Nipigon River: A World Class Fishery
BUCKET LIST DESTINATION , great fishing and good people to share it with.
You do not need to be the best caster. 8 wt rods with Sinking and Floating lines recommended. Minimal Wading. Multiple species to target, Brook Trout, Pacific Salmon, Steelhead, Walleye, Pike. *See travel options below.
Great video on the area: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EzvkUeaxsN8
Some of the fish caught on our last trip: https://photos.app.goo.gl/U6F3owFJrPWiY2L79
REQUIRED:
A valid passport. A $500 deposit made out to Shenanigans, llc , shenanigansff@gmail.com Email for a Mailing Address.
Info to come after deposit is made: Gear list, area info, lodging / food etc.
*TRAVEL OPTIONS:
DRIVING -– Fly / Carpool / Drive to Duluth (or other area) We leave early and cross the Canadian Boarder and arrive in Red Rock around 3 pm.
6 hours from Duluth MN
4.5 hrs from Lutsen MN
Arrivals and transport are dependent upon where you are coming from. Some may drive from Minnesota / Duluth area, others want to fly in and experience the North Shore of Lake Superior and may arrive early and stay near the Lutsen area. Then drive into Canada. Transportation sharing is encouraged when vehicles are involved. We carpool where it works and share the costs of gas and drive time.
Leave Canada early day of departure and head towards Duluth sharing driving and costs. Carpools can continue from there and break off in different directions.
Flying – Fly into Thunder Bay International Airport, Fly out of Thunder Bay International Airport.
Air arrival can be coordinated for pick up at airport OR you can rent a car and we will meet you and convoy to Nipigon/ Red Rock, Ontario. Airport is 1.5 hours from our location.
Recommend you fly in day prior if connections are close and overnight in Thunder Bay that evening to allow drivers to connect day of arrival to Nipigon around 1 pm. Fly out day of departure after 2 pm typically works as we can get you to Thunder Bay by noon. Or chose to overnight again and fly out following day.
Note: there are direct flights to Thunder Bay from Chicago.
Check our Porter Air if coming from the East Coast, much less expensive.
What is the Driftless Area?
A unique Geological area mostly in South West Wisconsin, but also some in South Eastern Minnesota, North Eastern Iowa and South Western Illinois.
We walk and wade these spring creeks fishing for Brook, Brown and some Rainbow fish. https://driftlessareamag.com/unicdn/what-is-the-driftless/
Glaciers missed this area leaving no "drift" . Geography gives us small limestone and sandstone mountains containing over 65 trout streams spanning 1300 miles of springs creeks. According to the Wisconsin DNR, “‘Kickapoo’ is an Algonquin word meaning ‘that which goes here, then there.’” The Kickapoo River the Ocooch Mountains of western Wisconsin. The name “Ocooch” came from a small band of Indians related to the Winnebagos called the “Ocoche.” The tribe was wiped out by smallpox brought by the earliest white people. Kickapoo River flows into the Wisconsin River then into the Mississippi River.
Erosion and farming practices nearly wiped out the fishery by the 1950's, But through the efforts of Trout Unlimited, the West Fork Sports Club members, and a number of other individuals and organizations, the West Fork received extensive restoration and habitat improvement. And by the 1990s, the West Fork had become a shining example of what stream restoration and conservation efforts could achieve, with ample public access, high trout-per-mile counts, and steady reports of really big fish. Trout Unlimited selected the West Fork as one of America’s 100 best trout streams. The other watersheed is Coon Creek Watershed, flowing into the Mississippi River.
The center of all angling and conservation activity on the West Fork is the West Fork Sports Club, just south of the town of Avalanche. This traditional gathering place for anglers has been around since 1966 and offers very reasonable membership dues that entitle you to access the half-mile stretch of water or to reserve a rustic camping spot or a couple of cabins on the bank of the creek.
