Jackson: Despite the costs, the great north still beckons

There are times when I inspect photographs that my friends and I have taken in the far-north reaches of the sub-Arctic and elsewhere.

The brochures and sports show booths can never tell the true story of what goes on when one ventures across a lake forged out of volcanic rock.

There have been dozens of times when I looked out across narrow sections of God's Lake, Manitoba, and observed the bastions of guardianship that have taken hundreds and even thousands of years to evolve into the best of what nature has to offer.

And further northward the giants of the spruce and pine clan give way to the to the "youngsters," the sprouts that cling to the smattering of tree-bearing soil and rock.

And then there's the fishing.

Of course, I would be foolish to exclude the giant northern pike and monstrous lake trout that stand fast against the elements and human incursion on God's Lake, the North Seal River flowage, and many other of the unspoiled, sweet-tasting waters that have their origins where polar bears roam and eagles hunt their next meal.

There are so many other treasures to be rediscovered, treasures so great and noteworthy that the words flowing from this keyboard never provide the right amount of justice when I try to re-create the feeling I've experienced close to a hundred times.

Because I didn't know any better (and I continue to plead ignorance on the subject), I always assumed a lake trout was at the bottom of the list of predatory fish in the Great Lakes.

I listened and watched some Lake Michigan charter boat skippers look down their noses when lake trout became a topic of conversation.

Most everything I heard and experienced led me to believe lake trout were an unwanted Lake Michigan species when the charter boats were stalking coho and king salmon.

All that changed when I started fishing the far northern reaches of Manitoba, the Northwest Territories, and Saskatchewan.

The carrot on a stick held out in front was the teaser for me to search for jumbo lake trout, all because those in the know wanted me to experience a true north-country, aquatic cannibal.

Native guides usually know where the big schools of fish hang out and our guide that one day on Nicklin Lake told us we were sitting right over a massive school of lakers.

So we dropped heavy jigs; spoons and elongated plastics down some 75 feet. Twenty seconds after the drop I had a massive strike. I hauled up a 10-pound fish.

My next drop produced another savage strike, but this time as I was bringing that fish to the surface I felt an even more intense hit. All I was able to salvage was a quarter of that first fish because a huge, brute laker had devoured most of the original fish.

Shortly after that trip, I was fortunate to be on a lake where very large lake trout call home. It took close to a half-hour when I finally landed a beast weighing over 40 pounds.

And then there were the battles on Aylmer Lake near the Circle, where I caught and released over a dozen trout close to 40 pounds.

If you can find an affordable lodge where the owner boasts about great lake trout fishing, take a chance and be ready for battles supreme.

• Contact Mike Jackson at angler88@comcast.net, catch his radio show 7-9 a.m. Sundays on WGCO 1590-AM (live-streamed at www.1590WCGO.com) and get more content at www.mikejacksonoutdoors.com.