Sydney Lake fly-in fishing · FAQ
Straight answers about prices, what's included, getting to Kenora, packing, the fishing and life at camp. If your question isn't here, call or text me. — Jeb
Camp on Sydney Lake: one lodge, no roads, no other camps
$1,700
3-day package
US per person. Each extra day adds $200.
100 lb
per person on the plane
Gear and groceries, shared across the group.
7:30 a.m.
at the Kenora float base
About 30 minutes' flight to camp.
May 15
to September 30, 2027
June fills first.
Find your question
01 · Booking
$1,700 US per person for 3 days, plus $200 for each extra day: $2,100 for 5 days and $2,500 for 7. Add 13% HST. The trip cost calculator prices your whole group.
Groups of 6 or 7 save 5%, and groups of 8 or more save 10%. Kids under 16 are 40% off. Kids count toward your group size, so both discounts apply.
Call or text me to check dates. We can hold your dates for two weeks while you round up the group. A $500 US deposit per person confirms the trip, and the balance is due before you come.
Deposits aren't refundable, but you can move them to other dates in the same calendar year.
Visa, Mastercard, American Express, Discover, personal cheque, bank draft or cash.
Prices are in US dollars and can change with the exchange rate. Paying in full locks in your price.
Talk to me first. Arrivals or departures off our schedule without 30 days' notice cost $125 per person.
No. 13% HST is added, and gratuities aren't included. Tips for the dock crew, housekeeping and guides are always appreciated.
From the walleye opener, May 15 in 2027, to September 30. Camp opens the Friday before the opener. June fills first, so call early.
02 · Your package
The round-trip float plane from Kenora with a 100 lb gear allowance per person, your group's own cabin, a 16 ft Lund with a 25 hp Yamaha and all the gas, dock service every morning, shore lunch kits and your Ontario fishing licence. See the full list.
No. These are housekeeping trips: every cabin has a full kitchen, and you bring and cook your own food. Camp has ice, freezers, Weber BBQs and a Traeger smoker.
Each group gets its own cabin with a full kitchen, hot shower, screened porch, air conditioning and bedding. Big cabins sleep 8 to 12 and small ones 2 to 5.
No. Beds are made up with linens, and towels are supplied.
Yes. Camp has power around the clock and Starlink Wi-Fi.
No. Most groups fish on their own with a waterproof lake map marked with our spots, and I tell you what's working at the dock every morning. Guides are $275 US a day if you want one.
No. Bring your own (it can run off the boat's 12 V battery), or rent a Garmin Striker at camp: $15 a day for a 5-inch or $25 a day for a 9-inch.
03 · Travel
About 60 miles north of Kenora, Ontario, at the south end of Woodland Caribou Provincial Park. No road reaches the lake. You drive or fly to Kenora, and the float plane flight to camp takes about 30 minutes.
7:30 a.m. on arrival day, at the River Air float base on the downtown Kenora harbourfront. Most groups drive up the day before and stay the night in Kenora. Kenora town map.
About 430 miles, roughly 7½ hours plus stops and the border. Duluth is about 300 miles and Chicago about 770. The drive planner shows your route and when to leave.
You need a passport, passport card, NEXUS card or enhanced driver's licence to get back into the US by land. Kids under 16 can use a birth certificate. Crossing the border.
Maybe not. Canada treats impaired driving as serious, so a DUI can keep you out. Depending on how long ago it was, you may need rehabilitation or a temporary resident permit, so apply well before your trip.
River Air parks your vehicle in a secure lot half a mile from the float base, for CA$30 for your stay, and has it ready when you fly back.
Yes. Fly into Winnipeg on a commercial flight and rent a car for the 2½-hour drive east, or charter a plane right to Kenora Airport (YQK), about 15 minutes from the float base. Book your flight home for after 4 p.m. on your last day.
04 · Packing
100 lb per person, shared across the group, including food and drinks. Extra weight can fly on a freight charter at $1.25 a lb, with minimums. Try the weight calculator.
