Ontario fishing trips · Walleye first
Big schools of walleye, trophy northern pike and lake trout on Sydney and Kilburn Lakes: 17,570 acres of wilderness water with one lodge and no roads. Thirty minutes by float plane north of Kenora.
Bob Mangaudis · 31-inch walleye · 2025
34″
walleye at the top end
Most anglers’ biggest of the trip runs 24 to 26 inches. A few walleye of 30 to 34 inches come in every year.
46″
Trophy Waters pike, twice
The biggest pike in all of Ontario’s Trophy Waters came from Sydney Lake in 2023 and again in 2024.
6×
Trophy Waters lake trout titles
The biggest laker in the Trophy Waters was ours in 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2019 and 2025.
120+
islands on two wilderness lakes
About 190 miles of shoreline on 17,570 acres. One lodge, no roads.
Why fly in
Sydney and Kilburn Lakes are fly-in only. There’s no road, no public boat launch and no cottages, and ours is the only lodge on either lake. Both sit inside Woodland Caribou Provincial Park and Ontario’s Trophy Waters, in a corner of Northwest Ontario where few people have ever fished.
With one lodge, no roads, no public boat launches and no cottages, Sydney and Kilburn see very little fishing pressure. The fish see few lures, and the big ones get the time they need to grow.
You come for the action: walleye after walleye, with plenty for shore lunch. And every day has real trophy potential, whether it’s a 30-inch walleye, a 40-inch pike or a deep-water laker.
My family has been on Sydney Lake since 1933, and we’ve run fly-in fishing trips here since 1980. We’ve seen what light pressure and careful release do for a lake: they keep the big fish coming.
About Woodland Caribou Park →What you’ll catch
Most guests come for the walleye, and plenty go home talking about a pike or a laker. Here’s what to expect, with a guide and a spot map for each.
Walleye are the number one reason guests come: lots of them, and bigger than average. In a federal Fisheries and Oceans Canada study of six northwestern Ontario lakes (1987–89), the biggest walleye caught came from Sydney Lake. They grow thick on cisco, an oily baitfish from our deep, cold water.
Expect plenty of 15 to 18 inch eaters and 18 to 24 inch fighters. Most anglers’ biggest runs 24 to 26 inches, some land 27 to 30 inch trophies, and a few of 30 to 34 inches go back every year.
Start in Kilburn’s tea-stained bays and in Bottle, Hansen’s, Mineral and Tranquility Bays, on the shallows and mud flats along rocky shores.
Walleye fishing guide →At the old dock
You don’t need a boat to see how many walleye are in these lakes. In June they hang around an old dock we replaced and tied to shore. My daughter fed this one a minnow by hand.
Out on the lake, the bays and points around camp hold a lot more of them.
Filmed at the camp dock on Sydney Lake, June 2025.
Pike over 30 pounds live in these lakes. Steve Wilhelm’s 46-incher was the biggest pike in Ontario’s Trophy Waters in 2023, and Rory H.’s 46-inch Sydney Lake pike won again in 2024. Most run 24 to 30 inches, with many from 30 to 38, a 38 to 42 likely if you target them, and several of 42 to 46 inches every year.
Northern pike guide →
Sydney’s main basin drops to 240 feet and stays cold and clear all summer. Our guests have registered the biggest lake trout in Ontario’s Trophy Waters six times, led by Tom Long’s 41-incher in 2016. Lakers come shallow in spring and late September and sit deep on the humps in summer.
Lake trout guide →Every so often a walleye comes up solid gold. You can’t book one and most trips won’t see one, but when it happens it’s the story of the week.
Golden walleye →The lakes also hold perch, whitefish and cisco (tullibee), the oily baitfish that feeds everything else. We catch smallmouth bass only on Rowdy Lake, a short walk below Sydney Falls, casting from shore.
Portage lakes →
The lakes and the maps
Camp sits on Sydney’s west shore near the middle of the system, so most spots are 30 minutes or less by boat. You fish more water, faster, and you can take a different route every day: north to the creek-fed bays, south through the islands to Sydney Falls, or up the Sturgeon River to Kilburn.
14,240 acres, 91 islands and about 129 miles of shore. Clear water to 240 feet, ringed by dark, shallow bays.
