Loch Island Lodge - Playing in the Snow! ...And Trains, Brookies and Sport Shows! - Northern Ontario Fishing Lodge Resort and Outpost Cabins

It’s the dead of winter and most of us are sick and tired of it! Sometimes though, you just have to go with the flow and have a little fun. April probably does not seem like winter to most of you, but up here, April is one of the best times to work around the lake while the ice is still good to travel and the temperatures are mild. Up here the ice typically breaks up the first week of May and you can travel on it up to the last week or so before that. It’s that last month, when we get a lot done around the lake. Two years ago, we tried something a little different during our early April trek to the lake.

Fat Tire Bikes. They are everywhere now. A few years ago we picked up a pair to keep at Camp Lochalsh. Not many guests chose to use them at the time, but the staff really enjoyed riding them around Camp Lochalsh and the adjacent “two tracks.” While we were up working in April of 2017, it was someone’s harebrained idea to get the bikes out and ride them on the lightly crusted ice of Wabatongushi Lake. What we thought may be quite dangerous turned out to be a hoot!

The crust on the ice gave us just enough traction. You could ride anywhere on the lake and it was perfectly flat, just like a paved street. We rode those bikes all the way from Camp Lochalsh to the narrows and back! We even stopped at Loch Island on the way back! That’s 22 miles round trip for those of you not yet familiar with the lake. The narrows is the half way portion and during the winter, part of it does not freeze due to fast current.

This April, we have to go in again and do some work to prepare for the season. There will be no doubt that the fat tire bikes will come out again for another boot around the lake!

– Check out the video and photos below…

Trains and Brook Trout!

Also wanted to mention that Mark Melnyk just let us know about a newly available article online, talking about his trip catching brook trout last June in some of our outpost lakes, getting to us by train from White River. Not the only way to reach us, but certainly worth the trip for the views and experience. Our Location Page has info on the train and other travel options. Our guide Ryan made the article cover too!

View the article about the train trip and brook trout at… Discovering a Fantastic Brook Trout Fishery (opens in new window)

Our guide Ryan and Mark Melnyk – Article Cover