Why is this lodge so good? Dunlop gives a lot of credit to Lake Waskaiowaka. "It's an incredible fishery. I can't pinpoint all the reasons, but it has that magic combination of great habitat and a ton of forage,-¿ he explains. The lake is huge and sprawling, and has countless bays, points, reefs, cabbage beds, and other great pike habitat. If you quit your job and spent all summer fishing it, you still wouldn't hit all the spots.

Dunlop's is the only lodge on the lake. Before they took it over last year, the camp had been run down, repossessed, and lay inactive for two years. Jerry and his staff cleaned it up, invested in boats and equipment, and fixed up the cabins. The fishing, however, never faltered.

You can opt for a self-guided trip, where the camp provides boats, gas, a map, some advice, and then turns you loose. Or you can go fully guided. I spent the week fishing with Dunlop. We caught fish from all the different types of water on the lake--shallow bays, points, rocky shores, cabbage beds, rivers, reefs. Any way you catch a pike as long as your leg is a great way, but the glory spots are the shallow bays, were you can sight fish in the clear water. There is something unsettling about watching these massive predators attack your lure. Even in deeper water where you couldn't sight fish, you'd often spot a pike at the last instant, rising up out of the depths and chasing your lure all the way to the boat. It's like getting surprised by a mugger, and I had to repress my first instinct to rip the lure away out of fear.