3,330 acres of tea-stained water in three long arms. Sheltered on windy days, and no portage: just run up the river.
Boot, Rowdy, Middle Kilburn and Kurt: a creek ride or a short walk to water that’s seldom fished.
Depths, rocks, fishing spots and boat times from camp, all on one map.
Where the fish are
Tap a map to open it with that layer of spots turned on. Every group also gets a waterproof lake map, and we’ll mark what’s working that week when you arrive.
Why the fishing is so good
Big fish need room, rich food, the right water and time. These lakes have all four, and very few anglers.
The setting
17,570 acres · 120 islands · one lodge
Sydney and Kilburn sit on the Canadian Shield in the boreal forest, right where walleye, pike and lake trout all do well. About 190 miles of shoreline, and one lodge.
Inside Woodland Caribou Provincial Park.
Two kinds of water
Sydney to 240 ft · Kilburn tea-stained
Sydney’s main basin averages about 65 feet deep and is clear to about 26 feet. Kilburn and the back bays are tea-stained and warm fast in spring. Fish feed shallow and grow deep.
Bright day? Head for the dark water.
Structure
20+ feeder creeks and the Sturgeon River
Creek mouths, mud flats, rocky points, reefs that drop into deep water, and narrows with current. Spawning, feeding and holding water, all close together.
Creek mouths draw spring walleye.
Food
High-calorie forage
The cold, deep water is full of cisco (tullibee), a rich, oily baitfish. Walleye, pike and lake trout all feed on them, and it shows in how thick our fish are.
Big baitfish, big fish.
Proof
Fisheries and Oceans Canada, 1987–90
A federal study of six northwestern Ontario lakes caught its biggest walleye in Sydney Lake. A government lake survey found oxygen-rich water down to 125 feet and 16 kinds of fish.
The science backs up the fishing.
Conservation area
Trophies: walleye 27″ · pike 38″ · lake trout 32″
Trophies go back alive, and the biggest of each species in the Trophy Waters wins a free trip. Sydney Lake also has its own special limits, set up as a pilot project.
Register your trophy at camp.
Since 1987
Trophies go back alive
We started releasing trophies in 1987, long before it was common. The big ones go back to spawn, grow and be caught again.
Pinched barbs make release quick.
Wild fish
No towns, dams or industry upstream
Every fish here was born here. The lakes sit near the headwaters of the Sturgeon River system, with nothing upstream but rock, forest and more lakes.
100% wild fish.
Trophy fishing in Ontario
Trophies are measured nose to pinched tail, and they only count if they go back alive.
27″
Trophy walleye. The Trophy Waters mark. Some 27 to 30 inch walleye every season, and a few of 30 to 34 inches each year.
32″
Trophy lake trout. Our guests have registered the biggest laker in the Trophy Waters six times since 2014.
38″
Trophy northern pike. About 17 pounds, and likely if you fish for them. Several pike of 42 to 46 inches every year.
41″
Tom Long’s lake trout, 2016. The biggest of our Trophy Waters winners. Roger Anderson’s 40½ won in 2025.
46″
Back-to-back pike winners. Steve Wilhelm in 2023, and Rory H. with another 46-incher in 2024. Pike over 30 pounds live here.
Register a trophy at camp with a witness and a photo, then let it go. You get a Trophy Waters hat and your name in the book, and the biggest of each species across the Trophy Waters wins a free trip the next year.
How the Trophy Waters contest works →Trophy tips
Walleye 27″+
Same lures · 10–12 lb line
Big walleye aren’t as active right on the bottom. Keep your bait one to three feet up, on slightly heavier line.
Try: a Shad Rap along a spring break.
Pike 38″+
Steel leaders · 12–25 lb line
The biggest pike beat weak line and missing leaders. Use a steel leader, set your drag, and cast to the deep side of points.
Try: a big spoon off a rocky point.
Lake trout 32″+
Bigger spoons · strong leader
Use bigger spoons and a strong leader. Lakers have soft mouths and usually strike twice, so wait for the second hit and don’t set the hook too hard.
Try: a smooth sweep, not a hard jerk.
Every trophy
Time out of the water matters most
Pinch your barbs, skip jaw spreaders and hold the fish level for a quick photo. If a hook is swallowed, cut the line.
