Bass Fishing at Lost Lake Wilderness Lodge

As an angler, I get a vibe as soon as I set foot on a new lodge or outfitter property. Sounds weird, but it’s almost like the place speaks to you in a way. You can often tell by those first few moments how the trip is going to go and in Ontario, I’m here to tell you there are very few if any places that haven’t felt “right”. One such place is Lost Lake Wilderness Lodge. Family-owned and operated, Tony and Melissa Thomas have got it “right”.

Lost Lake Wilderness Lodge is located between the small towns of Gowganda and Elk Lake in Northeastern Ontario, Canada. It’s a drive-to lodge that offers both housekeeping (you cook yourself) and American Plan (meals are supplied) lodging opportunities. It is perfectly placed for a multitude of fishing opportunities as well. When I say fishing opportunities, please understand that Lost Lake Wilderness Lodge is a “fish camp”, meaning they offer fishing… and that’s it. You go there to fish. The entire lake system is designed for conservation-based fishing and has been for years. Species include Walleye, Northern Pike, Smallmouth Bass and Brook Trout.

We arrived at Lost Lake late. It was well past 11 pm as we were driving from Sault Ste. Marie from another shoot. We took our time as in the spring in Ontario, in the dusk and evenings, animals move about. We saw moose, bear, fox, rabbit and something big and unidentifiable!

Our cabin was welcoming, looked brand new, and was warm and inviting. We got settled and set alarms for 8 am breakfast.

After a feed of sausage and pancakes, we loaded up and hit the boats to venture into our first remote lake. It was a short drive across Lost Lake to the portage and an even shorter walk to the 14-foot boats on the other side. Lost Lake provides wheelbarrows to carry your gear, gas, and fly rods across the portage which was a nice touch of ease! We started fishing right away and had a fantastic day catching and releasing numerous smallmouths on streamers relating to rocky shorelines and secondary points. We were casting onto shore and ripping the streamers back to the boat. Water temperatures were cold as we were fishing smallmouth during the pre-spawn. I was surprised to see them so aggressive in the 55–58-degree water.

On our way out, we decided to hit the back (shallow) part of Lost Lake proper. I switched from my 6-weight fly rod to a 5-weight and tied on a small fire tiger concave popper. Every piece of structure, be they rock, stick, log or piece of vegetation held a smallmouth. The action was explosive and 100% fun! Nearly every cast produced a fish of various sizes and they were looking for very different presentations. Some dead sticked, and some immediately popped, you could really play with these fish and experiment with different retrieval techniques.

At Lost Lake, you have access to the main lake as well as 7 other back or portage lakes. As mentioned earlier there is a conservation plan in place for an LLWL and the fishery reflects that. Good numbers of multi-species. Who doesn’t love that?

Food at the lodge is excellent with a hearty variety to satisfy all. All home-cooked meals and baking from scratch ensure all anglers never go hungry. (the chocolate chip cookies are money!) Lunches, you prepare as you wish right after breakfast before you head out for your fishing adventure.

We fished a total of 4 days, during a change in the weather I might add and the fishing played up to its hype. We released lots of smallmouth bass of average size and a few that would be considered excellent fish, we even released a shallow-water walleye on one of the lakes. Tony and Melissa beamed each evening upon receiving our fishing report of the day – just like proud parents at graduation!

Lost Lake Wilderness Lodge. Ideal cabins for multi-angler parties, many lakes to choose from, multi-species to target, and great people to support your fishing adventure? What’s not to LOVE? I trust you too will get that “home away from home” feeling when you step foot on Wilderness Lake Lodge property, just like we did…and I can assure you, we’ll be back before too long!

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