skyline lodge/florence lake

[rod bender ricky]

cosidering a family trip end of july on this lake with this outfitter.will be fishing with my wife and kids,and a few older ladies.any info on this camp,body of water,and time of year i will be fishing would be greatly appreciated. bender out..

[Gary from Iowa]

My grandfather and I went to Florence Lake during my high school and college years. (We knew Ben and Florence.) It's a small lake that often be fished when you would be blown off a large lake. We caught Walleye, Northern Pike and perch, and at that time took our limit of 6 northern and 6 walleye home to Iowa for the family to eat. I haven't seen the resort in decades but understand it is a nice family destination that offers fishing. There may be other resorts on Lac Seul that offer better fishing. Lac Seul is a huge lake and you will need a larger boat and motor and most likely more expensive than what you need at Florence. I think if you do an advanced search of the archives if you are interested in smaller lakes. I think recently that a soon to be retiree was enquiring about where to go with a small boat and a 9.9 hp outboard. Lots of comments on that one.
Good luck, have fun and catch a big one!

Gary

[rod bender ricky]

anyone else been here or have an opinion on this place??

[teddi]

very small lake with limited fishing

[rod bender ricky]

didnt get much response on skyline lodge/florence lake. any recommendations on a smaller lake with good fishing and accomodations..thanks..83 days til 1st trip in may, but who's counting..bender goooone!!

[Peeve88]

The other posts are correct, it is a small lake but the fishing is still good. It is a perfect place to go with kids and older adults. You can be across the lake to some good fishing in a matter of just a few minutes. If the weather would sneak up on you there's not too much to worry about except the lightning. The cabins are comfortable but don't expect too much. There are nicer out there but you will pay for them. If you want good walleye fishing the best time to go is in the spring. End of May till first 2 weeks of June. The big northern are caught in July when the weather is warmer. My parents used to own the camp in the 80's and i spent a many of summers up there fishing and fishing and fishing. A jig and a minnow or jig and a twister tail fished along the outer edge of the weedbed will get you plenty of walleye to eat. When you find em, anchor and fish straight up and down. You may want to get ahold of Jeremy and Ricki, the camp owners and see if they have any pics they could send you if you are interested. FYI, if you go in the spring be sure to pack for all 4 seasons. Last June we were on Wabaskang and it was 40 mph winds, rain and 40 degrees for 3 days. We fished but stayed pretty close to camp.. Good luck.

[BKW67]

This will be a great place for your family and a couple of older ladies to fish. The lake is small and you can get back to camp from the furthest spot on the lake in about 15 minutes. The size makes it nice when you are fishing with people that are not quite as dedicated as us men. Like my brother says, fish the weed edges and stop when you catch one. Fish with 1/4 oz jigs tipped with a minnow. The smallmouth fishing has improved here over the years so target them in the middle of the day when the sun is shining strong. The big northern will be biting in late July on Florence. Throw a spoon along the weedline over by Gull Rock.

This was my second home for many years as my parents owned the place after my grandfather passed away. Love it anywhere around Perrault Falls.

If you are taking kids and older ladies it would be best to stay off of the Lac Seul unless you plan on hiring a every day.

[CCC6609]

My grandparents used to take my dad (now 74) up to Florence and Wabaskang in the late 40's early 50's when Ben ran camps on both lakes. My granddad would tell stories of how Ben would travel up the creek from Florence to Wabaskang in the winter, blowing up the beaver dams in order for the walleyes and northern to spawn in Florence. My dad still tells stories of walking the game trails from Florence to "Lost Lake" where Ben had a leaky old 12 footer cached. My dad and his older brother would take turns rowing while the other cast. He said you had to take over rowing when you didn't catch a fish on a cast...there was some inspiration.
I first went there in 1970 and every year until '78. Ben's wife had passed away during this time and when we went up there, Ben would toss the keys to the fish house at my dad and ask him to watch over the place for a few days as he was going up to Red Lake.
We stopped there a few years ago on our way up to Gull Rock to look over the place. The owners were extremely pleasant, the cabins looked very familiar, but modernized up a bit and the lake looked a whole lot smaller than I remembered...funny how that happens.
Sounds like the fishing hasn't changed much except for the smallies being there now...go and make your own memories!
Craig

[bkwalker]

Craig,

My dad has a set of oars in his loft that came from Skyline. They have initials on them "B.R." Could have been the same ones your dad used back at Lost Lake. Probably not, but it's a small world you know.

