Experience Tama Kwa Vacationland Just North of Toronto

What if I told you there really is a fishing vacationland for serious anglers like you and me?

And what if I told you that location was only a hop, skip and drive north of the GTA to some of the finest multi-species fishing found this side of the border on Lake Nipissing in Northeastern, Ontario.

Lake Nipissing is the third-largest lake entirely in Ontario. It is relatively shallow for a large lake, with an average depth of only 4.5 m (15 ft). The shallowness of the lake makes for many sandbars along the lake's irregular shoreline. The lake reaches a maximum depth of 64 m (210 ft) near the mouth of the French River, off the shore of Blueberry Island. The lake has many islands most of which are protected under the Protection of Significant Wetlands scheme, controlled by the Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry.

Our road trip to the big lake located on the shorelines of North Bay, Callander, and many other smaller towns and villages, was to the popular Tama Kwa Vacationland resort, located in Callander and located right next to prime walleye spawning grounds.

There are also excellent stocks of smallmouth bass, northern pike, the mighty muskie and all kinds of jumbo yellow perch, rock bass and largemouth bass to keep the little ones in the family occupied right off the dock.

Little wonder why Lake Nipissing is world-renowned for the variety and abundance of its multi-species fishery.

We wanted to see for ourselves what all the angling chatter was about, with regard to just how good the numbers of walleye this lake is famous for and hooked up with local lake guide Josh McKay and fish some of his proven offshore humps, reefs and shoals since our trip was in mid-August and most of the early season walleye having already vacated the shallows.

We choose one of the most effective and easiest ways to fish for Northern Ontario walleye with the simple ball head jig and either nightcrawler, live minnow or leeches. With Josh stocking up the day before our arrival, we had plenty of meat offerings for these Nipissing walleyes.

As for choosing which rods to use for these deepwater walleye, we rigged up some St. Croix Legend Tournament Walleye series poles in the six-foot-six-inch to seven-foot lengths in medium action, spooled with ten-pound Torque braided line by Gamma, tied to a three-foot fluorocarbon leader, tied directly to the ball head jigs in five-thirty second and one-quarter ounce weights in orange/pearl or chartreuse/orange tones, (both favourite colour tones for Nipissing walleye).

With all the equipment prepared, it was time for our first-ever experience with Lake Nipissing walleye.

Walleye vacationland, you bet!

Very first spot of the day, Josh takes us out to a lake reef that tops out in the twenty-foot range with thirty to forty-plus feet surrounding the rock/sand reef and it was either the first or second drop right below the boat, that I felt the familiar ‘tick’ signalling a fish has inhaled by jig ‘nightcrawler. With a slow, upward sweeping hookset, I was into my first Nipissing walleye, a very impressive, chunky healthy-looking fish in the seventeen-plus-inch range.

Lake Nipissing has a strict policy of a two-fish limit per person and a slot size of 18.1 inches per fish that are allowed to be part of your two-walleye creel limit. These regulations have resulted in some of the finest walleye fishing we have experienced this close to the Greater Toronto Area (GTA).

For close to three hours straight, Josh and I were setting the hook on a wide variety of walleye in the fourteen to twenty-three-inch class with countless numbers of smallmouth bass and the ever-present freshwater drum (sheepshead) to keep smiles on our faces and consistent bends in our fishing rods.

Tama Kwa is sixty-three-plus-acres of private property that includes nine hundred and eighty plus feet of shoreline and three hundred feet of clean shallow, sandy beach, also children’s playgrounds and a bonfire area. In short, they offer everything to make your family comfortable – and then some. Wait until you see the magnificent sunsets and you’ll know what we mean.

All of the housekeeping cottages feature a heavy-duty electric stove with an oven, as well as barbecue and full-size microwave ovens. Each well-appointed cottage is meticulously maintained, with attention paid to every detail. In addition to flat-screen TVs (with satellite), all cottages can connect to free wifi.

Cottages also feature an open verandah that overlooks the lake, a picnic table, a four-piece bathroom, and two full-size double beds in each of the two bedrooms. Our water is not drawn from the lake but is pumped crystal clear from a 300-foot well drilled into the solid granite of the Canadian Shield.

This place is perfect for hardcore anglers and family vacationers alike.

Lodge host Nikko Guido’s mission for his customers is “To make Tama Kwa your home away from home and enjoy the great outdoors like never before”.

Take a moment to see why this lodge operator could be perfect for your next family or fishing buddies’ vacation by visiting them at https://tama-kwa.com/ or call them at (705) 752-2830 or (705) 493-1726

To say we were impressed would be shortchanging the true story. From experiencing Lake Nipissing’s superb walleye fishing to the scenic sunsets and ultra-clean surroundings of the cottages and overall location layout, this really did turn out to be a fishing vacationland for yours truly.

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