Lake Temagami Fishing: Sharpshooting Trophy Lake Trout At Loon Lodge

On this Fish’n Canada episode, we sought out to show our audience that the monsters so often associated with Northern BC and the Northwest Territories are accessible in Ontario as well, and just hours away from the Greater Toronto Area.

To do this, we headed to Loon Lodge on Lake Temagami to meet with owners Adam and Kayla Pugh. This lodge is legendary on Lake Temagami for not only its success rate in fishing but believe it or not, its burgers! But, that isn’t (just) what we were there for. We were there for something else that Adam specializes in: “Sharpshooting” world-class Lake Trout.

Lake Temagami

Lake Temagami, situated in the Nipissing District of Northeastern Ontario, Canada, lies approximately 80 km north of North Bay. The lake’s name is derived from the Ojibwa term "dimii-agamiing," which translates to "it is deep water by the shore."

Key Features of Lake Temagami

• Size & Depth: Spanning 21,216.8 hectares (52,429 acres), Lake Temagami features a maximum depth of 110 meters (363 feet) and an average depth of 18.2 meters (60 feet).
• Shoreline & Islands: Known for its intricate shoreline, the lake extends approximately 1,030 kilometres (640 miles), forming countless bays, branches, and inlets. It is home to about 1,259 islands, including the prominent Temagami Island.
• Elevation & Water Flow: The lake sits at an elevation of 293.62 meters above sea level and is primarily fed by the Anima Nipissing River, while its waters exit through the Temagami River.

Recreational Paradise:

Lake Temagami is a premier destination for outdoor enthusiasts, offering world-class opportunities for fishing, canoeing, and camping. Anglers can find an abundance of lake trout, walleye, smallmouth bass, and northern pike in its deep, clear waters.

For boaters and fishermen, detailed nautical charts and depth maps are available, providing essential insights into fishing spots, depth contours, and navigation routes, ensuring a safe and productive experience on this breathtaking northern lake.

The Fishing Experience At Loon Lodge

Key Highlights From Our Trip

Sharp-Shooting Lake Trout:

The concept of “sharpshooting” is something that will be familiar to bass anglers, but is likely outside of some Lake Trout anglers’ repertoire. The reason for this is that “sharpshooting” refers to targeting individual fish after spotting them on your sonar, something that is sometimes difficult due to the Lake Trout’s love for deep water and erratic movements. That was, however, until LiveScope came into the picture.

As many of you now know, LiveScope lets you see fish in true real-time, allowing anglers to react to the fish’s every movement rather than working seconds behind it. To add to this accuracy and to tilt things really in our favour, we’re going to be experimenting with a brand new setup designed to take the guesswork out of locating these often unpredictable fish.

On the first drop of the day, a blob on our LiveScope met Ang’s tube jig before it even hit bottom and his rod bent like he was hooked to an anchor. In fact, this is exactly what the fish fought like and we watched it on our sonar as it repeatedly darted straight to bottom, from 30 feet down to nearly 100 every time it caught a glimpse of the boat. Eventually, after chasing the fish for nearly 15 minutes, we got her in the net and got a few pictures that are undoubtedly bound for the Loon Lodge trophy wall.

Safely Releasing Lake Trout:

One thing that may be crossing your mind as you read through this article is the issue of barotrauma. After all, we have talked repeatedly on the Outdoor Journal Radio podcast about the increased mortality rates caused by fishing in deep water and the ethical concerns over doing it during the heat of summer when the fish are at their most vulnerable. Lake trout, however, are a bit of an exception to the rule.

Unlike most fish, who rely solely on outside pressure to regulate the air in their swim bladder, lake trout have the ability to manually inflate and deflate their swim bladder when transitioning from drastic changes in water depth. They do this by literally burping out the air from their swim bladder and pressure changes, something that is even visible on LiveScope if you watch the fish as they swim to the surface!

That being said, this does not take the Laker barotrauma rate all the way to zero. There are a couple ways lake trout can experience barotrauma. One is if they are caught in extremely deep water (120+ feet). This seems to up the odds of BT. The other is if a laker fights in an upward motion meaning they come to the surface too quickly. This is exactly what happened when Pete later hooked into another giant lake trout (no burping) who required some TLC and a unique piece of equipment to get her back down to depth and healthily swimming away.

If a lake tout gives a hard, prolonged fight all while staying deep, chances are barotrauma may be avoided through burping.

After Pete released this fish on the device, Ang actually watched the whole sequence on LiveScope and was literally blown away as to what unfolded on the screen. It was a perfect execution and the fish swam away on its own.

Ang and Pete continued sharpshooting and landed a total of 5 fish, all weighing over 20 pounds with three of them probably pushing 30, something they never thought possible south of the territories!

Loon Lodge

Loon Lodge has been running successfully for over 60 years on Lake Temagami. Newly taken over in late 2020, by Adam and Kayla Pugh, they are determined to provide guests with a fishing trip to remember whether you will be fishing from the boat or ice fishing from one of our heated, on ice, Ice Bungalows!

Spring/Summer/Fall Fishing

Come stay at Loon Lodge any  time of year. Island accommodations are available year round. So whether you want to come for the Spring opener, beautiful Summer days, or some cool Fall fishing before the snow flies, Loon Lodge has a place for you.

Ice Bungalows

If you love to drop a line in the Winter, Loon Lodge has 6 Ice Bungalows that can accommodate 4 people. Lake Temagami offers amazing ice fishing opportunities for lake trout, walleye, whitefish, and ling.

They take Ice Bungalow bookings year round! To ensure you get the dates you want, book 6 months to a year in advance!

LAKE TROUT ICE SEASON: February 15 - March 16

The Lodge Offers

• Tackle -  Leeches and Worms
• Kitchen - take out or eat on picnic table overlooking lake
• Misc Grocery items: milk, cream, eggs, drinks, butter, toilet paper, paper towel, salt, garbage bags, etc.
• Novelty Ice Creams
• Scoop Ice Creams and Milkshakes
• Fish Crisp
• Chips
• Catherine's Hot Pepper Jelly and Antipasto

Adam's Outfitting Guide Service

Loon Lodge is the home of Adam's Outfitting. With over 15 years of experience as a fishing guide across Ontario, Adam makes sure you're in good hands tracking down your next fish of a lifetime!

Temagami is a massive lake so hiring Adam will speed up your chances of catching that memory you can hang on your wall!

Fish with Adam out of his beautiful 20 foot Kingfisher boat rigged with all the fish-catching bells and whistles. All you need is two feet and a heartbeat and let Adam take care of the rest! Maximum 3 people for a great day of catch-and-release fishing.

Fishing In Ontario's Northeastern Ontario

Lake Temagami isn’t the only body of water in the near north that will get your blood pumping. Other fantastic lakes are Temiskaming, Lady Evelyn, and Obabika to name a few of the larger water bodies.

We have actually shot Fish’n Canada shows in each of these areas.

On Temiskaming, Pete was joined by Captain John Blanchard on a great walleye excursion in which they had a great trip with some bonus Smallmouth Bass as well. 

Both Ang and Pete fished Lady Evelyn for Smallmouth Bass and Walleye during a past fall and cleaned up on big fish of both species. There were some interesting events from start to finish of this shoot, and all in all, a great adventure

Finally, Pete, Steve Niedzwiecki, and Dean Taylor headed to Lake Obabika this season in search of Lake Trout and Smallmouth Bass. Again this area of Ontario didn’t disappoint, with success on both species.

Special Thanks

• Destination Ontario https://www.destinationontario.com/en-ca
• Loon Lodge https://loonlodge.com/
• Adam’s Outfitting 

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