I had just finished reviewing the brochures for a third time. I had a
real hankering to go on a fly-in trip to Canada but was at a loss as to
where to go. Although my choices were many, the people that I had talked
to at Shining Falls Lodge left a memorable impression. Each time I had
gone through the stack of brochures, their lodge always came out on top.

The options were still heavy on my mind when I decided to take a break
from my booth duties at the sport show and take another walk around the
show complex. It was during this walk that I ran into fellow angler and
good friend, Charlie Simkins.

Simkins didn’t notice me when I walked up as he was busy going through
sport show literature. After a short greeting, he explained to me that
he was looking for a fly-in trip for the coming summer. I found it a bit
ironic that on the top of his list was the Shining Falls Lodge brochure.
Before the day was through, we booked a trip.

We arrived at the bed and breakfast in Manitoba in plenty of time to
visit with other guests. As luck would have it, a number of the guests
had been to Shining Falls and had extensive experience fishing Family
Lake. The stories of success spilled out one after another. Several of
the group were so impressed with the lake and the lodge that they went
back year after year.

Simkins and I were pretty pumped when we boarded the plane the next
morning. Before long, we were cruising up to the dock at Shining Falls
Lodge. Once off the plane, we were quickly greeted by owners, Pat and
Chickie Harristhal.

Before long, we were sipping a cup of coffee and going over a map of
Family Lake. The Harristhals eagerly pointed out the locations on the
map where they themselves, as well as previous guests, had been so
successful for walleye and northern.

Before long, Simkins and I were armed with a collection of Fuzz-e-grubs,
miscellaneous jigs, and PowerBait and were ready to hit the water in
earnest. It was about here that it started to rain.

For the next four days, our raingear never came off. I am not going to
say it rained solid for four days, but when it wasn’t raining, the wind
and mist in the air kept us bundled to the max. On two of the days, the
temps never escaped the mid forties.

Although the mid June front we were battling was as bad as I have ever
seen, someone forgot to tell the walleyes about it. They didn’t seem to
care in the least. They hit jigs, spinners, and PowerBait twister tails
in nearly every spot we tried. And all of this without the aid of live bait!

With the help of our portable Fish Easy, we discovered that if a piece
of structure looked like it should have walleyes, it would. Not every
location was stacked with marble eyes, but anything that appeared fishy
produced. In a couple of places, we hooked walleyes on nearly every
single cast.

Family Lake is known for more than walleyes. It also has a very healthy
population of northern. Many of these northern are big.

It took us a while to figure the northern pattern out, but we eventually
learned what to look for. The northern were not relating to cabbage
weeds as they often do on this type of lake. Instead, they were found
nestled in and around big boulders.

These big boulders were in the same vicinity of the walleyes. It is not
uncommon to have toothy pike set up housekeeping in areas where tender
walleyes are available to eat. Big weedless bass jigs tipped with seven
inch plastic worms worked wonders on these big fish.

There was more to this trip than just the fishing. The accommodations
were superb. The cabins were new and modern and the American Plan food
in the new dining hall was nothing short of excellent.

One of the brightest parts of this rainy trip was the hospitality. The
Harrsithals treated us more like family than guests. A hot cup of coffee
and a warm smile always greeted us when we entered the dining area.

Upon my return from Shining Falls, I shared my collection of photos with
my wife. Up until now, she has never expressed much interest in going
along on a fly-in vacation. After seeing the fish and the lodge, she
insisted we make plans to book a trip.

Shining Falls Lodge, located on Family Lake in Atikaki Provincial Park
in Manitoba, is without a doubt, the most impressive fishing camp I have
ever been to. The fishing is fabulous, the accommodations are top shelf,
and the owners are the nicest people you will ever meet.

In my opinion, Shining Falls Lodge pretty much has it all. Check out
their website at www.shiningfallslodge.com or give them a call at
1-888-365-6511.

Copyright © 2004-05, MidWest Outdoors Ltd.   All rights reserved.   Do not duplicate or redistribute in any form. 

All other trademarks, marked or not marked, are the property of their respective owners.