Budd's Gunisao Lake Lodge
Mason, Manitoba
The only lodge on Gunisao Lake, Manitoba, offering catch and release trophy walleye and northern pike fishing from a log lodge reached by a 75 minute flight from Winnipeg.
Overview
Budd's Gunisao Lake Lodge is a full-service, American Plan fly-in fishing lodge on Gunisao Lake in northern Manitoba. It is the only lodge on the lake. Dusty and Jennie Budd own and manage the lodge and its daily operations. They have managed it since 2002 and have owned it since 2013. The lodge celebrated its 37th season in 2024.
The outfitter runs one lodge and no outposts. Guests fish with guides and stay in private cabins or hotel-style rooms close to the main lodge, the docks and the airstrip. The lodge sells fully guided fly-in trips of 3, 4 or 7 full days, with a chartered flight from Winnipeg included.
The lodge is known for trophy walleye and Manitoba Master Angler catches. The website says about 80 percent of guests are repeat visitors.
Highlights
The Fishing
Gunisao Lake is a 65 square mile lake, 16 miles long, with 75 islands and 120 miles of shoreline. The lodge says this gives safe fishing in all weather. It takes about 35 minutes to run from one end of the lake to the other, and the lodge is the only one on the water, so anglers have room to find their own spot.
Walleye is the main species, and northern pike are also targeted. The lodge promotes the search for a 10-pound walleye and a 20-pound northern pike. It reports that 3 out of 5 of its 2024 guests caught a Master Angler fish. It also says it has produced more than twice as many trophy walleye as any other Manitoba lake for 24 seasons in a row.
Fishing is guided, with one experienced guide for every two guests for the whole stay. Guests fish a full day on the first day and are on the water early. The lodge does not allow guests to take fish home. Guides prepare a shore lunch of fresh walleye each day.
Accommodations
Guests stay in 5 modern private cabins, each with room for 4 people, or in hotel-style rooms for 2 people. The lodge sleeps up to 33 guests. Every guest has a private bedroom and washroom. The cabins have full-sized beds, fresh towels, daily housekeeping, heated showers, 24-hour electricity, wood-burning stoves, and ceiling and window fans.
The log main lodge has a 2-story ceiling, a fireplace, a dining area, Wi-Fi and satellite TV. It also has a licensed bar called The Watering Hole and a store called Tackle 'n' Things. The store sells tackle, rental rods and reels, snacks, toiletries and souvenirs, and the bait shack carries frozen minnows. Outside there is a large deck over the lake, horseshoe pits, reclining chairs and a fire pit.
The lodge runs on the American Plan. Meals include a made-to-order breakfast, a shore lunch on the water, hors d'oeuvres delivered to the cabin after fishing, and a 3 course evening meal prepared by the chef.
Fish Species
What They Offer
Amenities available at one or more of this outfitter's properties.
Getting There
The trip starts in Winnipeg, Manitoba, where the lodge's expeditor greets guests who arrive by air or by car. A chartered flight, about 500 miles round trip, takes guests from Winnipeg to Gunisao Lake. The flight takes about 75 minutes.
The lodge has a 3,600 foot private all-weather landing strip. Guests walk a short distance from the plane to the lodge, where breakfast is served after landing. Fishing begins soon after.
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