What to Expect on a Saskatchewan Fly-In Fishing Trip

Your First Morning is a Fishing Day

One of the things we’ve worked hard to eliminate at Hatchet is losing a large portion of your trip simply getting to the lodge. Our private 6,000-foot gravel runway allows guests to fly directly from Saskatoon to Hatchet without a series of additional transfers along the way.

That means Day 1 isn’t simply a travel day. Our staff handles your luggage and helps get everything organized while you have breakfast, allowing you to get onto the water shortly after arrival.

A Typical Day on the Water

After arrival day, life at Hatchet settles into an easy rhythm. Breakfast is served at 7 a.m., and by 8 a.m., guides have the boats ready and guests are heading onto the water. For the 2026 season, we introduced a new fleet of G3 177 Outfitters powered by Yamaha 50 HP four-stroke motors on Hatchet Lake.

One of the advantages of fishing Hatchet is that you don’t necessarily need a long boat ride before the fishing begins. Lake trout, northern pike, Arctic grayling, and walleye can all be targeted close to the lodge.

Guests also have access to three additional portage lakes—Corson, LeDrew and Thrift. Each is reached by a short three-to-five-minute walk, with boats and motors ready on the other side. That means four lakes are accessible without getting onto another aircraft. If you want to explore even farther, that’s where the fly-out program comes in.

Explore Even Farther by Floatplane

A fly-out is an optional addition to the Hatchet experience and one of the most memorable ways to spend a day in the north. Departures generally take place between 7:30 and 9 a.m., depending on the number scheduled that day. Our dock staff and guides prepare and load the equipment and supplies you’ll need before your group boards the Turbo Otter.

Hatchet has 16 remote fly-out destinations, with typically eight or nine options available at a given time. We continually evaluate how each lake is fishing and adjust which destinations are open throughout the season. Different lakes offer different opportunities to pursue lake trout, northern pike, Arctic grayling and walleye, and some may only be fished by Hatchet guests a handful of times during an entire summer.

After the aircraft drops your group off, you have approximately eight hours to fish before the Turbo Otter returns. There may not be another boat on the lake—or another person anywhere around you. For many guests, the flight and feeling of having an entire remote lake to themselves become as memorable as the fishing.

Shore Lunch in the Canadian North

Around midday, fishing stops for a tradition that has been part of Canadian fishing trips for generations: shore lunch.

Your guide finds a good location and brings the group ashore, where fresh fish from the morning’s catch becomes the center of lunch, served alongside golden fried potatoes, corn, beans, lemon wedges and tartar sauce.

There’s nothing overly complicated about it. It’s simply fresh fish cooked outdoors on the shore of a northern Saskatchewan lake after spending the morning catching it. It’s also a chance to get out of the boat, stretch your legs, and talk about the morning before heading back onto the water. Sometimes the simplest parts of a fishing trip are the ones people remember most.

Four Species and 20 Lakes

Hatchet is unusual because of the amount and variety of fishing available from one lodge. Lake trout, northern pike, Arctic grayling and walleye can all be pursued during your stay. Hatchet itself is an excellent multi-species fishery, and near the area where Hatchet flows toward Corson, all four species can be targeted within a remarkably small area.

Beyond Hatchet are our three portage lakes and 16 fly-out destinations. Altogether, guests have access to 20 lakes across the Hatchet fishing program.

That means your fishing trip doesn’t have to look the same every day. You can spend one day pursuing a particular species, another exploring a portage lake, work toward completing a Canadian Grand Slam or add a fly-out and experience completely different water.

Your Fishing Trip, Your Way

With access to so much water, we don’t want guests simply following the same itinerary every day. During dinner service each evening, our lodge manager, Clay, spends time talking with guests about their day: what they caught, what they enjoyed, what they haven’t done yet and what they’d like to try tomorrow.

Those conversations help our team and guides plan the next day around what you’re hoping to experience. Maybe there’s a particular species you’d like to pursue. Maybe you want to explore a portage lake or add a fly-out. With access to so much different water, we have the flexibility to make each day a little different.

Back at the Lodge

After a full day of fishing, boats generally return to Hatchet around 5 p.m., giving everyone time to head back to their cabin, clean up and relax. Our accommodations range from one- to four-bedroom cabins with two to four bathrooms, private bedrooms, living areas and decks. Cabins have wood stoves along with electric heat, and Starlink service is available throughout our accommodations.

Despite how remote Hatchet is, we don’t believe the experience away from the water should feel like roughing it. Appetizers are served at 6 p.m., followed by dinner at 7 p.m. Hatchet has two Red Seal chefs on staff, and the culinary experience is something we take seriously.

After dinner, guests can spend time in the lounge and bar, relax back at their cabin or simply sit outside and enjoy where they are. There’s something different about a northern evening after a full day on the water. The boats are tied up, the floatplane is back at the dock and stories from the day start getting better with every retelling. Before long, everyone starts talking about where they’re going to fish tomorrow.

Surrounded by Northern Wilderness

Fishing is the reason most guests come to Hatchet, but the wilderness around the lodge is constantly reminding you where you are. Eagles and bears are regularly seen around the area, with opportunities to encounter moose, wolves, caribou and other northern wildlife during a trip.

There are no communities surrounding our fishing waters and almost no road access. You’re a long way from everyday life, and that’s part of the experience.

The next morning, breakfast is served at 7 a.m. and by 8 a.m. your guide and boat are ready again. Maybe you’re heading through the portage to Corson. Maybe you hear the Turbo Otter start and realize today is your fly-out. Or maybe yesterday’s fishing was so good that you want to go right back to the same area.

That’s the rhythm of a Hatchet trip. There’s enough structure that everything runs smoothly and enough variety that every day can be completely different.

Getting Home Is Just as Straightforward

On Day 5, guests have breakfast at the lodge before heading to our private airstrip for the southbound charter. The flight returns directly to Saskatoon, typically arriving around 11 to 11:30 a.m. From there, guests can continue their journey home.

We’ve designed the trip this way for a reason. A northern Saskatchewan fishing trip should feel remote once you’re here. Getting here doesn’t need to be difficult.

What a Hatchet Fishing Trip Really Feels Like

It’s difficult to capture Hatchet with an itinerary. Yes, there’s the early charter from Saskatoon. There’s incredible fishing, traditional shore lunches, floatplanes, comfortable cabins and dinners prepared by Red Seal chefs. But those are the pieces of the trip. The feeling is harder to describe.

Hatchet sits in a scenic south-facing bay surrounded by clear northern water and wilderness. In the morning, you hear boats leaving the dock and the Turbo Otter starting for another fly-out. Throughout the day, you’re fishing water with remarkably few other anglers around. When you return, you’re greeted by staff that know your name, a comfortable cabin and an evening revolving around good food and conversation.

Then tomorrow, you get to do it all over again.