May 17, 2022

Winnipeg
11° C, Light rain

Full Forecast

Contact Us Subscribe Manage Subscription Chat with us
Log in Create Free Account Help Chat with us
    • Contact Us
    • Advertising Contact
    • Submit a News Tip
    • Subscribe to Newsletters

    • Finding your
      information

    • My Account
    • Manage my Subscription
    • Change Password

    • Grid View
    • List View
    • Compact View
    • Text Size
    • Translate

    • Log Out
    • Log in
    • Create Free Account
    • Help

    • Grid View
    • List View
    • Compact View
    • Text Size
    • Translate
  • Coronavirus Coverage
  • Replica E-Edition
    • About the E-Edition
    • Winnipeg Free Press
    • Community Review East
    • Community Review West
  • Above the Fold
  • Front page
  • Arts & Life
    • All Arts & Life
    • The Arts
    • Autos
    • Books
    • Book Club
    • Cannabis
    • Celebrities
    • Diversions
    • Puzzles
    • Environment
    • Events
    • Faith
    • Food & Drink
    • Your Health
    • Life & Style
    • Movies
    • Music
    • Science & Technology
    • TV
    • Travel
  • Business
    • All Business
    • Agriculture
    • Personal Finance
    • Manitoba's Top Employers
  • Canada
  • Local
  • Opinion
    • All Opinion
    • Analysis
    • Columnists
    • Editorials
    • Editorial Cartoons
    • Letters to the Editor
    • Send a Letter to the Editor
  • Sports
    • All Sports
    • Amateur
    • Auto Racing
    • Blue Bombers
    • Curling
    • Football
    • Goldeyes
    • Golf
    • High School
    • Hockey
    • Horse Racing
    • Winnipeg Jets
    • Manitoba Moose
    • WHL
    • MLB
    • NBA
    • Olympics
    • Soccer
  • World
  • The Star
  • Reader BridgeNEW
  • WFP EventsNEW
  • About Us
    • About Us
    • Advertising
    • Contact Us
    • Carrier Positions & Retailer Requests
    • FP Newspapers Inc.
    • History
    • Internships
    • Job Opportunities
    • News Café
    • Privacy Policy
    • Retail Locations
    • Staff Biographies
    • Terms and Conditions
  • Archives
  • Free Press Community Review
    • All Free Press Community Review News
    • East Edition
    • West Edition
    • Sports
    • Events
    • Contact Us
    • E-Editions
  • Classifieds
  • Contests
  • Coupons
    • All Coupons
    • Staples Copy & Print Coupons
    • Ripley's Aquariums Coupons
    • The Bay Coupons
    • Staples Canada Coupons
    • Altitude Sports Coupons
    • Nike Coupons
    • Tuango Coupons
    • Ebay Canada Coupons
    • Sport Chek Coupons
    • Roots Coupons
  • LifestylesNEW
    • All Lifestyles
    • Business Hub
    • Community
    • Drink & Dine
    • Life
    • Wellness
    • Whiskers & Wings
    • Sponsored Articles
  • Homes
    • Property Listings
    • Featured News
    • Renovation and design
    • New homes
    • Resale homes
  • Newsletters
  • Obituaries
  • Puzzles
  • Photo and Book store
  • More

©2022 FP Newspaper Inc.

Close
  • Quick Links

    • Coronavirus Coverage
    • Federal Election
    • Above the Fold
    • Home
    • Local
    • Canada
    • World
    • Classifieds
    • Special Coverage
    • Newsletters
    • Obituaries
    • Photo and Book store
    • Archives
    • Contests
    • Publications
    • Sponsored Content
    • Privacy Policy

    Ways to support us

    • Pay it Forward program
    • Subscribe
    • Day Pass
    • Support Faith coverage
    • Support Arts coverage
  • Replica E-Edition

    • About the E-Edition
    • Winnipeg Free Press
    • Community Review East
    • Community Review West

    Business

    • All Business
    • Agriculture
    • Personal Finance
  • Arts & Life

    • All Arts & Life
    • The Arts
    • Autos
    • Books
    • Cannabis
    • Celebrities
    • Diversions
    • Puzzles
    • Environment
    • Events
    • Faith
    • Food & Drink
    • Your Health
    • Life & Style
    • Movies
    • Music
    • Science & Technology
    • TV
    • Travel
  • Sports

    • All Sports
    • Amateur
    • Auto Racing
    • Blue Bombers
    • Curling
    • Football
    • Goldeyes
    • Golf
    • High School
    • Hockey
    • Horse Racing
    • Winnipeg Jets
    • Manitoba Moose
    • WHL
    • MLB
    • NBA
    • Olympics
    • Soccer
  • Opinion

    • All Opinion
    • Analysis
    • Columnists
    • Editorials
    • Editorial Cartoons
    • Letters to the Editor
    • Send a Letter to the Editor

    Media

    • All Media
    • Photo Galleries
    • Videos

    Homes

    • Property Listings
    • Featured News
    • Renovation and design
    • New homes
    • Resale homes
  • Canstar Community News

    • All Free Press Community Review News
    • East Edition
    • West Edition
    • Sports
    • Events
    • Contact Us
    • E-Editions
  • Coupons

