Penn’s Outdoors

Lake Kesagami is a spectacular lake in norther Ontario.  Ken traveled there from PA and sent me this report about a June trip in 2006.  They used Gardiner Air Service.   There are only two outfitters that provide fishing on the lake.  The other is Kesagami Wilderness Lodge, which is a four star American Plan lodge. The cabin for Gardiner Air Service is on Partridge Lake with a portage to Lake Kesagami.  Here is his report.

As a brief summary, we had good weather - warm days and cool evenings with some rain but not enough to curtail fishing.  Beautiful sunsets and of course in June these were around 10:30 in the evening.  We did, however, have quite a bit of strong wind which made our boating experience on the larger Lake Kesagami quite interesting and sometimes dangerous.  Several times we were caught in the middle of the lake and had navigate 4-5 foot waves for several miles to get to shore. 

As advertised, the walleye fishing was outstanding.  The water is tea-colored and shallow keeping the walleye in areas where they can be caught almost anytime of the day.  It was not unusual to catch a 18-21″ walleye on every cast.  Best baits were spinnerbaits and Johnson spoons that we would pull through the weed beds.

The northern pike fishing was okay and much better than any other lake we have fished.  However, we did not catch the trophy northern we were hoping for.  Typical size of the numerous pike caught were 24-35″ and largest for the week was 38″.  Successful baits included daredevils, Johnson spoons, spinnerbaits, and buzzbaits, and a variety of crankbaits.

We did most of our fishing trolling shorelines and working the points. Some or our best fishing was in shallow bays where there was a lot of weed cover.

Our cabin on adjoining Partridge Lake was very well equipped - propane frig, stove, and lights with a woodstove to keep warm at night.  The one-room cabin had five bunk beds, kitchen table, and adequate supply of pots, pans, dishes, and silverware.  A hand pump in the kitchen brought in lake water that we boiled for 10 minutes for drinking.  Outside was a nice deck with a gas grill.  The outhouse was just a short distance away. 

The cabin was supplied with two 14′ aluminum boats equipped with 6hp motors.  This was very adequate for fishing Partridge Lake, which was small.

Fishing Lake Kesagami was accomplished by driving our boats to the end of Partridge and then carrying our gear over a narrow and soggy path for about 20 minutes to Kesagami.  There were two 16′ aluminum boats there with 8hp motors that ran well but were undersized for the size of the lake.  However, I understand there is a 10hp limit on the lake.

Ken