Northwestern Ontario has always held a permanent spot on our calendar. For four decades, we have blocked off at least two weeks every season to explore the region known as Sunset Country. Endless shield rock, winding waterways, and multi-species fisheries have made it a cornerstone of The Fish’n Canada Show.
On this trip, we returned to a place that captures everything we love about the region: Cedar Island Lodge on Pipestone Lake.
Pipestone Lake is the kind of waterbody that seems to never end. Long stretches of narrows open into expansive basins that feel like entirely new lakes. One minute you are weaving through rock-lined corridors, the next you are staring across an expanse of open water. Each turn brings a different structure, a new opportunity, and, often, a different fish species.
And that is exactly why Cedar Island Lodge stands out. Pipestone is known for nearly every species anglers associate with Northwestern Ontario, and even a few surprises.
To showcase just how diverse this fishery is, we split up. Nik Viola went hunting for smallmouth bass. Dean Taylor targeted, believe it or not, largemouth bass. Ang Viola chased deep-dwelling lake trout. And Pete Bowman focused on what Sunset Country is most famous for - beautiful golden walleye. We decided to leave pike out of the equation, but would have no problem accepting an incidental catch or two.
With calm conditions and a glass-flat morning, Nik was first on the front deck.
A few years back, he joined Ang on the Montreal River system for a crash course in one of our favourite styles of fishing: topwater smallmouth. That day felt a bit more like boot camp than fun fishing. But now, four years later, it was time to see if anything stuck.
Under the watchful eye of Angelo, and armed with a fully rigged Princecraft and a box of Yo-Zuri topwater baits, it was game on for Nik.
There’s something about watching a popper chug across clear northern water that never gets old. The surface tension breaks, the bait spits, and then out of nowhere, bronze backs either explode on it or stealthily suck it in. Either strike is a rush.
On Pipestone, the smallmouth were aggressive and healthy, with a darkish, shield-lake coloration.
From underwater camera angles to explosive surface eats, it was a reminder that topwater fishing is as visual as it is violent. And judging by the fish Nik boated, the lessons from years past clearly paid off.
Next up was Dean Taylor, targeting a true rarity in this part of the country: largemouth bass.
In our forty-year history of fishing around Kenora and the surrounding area, we had only caught a largemouth once. And at the time, we enlisted the help of a young local guide named Jeff “Gussy” Gustafson to make it happen.
That tells you how unusual the species has historically been this far north.
But on Pipestone Lake, we had heard a different story.
By concentrating on weedy bays and warmer backwaters (typical largemouth bass habitat), Dean quickly discovered that largemouth bass were not only present, but they were thriving. He also found that almost every piece of wood in the water had at least one largemouth relating to it. That made for an easy day of target fishing.
The surprise factor did not end there. Pipestone is also home to trophy muskie, and in one unforgettable moment, a muskie inhaled one of Dean’s hooked bass near the boat… and it did it numerous times. We’ll save the graphic images for the TV episode.
Such a crazy sequence of events for the Fish’n Canada Show!
Next up was lake trout.
Way back in the early days of the Fish’n Canada Show, lake trout shoots meant mostly trolling. For instance, Ang would be at the back of the boat with a tiller in one hand and a rod in the other, methodically pulling spoons and plugs on a 3-way swivel rig through deep water. It was effective, dependable, and a staple of northern trout fishing for decades.
While trolling still works, modern technology has changed the game, and of course… we’re all over that!
With forward-facing sonar like Garmin’s LiveScope, anglers can now approach lake trout the way smallmouth or walleye fishermen approach deep structure. Instead of blindly covering water, you can scan for individual fish, watch their reactions in real time, and drop rattle baits, swimbaits, or tubes directly on their heads. We will say, though, you don’t always catch 'em. In fact, usually more snub away from your bait than commit to it.
