Eastern Lake

Fly-in Ontario bass fishing.

Stanton Airways' Eastern and Little Eastern Lakes provided us with consistent largemouth bass action from the first cast. Not 200 yards from the dock, I nailed a heavy, 21-inch largemouth that pulled the scales down to the six pound mark, a bona fide, trophy Ontario bass. By noon, we had caught and released so many 1 to 2-1/2 pound bass that we'd lost track. We quickly realized that we would regret committing just two days to this bass fishing gem.

On the afternoon of our second and last day at the lake, we navigated a small winding creek to explore and fish Little Eastern Lake. Fishing plastic worms along the shoreline, we boated more than eighty (80) bass in just three hours. Soon afterwards, we were packing up and readying to fly out - and none too soon, I suppose - I was down to my last four plastic worms, the remnants of more than a hundred I'd brought in !

Both Eastern and Little Eastern Lakes offer sheer numbers of fish with some topping the six pound mark. Almost unbelievably, there are no coarse fish or rock bass in these lakes - every bite is a bass, typically between one and two pounds. Although we stuck pretty much with plastic worms, some experimenting with different baits / lures demonstrated that bass could be taken on live frogs, crankbaits, spinnerbaits, spinners, weedless spoons, soft-plastic twitchbaits, topwater plugs and jigs. This is a great site to perfect your bass fishing skills, work with new baits, practise presentations, teach beginners. You will catch lots of fish to be sure !

Even though access is strictly by air, a day trip to Eastern and / or Little Eastern Lake is surprisingly affordable. Your fishing trip can be extended if you stay overnight in a tent, as we did, for a minimal fee - less than the cost of a two-day Great Lakes charter trip or a north-country lodge guide. Cook if you like, even enjoy a shore lunch, but we simply took a cooler full of ready-to-eat food and beverages for our 2-day stay.