algomacountry-aerial-floatplane

Experience A Fly-In Remote Outpost

One of the most iconic experiences you can have in Algoma

Updated: By Mark Melnyk

There are 5 senses in the human body: touch, sight, smell, hearing, and taste. The sensing organs: your eyes, ears, mouth, nose, and skin help us navigate the world – safely. In today’s rat-raced, fast-paced world, we experience all five senses every second of every minute.

However, we tend to deviate from recognizing the most basic visual, olfactory, audible, actual, and palatable experiences. Getting back in touch with those senses is easily done and though we’re not doctors, we have the prescription. And with apologies to Christopher Walken, no, it’s not “more cowbell”.

If you can believe it, flying into a remote outpost fly-in fishing camp hits every one of our five senses and hits hard! It sounds crazy, but please, bear with me here.

Sight

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Flying into a remote outpost camp is one of the most iconic experiences you can have in Algoma Country and the sights you see are incredible. From canyons and rivers to wildlife like moose and bears, having your camera or phone available at the ready is a must. Even the plane you will fly in on is iconic and will be, more often than not, a de Havilland Beaver. A very safe mode of transportation is still considered the “workhorse of the north” and is something in itself to behold. Once you’re at your remote outpost camp, the sights you will see will stay with you for a lifetime. Pure nature, clean water, no light pollution and hopefully giant fish.

Smell

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From the sweet smell of burned aviation fuel to the aromatic deliciousness of a freshly cooked shore lunch over a wood fire, your sense of smell will be rejuvenated in the North. Having a lake all to yourself affords exploration by boat or on foot where the addicting scent of pine, cedar and even rain will cause shoulders to drop and offer a pause in this wildly busy world in which we live. Don’t discount the natural cologne presented by crackling wood smoke as you look up at the stars in front of your campfire. (don’t forget the marshmallows)

Hearing

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Have you ever heard silence? Well, being dropped off by a float plane, only to hear it take off and disappear over the horizon affords you the loudest silence you’ll ever experience. I’m not kidding, it’s uncanny how the prop wash disappears, and you’re flooded by relentless silence, that is until once again, you start to listen. Loons in the distance, the busy highway traffic of bees and flies zooming to useless destinations, cracks in the forest, wind in the trees and water on the shoreline. Silence has never been so loud! And it’s wonderful.

Touch

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When was the last time you felt unmanipulated wood, raw split timber? What about getting dirt under your fingernails? The almost sharp roughness of a walleye’s scales? The coolness of a dip in the lake on a scorching day? The feeling you get when you put your head on the pillow and easily drift off to sleep? The physical feelings you get from being in the bush are unique in that they are ancestral and reaffirming of days gone by. They are, how we used to live, and it feels amazing.

Taste

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There is something about home-cooked food over an open fire. There’s something about eating that which you have harvested. There is something about the sweetness of pure fresh water. There’s something about experiencing culinary delights, cooked by you and enjoyed by all. The iconic Algoma shore lunch consisting of freshly caught fish, baked beans, onions and potatoes cooked over a raging fire is something most anglers crave. The craving hits you hard, often while sitting in your cubicle, tied tight, high heels on, your boss barking, thoughts drift off to that first bite, piping hot walleye washed down with a cold drink. Your mouth is watering, isn’t it? Make it happen.

Algoma is a wonderful place to get away from it all and a fly-in remote outpost fishing adventure is just maybe what we all need these days to reconnect with our senses and ultimately with ourselves. It’s an experience that will awaken you.

About Mark Melnyk

Currently, Mark is the host and producer of The New Fly Show. With a passion of fly fishing, the shows goal is to help both novice and veteran fly fishers everywhere by giving them a top-quality fly fishing series that will make them better anglers.

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