    • All Coupons
    • Staples Copy & Print Coupons
    • Ripley's Aquariums Coupons
    • The Bay Coupons
    • Staples Canada Coupons
    • Altitude Sports Coupons
    • Nike Coupons
    • Tuango Coupons
    • Ebay Canada Coupons
    • Sport Chek Coupons
    • Roots Coupons
  • About Us

    • About Us
    • Advertising
    • Contact Us
    • Carrier Positions & Retailer Requests
    • FP Newspapers Inc.
    • History
    • Internships
    • Job Opportunities
    • News Café
    • Privacy Policy
    • Retail Locations
    • Staff Biographies
    • Terms and Conditions
The Free Press
Articles Read
Your Balance +tax
Day Pass Till
Day Pass
    • Contact Us
    • Advertising Contact
    • Report an Error
    • Send a Letter to the Editor
    • Staff Biographies
    • Submit a News Tip
    • Subscribe to Newsletters

    • Finding your
      information

    • Log in
    • Create Account
    • Help
    • Chat with us

    • Grid View
    • List View
    • Compact View
    • Text Size
    • Translate
    • My Account
    • Manage My Subscription
    • Change Password
    • Chat with us

    • Grid View
    • List View
    • Compact View
    • Text Size
    • Translate

    • Log Out
Log in Create Account Contact Us
Contact Us Manage Subscription
  • Sections
  • Local
  • Arts & Life
    • All Arts & Life
    • The Arts
    • Autos
    • Books
    • Diversions
    • Environment
    • Faith
    • Food & Drink
    • Health
    • Movies
    • Music
    • TV
    • Travel
  • Business
    • All Business
    • Agriculture
    • Personal Finance
    • Manitoba's Top Employers
  • Sports
    • All Sports
    • Amateur
    • Blue Bombers
    • Curling
    • Football
    • Goldeyes
    • High School
    • Hockey
    • Winnipeg Jets
    • Manitoba Moose
    • WHL
    • MLB
    • NBA
    • Soccer
  • Opinion
    • All Opinion
    • Analysis
    • Columnists
    • Editorials
    • Editorial Cartoons
    • Letters to the Editor
    • Send a Letter to the Editor
  • E-Edition
  • Homes
  • Classifieds
    • All Classifieds
    • Announcements
    • Automotive
    • Careers
    • Garage Sales
    • Merchandise
    • Pets
    • Real Estate
    • Rentals
    • Services
  • Lifestyles
    • Business Hub
    • Community
    • Drink & Dine
    • Life
    • Manitoba’s Top Employers
    • Wellness
    • Whiskers & Wings
    • Sponsored Articles
  • Coupons
    • All Coupons
    • Staples Copy & Print
    • Ripley's Aquariums
    • The Bay
    • Staples Canada
    • Altitude Sports
    • Nike
    • Tuango
    • Ebay Canada
    • Sport Chek
    • Roots
  • Obituaries
  • Subscribe$1.50 for 5 months
Home Travel

Advertisement

Advertise With Us

Shining Falls Lodge -- where guests feel like family

Northern Manitoba getaway a relaxing experience

Ron Pradinuk By: Ron Pradinuk
Posted: 4:00 AM CDT Saturday, Jul. 25, 2020

  • Tweet
  • Share
  • Print
  • Email
  • Save to Read Later
Photos by Ron Pradinuk / Winnipeg Free Press</p><p>Situated on a sandy beach, Shining Falls is perfect for families and anglers.</p>

Photos by Ron Pradinuk / Winnipeg Free Press

Situated on a sandy beach, Shining Falls is perfect for families and anglers.

A reduced staff complement greets our de Havilland Otter airplane as it lands at Shining Falls Lodge, a remote fly-in fishing lodge located just north of the Atikaki Provincial Wilderness Park in North-Eastern Manitoba.

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 25/7/2020 (661 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

A reduced staff complement greets our de Havilland Otter airplane as it lands at Shining Falls Lodge, a remote fly-in fishing lodge located just north of the Atikaki Provincial Wilderness Park in North-Eastern Manitoba.

Normally the plane would be filled with Americans flying in to experience northern Canada’s great fishing and outdoors.

We listened to the roar of the rapids as Tobias Becker prepared a terrific shore lunch.</p>

We listened to the roar of the rapids as Tobias Becker prepared a terrific shore lunch.

With the U.S. border closed, this flight carries only my brother in law, John Thomson and I, along with four other Manitobans who have found out about the good deals being offered by the lodge this year.

Many of Manitoba’s lodges choose to remain closed for the entire season, even after the COVID-19 quarantine was lifted.

Tobias and Ellen Becker decided to stay open and try to interest Manitoban and Canadian visitors to find out the secret sauce in the fly-in experience, which has lured fishers from south of the border on an annual basis continually for many decades.

While most Manitoba fly-in lodges are catch and release only, Shining Falls does allow guests to take home one daily limit, so long as each fish is under 18 inches long, and the guests have the ability to fillet their own fish.

It became clear quickly that the depletion of these fish taken home from the lake has not affected the quantity or quality of fish being caught in the least.