In Kenora, the night before you fly. Safeway is best, and No Frills and Walmart are close to the float base too. The grocery planner gives you a list with amounts.
Duty-free, each adult can bring 24 cans of beer, 1.5 litres of wine or 1.14 litres of liquor. You can bring more if you pay duty. Pop, beer and water ordered ahead from camp fly in at a lower cost and save weight.
Yes, for personal use. Meat must be store-bought, in its retail package and labelled Product of USA, up to 20 kg per person.
Not from the US: live bait can't cross into Ontario. You don't need to bring any. Live minnows are $8 at camp.
Mostly 1/4 oz jigs and a few 3/8 oz, with twister tails or minnows, on a medium-light spinning rod with 8–12 lb line. Fluorocarbon is best. Add steel leaders and spoons for pike. Full tackle list.
Mornings can be near freezing at the opener and in late September, while July and August days often reach 80°F or more. Pack layers, rain gear, a toque and gloves in every month.
05 · On the water
Walleye first, then northern pike and lake trout, plus perch, whitefish and the odd golden walleye. We catch smallmouth bass only on Rowdy Lake, below Sydney Falls.
Mostly 15 to 18 inch eaters and 18 to 24 inch fighters. Most anglers' biggest is 24 to 26 inches, and a few walleye of 30 to 34 inches are released every year. That's typical, not a promise.
Any week of the season. The fish move, they don't leave: shallow bays in May and June, main-lake points and reefs in July and August, deeper structure in September. For trophies, come in late August or September. Best time to fish.
Yes: 2 walleye 18 inches or under, 2 pike 27 inches or under and 1 lake trout 30 inches or under per angler. Bigger fish go back alive. A fresh walleye shore lunch is part of every trip.
No. Ours is the only lodge on Sydney and Kilburn. There are no roads, no public boat launch and no cottages.
No. They've never been stocked. Every walleye, pike and lake trout is wild.
Yes. Big fish are released, and the biggest of each species each season wins a free trip. Sydney Lake guests caught the biggest pike in all of Trophy Waters in 2023 and 2024, both 46 inches. Trophy Waters.
06 · Rules
Yes. Your Ontario fishing licence comes with every package, so there's nothing to buy on the way up. Ontario fishing licence and limits.
Kids under 18 can fish without one when they're with a licensed adult. Their fish count toward that adult's limit.
One day's limit. From the Sydney Lake area that's 2 walleye per angler from outside Canada, and it counts fish in the freezer and in your cooler on the way home.
One fish per bag, or fillets laid flat in a clear freezer bag, with a large patch of skin left on every fillet so an officer can count them and tell the species. Don't freeze fillets in a block or tub.
Yes. Declare them, keep them packed so they can be counted, and stay within your Ontario possession limit.
07 · At camp
Yes, and summer is the best time to bring kids. Kids under 16 are 40% off, the cabins have air conditioning, and there are lifejackets in kids' sizes. Between fishing trips there's swimming, blueberry picking, and moose and loons to watch.
Yes. In July the surface water is usually 68–75°F, warm enough to swim off the docks, and there's a beach just around the corner.
Blackflies arrive in late May and are usually gone by mid-June. Mosquitoes are worst in June at dawn and dusk. By mid-August there are far fewer, and September has very few. Every cabin has a screened porch.
The sauna, a fire, fresh fish on the BBQ and the screened gazebo by the docks. On clear September nights you have a good chance of seeing the northern lights.
My great-grandfather bought a fishing camp on Sydney Lake in 1933, and my father built the lodge in 1980. I run it today with my sister, Lara. Our story.
Guest reviews
★★★★★
“Just finished a 6 day fishing trip with my son. Wonderful fishing lake with Walleye, Pike, and Lake Trout.”
★★★★★
“Excellent Fishing Lodge”
★★★★★
“The accommodations were clean, comfortable, and well-maintained.”
5.0 on Tripadvisor from 12 reviews · 5 stars on Google · Read all guest reviews →
Still have a question?
I answer the phone and texts myself. Ask me anything about the trip, or tell me your dates and how many are coming and I'll tell you what's open.