Jess and Jason, the head guides at Cedar Island Lodge, are well ahead of the curve when it comes to this style of vertical laker fishing. Hiring them for a day is a great way to be instantly on top of fish and learn a ton in the process. The trout roaming these deep basins are powerful, thick, and built for open water combat. Watching a mark rise on the screen and then feeling the thump seconds later adds a whole new layer to lake trout fishing… so much fun!
It is a blend of old-school northern tradition and cutting-edge electronics, and it opens the door to opportunities that once seemed impossible.
We saved walleye for last.
Throughout the trip, we had been idling past a particular shoal on our way back to the lodge. Every time we crossed it, the electronics lit up with strong, suspended marks hovering off the structure.
Pete would have loved to cast jerkbaits over top of those fish, but post-cold-front conditions called for something more subtle. With high pressure and neutral fish, a finesse approach was the smarter play.
The adjustment paid off.
Through a bit of searching and scoping, he finally started connecting with a great average size for his catch and anchored his day with a fantastic 27-28” beauty. This was such a reminder of why Sunset Country has earned its reputation. Clear water, deep structure, and abundant forage combine to produce some of the most consistent big-fish opportunities in Canada.
Cedar Island Lodge and Pipestone Lake encapsulate everything that makes Northwestern Ontario special.
You can throw topwater for aggressive smallmouth at sunrise, flip weeds & wood for unexpected largemouth by mid-morning, scan deep basins for lake trout in the afternoon, and finish your day pulling big walleye from a loaded shoal. All on the same lake.
After forty years, this feels fresh.
That is why those two weeks in Sunset Country remain permanently blocked off on our calendar. And after a trip like this, it is easy to see why they always will be.
To get to this episode’s fantastic multi-species fishing destination, our crew first drove north on Hwy 400 to Hwy 69.
We then turned northwest on Hwy 17 and followed it all the way to Thunder Bay.
We took Hwy 102 west out of Thunder Bay and then to Hwy 11/17.
At Shabaqua Corners, we headed west on Hwy 11.
We next turned north on Hwy 71, and then east and eventually north on 615, and finally turned right on Dam Road, taking us to Sportsman’s Landing.
From there, it’s a stunning boat ride from the landing to the rather unique boat lift at the north end of Clearwater Lake.
Once over the lift, you’re at the south end of Pipestone Lake.
From there, it’s another scenic boat ride north to Cedar Island Lodge.
If you don’t have your own boat and motor, then the lodge will arrange to pick you up at the landing.
Located on a private island roughly 25 miles into the Pipestone chain, Cedar Island Lodge is surrounded by classic Canadian Shield landscape. Towering pines and cedars line the rocky shorelines while quiet bays, reefs, and narrows create ideal habitat for a wide range of gamefish. It’s the kind of place where the call of loons carries across the water in the evening, and the only traffic you’ll see is the occasional fishing boat heading toward the next promising point.
The lake itself is known for its diversity. Walleye are abundant throughout the system, often found along current areas and rocky transitions, while smallmouth bass thrive along the countless boulder-strewn shorelines. Largemouth bass inhabit the shallow bays and backwater areas, and the deeper basins hold lake trout. Northern pike are common throughout the lake, and for anglers seeking a true trophy challenge, Pipestone is also home to muskie.
Despite its remote setting, Cedar Island Lodge provides a comfortable base for exploring the lake. Guests stay in well-equipped cabins with modern amenities while still feeling immersed in the surrounding wilderness. From the lodge docks, anglers can head out each day to explore miles of fishable water, discovering new structures, new bays, and often multiple species along the way.
For many visitors, that combination is what makes Pipestone Lake so memorable. It’s not just the fishing, although the fishing is excellent. It’s the sense of scale, the quiet wilderness, and the feeling that around the next set of narrows there might be an entirely new piece of water waiting to be explored. Cedar Island Lodge places anglers right in the middle of that experience, offering a true taste of Northwestern Ontario’s legendary Sunset Country.
