Lake Athabasca is home to the elusive Walleye. Jig for Walleye in deep, rocky holes found around the lake. Have a shore lunch of fresh walleye fillets prepared by your guide and you'll want it all the time! The name, "walleye," comes from the fact that their eyes, like those of cats, reflect light. They are olive green with broad darker bars fading to yellow on the side. They have a spiny ray with large fang-like teeth and the lower corner of their caudal fin is white. Generally, Walleyes grow to about 80 cm (31 in) in length and weigh up to about 9 kg (20 lb).
Arctic Grayling, the "fiesty sailfish of the North", calls Lake Athabasca home. Found in the swift-running fresh waters, these small but mighty fighters are a thrill to catch. Try your hand at fly-fishing for these acrobatic, colourful fish right from shore on our island as well as from several other small nearby islands.The Arctic Grayling is a species of freshwater fish in the salmon family that can grow to a maximum recorded length of 22 inches and a maximum recorded weight of 8.4 pounds. These fish have a colorful and very large dorsal fin, much larger than that of any other cold-water fish. Grayling have large scales with brown or black spots on the body behind the head.
Lake Trout of 102 lbs was caught in net by commercial fisherman in late 60's. Absolutely no commercial netting has been allowed on Lake Athabasca since 1973. Therefore, Fish Are Huge! The Lake Trout is the least colorful of the trouts, being grey with irregular white spots. During the fall spawning season, the fins near the tail become a pale orange. Lake Trout are native to many of Alberta's deep cold lakes. They grow very slowly, and often don't mature until they are 8-10 years old. Lake trout are long-lived with the larger ones reaching 20-25 years of age. Young Lake Trout feed on freshwater shrimp and other aquatic invertebrates. Older Lake Trout eat other species of fish, mostly whitefish and tullibee.
The Northern Pike is a species of carnivorous fish. Sometimes called Jackfish, the Northern Pike is a long, slender fish with sharp, backward-slanting teeth, duck-like jaws and a long, flat head. Its back and sides are predominantly dark green to olive-green, with yellow to white spots. Because of a tiny gold spot found on the tip of most scales, the pike appears flecked with gold. In Alberta, Northern Pike have been known to weigh up to 22 kg (50 lbs) and normally live 5 to 15 years, but can be as old as 30.
In Canada, freshwater fishing is widely acknowledged as among the best fishing in the world. Aggressive freshwater fish of all kinds can be found right across the country. Fishing at Lake Athabasca is second to none! This relativley untouched fresh water lake is famous for its Arctic Grayling, Lake Trout, Northern Pike and Walleye. Out here, we don't even call them fish - we call them "hogs" because there is really no other way to describe their size and abundance.
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Lake Athabasca Lodge 2011
Our goal is simple. To provide our guests with the opportunity to enjoy the best fishing of their lives.
To us that means more than offering access to the rich waters of Lake Athabasca. It means sharing our years of knowledge of this incredible location, and the promise that we are focused on meeting and exceeding our guests' expectations.