My grandfather was very good friends with Ben and Anne and finally got the opportunity to purchase the camp when Ben sold the place. Grandpa only had it for a few years before he passed away from cancer. Canada was his favorite place in the world and he passed his love for the outdoors to a lot of his grandchildren and great-grandchildren to carry on the tradition.

Brian

[CCC6609]

This one I had almost forgotten...my dad tells the story of a year they were up at Skyline in the early 50's and a number of big black sedans pull into the resort bearing Illinois plates. Out piled over a dozen gentlemen all dressed in suits, ties and fedoras. My dad says the guys stayed about three days and would go out fishing every day wearing their white shirts with ties. They paid my dad to clean their catch at $1.00 a fish...good money back than. During the middle of their stay, my dad asked Ben who the gentlemen were and he replied, "Sam "Mooney" Giancana" and his Chicago crew. With that news, my dad made sure every bone was out of the fillets.
Craig

[guest_guest]

Hi going to be going here this year, all of your posts were helpful, just a few questions I had about the lake; is it weedy, rocky, sandy, or what?, also is it a shallow or really deep lake and what are the depths like? Anyone know how big the pike can get because that mainly what I'll fish for?

Thanks

[bkw67]

Florence Lake has produced a lot of big northern over the years. Fish the bay over by Gull Rock and there is a deep shelf around the corner to the north that should be good as well. My uncle has 5 northern on the wall over 20 lbs. from the same spot in the lake.

There is a submerged rock in the middle of the lake that has also produced some large fish over the years. It's hard to find but worth the effort. I don't remember finding any spots in the lake over 30' deep and most of the water you fish will be 10-12'.

[conservation fisherman 64]

Bkw67,

"My uncle has 5 northern on the wall over 20 lbs. from the same spot in the lake. "

I guess this means their no longer there to catch again??? Hope not, maybe you just forgot to "say" replicas. These fish were over 20 years old each, 20 years is a long time to wait for another 20 lb fish to replace those on the wall. Please just FISH FOR IT - CATCH IT - PHOTO IT - RELEASE IT - REPLICA IT . This is the only way that we can keep and build trophy lakes for everyone to enjoy.

Trophy fish for everyone, not just on YOUR wall. It is the only way to keep good fishing forever.

Conservation fisherman

[bkw67]

To my knowledge, replicas were not available in 1982/83.

[bkw67]

I forgot to mention our catch and release practices have changed drastically over the years. All of our big fish go back in the water to be caught again. I have a replica of a 37 lb Musky coming in just a few weeks.

[fishnfun]

Hi,

Wondering what types of lures will work up there, jointed rapalas, mepps bucktails, jerkbaits, etc.? If i go up with musky gear like bulldawgs and double cowgirls will I be going too big for the pike?



Any tips appreciated!!

[jsmyers]

I had good luck with small, slow-sinking jerkbaits in Wabaskang and Wine last week for northern.

A mepps #5 is always a good lure up there too.

When I was a kid, my uncle always used the biggest baits he could find in Wabaskang, and often caught some of the smallest fish. I've seen a 9 inch pike hooked on a full sized husky devil (in summer).

You might not go too big to catch fish, but you probably won't have any advantage. Meanwhile you get tired from the workout and if you have a matching rod, you didn't get to fight many fish.

I would got with medium heavy (maybe medium) spinning tackle and leave the biggest musky gear at home.