While catching master angler size fish is not easy anytime or anywhere, the waters are teeming with loads of Walleye and Northern Pike. We were mostly fishing Walleye — but if Northerns are your style, as they are for many of the U.S. visitors — your chances of a trophy size pike are very likely. Other species in the lake are Rock Bass, Whitefish, Perch and Sauger.

Fellow Manitobans from left, Chris and Debbie Adams, Jan Chalmers and Svitlana Maksymovych get ready for another big meal.</p>

Fellow Manitobans from left, Chris and Debbie Adams, Jan Chalmers and Svitlana Maksymovych get ready for another big meal.

The only thing that might keep you from catching loads of fish is a change in the weather, which we experienced one afternoon. The rain and wind pelted us into submission, but not before we overstayed our welcome to bring in just two or three more.

Shining Lodge may be running with a smaller staff than usual this year, but there was no shortage of service, or quality meals.

Take my word for it: Ellen is an amazing cook!

Some of her dishes were as creative and tasty as I have had anywhere. And just about everything at Shining Falls is served fresh and baked or cooked on site from scratch.

Hot from the oven sticky rolls and muffins to complement breakfast. Each meal had an appetizer dish that was exquisite. Equally good was the truly delicious peach cobbler as well as the hot from the fryer glazed donuts for dessert.

Tobias tends to lead the way in the shore lunch preparations. For those who have never had the opportunity of tasting fresh fish with all the fixings — shore lunches create memories which stay indelibly in the mind for a very long time.

The best memory for all of us was the shore lunch Tobias prepared at the base of Shining Falls. With the raging waters and the roar of the rapids in front of us we watched him put together the walleye and multiple side dishes he placed before us — which made this one meal alone worth the visit.

After lunch we wandered down to the base of the falls, where it is possible to catch some good size fish by casting into the rapids and nearby fast-moving waters.

Shining Falls Lodge is fairly small compared to many of the other fly-in options. It is a family business run by the Becker Family, who live at the lodge with their two small children. They are helped by Ellen’s parents. Her mother described herself as Blue Water Aviation’s most frequent flyer.

The lodge is situated on what has been appropriately named, Family Lake.

Both Tobias and Ellen are bio-science engineering grads, who knew each other from working in the same company before getting married. They came to the conclusion that being cooped up in an office was not for them — and made the investment in buying Shining Falls Lodge about 10 years ago.

"I just could not see myself looking out the window of an office building for the rest of my life and feeling cooped in with all that entails," said Tobias.

Shining Falls is definitely not the same as the day jobs they both left, since each and every day both of them were up early and worked nonstop until the last guest was settled in for the night. While all of us on this trip were there on the American plan, where each meal is supplied, the lodge also offers guests the housekeeping alternative, with the option of renting one of the cabins, bringing in their own food and being satisfied in creating their own shore lunches and daily meals.

During the time we were there, regardless of when we met Tobias, he was always smiling and ready to do anything for us and the other guests. What became clear to all of us was that the relationships they build with the guests is genuine and enduring.

Winnipeg Gardener

What you need to know now about gardening in Winnipeg. A monthly email with advice, ideas and tips to keep your outdoor and indoor plants growing.

Sign up for Winnipeg Gardener
Sign Up

Family Lake, situated in the Atikaki Provincial Park area, is about 100 kilometres north of the mining town of Bissett.

Once part of a mountain range, time and glaciers have changed the surface, resulting in one of the more consistent fisheries in the province. Family Lake is fairly shallow, and it took me a while to get used to the fact that the most of the fish, even in mid-July, are going to be caught in waters between one to three metres.

Once that sunk in, we could have overflowed the boat with the walleye quantities we were bringing in and releasing. With that many fish and huge meals served three times a day, sleep came easily, even before the sun finally set. One evening after a rain a beautiful rainbow could be seen over the trees and lake. We did not have to look for the pot of gold, it was already stored in our memory banks, hoping for a return one day again.

Check the Shining Falls website at shiningfallslodge.com and call them for some excellent Canadian pricing.

If you go:

Bissett is about a three-hour drive from Winnipeg. The float plane that transports guests to the lodge usually leaves early in the morning. I recommend guests stay at the Northern Wings Bed & Breakfast. Barry Ecklund is a character and his wife serves a mean breakfast.

Ron Pradinuk

Ron Pradinuk
Travel writer

A writer and a podcaster, Ron's travel column appears in the Winnipeg Free Press every Saturday in the Destinations and Diversions section.

   Read full biography

Advertisement

Advertise With Us

  • Report Error
  • Submit a Tip
  • Refund
  • The Free Press is certified by

The Winnipeg Free Press invites you to share your opinion on this story in a letter to the editor. A selection of letters to the editor are published daily.

To submit a letter:
• fill out the form on this page, or
• email letters@freepress.mb.ca, or
• mail Letters to the Editor, 1355 Mountain Avenue, Winnipeg, Manitoba, R2X 3B6.

Letters must include the writer’s full name, address, and a daytime phone number. Letters are edited for length and clarity.

Advertisement

Advertise With Us

Top