Flying in for Ontario Northern Pike

On this Fish’n Canada episode, Pete decided to try his luck on Northern Pike in the fish-filled Kabinakagami Lake in the Algoma region of Ontario. Kaby, as it is pretty much always referred to, is a phenomenal lake for both Walleye and Pike.

Our team has filmed here before on a couple of occasions out of two different lodges, Pine Portage Lodge and Agich’s Kaby Kabins.

Last time here, Ang went after Kaby’s Pike (episode linked below) while Pete tried his hand at the Walleye. As for Ang’s Pike fishing, it certainly was a once-in-a-lifetime experience. He literally sat on a school of “millions” of baitfish, and the gamefish were right there with them.

On Pete’s latest trip, however, things were very different.

He picked a single, small area of the lake and made up his mind to fish that area like it was a “lake into itself”. He only had a small aluminum boat and a small outboard, so travelling all over the lake was not an option.

“As long as you are confident that fish are around,” says Pete “then thoroughly working a small portion of a lake for an entire outing makes total sense”.

Pete and Ang’s normal approach to Pike fishing is to cast first, and then move on from there if the casting isn’t producing. More often than not, they end up trolling. It’s such an effective way of covering water.

Fishing For The Day

This was the exact procedure that Pete executed for his day. He started out casting swimbaits and glide baits and connected with a few fish. He even had a nice rod-stopper but the fish got off (of course). For the most part, though, the Pike were smallish to medium-sized which are often deemed a nuisance.

Pete’s next move was to start trolling passes to cover water. With a decent-sized crankbait in tow, he proceeded to run over different depths, all the time recording a one-foot contour map with his Garmin portable chart plotter.

“Ang and I can’t say enough about the Quickdraw feature on all of our Garmins,” says Pete “once we make a pass (like on this day), and then start filling in the blank spots around it (Garmin’s Danny Thompson calls it mowing the grass), we can then meticulously work break lines, drop-offs, underwater points, etc, etc.”

“Of course,” Pete continues “I had the luxury of having LiveScope forward-viewing technology in that particular kit. Even if the fish stay small on days like this, I don’t really care because I can at least still be entertained by fiddling around with this great unit. I always learn a ton of stuff while watching LiveScope”.

An Awesome Idea

On our adventures, we often find little gems or items that we had no idea existed. This year we found a Mercury outboard that does double duty if you will. Yes, we know that 6hp four-strokes exist however the one pictured below is slightly different.

As you can see, there is a gas cap/reservoir on the top of this motor. Merc does this on some of their smaller motors. On the “6”, however, there is also a gas feed valve in which you can actually plug in a hose from an external gas tank.

Crazy Pike

Northern Pike is a funny creature. There are days when they will literally slash into anything that moves, even each other (we have seen Pike holding other Pike in their mouths). Then there are the days when the only Pike you’ll catch are of the hammer-handle variety, very frustrating. Of course, finally, there are days when all the Pike come out to play. This is a great scenario, however, be prepared to catch about 10-1 in small fish vs big ones. It’s all part of the game and oftentimes part of fishing in general.

Presentations To Toothy Fish

In an article over at FishnCanada.com, we get into all the details of how to catch Northern Pike and even walk you through a few baits that you need to have in your tackle box. For all this and more, check out the link below:

CONCLUSION

In this program, Pete showed us the true meaning of “persistence pays off”. He started out by casting and got a few Pike, but instinctively he knew (or at least felt) that things weren’t right. He made the decision to cover more water by trolling and although he still caught more small fish, he eventually put in the time and busted a fish of a lifetime

“That is a good Pike in any northern Ontario lake,” says Pete during the Fish’n Canada episode while holding his big fish of the trip. "If you can get into one or two of these in a trip… on a Walleye trip, or a Smallmouth trip, whatever you’re doing aside from Pike, what a bonus fish that would be.

“And then you can come to these lodges,” continued Pete “and fish for fish like Pike, this is a fish of a lifetime for a lot of people including myself. I haven’t caught one of those in years. It’s made my day, and my year!”

We’re pretty sure our Pete is once again, a happy boy!

Location

Kabinakagami Lake is located in the Algoma District of northeastern Ontario, Canada. The lake is on the Kabinakagami River and is part of the James Bay drainage basin. It has an area of 108 km², is 26km long, 12km wide and its source is the Kabinakagami River.

This waterbody truly fishes like no other. Although Pete took on Pike here (Ang as well back in 2014 on this episode) our team has fished Walleye even more than Pike on Kaby. This is one of those lakes that you just cannot get enough of and yearn for a return visit!

Things To Do Near White River Ontario

White River is a township located in Northern Ontario, Canada. It is a rail town on the Canadian Pacific Railway. Its main employers are Albert Bazzoni Ltd., A&W Restaurant, Tri Timber, NCCP, CP Rail, Home Hardware, and Primary Power. It is probably best known as the place where "Winnie the Pooh" got its start.

If you’re looking for a quick stop on your way to White River, Wawa is a great place to visit. Home of the massive Wawa Goose, this site is quite literally impossible to miss from the highway no matter which direction you’re coming from. Besides the excellent roadside attractions, travellers can also find plenty of food, gas, and accommodations within the town.

Gettin’ There

To get to Agich’s Kaby Kabins, we drive north on Highway 400 to Hwy 69. We then head northwest on Hwy 17 to the town of White River, turn right on 631 and then leave on Tukanee road which takes you to the White River Air Base. From there it’s a short flight to Agich’s Kaby Kabins on Kabinakagami Lake.

Hotspot

This episode's Hotspot is a small area on Kabinakagami Lake. The waypoint above will get you right there.

Although this great body of water is known for its amazing Walleye fishing, the Pike fishing here is outstanding as well.

We suggest you try our “cast first and troll later” pattern for Pike fishing. Both techniques cover lots of water, but in very different ways.

• Baits: Crankbaits, Glide Baits, Swim Baits
• Presentation: Casting and Trolling
• Depth: 8 - 15+ Feet

Showing 'Edited Body' is no longer supported.