Having enjoyed my annual father and sons fishing trip with my Dad for almost 30 years, the time was nigh to start my own family fishing tradition. I’m fortunate that my kids (Hannah and Jacob) both seem to enjoy fishing when given the chance, and I’m so pleased that they have begun to show an appreciation of the outdoors. When I went to the Toronto Sportsman Show this year, I began to nose around at a few lodges that might fit the bill for our first attempt. We were looking for a place that was fairly close (4 hour drive max), had room for two families (we’d be joined by my brother and his two kids), was within budget, had a chance at some fish, and accommodations not too rustic for the kids. At the same time, I was looking at another spot to go with my annual father / son trip, which occurs each fall. After much investigation, we decided to try out Camps Bay Cottages located on Big Gull Lake, in the Land O Lake region of Ontario. From my short meeting with the owners, some review of the websites and other reports, we decided to make our booking for a weekend in early June.
The kids, like their Dad, became more and more excited as the weekend approached. They helped plan the menu, enjoyed looking at pictures on the website, and began to negotiate who would be sleeping on the “top bunk” on which night. Our travel to the lodge took longer than expected, entirely due to bad luck with traffic. We arrived at dusk on the Friday night, with enough time to unload the truck, launch the , and of course catch a couple rock bass off the dock. A nice evening ensued playing some board games, enjoying being in a cottage, and talking about the day to follow.
Saturday morning greeted us with wonderful weather, sunny, not too hot, and manageable wind. After a great start to the day of french toast and bacon, we loaded into our boats to explore the lake. I’d reviewed maps ahead of time, read some fishing reports and spent some time talking to the owners. Big Gull is is a fairly large lake, with access to Little Gull as well. Much of the lake is fairly deep, but with several Islands, points, mid lake structures etc., so plenty of places to fish. I knew my crew would be fishing in small doses, as they were equally excited by the prospects of being the boat, fishing off the dock, playing in the playground, swimming, eating ice cream…you likely get the point.
Our first bit to the day involved trolling some shore lines with no success. We then decided to park in some weeds and do some hook and worm fishing. Hannah landed her first Perch ever, and I was able to boat a small Pike, as well as breaking one off close to the boat. Catching any fish was considered very exciting by the kids. In addition to fishing, our other job was to located a spot for our first ever shore lunch with the kids. About 80% of Big Gull is on crown land, with many campsites available to rent. Our plan was to find an unoccupied site, knowing it would have a place to pull up the boats, and likely a fire ring. We found an ideal spot, as well as few other small cups to fish. In one such spot the kids had bobbers going in some weeds and I was casting a jig / grub combo on the outside of the weeds where the water dropped off. A few casts in I boated a nice 17in Walleye which was quickly on the stringer. A few casts later in the same area landed a nice 21in Walleye – not a bad result for 10 minutes of fishing. The kids enjoyed taking turns netting the fish, and as I’ve said before, if your approach is right, fishing can really be a team experience. The kids decided it was time to fish off the dock and check out the playground so we were off.
After a nice break we loaded up the shore lunch kit and some fish, and headed out. We landed the boats and while the kids explored, my brother Chris and I began to prepare lunch. We collected dead wood and had the fire going, and in short order were cooking french fries, had the beans on, and fish fully battered. I wasn’t sure how the kids would respond to shore lunch fish, but I was proud that they ate all of their food, and seemed to enjoy it as well. After we ate, I provided some surprise cookies, and we all helped out cleaning up the dishes and ensuring the site looked like we’d never been there.
The rest of the afternoon saw us do some swimming in remarkably cold water, enjoying some ice cream, playing at the park, and perhaps a short nap by Dad :). After a spaghetti dinner Chris and his son went out for an evening fish, while I stayed back with the kids to fish off the dock, and have a campfire with s’mores. The next morning started with pancakes and sausage, and some medicinal coffee for the adults. We knew we would have the morning to work with, before having lunch and heading back home. Chris and his kids when out fishing some islands as the wind had really picked up and we needed to find more sheltered areas. I went out with the kids who were more interested in exploring islands than fishing them! We had a great time on one particular island (also a campsite) where the kids explored ever inch of it. It was the perfect site for some pictures as well.
After a lunch of BBQ hot dogs it was time to pack up, pull the boat, and say goodbye to our hosts. I know this trip may be short on fishing stories, but my goal of having a great weekend away with the kids was more than met. I’ll be back at this camp in September, where I’ll be fishing for 3 days, and will have a much more detailed report on this location from a fishing perspective. I can tell you I am optimistic though. With the size of the lake, the different locations and structure, the fact that it is not heavily pressured, and knowing there are Musky, Pike, Walleye, Bass and Perch, there will be plenty of options for our group. I fished for maybe 90 total minutes (the rest of the time I was driving, or putting on worms or taking off fish), and was able to boat some Walleye and Pike. I can only imagine that if I put in some real time and effort I’d have some good results. As often as I can, I like to provide a tour of the cabin. This time, Hannah will be your guide as she walks you through our cabin, which was the largest offered by Camps Bay Cottages. Note, other features of Camps Bay Cottages include a Main Office / Store with essentials and Ice Cream, Fuel, Fishing Cleaning Hut, Laundry, Additional Showers and Marina Services!
Questions, feel free to reach out at scott@canadianfisherman.ca. As always don’t forget, to sign up and have my most recent post sent right to you!