Just over ten years ago, I brought my youngest son Logan on a fishing/filming vacation to Manitoba when he was about 16 years old. This time, it would be to fish and film a MidWest Outdoors’ TV show in beautiful Saskatchewan. I was delighted to hear that Logan was excited to go on the trip and that he would take time off from work to join me. With limited vacation time and everything that a married, 27-year old has on their plate, I was honored that he’d come along.

Previously, Logan’s largest pike was a 40-inch trophy from our last outing. I assured him that his chances of catching a bigger one this time around would be extremely good, and to be ready. Knowing his limited experience on big fish, I had him take a few casts prior to the trip with one of my baitcasting reels to evaluate his proficiency. A few casts later, I knew that he could handle it, and would be a fine boat partner.

Our destination was Wilderness Family Outfitters on Wollaston Lake in northern Saskatchewan. I had met the owners of Wilderness Family, the Jacobs family (Bruce, son Brendon, and Bruce’s wife Miriam) at the All-Canada Sport Show last January in St. Charles, Ill. They were extremely nice people to converse with, and I already knew that the fishery was spectacular from my previous trips to Wollaston lake. However, I had never stayed on the south end of Wollaston Lake. In the past, most of my fishing exploits had been on the north end. Within minutes of our conversation, I knew it was the place to go.

Wollaston is a massive body of water. Saskatchewan is home to about 100,000 lakes and Wollaston is the third largest at about 880 square miles. It is also the largest lake in the world that drains naturally in two directions—to Lake Athabasca in the northwest and through Reindeer Lake and onto the Hudson Bay in the east. To put the size into perspective, the lake is just a little smaller than the entire state of Rhode Island. It has over 1000 islands and every kind of structure you can think of, from vast, expansive bays with weeds and rocks, to gradual and deep drop-offs, mid-lake humps, rocky shorelines, and mid-lake saddles and channels. It’s over 300 feet deep and is famous for giant lake trout, excellent walleyes, and trophy pike fishery.

I quickly searched Google maps, which is a terrific resource for fishing lakes that you might not know a lot about. I was happy to learn that Wilderness Family Outfitters was located at the very south end, in an area of Wollaston that was narrower and very fishable in any kind of weather. Wollaston is a huge body of water and some of it can seem like an ocean.

My goal of the trip was twofold: First, to get Logan to beat his personal best pike, and second, to relax, have fun, and enjoy quality time with my son. 

After an overnight in Saskatoon, we boarded the plane headed for Saskatchewan’s northern boreal forest and Points North airport. Over a 20 year span, the Points North terminal has gone from a single-wide trailer to a double-wide trailer complete with chairs along the walls. It houses the original restrooms, and an original pay phone, which is still operational! It is definitely a step back to simpler times and a true remote setting. Deboarding the plane, we waited for our luggage in the welcomed Saskatchewan cool air. Then, we met up with Bruce from Wilderness Family who would drive us to the camp in his pickup, about a 40-minute ride south.

Wilderness Family is an extremely clean and orderly camp complete with flower beds (which I haven’t seen at a camp before) along gravel walkways between cabins, the lodge, and the main dock. It has clean, comfortable, newly decorated waterfront cabins with decks, individual grills, deck chairs, hot and cold running water, 3-piece bathrooms and Wi-Fi 24/7. All cabins have picturesque views of the lake. There are no generators that constantly hum, and the camp is tucked away in a secluded bay that faces west for ideal sunsets.

The 1,600-square-foot lodge is also extremely clean and comfy and serves all-you-can-eat, family-style meals. It is also a perfect place to gather with friends and family to share the day’s stories and relax after dinner. There is a commercial grade kitchen along with a place to purchase staples, fishing gear, and WFO merchandise. Wilderness Family has an excellent logo and their t-shirts and sweatshirts are a fantastic way to commemorate the trip.

