Joyce Lake Outpost

Joyce had been on my radar for over ten years. It's a moderately sized lake, but I'd heard tremendous things about it from several people. The consensus was that it was a lake that consistently coughs up surprisingly large numbers of big pike. As it happened this past spring, I finally had that chance after chatting with Kevin Kahoot about any possible openings. Kevin and his son Kodi operate Wild Eyes Wilderness Escape out of Ear Falls, Ontario. Since they acquired the camp, they've done an enormous amount of work renovating and rebuilding the original outpost camp to something that's very, very special. I had a gang of six flying in, myself included, a good bunch of guys all around, and after meeting in Ear Falls the previous evening, we were at Showalter's airbase early in the am the next day with spirits running high, ready to go. Two things make real estate valuable: it's either proximity to water or a view, and this little slice of paradise has both in spades. The camp faces almost directly west, and the view from the deck overlooking the lake was breathtaking. Joyce is a fish factory, plain and simple. Walleye seemed to be everywhere with appetites unaffected by the low pressure and lousy weather. Joyce may be the best remote lake I've ever seen for numbers of big perch. Any way you want to catch walleye on Joyce Lake, you'll catch them. The fish were becoming much more aggressive as water temperatures rapidly approached 60 degrees. At 41 inches on the tape — thick, fat and healthy — a pike caught on a light jigging rod was a highlight. One boat reported well over 100 walleyes between two of them fishing next to a small island just northwest of camp. Blake hooked a 45-inch pike — the thing was as fat as a Christmas turkey — Joyce had lived up to its reputation! Big thanks to my friends, old and new, who joined me on this trip, and an even bigger thanks to our hosts, Kevin and Kodi Kahoot! I'm very pleased to have gotten to know those guys and would return to their camp in a heartbeat!