Plummer's Great Bear Lake Lodge

Lodging Details
Great Bear Lake Lodge is centered on a small island with individual cabins surrounding the main lodge. The main lodge consists of a dining room, a fully stocked bar, a pool table, and a huge stone fireplace with a seating area. There is also an onsite tackle shop where you can purchase gifts, rental equipment, or flies and tackle for the trip. The guest cabins all have different room configurations accommodating between 1 – 8 people each making it easy to accommodate single anglers, couples, families, and also take care of a boy’s trip. All cabins are equipped with full baths, stoves, extra blankets, and 24-hour electricity. You will be well taken care of with daily housekeeping and freshwater with ice for cocktails in the room each afternoon!

Food and Beverages
Breakfast and dinner are served in the main lodge and lunch is on the water with your guide. Meals are served family-style and the food is fantastic. There is always a pot of hot coffee on and cookies and pastries available for snacks. Every Thursday is ‘Wine and Cheese’ night with lake trout sashimi. There is a bar in the main dining room that is open until 10 pm each night. Alcoholic beverages are not included in your package and you will have a bar tab at the end of your stay. You are certainly more than welcome to BYOB if you prefer. The water in the lake is pure and void of parasites so the guides just bring cups for drinking water! 

Typical Length of Stay
All packages to Great Bear Lake Lodge are weeklong seven (7) night Saturday to Saturday trips. You do fish on arrival day so you will have six (6) and one-half (1/2) days of guided fishing.

Non-Angling Activities and Options
While fishing is still the biggest draw to the north in the summertime, Plummer’s can book you on many adventures in the Arctic. These include hunting for exotic big game like musk ox, floating the Coppermine River in rafts, canoeing endless rivers in the Great Bear Lake watershed, and kayaking the freshwater ocean we call Great Bear Lake. This lake is amongst the shelter of the islands of the McTavish Arm from the old frontier outpost of Cameron Bay through the archipelago past the 1930s mine site at Port Radium to our Arctic Circle Lodge. Plummer’s can also organize targeted wildlife photography tours. Wildlife sightings are common including migrating caribou at some times of the year, musk ox herds, moose, grizzly bears, multiple varieties of raptors, wolves, and many other species. You might even stumble upon a century-old teepee.

Internet / Communications
There is a satellite Wi-Fi connection outside of the tackle shop.

How To Get There
All guests visiting Great Bear Lake Lodge or the Tree River Outpost will fly to Yellowknife, Northwest Territories (YZF). Daily flights by West Jet, Air Canada, and others fly to Yellowknife from both Calgary and Edmonton, Alberta.

Arrival and Departure Details / Times
There are no flights available into Yellowknife that arrive in time to connect with the charter to the Great Bear Lake Lodge so all guests must overnight in Yellowknife on the Friday prior to arrival. We STRONGLY recommend that you also overnight again in Yellowknife the night after departing from the lodge just in case there are any delays getting back from Great Bear due to the weather. Upon arrival in Yellowknife on Friday you will be met at the airport by a representative of Plummer’s Lodges. The Plummer’s representative will connect you with a transfer to your hotel and will also outline the transfer time back to the airport to meet the charter flight to the lodge the following morning.

On Saturday morning a shuttle driver will meet you at your hotel and transfer you back to the airport to meet the charter flight to Great Bear Lake Lodge. The time of the charters can vary but typically depart around mid-morning with a mid-day arrival at Great Bear Lake Lodge. Upon arrival at the lodge, you will be shown to your room and given an overview of the lodge property. After dropping your bags in your cabin you will meet your guide and rig rods for a ½ day of fishing!

Documents Required
A passport is required for U.S. citizens to enter Canada. Anglers can purchase fishing licenses for Great Bear Lake and the Tree River onsite.

A Note on Drunk Driving or Other Criminal Record
Anyone with a criminal record (including a drunk driving conviction) may be excluded from Canada. A waiver of exclusion may be issued but several weeks are required and a processing fee must be paid. 

Travel Arrangements
Yellow Dog provides airline reservations ad ticketing assistance through etcTravel Group, and a full-service airline logistics agent that can help book airline tickets, hotels, rental cars, and more. You can click here to request a quote or contact Yellow Dog for more information at 406-585-8667. etcTravel Group offers dedicated support services for all Yellow Dog clients. Service fees may apply when booking or researching tickets, and etcTravel will discuss this with you before sending quotes. 

Travel Tools
– Airline Ticketing
– Moon Phases
– Rent This Rod
– Trip Insurance and Emergency Evacuation
– Global Rescue Membership

General Information 
Hundreds of miles from civilization, Great Bear is the 4th largest lake in North America and is fished by only 300 lucky anglers each year. The majority of the fishing at Great Bear Lake Lodge takes place within a 1-hour boat run from the lodge. There are many flyouts available to numerous locations on Great Bear Lake due to two (2) onsite otter floatplanes. This allows anglers to hit untouched water for lake trout, fantastic spots for grayling, and some pike. Overnight flyouts to the Tree River Outpost for Arctic char can also be arranged. Flyouts can be set up ahead of time or booked while onsite based on availability. We recommend pre-booking these in advance, especially to the Tree River Outpost.

