Wabakimi - Lookout River, Berg River, Whitewater Lake, Caribou River

[CanoeDaddy]

Here is a detailed report of my 10-day Wabakimi experience in early August 2022.

We got on the train at Sudbury Junction and got off 16 hours later at Schultz's Trail. We mapped out the trip on our own and did the trip without the assistance of an outfitter. We arranged Wabakimi Clem to pick us up and shuttle us back to Armstrong to catch our train home. He was very reliable, and an incredibly nice fellow to boot.

It was an amazing experience that I highly recommend.

https://www.canoedaddy.com/home/trip-re ... -lake-loop

 

[yellowcanoe]

Very much brought back memories of several trips to Wabakimi and a pic of the rapids we missed the portage on going downriver into Funger Lake..With a kevlar canoe.. We finished up our ten day trip nevertheless.

Fantasia portage used to be beautiful but blowdowns and microbursts and I believe a forest fire have altered that scenery. It used to be a wonderland of moss and of course blueberries..Took us two hours to do that one because we were eating...
Lovely trip report!

 

[lowangle al]

Great TR, I'm up to day 6.

 

[jdeerfoot]

Nice trip report and a great demonstration of how a Wabakimi trip can be done without expensive outfitter assistance. And Clem Quenville is a great guy and very reliable. I first met him in 2007 when he picked us up at the end of a trip at a logging road bridge on the Big Rv.

 

[memaquay]

Great trip and a great report!

 

[MichaelMerry]

I really enjoyed the read! It’s going to be a wonderful resource for planning our future wabakimi trip. Thank you for posting it!

 

[dbogey]

We were up there at the same time except we came down from Burntrock to Tamarack Lake. How's that 15' prospector? We you the only one in it or were there two of you?

 

[jdeerfoot]

Very nice TR. I was with a group that traveled much of the same area in August 2008. We crossed the park from Davies Lk on the west side to the Ogoki Reservoir on the east. I guess we were lucky on our trip which wasn’t too buggy.

 

[Jim Dodd]

Always good to see trip reports like this ! If I was only 40 years younger ? I'd be doing that ! Thanks for taking us along !
Oh it would have to be in a Stripper !

Jim

 

[Erica]

Great trip report. Thank you.

 

[yellowcanoe]

Great trip report. Thank you.

do It. .I loved my solos there

 

[CanoeDaddy]

Thanks everyone. ...and Jim, my father did it in his 70s..this year we are planning on trying both the Allanwater and the Kopka

 

[Gamma1214]

Note: the original link no longer works. I'm unsure why as the site is still live... I found the trip report here.

 

[CanoeDaddy]

Thanks for pointing that out, Gamma. Maybe try this one:

canoedaddy.com - Wabakimi - Whitewater Lake Loop

Total Distance: 170 kilometers from the VIA Rail at Schultz's Trail to the take-out on Little Caribou Lake where a 6 km shuttle is required to return to Armstrong Station Duration:10 days Number of Portages: 27 (some can be avoided if running rapids and if water levels are high) Total Port.

www.canoedaddy.com

Btw, loving your Steel River Thread.

 

[Keeled Over]

CanoeDaddy,

I am leaving for Wabakimi in a few weeks and I have been saving this trip report until closer to the departure time. My 2 brothers and I are heading in, and since time is not of the essence for us ( 2 retired and 1 teacher) we have set aside 15 days to head up and enjoy ourselves. Your report has seriously amped up my excitement.

I am so glad you folks had a great time - I am really looking forward to getting up there with my brothers. I have been developing some new pike techniques and cannot wait to try them.

Just single hooks up there, correct?

 

[memaquay]

Just single hooks up there, correct?

First time I heard that, I don't think it's the case, but maybe someone else can chime in. "Developing new pike techniques" made me chuckle, us Canadians usually develop techniques to avoid catching them, lol. A single hook is a great idea though, because it will not be uncommon for you to catch dozens of pike, and I find the incidences of human hook impalement goes up pretty fast with trebles.

Wabakimi is basically the same as the northern crown land routes to the east of it, and I only take one "lure" with me, jigs and rubber tails. Even with the humble jig, you will catch more pike than you know what to do with. In fact, on one of the trips with the students, we ran out of rubber tails, so we switched to using orange flagging tape. The pike, and even the walleye didn't care, we were still pulling them in.

 

[Keeled Over]

First time I heard that, I don't think it's the case, but maybe someone else can chime in. "Developing new pike techniques" made me chuckle, us Canadians usually develop techniques to avoid catching them, lol. A single hook is a great idea though, because it will not be uncommon for you to catch dozens of pike, and I find the incidences of human hook impalement goes up pretty fast with trebles.

Wabakimi is basically the same as the northern crown land routes to the east of it, and I only take one "lure" with me, jigs and rubber tails. Even with the humble jig, you will catch more pike than you know what to do with. In fact, on one of the trips with the students, we ran out of rubber tails, so we switched to using orange flagging tape. The pike, and even the walleye didn't care, we were still pulling them in.

That is music to my ears - thank you Mem. I have to keep reminding for this trip and the Thelon my tried and true fishing techniques I use are for high pressure areas and I don't need to overthink it. In fact, I have a roll of yellow in the basement!!

Thank you!

 

[jdeerfoot]

If you are working with an outfitter check with them on fishing regs. You will need to get an Outdoors Card as well as a license (they are available from all outfitters and many businesses). Or you could call the local NMR office in Thunder Bay during normal business hours and they can answer your questions.

 

[Alan Gage]

That is music to my ears - thank you Mem. I have to keep reminding for this trip and the Thelon my tried and true fishing techniques I use are for high pressure areas and I don't need to overthink it. In fact, I have a roll of yellow in the basement!!

Thank you!

I can remember fishing for walleye in WCPP and trying to avoid the pike. I hadn't brought any leaders, which was a mistake, and my jigs were disappearing at an alarming rate.

I'd been told the walleye were usually in 20' of water, which turned out to be correct, so I was using my jig as a depth finder. I cast and then count down until the jig hit bottom. When I found 20' I'd fish that area a little harder.

When the jig would reach bottom in only 5-10' of water I knew I was in trouble and I'd reel it in like mad hoping the pike wouldn't get it. They often did though.

I can't wait to hear how the trip turns out for you!

Alan

 

[Keeled Over]

I can remember fishing for walleye in WCPP and trying to avoid the pike. I hadn't brought any leaders, which was a mistake, and my jigs were disappearing at an alarming rate.

I'd been told the walleye were usually in 20' of water, which turned out to be correct, so I was using my jig as a depth finder. I cast and then count down until the jig hit bottom. When I found 20' I'd fish that area a little harder.

When the jig would reach bottom in only 5-10' of water I knew I was in trouble and I'd reel it in like mad hoping the pike wouldn't get it. They often did though.

I can't wait to hear how the trip turns out for you!

Alan

Thank you Alan. I have read this a couple of times relating to pike, and the grayling on the Thelon. Th context is so bizarre, as I have travelled all over to catch fish and as you and Mem point out this could get to be a PITA. It will work very well for my brothers who generally don't fish. I'll have to modify my approach, normally waiting a bit for a pike hook set but this is more for live bait, which I will not use on this trip.

FYI - I had inquired previously about rock climbing opportunities on this trip, and was correctly directed that this should not be done. My younger brother - climbing instructor - started looking around and is very excited about some routes down towards Thunder Bay. I tried climbing once at an outdoor industry trade show in California and the only thing I learned was I never wanted to rock climb again.