Looking at the weather, our best couple of weather days were expected during the early part of the trip, with winds and some rain possible the last couple days. So we quickly unpacked, got settled in our cabin, and put together our gear in anticipation for the morning’s adventure to Compulsion Bay for giant pike. 

As mentioned, Wollaston is known for its three different species of target fish; lake trout, walleyes and trophy northern pike. I packed a couple of 2-piece, 7-foot, medium spinning rods and reels for walleyes, along with some heavier pike and trout rods. My pike rods are 8-foot Fenwick, 2-piece Predator Series rods that break down and make things easy when traveling on fishing trips where limited plane space and rod tube lengths come into play. I also always pack a couple 2-piece, medium heavy spinning rods for lighter flies and lures that allow for slower presentations after pike follows. Fancasting is a terrific way to cover water, but the slower presentation of a follow-up lure often coaxes somewhat-hesitant pike to bite. 

For tackle, I brought larger Savage spinners and soft-plastic baits, a few medium-sized Mepps in-line spinners, Dardevle spoons, larger body baits, and a couple streamer flies and some swim baits for pike. For walleys, I threw in some Berkley Flicker shads, Yo-Zuri lipless cranks, stick baits and jigs. Lastly, I packed a few larger jigs and vertical lures for trout.

After a relaxing night’s sleep, we woke to perfect weather—glass-like water conditions, a slight breeze and sunshine. Compulsion Bay was about a 40-minute boat ride, but our guid Brendon Jacobs said that with the weather the way, along with its big fish haunts, the ride would be worth it.

Once in the boat, as I glanced around at the rugged, beautiful Saskatchewan wilderness. I couldn’t help but smile at the vastness of the outdoors and the closeness of my son by my side. As the boat cut through the calm water’s surface, enjoying the view and the solitude of Wollaston Lake and northern Saskatchewan were the only things on my mind. Spending the day with Logan and fishing side-by-side was probably the best feeling of the trip. Returning to the Saskatchewan wilds was exciting, but being able to share it with my son made it that much more special.

We spent the day casting among sparse weed beds in about 10 feet of water, and wound up not only catching many fish, but each managing a giant pike. Logan caught the largest, a personal best 43.5-inch trophy, that was not only long but girthy. I also managed a 42- or 43-incher, but was ecstatic that Logan wound up catching the monster. Watching him enjoy the trip and the fishing was an extremely proud moment that I will never forget. We even caught a couple pike on back-to-back casts, landing two 40-inch pike in the boat at the same time. The pike in Wollaston are tremendously healthy. We didn’t really experience any timid pike, but in the right environment, the fly or swim-bait slower presentation worked perfectly. 

Pike fishing is good at Wilderness Family all season long. They have a small window of operation from early June, when the ice comes off the lake, through September. They pretty much cover three seasons—spring, summer and fall—in a three-month period. Early in the season, pike are in shallower bays looking for warmer water, and you can sight fish for them. In July, the weeds start coming up and they start transitioning to weedy areas and deeper bays and points. Later in the season, they are pretty much feeding in deeper weed beds and getting ready for the long winter. Our mid-July trip consisted of transitioning pike from the bays to sparce weedy areas and deeper access points. We found the fish to be very aggressive and feeding.

Back at the lodge that evening, we enjoyed Miriam’s family style dinner of lasagna, fresh bread, salad and dessert while rehashing the catches of the day and watching the Toronto Blue Jays on TV with the Jacob’s family. The next few days of the trip were a great bonus and very eventful, catching abundant, thick walleyes, Logan’s first lake trout, enjoying fresh shore lunches, and catching a few more 40-inch-plus pike to round out the trip.

Saskatchewan is an outstanding province for any fishing vacation with thousands of lakes and lodges to choose from. I was happy to be back, and the opportunity to enjoy the trip with a close family member made it all that more special.

For information on Wilderness Family Outfitters, check out wildernessfamilyoutfitters.com. And for more on Saskatchewan fishing adventures, go to fishhunt.tourismsaskatchewan.com to create your own memories.