The primary species found in the Great Bear Lake are lake trout in three different varieties. The ‘grays’ have the potential to get absolutely enormous with fish commonly caught in the 20 – 40-pound range and the potential to see fish 50 – 60 pounds and above. The ‘red fins’ and ‘butterflies’ (a cross between a redfin and a gray) don’t get as large but are commonly seen up to 10 pounds, tend to cruise shallower water, and often will feed on the surface in calm conditions. The vast depths of Great Bear Lake are relatively sterile and most of the fishing focus is on shallow bars or ‘reefs’ and shorelines. Many of the fish tend to hold in water that is 3 – 20 feet deep and in early July after ice-out the gigantic ‘grays’ can be sight fished to in shallow bays! There is some limited water that can be fished around the lodge. Smaller lake trout and grayling do tend to cruise the shoreline each evening and can be seen sipping insects during calm conditions.

All packages can be totally customized to include a night or two at the Tree River Outpost. The Tree River is very popular and highly recommended for all fly anglers fishing while visiting Great Bear Lake Lodge. Again, It is certainly best to set up the Tree River Outpost when you book your trip. The Tree River is in high demand and you may not be able to schedule that fly-out if you wait until you are at the lodge to set it up

Boats and Equipment 
The fishing on Great Bear Lake is done out of 18′ Custom built Lund boats with 40 HP four-stroke motors. There are two otter floatplanes stationed at Great Bear offering daily fly-outs including overnight trips to the Tree River Outpost. Anglers should bring all fishing gear, terminal tackle, and flies, but the lodge does have some loaner equipment and flies available for purchase.

Package Rates
Remember that Yellow Dog’s services are completely free! When you book a trip with Yellow Dog, you never pay more than when you book directly with the lodge or outfitter. All prices listed below are per person and based on double occupancy in the room and sharing a guide each day. All prices below are quoted in US dollars.  Due to a weekly air charter to and from Yellowknife and Great Bear Lake Lodge, all packages are from Saturday to Saturday.

Base Package Rate (per person, based on double occupancy)

7 Nights / 6.5 Fishing Days = $7,795.00 (plus 5% Sales Tax)

** Fly-out prices vary depending on location and how many anglers are on an otter. Each plane can accommodate up to six (6) anglers and it is best to fill a plane for the best pricing. Fly-out prices range from $500 – $2100 per person.

What’s Included:

• Meet and greet service at Yellowknife airport
• Transportation to and from the airport and your hotel
• All accommodations at Great Bear Lake Lodge
• All guided fishing as specified
• Round trip air charter between Yellowknife, NWT, and Great Bear Lake Lodge
• Family-style breakfast each morning with a three-course dinner each evening
• Daily shore lunch with your guide
• Non-bottled, non-alcoholic beverages
• Daily housekeeping service
  
  

What’s Not Included:

• Airfare to Yellowknife, NWT
• Hotel and meals while in Yellowknife
• Flyouts in one of the Lodges Otter float planes
• Alcohol beverages (BYO)
• Fishing licenses
• Flies, tackle, and rental equipment (if needed)
• Laundry service
• Gratuities for guides and lodge staff
• 5% Sales Tax (added to final YD invoice)

Plummer’s Great Bear Lodge and Plummer’s Tree River Outpost (Northwest Territories)
TERMS AND CONDITIONS – CANCELLATIONS
A non-refundable deposit of 50% per person is due at the time of booking for all Plummer’s packages, and final payment if due 90 days prior to arrival. All cancellations must be received in writing, sent to Yellow Dog Flyfishing Adventures, LLC. If a reservation is cancelled outside of 180 days (six months) from the start of the trip, deposits will be refunded minus a $300.00 per guest cancellation fee charged by the lodge and a $100.00 cancellation fee per guest charged by Yellow Dog Flyfishing. If a reservation is cancelled between 90 to 30 days prior to the start of the trip, payments can be transferred to new dates for the following year minus a $500.00 cancellation fee retained by the lodge and a $100.00 cancellation fee per guest charged by Yellow Dog Flyfishing. No penalty will be assessed if the client has an immediate replacement at the time of cancellation. For cancellations inside of 180 days from the start of trip, the deposit will not be refunded, but if space is available, your booking may be transferred to a date later in the same season (minus a $300.00 per guest cancellation fee charged by the lodge and a $100.00 cancellation fee per guest charged by Yellow Dog Flyfishing). Yellow Dog strongly recommends that anglers and guests purchase travel insurance for your trip. Receipt of deposit and/or final payment is acknowledgment that registrant has read and accepts the deposit, cancellation, refund and responsibility clauses for these packages.

Payment Terms for All Yellow Dog Trip Bookings  
Unless otherwise noted on your invoice, for all trips less than 90 days out, full payment is required after receipt of the confirmation email to secure guides and reservations. For trips outside of 90 days, a 50% deposit is required upon receipt of confirmation email to confirm your reservations.   

Yellow Dog accepts on-line payments via a secure payment portal – a quick and easy way to complete your trip reservation. Please reach out to accounting@yellowdogflyfishing.com to gain access. 

Yellow Dog Flyfishing Standard Forms of Payment 

• Debit card (fee-free) and credit card (3% convenience fee) - to pay via card please utilize the customer payment portal. If you need assistance, reach out to 406-585-8667 ext. #3 
• Wires - please include name and/or invoice number for reference on your wire. Please reach out to accounting@yellowdogflyfishing.com for wiring instructions. (client is responsible for wiring fees) 
• Physical check - please include your invoice number in the memo. Mail checks to 213 S. Willson Ave. Bozeman, MT, 59715

If you have any questions about alternate payment methods, please contact Yellow Dog at (406) 585-8667 ext. #3. We are available Monday through Friday, 9:00 AM to 5:00 PM MT.