Last summer my husband, four of our closest friends and myself set off on an adventure to South Leland Lake which is located in the northeast corner of Alberta for six glorious days of (un-guided) fishing…totally unplugged! These trips had been a yearly event. Between the six of us we had done a lot of fishing in northern Alberta; North Charles, Cornwall, Colin and Wylie lakes. It had been just a little over three years since we had done a fly-in fishing trip together, so we were ecstatic to say the least.
With the trailer loaded with fishing gear, we kicked off the five hour drive to Fort McMurray with a stop at Wal-Mart to stock up on boat snacks and supplies for our communal meals (every couple cooks once). We offloaded the gear and weighed-in at the airport and spent a sleepless night in the Mac eagerly waiting for our flight in the morning. After a quick refueling stop in Fort Chipewyan, which happens to be one of the oldest European settlements in Alberta (1788) we headed off to the lake.
At South Leland, we had the opportunity to fish for Northern Pike, Walleye and Lake Trout from our 15 foot Lund boats. We caught so many fish, a few of us remarked that we were “tired of it” because it seemed like everytime we casted, there was a fish on the line. The biggest fish (pike) caught were 23 lbs, 21.5 lbs and 19.9 lbs (none of them were caught by husband or myself, unfortunately). It was my first time downrigging on the lake; I had done it on our honeymoon when we went salmon fishing near Port Hardy, B.C. Our boat caught 10 Lake Trout, my largest being just shy of 6 lbs (a personal best). And, we were able to fry up and bring home some yummy Walleye to enjoy with our family.
To make things interesting we always have a little friendly competition…complete with prize money and a trophy. Our boat took home a bit of cash but sadly, no trophy… Perhaps one day it will sit proudly on our coffee table.
The weather was really good for the most part; we had a few windy and rainy days but overall we were able to spend HOURS and HOURS and HOURS of our days on the water. I currently am sporting quite the impressive ‘raccoon eyes’ courtesy of the sun/wind and large sunglasses.
To spice things up a little bit on day two; we ventured through a narrow creek and spent some time fishing in North Leland Lake. It took some manvoerving on the part of the captains but we managed. We got to see some black bears, beavers building their homes, loons (and their adorable little babies), eagles and even a cow moose with her calf.
Although I like to think that we were “roughing it” we really weren’t. We had two barbeques, generator, lights, fridge, freezer, propane cooktop, wood burning stoves, stocked cooking equipment and a shower house. Even the bunks were comfortable!
Personally, I wouldn’t mind trying out the rest of the lakes that are part of the Andrew Lake Lodge & Camps network; Boquene, Andrew, North Leland, and Lynx Tundra in the years to come. If you are looking for an Alberta fishing adventure I highly recommend this! I was impressed with the camp and the treatment we received from the owner –he takes a lot of pride in his facilities, boats and other supplies and goes above and beyond to meet the needs of his guests.