Conquering Vick Lake: A Fishing Adventure in Northern Ontario 2024 ...
A Fishing Adventure at Vick Lake, Can it Compare to Napken Lake?
After 8 successful fishing trips to Napken Lake in Northern Ontario, we finally broke free and explored a different lake this year
Our research led us to Thunderhook Fly-Ins, a trusted outfitter known for providing access to remote fishing havens. Thunderhook offers a number of options for the outdoors enthusiast to explore the wilderness of Ontario. For the fisherman, their outposts offer fantastic Walleye, Lake Trout, Brook Trout, and Northern Pike fishing.
Welcome to Vick Lake, nestled discreetly northeast of Armstrong, Ontario and close to the Wabakimi Provincial Park. According to the map there were a number of islands and bays that promised some excellent fishing.
Thunderhook’s Vick Lake outpost, boasting approximately 1,800 acres of water, was available for our timeframe – so without looking back, we booked it for late July 2023.
Welcoming New Faces to this years Fishing Adventure:
This year witnessed two additions to our usual crew.
Aunt Nancy and our friend Ida.
Nancy is (obviously) married to my Uncle Larry. She loves nature and is full of energy. Keeping up with her can be a challenge!
Ida is the wife of Bob – Bob accompanied us on many of the Napken Lake trips but he passed away a couple of years ago. It’s sad that he is no longer with us on our adventures but Ida, who also loves the outdoors, is filling that hole this year. Her and Nancy make a great pair!
So, eager to experience the camaraderie and thrill of fishing a new lake we embarked on our journey at the crack of dawn on Wednesday. Following our established tradition, we aimed to reach Armstrong by Friday evening, allowing us to enjoy the hospitality of Thunderhook’s guest quarters before our scheduled Saturday flight.
A Symphony of Nature and Sport:
Vick Lake is a hidden gem, the number of fish in that lake exceeded even our most optimistic expectations. The northern pike were everywhere. If you were to start fishing close to the camp, it would take you all day to work your way out into the larger part of the lake. It seemed that nearly every cast produced some action.
Granted, most of the fish caught were not of trophy size. For the first couple of days it seemed that we might have trouble landing any pike much over mid 30″.
The walleye were perfect eating size and were literally everywhere. Still, we were having trouble finding anything that would generate bragging rights. It appeared that we would have to settle for a great trip catching A LOT of fish and enjoying the quiet of the lake’s remoteness.
Out early one morning, the sky was clear and the twilight faded quickly. The sky promised a beautiful day was on the way. Suddenly and practically out of nowhere, I noticed a fog bank and it was heading my way.
I’ve been caught in thick fog before on Napken Lake and I didn’t want to repeat the experience here especially since I wasn’t terribly familiar with this lake. It’s a very disorienting thing to be in the middle of and the best course of action is to just turn the motor off and wait patiently for it to lift.
Since I still had an escape route in the direction of the camp, that’s the option I chose and all was well. It was a beautiful site though, watching the islands disappear into that mist.
Beyond the Catch: Awe-Inspiring Beauty:
I am continuously awed by nature and it’s beauty and even if I never caught another fish these trips would still be amazing to me.
As if it were trying to outdo itself with breathtaking beauty, one evening, as the sun dipped below the horizon, painting the sky in a myriad of fiery hues, the lake 
transformed into a perfect mirror. I’ve experience perfectly still water before but because of the location I was in on the lake, the cloud formations and the fiery sunset in the sky, it was pure magic. Staring into that mirror it was impossible to tell up from down. Just an incredible scene!
Persistence Rewarded – The Trophy Northern Pike
After several days of patient effort I finally connected with the catch of the trip. A magnificent 41-inch northern pike took the lure and after a courageous fight it graced us with it’s presence in the boat and posed for this picture.
This would immediately be followed up by my largest walleye of the trip. Maybe I had finally found the “hole”?
There was a lot of satisfaction in landing these two fish. I had been out early every day and with few exceptions had spent the entire day exploring this lake. It was a nice testament to dedication and perseverance.
Vick Lake was to honor me with one more monster northern pike and several large walleye before I was to leave.
The bottom line – Vick Lake is filled with fish and nearly every cast was rewarded. Although the trophy sized fish were challenging to find, they are in this lake.
I’ve never had tremendous luck with the larger fish in the middle of the summer.
My preferred time for chasing the monsters is early spring or late summer/fall. I love September on the lakes!
Memories Forged in the Wilderness:
Like all of our previous fly-in trips , Our sojourn to Vick Lake wasn’t just a fishing expedition; it was a fantastic experience with friends and family. It was a week filled with laughter, exhilarating challenges, and fun adventures.
Did Vick Lake compare to the fabled Napken Lake?
I say yes. It certainly offered constant fishing action. Although the trophy fish may not be as plentiful in Vick Lake, they are here and the enjoyment and satisfaction of hunting them down is what it’s all about anyway. I do believe that our group will continue to search out and explore new water next year.
We have some more research to do.
Farewell!
