A feast for the senses

Travel in style on a chartered flight from either Minneapolis or Chicago to Guardian Eagle Resort! This is the only lodge in Ontario (to my knowledge) that offers door-to-door service! It was awesome flying in a private chartered jet. They handle the entire process from start to finish. With just a short touch-down in Fort Frances for Customs, we were landing on the runway (no small floatplanes here) next to 75,000-acre De Lesseps Lake.

The group with us on the journey had been visiting Guardian Eagle for many years and shared a lot of great stories. This resort was founded by Dick Davidson in the early 1990s. His vision was to create a Five-Star, Fly-In-Only resort. Though he passed away in 2012, his dream still lives on. The new owners now are Clarence and Twyla Bergen. Clarence is an avid fisherman and we had the pleasure of fishing with him while staying there. Every place he took us on the lake, we were setting the hook.

The first thing I noticed was the unique coloration of these fish. De Lesseps is filled with blue walleyes! I have only caught them a few times before. But here at Guardian Eagle, it was easy for us to catch 100 a day, per person! Technically, these are regular walleye, just covered with a unique blue mucus. Instead of Ontario Gold, these are Ontario Blue Gold. Held up against the sky, you can really see this in detail. They are absolutely beautiful fish. Besides the ’eyes, there is northern pike too. It’s nice to target them in the middle of the day roaming the shallow weed beds. They’re hungry and mean there! But the walleyes are the main draw, and the other groups staying there reported the same as we did for numbers caught.

As with any Ontario trip, shore lunch is always a highlight. Here at Guardian Eagle, they offer shore lunch in three different ways! This is so great during a four-night stay to have that variety of delicious fish each afternoon. With a good side of corn, beans, and fresh-cut potatoes to top things off.

And speaking of delicious, the breakfast and dinners served at the main lodge are top-notch. My favourite morning meal had to be the poached eggs. The dinners can range from baby back ribs with sweet potato fries, to sirloin steaks made to order, and various seafood options. Bring your appetite!

The log cabins there are very big—in fact, the most spacious I’ve stayed in across Ontario. Lots of room to relax, and great for big groups. You won’t feel packed in at all. Also, the beds and pillows are as comfortable as a nice hotel. And you’ll be just as comfortable out on the water in their boats. The new fleet includes Lund Fury XLs, with 40HP Honda four strokes. These are fishing machines outfitted right. As we’ve said, this is a five-star experience. At the end of the day, you can also relax in the wood sauna or the hot tub overlooking the lake.

Usually, there is a couple of resident pike and maybe a walleye at Ontario lodges… but there was a school of mid-to high-20” walleyes living at Guardian Eagle! As you walk out on the dock in the morning, you can see the pet walleyes living there. We threw in some dead minnows and they gobbled them up fast. It was fun feeding them each day. Charlie (Clarence and Twyla’s lab) is fascinated by this. He never went into the water but watched with child-like curiosity as we fed them.

Guardian Eagle Resort packages include round trip, chartered airfare, private log cabin lodging, all gourmet meals (breakfast, shore lunches, dinners), complimentary cocktail nightly happy hour, boat, fuel, bait, and more!

To book a trip visit: http://guardianeagle.com/

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