Fishing in Northwest Territories

The Northwest Territories covers a vast stretch of subarctic and arctic Canada, most of it water.

Lakes without names outnumber the ones on maps, rivers run for hundreds of kilometres before meeting another road, and the fish — lake trout, northern pike, arctic grayling, arctic char, inconnu, walleye — have had generations to grow large and largely undisturbed.

This is not a place you drive to on a whim. Getting around is expensive, and much of the best fishing is only reachable by float plane. Great Slave Lake, close to Yellowknife, is the most accessible starting point for visiting anglers.

It holds lake trout, walleye, inconnu, and arctic grayling, and the tributary rivers that feed it — including the Yellowknife River — fish well for grayling.

Great Bear Lake, farther north and harder to reach, has a reputation built on lake trout of a size that's difficult to take seriously until you've seen one.

Trout over 60 pounds have come out of these waters, and the fish grow slowly in the cold — a big one may be 50 years old, which is part of why catch-and-release is standard practice at the lodges that operate there.

Barbless hooks are mandatory for sport fishing across the territory. For fly fishing, the Kakisa River is worth knowing about.

It's typically the first water to thaw in spring, usually around early May, and the arctic grayling run there draws anglers from as far as southern Alberta.

The fish are coloured up, the males showing their full sail-like dorsal fins, and the river has converted more than a few spin anglers to the fly.

The South Nahanni River, in the southwest, and the broader Dehcho region offer a different character — big river country with pike and grayling in the mix.

Further into the barrenlands, lakes like Aylmer Lake and Point Lake sit well past the end of any road, accessible only by float plane out of Yellowknife. The fishing pressure on these waters is close to zero.

Lake trout there feed near the surface through the short summer because the water stays cold enough that they never need to go deep — no downriggers required.

Sport fishing licences are issued by the Government of the Northwest Territories Department of Environment and Climate Change, and annual licences expire March 31. Special Management Areas and national parks may require additional permits.

The regulations vary by water and species — the Mackenzie River Management Area has specific restrictions for arctic grayling and northern pike, and parts of Great Slave Lake have separate rules for lake trout — so checking the current chart for the specific water you plan to fish is worth doing before you go, not after you arrive.

The NWT fishes best in summer, when the days are long and the lodges are open, but ice fishing is possible for those willing to deal with the cold and the dark. Most people who make the trip once start thinking about coming back before they've even left.