Trip Report to Wildewood on Lake Savant

[phishfearme]

Originally Posted by RichA$1970

Cliff and Roma’s as it’s a fly in and they are like 18 miles north. You will see a few as they only 9.9’s but no issues at all as the lake is huge.

thanks - found them - they are much more centered on the lake and much smaller (4 cabins).

their web site says there's "three other lodges" - one is wildewood - any idea what the other two are?

thanks,
phish

[Pooch]

Originally Posted by phishfearme

thanks - found them - they are much more centered on the lake and much smaller (4 cabins).

their web site says there's "three other lodges" - one is wildewood - any idea what the other two are?

thanks,
phish

Cliff & Roma's and Cat Track are basically the same local family and located next to each other separated by a small "bay". These camps are about in the middle of the lake and provide good access either north or south. That is a plus for those camps. There are a lot of islands all near the camp if you are not a "traveler".

Wildewood is on a large narrow(ish) protected bay and a couple miles from the main portion of the mid-south end of the lake. Fishing in the WW bay on really nasty days is nice. It would be a long boat ride to reach the far north end of the lake from Wildewood. Most people realize that you need not travel to the other end of the lake to find really good fishing. There is little point in boating past good fishing just to get to other good fishing.

Most of the best lake trout fishing is in the south half of the lake near Wildewood. Walleye are everywhere in the lake. There are spawning area all over the lake, but it's my understanding many spawn in the far north end of the lake. I doubt the walleye south of the narrows and mid-lake migrate to the very far north end outlet. There are numerous water inlets scattered around the lake and numerous bays and islands that offer protected fishing if needed.

All three are good camps operated by good people. Wildewood is trail in while the other two are fly-in. All three camps have a good following of return guests. All three camps I would consider to be smaller camps of typical fly-in size and amenities. The lake does not receive a huge amount of pressure and fishing has been pretty consistent since I started fishing it in the mid nineties. The only place that receives pressure daily is the narrows. Fish away from the narrows and I doubt you will encounter or even see but a couple boats a day, at the most. Everyone seems to have their "hot spot" and mostly scatter to the wind each morning.

The difference I notice is that Wildewood has a following of middle aged to older people and Cliff & Roma and Cat Track attract a seemingly younger crowd. The camps seem to offer a different experience from each other. All are relatively remote and offer a really good fishing experience. There is really good fishing near both camps. Any of these three camps would be a good choice.

So many lakes and so little time......

Pooch

[phishfearme]

Pooch - many thanks for the detailed reply - i thought when Cliff/Roma said there's three "other" lodges they meant Wildewood, cat track and one other - do you know of a third one?

my concern with Wildewood was that they can house 30+ people and they would mainly fish in the south of the narrows week in and week out for the entire season since it's such a long ride out to the main lake. sounds like the southern bay is large enough and fertile enough to withstand the pressure.

and i totally agree - soooooo many lake and sooooo little time - this is the main reason i value this board - all outfitters sound the same concerning fishing - WC members are much more reliable.

thanks again,
phish

[elway12]

The third camp is a outpost called Turtle Island - near a place called...Turtle island. Its near the upper end of Savant Lake.

https://turtleislandoutpost.com/

[Pooch]

Originally Posted by elway12

The third camp is a outpost called Turtle Island - near a place called...Turtle island. Its near the upper end of Savant Lake.

https://turtleislandoutpost.com/

I think, that outpost cabin is connected with Cliff and Roma's camp or family and not a camp, just an outpost cabin. That is what one of their guests told me a few years ago.

"my concern with Wildewood was that they can house 30+ people"

There are six cabins at Wildewood. I've never seen all of them occupied at once. Groups come and go so cabins sit empty between groups. About the same as most all other camps I've fished over the years. You are not trapped on the south end of the lake by any means. We regularly fish as far north as the Pine Island area to the Bear Paw area. About a forty five minute non stop ride, though we fish many spots on our way up and back looking for active fish. Seldom do we have to go that far to find cooperative fish.

Savant has 90,000 acres of water and that is a lot of water to explore! Kind of like a miniature lac Seul, but easier and (mostly) safer to navigate. Savant is a stained water shield lake. LS is a reservoir with mostly sand/gravel and "melting" islands with lots of rock hazards.

My replies are not meant as promoting any lake, I just want to share what I know about lakes I'm familiar with. I've only been to Cat Track and Cliff and Roma's camps a couple time to look around for alternative few years ago when Wildewood was for sale and to meet a guy I met here on WC years ago. I've not stayed there, but would in a heartbeat. I started staying at Wildewood when my wife and I made our first trip there in the mid 1990's and am comfortable there because of familiarity.

There are so many great lakes and camps all across Ontario. Every one has something a little different (experience wise) to offer people.

Our border crossing at Pigeon River was painless as we were nearly over prepared because of the people sharing info here on WC. My other group headed for LS the same time crossed at IF and had one guy chosen for a spot check in Fort Francis and it delayed them an hour and a half. They had a couple younger guys with them that were familiar with video stuff and it went smoothly, but just took some time to work through. Hopefully next year will be different.

Pooch

[phishfearme]

turtle island seems like a very nice little outpost - and miles away from anything else. will have to look into it.

thanks for the responses,
phish

[RichA$1970]

I will just add staying at Wildewood I never felt crowded or pressured on the lake or at the camp. So much lake to explore I would just consider the Narrows as a land mark for reference.

[NM_Trout]

Originally Posted by Pooch

There are so many great lakes and camps all across Ontario. Every one has something a little different (experience wise) to offer people.

Pooch

Isn't that the truth. An ideal retirement for me would be to spend summers bouncing from one lake to the next!