88 Lodge

Set on the shore of Esnagi Lake, twenty-seven miles long and reachable by float plane or rail, Lodge Eighty Eight has drawn anglers into the Canadian Shield since 1959. The MacLachlan family has run it across three generations, and the lake still gives up walleye, northern pike, whitefish, and perch in numbers guests describe as steady rather than lucky. A short portage leads to Rock Lake for spring brook trout. Guests stay in log cabins or suites, from the two-bedroom Walleye to the six-bedroom Eagle's Nest, each with a kitchen, picture windows over the water, and a private deck. The main lodge dates to the early 1960s and has been renovated since, with a dining room, lounge, and games room. Meals run home-cooked, three a day, with shore lunches cooked over an open fire when guests are out on the water. Boats come standard with a guide on request, plus swivel seats, life vests, and unlimited gas; dock staff clean and refuel after every run. It is a compact operation built entirely around the fishing day. Blueberries ripen in the patches nearby from late July, and kayaks sit ready at the dock for calmer hours. The season runs May to September, after which the lake and the lodge both go quiet.