Try: having the camera ready before you net it.
How we get you on the fish
✓A detailed, waterproof lake map for every group, marked with our favourite spots
✓16-foot Lund boats with electric-start Yamaha 25 hp four-strokes that troll slowly all day
✓Your own boat for the whole trip, gassed up and ready at the dock
✓Garmin depth finders to rent at camp, to find the reefs, humps and breaks
✓Fresh tips at the dock every day: which bay is warming up, where the trout are holding, what’s working
✓Water for every wind, with Kilburn’s sheltered arms for the rough days
✓A camp in the middle of the lakes, so you spend your day fishing, not running
✓A shore lunch kit in every cabin, and propane cookers at the dock
Four generations on this lake
My great-grandfather found Sydney Lake in the 1930s, and my family has been here since 1933. We’ve run fly-in fishing trips since 1980. Ask us anything at the dock.
When you arrive, we’ll mark your map with the spots, depths and lures that are working that week, and point you to the right water for the wind.
Boats & dock service →When to go
Any week from the walleye opener on the third Saturday in May (May 15 in 2027) to September 30, when lake trout season closes. The fishing is good all season; what changes is where the fish are and how deep: shallow bays in May and June, main-lake points and reefs in July and August, and the heaviest fish of the year in September.
Getting here: drive or fly to Kenora, Ontario, then take a 30-minute float plane flight from #1 Second Street Dock in downtown Kenora, about 60 miles north to camp. No road goes in. Plan it with getting to Kenora and our trip planning hub.
Shore lunch and limits
A fresh walleye shore lunch is part of every trip. Every cabin has a kit with pots, pans, racks and utensils, and there are propane cookers at the dock for rainy days. My tip: fry your walleye in lard.
Our camp rule is simple: keep 2 walleye 18 inches or under, 2 northern pike 27 inches or under and 1 lake trout 30 inches or under. Every bigger fish goes back alive, and that’s a big reason the lakes are still full of them.
Use single, barbless hooks and hold fish level for a quick photo. Ontario’s official limits for the Sydney Lake area are on our licences and limits page.
Licences & limits →
Ontario fishing trip FAQ
Walleye first, then northern pike and lake trout, plus perch, whitefish, cisco and the odd golden walleye. We catch smallmouth bass only on Rowdy Lake, below Sydney Falls.
Any week in our season, from the walleye opener on the third Saturday in May (May 15 in 2027) to September 30. The fishing is good all season; what changes is where the fish are and how deep: shallow bays in May and June, main-lake points and reefs in July and August, and deeper structure in September. For trophies, come in late August or September, when the fish are heaviest after a summer of feeding. In 2025 our biggest walleye, pike and lake trout all came in September.
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.
Yes. No road reaches Sydney or Kilburn Lake, there’s no public launch and no cottages, and ours is the only lodge on either lake.
Drive or fly to Kenora, Ontario. The float plane leaves from #1 Second Street Dock in downtown Kenora, and the flight north to camp takes about 30 minutes.
Yes, non-residents need an Ontario fishing licence. Rules change, so check the current Ontario regulations before your trip. Our licences and limits page has the details.
Yes: 2 walleye 18 inches or under, 2 pike 27 inches or under and 1 lake trout 30 inches or under. Bigger fish go back alive, and Ontario’s limits apply too.
No. Every group runs its own 16-foot Lund with a 25 hp Yamaha. You get a waterproof lake map marked with our spots, and fresh tips at the dock every day.
Guest reviews
★★★★★
“If you like catching 300-400 walleyes over 20” long in a week and then throw in some big pike as well, then you need to come to Sydney Lake!”
★★★★★
“We caught quality fish every day, with incredible walleye, lake trout and northern pike action.”
★★★★★
“Best fishing trips of my life”
5.0 on Tripadvisor from 12 reviews · 5 stars on Google · Read all guest reviews →
Come fish with us
Tell me when you’d like to come and how many are in your group, and I’ll let you know what’s open. While you decide, watch fishing YouTuber Jay Siemens’ 2024 trip to Sydney Lake, looking for a golden walleye.
More fishing: Walleye · Northern pike · Lake trout · Golden walleye · Lake map · Licences & limits · Contact us
