got to love Bob!! So the rest of us jumped into two boats, travelled around the island in 4 foot waves and rescued Bob and his 49 cent fishing lure. We fished the shoreline for grayling for a while with Clark catching one (bigger than Bob's) as well as another lake trout and the rest of us losing a few. At 5:15 we were forced back to the cottage by thunderstorms. Time for supper. After approximately 8 hours of smoking we had excellent smoked lake trout along with barbequed sirloin steak that had been marinating for several hours and was served with a peppercorn béarnaise sauce with side dishes of potatoes and vegetables. Boy, roughing it in the wilderness can be tough!! Bob passed on the peppercorn béarnaise sauce on the basis that "the boy don't do sauce". Although the rest of us were too polite to respond to this statement we all felt it probably related more to his lack of culture than his sense of taste.
Our fishing totals for the trip are now at 93 trout and 3 arctic grayling. We decided to crown Bob the reigning grayling king however we were disappointed that his grayling fishing in the rain did not have the personal affect that perhaps a hot shower would have had! I guess every camp needs a Bob!
Our Camp From The Water
July 18th
Well Friday is here and it is our last full day of fishing. Unfortunately, it is another day of foul weather. We have even higher winds today and more rain. After 4 hours of waiting for the weather to change Ralph and Bob decide to take a boat around to the far side of the island where the wind will not be as bad and they will hopefully be able to fish. They returned for lunch after catching 7 lake trout. Because of the high winds they beached the boat on a sand beach on the opposite side of the island and walked the short distance back to the camp.
After lunch the wind was still blowing hard so Clark and Larry took a boat around to the far side of the island and fished that location along with Ralph and Bob in the second boat. After catching another 13 Lake Trout we left the boats on the shore of the lee side of the island and returned to the camp for a supper of pork chops baked in a coating of bacon and cheese. As with all meals Bob scraped off the trimmings and ate his pork chop commando style ("the boy doesn't do sauce"). Following supper we returned for the evening fish. Clark and Larry caught 19 lake trout and experienced a major tangle of their two lead core fishing lines (totally a result of Larry’s incompetence with lead core fishing).
For a rainy, windy and downright rotten day for weather we didn't do too badly with 50 lake trout caught. Once again, being within a relatively close proximity to Bob (50 feet) proved that extended periods of time in the rain and high winds is still no substitute for a hot shower. Being the sensitive types that we are we only suggested to Bob that perhaps it is time to give up on his vision of being the Cree Lake wilderness man and take a hot, soapy shower. We felt that Bob may have taken the hint when we mentioned we had placed a towel for him in the shower room. We keep reminding ourselves that every camp needs a Bob!!!
Fish, Fish...and More Fish!!
July 19th
Our final day and the weather forecast is lousy. Currently, there is only a light wind and cloudy skies. Much to Clark's pleasure Bob has spent the night in the living room. He insists that he has taken a shower but after being shown the dry shower towel he realized he must have dreamt he had a shower. It was our dream also that Bob would take a shower. At 5:00 a.m. Ralph and Bob headed for Dickson's Island approximately 5 kilometres south of the camp. After catching 5 lake trout they were forced back to the camp by high winds, hail and rain. When travelling back to Saskatoon later that day we discovered that there had been roofs torn of houses, trees uprooted and power lines down as a result of this storm.
As we were packing up for the trip home Bob volunteered to go out and catch enough fish to bring our current total of 148 lake trout up to an even number of 150. Bob returned a short while later after catching three fish. Math was never one of Bob's strong subjects!! What was that thing about every camp needs a Bob!!! So that left us with a total of 151 lake trout and 3 arctic grayling for our trip. We were all disappointed that the weather had limited our fishing success but were also very pleased about the good time we had and the excellent fishing we had enjoyed.
Mort and Christine flew in around noon and we welcomed them with a feed of fresh lake trout. Shortly thereafter our boat from the mainland showed up to take us out. Our trip back to Crystal Camp was relatively dry and without all of the groceries that were part of our trip in we had allot less gear to move. After a thorough interrogation of the pilot Ralph was satisfied that the pilot was not a moonlighting high school student and was probably qualified to fly us safely back to our vehicle at mile marker 176. Under careful scrutiny by Ralph the pilot did indeed deliver us safely back to our vehicle despite some high winds along the way. After a lengthy drive we arrived back in Saskatoon in the early morning hours and check into a hotel. We quickly hit the sack and got a good night sleep. A safe and uneventful trip back to Ottawa and our trip was over. Of course, it wrapped up with allot of discussion about where we should go for our next wilderness-fishing trip.
... The fishing was great for all kinds of fish... inbcluding Greyling and whitefish.