Selwyn Lake

Here’s another impressive Saskatchewan lake that takes some work and expense getting to, but it is well worth it.

Selwyn sits at the most northerly point of the province and creeps into the Northwest Territories as well.

Being so far north, this lake harbours gigantic Lake Trout and Pike. Although we haven’t been there in many years, lakes like this will never get enough fishing pressure and catch-and-keep fishing to worry about.

Fishing on the Provincial Border

The image above showcases what was then Pete’s biggest Lake Trout ever (still might be, only rivalled by his Lake Athabasca laker).

“I was trolling in the forty- to sixty-foot deep range,” says Pete. “But I was only catching fish in the twenty-pound range. I wanted bigger. I decided to try deeper, around a hundred feet. By trolling a big Canoe spoon on a three-way swivel rig, I tied into this beast of a fish. When it came to the surface, I thought I was gonna poop my pants. I had never seen a Lake Trout even close to that size!”

This is also where Pete, Angelo and brother Reno learned about vertical jigging for Lake Trout. Cadence and watching for followers were key—that’s in another article.

The Pike fishing is second to none on Selwyn as well. Angelo shot an episode there on the same trip and came up with some true beasts!

“We shot here in the 1997-98 season,” Ang says. “And boy did we catch ’em. My guide Ed Moretto maneuvered me into some crazy back bay areas, and then it was up to me.”

With heavy Pike gear and leaders in hand, Ang had the time of his life on that trip.

Tobin Lake

Do you want a big Pike lake? We almost used Tobin in our Saskatchewan choice for our Canadian Walleye article but opted for another lake because we knew Tobin was going to be on this list.

This was the first trip that our new fishing friend Andrew “Smitty” Smith set up for us in conjunction with Saskatchewan tourism. Smitty loves fishing, especially for big Pike and Lake Trout.

Let’s just say that this episode was arguably Fish’n Canada’s best Big Pike show of all time. In an extremely short amount of time, the boys rocked ’em and caught all their Pike with a not-so-popular technique.

“Prior to this trip, Pete and I had never used the method of quick-strike rigs with frozen dead bait under slip floats for Pike,” says Ang. “So this technique was very new to us. By hooking up solid, saltwater herring or a frozen mackerel and casting out to a specific breakline (drop-off), we proceeded to smash big Northern Pike all day long.”

Here are a couple of ideas for Quickstrike rigs: the first is a Muskie sucker rig that can be used for dead bait, and the other is an ice fishing tip-up rig, again that can be a dead bait rig. Both will work under a float. Of course, you can also make your own; just make sure they are built and put together solidly! A popped open split-ring or broken swivel is might just cost you the fish of a lifetime.

Best Big Pike Trip Ever

The guys needed heavy-duty rods and reels for this fishing since the possibility of catching 20-plus lb Pike was a reality—and pretty much expected.

“It didn’t take Ang and me long to get on to this crazy float fishing system,” says Pete. “We’d just lob-cast out those gigantic frozen baitfish, let them sink to the bobber-stops and simply watch our floats. I’m pretty sure one of our floats disappeared on the very first cast as soon as the stop hit the float stem. It was awesome!”

Tobin in itself is a Pike and Walleye Hotspot, but for our specific one on this episode, check it out here.

Saskatchewan Rocks!

Well, there you have Angelo and Pete’s five favourite Saskatchewan “Big Fish” destinations. Some you can drive to, others are fly-in. The choice is yours, but whichever you do choose, you won’t be disappointed.