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Fishing the BIG ONES at Kasba !
As told by Greg Dussome
Written by Sherri Dussome
A few years ago, through a stroke of what
I consider to be some of the best luck I have ever had, I was introduced to fishing for lake trout at Kasba Lake
in the Northwest Territories. A business associate and very good friend of mine, Terry Petherbridge, was instrumental
in this union. I thank him! Terry, who at one time was a fishing guide at Kasba, arranged a trip to Doug Hill's
Kasba Lake Lodge, and I was invited along. It turned out to be my first of many extraordinary fishing excursions
to this wilderness haven.
I was excited - who wouldn't be. This was to be my first time fishing in the Northwest Territories. I had heard
many tales of the monster lake trout that resided there but, as are most, I was a little skeptical as to the authenticity
of these tales knowing fair well that the tellers were prone to hyperbolize! Now I was finally about to test the
waters first hand.
Kasba Lake is located directly north of Winnipeg, Manitoba and is inaccessible by road. This necessitated a stop
over in Winnipeg in order to catch the chartered jet to Kasba early in the morning. The plane was filled with anxious
fishermen, many of whom were returning for their annual fishing trip and others who, like me, were on their first.
As our jet nearer the runway and we prepared to land, it was obvious to me that this was about to be a very unusual
experience for me. The runway was not paved; just a strip of gravel. I have to admit that this sent a little chill
down my spine! However, the jet came to a very noisy but completely safe landing. Gear was gathered and the fishing
trip-of-a-lifetime was about to commence. We decided that it would be entertaining to watch our jet take off on
this runway. Well, it was very entertaining. Entertaining for those who watched and laughed as we were sprayed
with flying gravel. NOT a good plan and not one that I ever repeated on any of my return trips!
This trip happened to be in July and in the Northwest Territories that means many, many hours of fishing since
dusk and dawn are very closely connected. It also meant that the weather would probably be agreeable but that was
not a given. There was still ice on some parts of the lake and the water was extremely cold even though the daytime
temperatures could vary from near-freezing to near-roasting. We were prepared for both - parkas and sunglasses! |
| We fished from sunup to sundown, having shore lunches on various islands along our route. So
far we had managed to land several large (not record breaking) lake trout and were having a great time. Terry was
our guide. There were three of us in our boat and three more of our group in another boat. For the most part our
two boats stayed pretty much together, fishing the same areas of the lake. The other boat carried Terry's father,
brother, and a friend of theirs. On this particular day we decided to head for a new site and the other boat chose
to return to the lodge as it was already getting close to quitting time. But not us. We were more of the proverbial
let's just catch one more type of fishermen. |
Large (not record breaking) lake trout.
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Terry, Ken and I headed for a small cove where Terry suspected there would be some real trophy
fish just longing to play along with us! Sounded great. As we were fishing away, the wind took a sudden change
in direction. We paid little attention and continued in an attempt to snag that trophy trout. After a while it
was clear to us that this was not about to be the day-of-the-big-one. We were running out of daylight and it would
still take quite a while to motor back to the lodge. Suddenly it became very apparent to us that we should have
heeded the change of wind. As we neared the exit from the cove we saw a nightmare. The wind had blown iceflows
in and blocked our exit. Here we were in our aluminum boat, stuck in a cove with a massive amount of ice cutting
us off from the main lake. This scenario was not inviting.
We pondered the situation and decided that we had to attempt to somehow make it through the jammed ice. If we were
not back by nightfall, there would be some very anxious people out searching for us. No one really knew our whereabouts,
though, and Kasba is one huge lake. It could take a long time to locate us. It wasn't a particularly warm day and
the wind was biting cold. If the ice kept blowing in our chances of making it through would lessen quickly. Ken
took one side of the boat, and I the other. Terry steered. Each of us kept one leg in the boat and used the other
to push at the ice. We were all a little anxious as we inched through that ice with it closing in behind us at
every foot of the way. After a painstakingly long time, we finally managed to free ourselves. We heaved a heavy
sigh of relief as we headed back to Kasba Lodge.
It was one fishing day that will remain in my mind forever. In retrospect we laugh about it but at the time, believe
me, I didn't relish the idea of staying in that cove until we could be rescued. Mind you we would have had a lot
to eat and those lake trout are sure tasty when pan fried fresh from the water! |
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