HIdden Bay Lodge

A great place to spend time fishing with good friends.

A walleye factory with all the peaceful and northern scenery one could hope for on a fly-in destination is what you can expect at Hidden Bay Lodge’s Armit Lake. If you are looking for a trip that will surely have your arms on ice by the trip’s end from all the hook sets and walleye nets, this fly-in Ontario Experience is it. A short 3 1/2-hour drive from the International Falls and Fort Frances border, and you’re at Hidden Bay Lodge’s float plane base. From there it’s a short 20-minute float plane ride to Armit Lake in the heart of Ontario’s Sunset Country.

It truly seems that in the high-paced lives, we live, with jobs, family, and just the day-to-day non-stop running, it’s pretty easy to forget about spending that quality time with good friends like we did when we were kids. It’s just reality; friendships get put on the back burner because we know those good friends will be there no matter what. That really shouldn’t be the case. Just like with family, we need to start traditions with friends, and that is exactly what I did this summer with my long-time high school buddy, Trevor. What better way than to head to Hidden Bay Lodge far away from everything in beautiful Ontario?

Without a doubt, Hidden Bay Lodge was a perfect place to start that friend tradition. The outpost on Armit Lake had all you could ask for, plus lights-out fishing. Along with very comfortable and reliable boats and motors, the camp had all the creature comforts of home. Honestly, from the first lure drop, until we went in for lunch or dinner each day, the walleye fishing was non-stop action. I would go so far as to say it was epic walleye fishing.

I truly used every different kind of lure I had in my tackle box, and I caught not just one but dozens of walleye on everything I put in front of them. Jig and minnow, yep! Jiggin’ Rap, hair jig, jigging spoon, jig and plastics, drop shot, crank baits… yep, yep, yep, yep, yep… and I could keep going. Literally, everything I dropped, they bit. Now that is epic fishing! The only thing that slowed our fishing was when we stopped fishing to enjoy our mid-day shore lunch. And what better way for a couple of buddies to recharge than eating fresh fried walleye with all the fixings on the sandy shore of Armit Lake?

fried fish, brown beans, potatoes

Nestled in a protected beautiful sandy beach bay, Armit Lake is connected to Hill Lake and is made up of dozens of islands, bays, and small streams, a perfect makeup for the unbelievable walleye and northern pike fishing opportunities. Armit is a huge lake, but because it is a fairly narrow body of water with all the islands, it fishes much smaller, which is always nice in case of inclement weather. There are so many great areas to fish; most days you could catch walleye after walleye from within eyesight of the camp.

hidden bay lodge armit lake outpost cabin

After four days of walleye fishing awesomeness, the number of walleye caught totalled in the hundreds. The whole trip, between the hook sets, fish catching, laughs, and telling old stories, we were already planning our next trip back, but this time with more buddies. This was the first year of this Ontario friend tradition and one I won’t soon forget. Just like all the old memories I have with good friends!

2 anglers holding walleye

Hidden Bay Lodge is very proud to offer first-class fly-in fishing adventures on six different remote outposts: Armit Lake, Blackstone Lake, Gage Lake, Highstone Lake, Miniss Lake, Raggedwood Lake, in addition to the main lodge. Accessible only by air from the Hidden Bay Lodge and Outpost float plane base, their six remote wilderness camps are all located on the beautiful and fish-filled lakes of Northwest Ontario’s Sunset Country. All the outpost cabins at Hidden Bay feature satellite internet, phone service, kitchenettes with stoves and refrigerators, hot and cold running water, showers, toilets, and solar-powered lights, giving guests the utmost in convenience while still providing the true wilderness experience. All the camps accommodate up to four to 10 guests depending on the outpost. The outposts all offer clean and reliable 14-foot aluminum boats with comfortable seats and 9.9-15 hp outboards, decks with gas grills, propane deep fryers, and fish cleaning tables.

As avid and dedicated sportsmen and sportswomen, the Reinke family have been providing the highest quality fly-in fishing adventures at Hidden Bay Lodge for over 48 years. Karl Reinke started the reign at Hidden Bay and was the pioneer in upgrading all the cabins to a very high standard, which has been a welcome addition to all who visit, new and repeat customers. Karl was also the very first to buy a new Cessna Caravan amphibian aircraft for fly-in fishing destinations in Northwest Ontario. This allows for much improvement in speed, comfort and safety over the older Otter floatplanes.

Hidden Bay Lodge is currently owned and operated by Vonnie Reinke along with her son Tim Reinke. They professionally run the operation with the highest standards of comfort and quality, featuring the finest fishing, aircraft, and accommodations at their outpost camps and continue to make improvements, which is why over 90% of their customers come back year after year. Vonnie and Tim strive to personalize your fly-in fishing vacation experience and make your fishing dreams come true!

angler holding walleye

If you’re looking for a place that will make you feel like, not a good fisherman, but a great fisherman, then Hidden Bay Lodge’s Armit Lake definitely needs to be a top priority on your next Ontario Experience. Call your buddies or pack up the family and get ready for non-stop walleye fishing action! Hidden Bay Lodge has five other outpost lakes too, which means I need to come back at least five more times… make that six. I need to fish Armit Lake, again!

book this trip today

hiddenbaylodge.com
Toll Free: 1-800-443-3362

About Ty Sjodin

Ty Sjodin is the co-host of The Ontario Experience airing on The Sportsman Channel, The Sportsman Channel—Canada, and the World Fishing Network (WFN).  He enjoys traveling across Ontario, experiencing everything the province and lodges have to offer—including the amazing hunting and multi-species fishing! Ty can’t remember when he wasn’t outside fishing or hunting, but it was about the same time he started to walk. He has a strong passion for the outdoors that was instilled in him by his father and has been shared with his older brother to this day. That is the same passion he now shares with his son, Tyson. Ty spent his college years earning a Business Management / Sales Degree at Bemidji State University, while feeding his obsession of being outdoors in a boat, on the ice, on his bow hunting stands, in the duck blind or shooting grouse. Getting his start in the fishing industry, Ty went to work for In-Fisherman joining the Lindner’s in 1998 to sell everything from TV, print and digital advertising as well as working with and promoting the In-Fisherman Professional Walleye Trial (PWT). After 10 years he moved on to sell TV and digital advertising in the hunting industry as well as fishing for Babe Winkelman Productions for the next 6 years. Ty has come full circle rejoining the Lindner’s once again, now at Lindner Media Productions handling the multi-media sales efforts as well as some on-camera talent.

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