SELWYN LAKE LODGE
ON CANADA'S 60th PARALLEL
1105-620 Spadina Crescent East
Saskatoon, SK, Canada S7K3T5
www.selwynlakelodge.com

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Selwyn Lake Lodge, located on Canada's 60^th parallel, is spectacular both in its setting and then in its very luxurious existence.  The Lodge can be reached only by float plane which is a great experience in and of itself.  That being said, everything there (buildings, boats, food, wine, etc.) had to arrive the same way or via helicopter.  Then, none of us thinks a thing about turning on the lights at home.  You don't at Selwyn either but only because a generator is providing electrical power 24 hours per day.  So, from the moment you land on the dock you can't help but be impressed!  The setting, food & wine are surpassed only by the fishing!

While at Selwyn, we fished with our guide, Dave Garrett, exclusively using fly rods.  Thankfully, we had an 8 wt. glass rod Ed had bought over 35 years ago to serve him in lieu of his broken 9 wt. rod.  He adapted it to his 9 wt. reel and amazingly didn't miss a beat fishing.  We spent the afternoon of the day we arrived as well as the next six full days exploring various bays in Selwyn Lake.  On Sunday afternoon (our arrival day), Lindy caught her first big pike on the fly rod – a 38" fish.  It was great fun sharing the Polaroid photograph at happy hour and dinner.  Then, the fishing only got better each day thereafter.  Every day we caught some 35 to 55 beautiful pike!

Apart from the fantastic fishing (more details below), the lodge experience was wonderful.  Each morning was a cooked-to-order breakfast.  Lindy had her first "shore lunch."  We caught a small pike for lunch (yes, we broke our catch & release rule but only for this purpose) and then Dave prepared it along with potatoes and onions on a campfire on the lakeshore.  Great!  Then, the evenings (after a refreshing hot shower) began and hors d'oeuvres and cocktails followed by a gourmet meal and fine wine.  Chef Luke made each evening a feast both to the eyes and the pallet (and he's also a great bartender too).   After dinner, cordials were offered by the fireplace or the deck.  We even had the luck to see the Northern Lights one evening.  So, even without fishing, who wouldn't have a great time here?!

Returning to fishing, we were having a terrific and productive time fly fishing for the pike, but also spent one morning mid-week fishing a stream for Artic Grayling, again another first for Lindy.  Each cast to a still pool or eddy behind the rocks, caught a fish!  Simply amazing and again great fun!  This was some of Lindy's first stream fishing – and her first time doing so in waders – so another great experience.  Obviously, we were using our much lighter 5 wt. fly rods.  We both were able to catch & release  16"+ artic grayling which are quite large for the species.  (And, Lindy easily won the award for the smallest catch too - a mere few inches!) 

A daily overview of the pike fishing is difficult since each day was so loaded with catches/releases and wonderful fishing.  So, highlights of the pike fishing included getting "doubles" (that is, each of us having a pike on the line) of 38" and 36" fish simultaneously.  Then, we caught & released an unbelievable number of trophy pike – trophies are classified as being those over 40" long.  How about fishing 6.5 days and catching between us 11– yes, 11 – of those monsters!  You can spend a lifetime and you're not guaranteed one!  As a matter of fact, in over 50 years of fishing prior to this, Ed only caught one 40" pike on a fly rod and that was back in 1964 in Canada at Great Bear Lake on the Artic Circle!  Thinking he would never get a bigger one, Ed had that pike mounted and it's currently hanging on the billiard room wall.  Can you imagine our shock (and delight!) when we caught 5 pike that equaled it and 6 that exceeded it?!  The biggest catches were two 43" pike  - one being 22 lbs. and the other being 23 lbs. - and the beauty is that we each caught one of these fish.

What a wonderful way to spend the closing week of the season at Selwyn Lake Lodge. As we struggle for adjectives, awesome may fit best!!   We owe a great deal of thanks to Dave for finding terrific fishing spots and assisting with fly selection, etc.  We'll definitely be looking forward to fishing with Dave again next year!

So, if you're interested in an incredible adventure, consider Selwyn Lake Lodge.  For details, check out www.selwynlakelodge.com. 

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