Mahkwa or Lost Island Lodges

[eyewitness]

Need info. on Mahkwa Lodge and lost Island Lodge on Lac Seul. Am thinking of bringing some clients up to one or the other and need feedback from those who have been to either. Prefer not to have to travel great distances from camp to fish if possible and flexability/quality of meals are important. Anyone have any opinions?

[Hawgman]

Lost Island would fit your needs well. I haven't been there for a couple years, but our best fishing was usually within a mile or two of camp. The fishing was consistently good, with a mixed bag of walleye, smallies and some big northerns. My son's first walleye ever was a six-pounder caught off a point just east of the camp.

The camp is very nice. The cabins are fine. We fixed most of our meals ourselves, but always ate at least one dinner at the lodge and the food was very good.

[TV4FISH]

Mahkwa Lodge is quite remote - you will park your vehicle in a gravel parking area after a long,rough car trip and take a Ferry across Vaughn Lake to the camp. Cabin conditions are "rustic". Good fishing is available close to the camp. You best plan to enjoy your buddies' company as you are truly "out in the bush"

[Mahkwa Man]

Mahkwa Lodge is owned by the Ojibway Indians. It has a new manager as of last year named Pierre Parsons (an Englishman with a French first name) that has improved the service somewhat.

Going into Mahkwa, you have to drive over a unsually rought, dusty gravel road with logging trucks coming at you with such speed, it makes your heart jump up into your throat. Once at the crowded landing, you have to take an approximately mile and a half ride on the water to the Lodge (hope that it isn't too windy).

The Lodge itself has two plans, the Housekeeping and American plans. Under the housekeeping plan you cook your own meals in rather rustic cabins. Usually one or more of the appliances are not working, such as the electric stove, hot water heater or both. The American plan has a motel unit and two cabins which are kept in relatively good shape. The meals are mediocre and the service is sometimes slow. They have the full American Plan and the Modified American Plan where you bring your own boat.

The service is generally poor. To get gas for the boat and minnows for bait is sometimes a major project. There is usally never enough dock space, and the docks are of poor quality. The so called "dock boys", are usually pretty slow moving.

Some redemming qualities of the Lodge is that fishing is usually pretty good and you do not have to travel far to fish. The scenery of the area is also very nice.

Since Lac Seul is such a large reservoir, the wind plays a very important part in how much fishing you can do. You may start out in the morning with calm seas, and by the afternoon have raging wave conditions. Fronts move through the area usually very rapidly, therefore you are exposed to a variety of conditions in a short period of time. Always keep your eyes on the horizon.

With all these things in mind, if you go th Mahkwa you will probably enjoy yourself. If you want to be a little more pampered, this may not be the place you are looking for.

[eyewitness]

Thanks for the insight. Yea, I'll be bringing clients so I really want something where the accomodations are decent and they will cator to you a little bit. Any other camps close to there that you could recommend?

[Jigger1]

My suggestion is Silver Water Wheel Lodge. Also located on the central portion of Lac Seul. Service is second to none. From the owner, staff, guides, to accomidations it is first rate! Check them out on the web at www.sww-lodge.com and then give Mike a call. The problem you'll run into is finding an opening for the 2002 season.

Best of Luck!

Jigger1

[Mahkwa Man]

Eyewitness,

If you are looking for resorts on Lac Seul that cater to your type of clients, it would probably be better to look more to the west side of Lac Suel, towards the Ear Falls area rather than the Sioux Lookout and Hudson area. They have a greater choice of resorts that may meet your needs. The downside is that you usually have to travel much further to get to prime fishing areas. No matter what you do on Lac Seul, there's always some disadvantage whether it be a long boat ride, facilities, or the weather. Pick you poison.

As mentioned in a previous post, Silver Water Wheel Lodge is a nice resort, but I think it is booked for the seaon. Lost Island Lodge, also, seems to be a good choice, but again you have to boat into it. Good luck on whatever your choice may be.