Sandybeach Lake has great Ontario northern pike fishing and Ontario smallmouth bass fishing.  Sandybeach Lake is referred to as Sandy Beach Lake and Big Sandy Lake.   Reference as Sandy Beach Lake is simply misspelled, as Sandybeach is spelled as one word.  Around 30 years ago, the Ministry of Natural Resources changed the name of the lake from Big Sandy Lake to Sandybeach Lake.  The lake is still shown as Big Sandy Lake on numerous government and private maps.  Pine Cliff Lodge was originally Big Sandy Camp when the facility was built in the late 40’s until 1980 and owned and operated by Bud and Rhet Stewart.  The name was changed to Pine Cliff Camp in 1980 through 1993 when owned and operated by John and Sandy Zintnicks.  Richard and Kaylene Foley have owned and operated the Ontario fishing lodge as Pine Cliff Lodge since 1994.

Sandybeach Lake - Remote - Beautiful - Pristine - Wilderness

Sandybeach Lake (Sandy Beach Lake or Big Sandy Lake) is a cold, clear, secluded 10,000 acre lake about 7 miles in length and 3 ½ miles wide at its widest, with a number of islands protecting the entire north end of Sandybeach Lake where Pine Cliff Lodge is situated.  Sandybeach Lake is as remote as many fly in lakes due to the lack of public access other than our Ontario fishing lodge access and 3 private cabins.  One of those cabins has no road access and is accessed by snowmobile in the winter for ice fishing.  Another cabin has never been used by its owner.  The last cabin owner does fish Sandybeach Lake for whitefish and lake trout.  We normally have around 25 guests and less than 12 boats on Sandybeach Lake; which means, you can enjoy the lake and surrounding wilderness and not worry about crowded fishing spots, water skiers, or personal water craft. Pine Cliff Lodge is one of the rare drive-to Ontario fishing lodges that provides the remoteness of a fly-in lodge.  Sandybeach Lake is a great choice for the fisherman interested in northern pike fishing and smallmouth bass fishing.

Sandybeach Lake - Oligothrophic - Trophy Size Fish

Sandybeach Lake (Sandy Beach Lake or Big Sandy Lake) is oligotrophic; therefore, it produces trophy size fish rather than abundant small fish.  An oligotrophic lake is not a fertile lake and most lake trout lakes would fall within this classification.  Sandybeach Lake contains lake trout, northern pike, smallmouth bass, yellow perch and whitefish.

Young fish, fry, grow slowly on an oligotrophic lake.  This slow growth results in many fry being eaten by mature fish during their lengthy growth period.  On a fertile lake, the fry grow quickly and reach a mature size quickly and are at the top of the food chain in a short period.  Fertile lakes produce abundant fish, because less of them are eaten during their growth period.  Fertile lakes produce small mature fish, because there are so few fry to eat.  Conversely, an oligotrophic lake has big fish, because the mature fish always have fry or smaller fish to eat.

The game fish in Sandybeach Lake have plenty of "bait" to eat besides fry.  Sandybeach Lake has minnows, leeches, crawfish, suckers, cisco, whitefish and smelt as "bait".  The recent introduction of smelt into Sandybeach Lake has helped increase the size of our fish.  During the winter months our fish were normally dormant because of a lack of "bait".  With abundant smelt, our fish are eating well all year and their girth increases prove it.  Although this girth growth is seen on northern pike and smallmouth bass, it is most apparent in the physical appearance of the lake trout each year on Sandybeach Lake.

Sandybeach Lake is not a walleye lake.  Walleye like to go deep, and when they go deep on Sandybeach Lake, they are eaten by the lake trout.  If you want to do a little walleye fishing, you will need to visit one of our boat cache lakes.  Our guests choose our Ontario fishing lodge for the opportunity to catch trophy size northern pike and trophy size smallmouth bass.

Some lakes are so large, so confusing and so dangerous to navigate that a guide is essential.  It is not so on Sandybeach Lake.  Your host, Richard, provides you with a detailed map of the lake and spends around 30 minutes upon your arrival explaining where each fish species can be caught, at what depth of water to fish, the lures and colors that work best, and the presentation you should use to make the lures work.  Reefs are shown on the lake map and marked by buoys on the lake.  Guests are advised to not operate outboard motors in less than 9 feet of water.  An easy 20 minute boat trip will get you to the other end of our 7 mile long lake. 

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