Few people make it to the East Arm, with its towering cliffs and legendary fishing, because you need a big boat on the big lake. Here are three ways to get there.
By water: Jocelyn Demetre, of Great Slave Lake Safaris, takes up to six people out for three nights and four days of fishing. Guests sleep in a Fort McPherson canvas tent and follow the fish, from Blanchet to Etthen Island. “We got so many thirty-pounders this year, it’s crazy,” he says.
By air: Air Tindi does flight-seeing tours of the East Arm that leave from their floatbase in Old Town. Give them a call, tell them what you want to see and (weather-permitting) they will bring you wherever you want to go.
By your own arms: Feeling adventurous? If you have the know-how, head out for a few weeks by kayak or canoe. Leave right from Old Town by following the east shore of Yellowknife Bay. To avoid big water and to take weather out of the equation, leave from Reid Lake and follow the Beaulieu River to the big lake. There are rapids on this route, but you can portage around them.
