Back in the very early 1980's we took a similar trip to Fern Lake, out of Mackenzie with Northern Thunderbird Air, on their de Havilland DHC-3 Otter. Trip included 11 of us, myself, wife, two sons, 11 & 12 yrs old, hunting partner, his wife and their two sons, another hunting partner with his son and one other friend. All kids were 10 to 12 yrs. old. Even back then it was a little on the expensive side as we needed two flights to get all of us and all of our gear in………..BUT it was worth it. The kids, now in their mid/late 40's still talk about it today. We had 3 rubber rafts, one a so-called 4 man but they must have been very small men, with a 1.25hp Gamefisher on it, another larger one with a 4hp and a smaller raft with only oars.
Kids could catch 5+ lb. rainbow right from the shore and up to 10 lb. out in the rafts on the lake. They supplied supper for the group for the first couple days. We built a fenced off area in a very small cove of the lake, with hip-waders on we pounded some posts into the lake, strung a small piece of chicken wire around the posts to the shore, weighed the bottom down with rocks and had a fresh water pen. A couple of days before the Otter returned for their pickup, they would take a large cooler with them in the raft and when they got a good size fish they would put it into the cooler with fresh water and head back to the pen, release the fish in the pen and head back out. (As soon as we heard the plane coming in, the fish were dispatched and carefully packed for the trip home.) Shezam, fresh fish going home. WARNING: Fern Lake is a catch & release lake nowadays, it wasn't back then.
We did some hunting but the game gods were against us, we saw moose, quite a few but all cows, we saw elk but only a mountain over through the spotting scope, same as caribou but they still had a good time even in the rain.
Wives and kids and the single friend stayed 1 week and when the plane came in to pick them up another hunting partner came in. The 4 of us stayed another week and we did get a moose and elk.
Three years later I took my two sons back in to Fern along with two other hunting partners, this time out of Fort Nelson in Liard Air's de Havilland DHC-2 Beaver flown by Urs, another good trip for moose, elk and caribou.
Over the years we made quite a few trips into that area and to cut costs down we would get a bunch of guys & gals together and pick different times to go in. First group would fly in, set up camp, hunt, and when second group came in, first group went out, so forth, last group would take camp out, that way you cut out one flight.
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Originally Posted by 358mag
Their steaks, roasts and burger to me! Tom 
