Kearns Lake (Jay Vee) Outpost

July 1 – Canada Day 2014 – we arrived at the Mattice lake base in Armstrong after 10 days at Kearns Lake through Thousand Lakes Outposts. The lilacs are just starting to bloom (great fragrance), the black flies are at their peak (yuck) and the water levels are receding from the highest levels people have seen in decades. Sounds like a spring time trip and given the very late ice out and cold spring, it essentially was. Six of us – including LarryS and his sister Pat – spent 10 wonderful days at the Kearns Lake outpost. This is our second trip there and you can see the first trip report (2011) at: http://www.walleyecentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=183179&highlight=kearns+lake I won't repeat the Taj Mahal cabin conditions and contents (you can get the details from the previous report) except to note that the indoor bathroom has been totally remodeled (in cedar panels with new shower stall), there's a remote generator start in the cabin, the satellite phone works essentially all the time now and there's brand new 14ft Lunds with brand new 15 hp 4-stroke motors (the cabin is now no more than 10 minutes away from anywhere on the lake). All are very nice upgrades. [Read Full Testimonial on WalleyeCentral.com]

As I set the hook into what was probably my tenth walleye in about eight or nine minutes, my ultra-rugged fishing buddies in the other boat couldn't believe what they were seeing. Chef Tim Matthews and Chef Ken Veneruz from the Culinary Arts Program at Confederation College were literally catching fish and after fish. I know that sounds cliche, even predictable in a story like this, but it's true, absolutely true. I remember Tim saying over and over with his classic British accent, "RD, this is brilliant!" And, Ken's most commonly used line was "Holy sh** RD, I can't friggin' believe this place!" Tim and Ken had been on fly-in fishing trips in the passed, but both were in agreement that the fishing at this particular fly-in, was the simply the best they'd ever seen. Another guy who was in agreement that day, was yours truly, who had previously been on somewhere around 150 fly-ins, covering most of Canada. And, the location you ask? Kearns Lake located around 90 miles north of Thunder Bay Ontario, square in the middle of northwestern Ontario's world-famous walleye factory in the Canadian Shield. Thousand Lakes Outposts is owned and operated by the husband and wife tag team of Dwayne Bolen and Teri Fero, from Thunder Bay. Back in 2005, I was at Kearns Lake with the previous owner and the fishing was just as insane then as it was on this trip in June, 2009. But, I have to say, what I saw in those four days, just a couple weeks ago… clearly was the fastest and most ridiculous walleye fishing that I've seen in my entire life. And, that is quite a statement to make! There are several reasons why Kearns and Stonehouse have such consistent fishing. The most obvious is lack of fishing pressure. There are no other camps on either lake, and that in itself makes a big difference. When we arrived at Kearns Lake, there was a group from Minnesota who'd been there for five days, packed up and ready to head home. This bunch of rugged dudes had been going to Kearns and Stonehouse for 26 years! That's a good sign… and one of the guys told me that he'd been on other fly in trips before he made Thousand Lakes Outposts "his" yearly trip. The camps themselves are in excellent shape and Dwayne is a fanatic about their upkeep. If something needs repair, it's done. Hot and cold running water, shower, well equipped kitchens, including two refrigerators… Basically speaking, the camps are well set up and there's plenty of room for a group of eager fisher dudes and fisher chicks to spend a kick-ass holiday. Flying in to a remote lake for a fishing trip is a great way to spend your much-deserved vacation time and I highly recommend you put this on "your things to do list". Just make sure you do your homework and pick a good fly-in… like the one I've just finished writing about.

We just returned from 7 days at Kearns Lake with Thousand Lakes Outposts – LarryS and his sister Pat with Wil and my partner Gary. This was our third trip to this lake – you can see the other reports at: http://www.walleyecentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=365097&highlight=kearns Not a lot was new to the Taj Mahal Cabin or to the boats/motors (15hp 4 stroke, 14 ft lunds) so I'll just briefly summarize the fishing which was very very good. Walleye – were much deeper than the last trips (this trip was about a month later) and we found the sweet spots between 17 and 25 feet of water. We did get two large walleye – LarryS's 27 incher and my 26 incher – but there was a gap down to the 23-24 inch range where we caught somewhere on the order of 35-40 in that range. Must've been a good year class. Smaller walleye in the 16 to 20 inch range were as usual all over the lake and quite easy to catch at the right depths. 40-50 per day is pretty easy to achieve. We were glad to have crawlers and leeches as twister jigs were not nearly as effective as in the past.

I have fished J-V/Kearns lake every year since 1983 and it is by far the best lake I have ever fished, including some in Alaska. It is a lake where you can catch 30-75 walleyes a day that weigh up to 12 lbs. Most in the 2-7 lb range. If you are after northern you will catch plenty of them as well. My largest was 31.6 lbs. Every year we have had several in the 20 lb plus range. Why go any place else to fish! The camp is very comfortable, with just about everything you will need provided.

Back in 2006 I spent a few days on Kearns Lake with Thousand Lakes Outposts and I saw some of the hottest walleye fishing ever. We only needed 45 minutes to get enough "A footage' for a whole show. I'll be going back again in 2009 – and I can't wait!