Fishing trips, or weekends, or afternoons, for me are primarily about connecting with the people I’m with. Catching a trophy or finding yourself in a great bite is an added bonus that I’ll take, of course. Each summer, for about the past 30 years, I’ve headed up for a weekend of fishing with my father, brothers, and close friends. The legacy of the trip, spanning now 3 decades can tell you just how important this trip is to each of us, and why we make sure it’s on the calendar well in advance, and why we still go, even in the worst weather conditions. Speaking of the worst weather conditions, let’s talk about this year’s trip!
We returned to Bayfield Lodge, located in the Bayfield Inslet off Georgian Bay, a location we are very familiar with, and where we have experienced some amazing memories. Looking at the forecast, we knew this was a year that we may spend as much time in the cabin as on the water, due to some forecasted epic winds. Those forecasts were correct.
We arrived on Thursday evening, with just enough time to unpack our gear, play some cards, and have some laughs before we hit the sack. That evening a weather system rolled in with heavy, driving rain, and the winds began to pick up. The rain and wind were actually driving the water into parts of the cabin that were not protected, and some of us had bit of a wet sleep! By morning the rain had stopped, but the wind was picking up, and the entire area had lost power.
When we do our meal planning for these trips, we normally have power, so we had to make some quick adjustments. Fortunately, I always have my micro stove, as well at least one of my biomass stoves (a Solo Stove in this case), so in addition to cooking some peameal bacon on the BBQ, we had two sources to boil water for coffee, and to cook up some French Toast on the fry pan. The folks in the other cabins looked on with some envy as we headed out to fish with full bellies and hot coffee.
That first day represented the windiest conditions I’ve ever been on the water for. The reports showed that by the end of the day we had 60 km/hr sustained winds, with gusts up to 90 km /hr. We did manage to boat some Pike and Bass, but to say it was easy would be an untruth. My own boat is a 17ft Princecraft Amaorak deep v, so I had enough weight that I wasn’t pushed around as badly, but my father’s boat is a 14ft Lowe run-a-bout and he was getting blown like a cork. We called it a day at about 5:30, and even the sheltered marina had white caps; we watched people head out and turn around before even leaving the docks. My own boat ripped the mooring ring off the dock because of the strength of the winds. Still now power, but steaks and salad were on the menu so we were all set.
The following morning power was restored and the winds had passed. It was time to make use of the improved weather by catching some fish and enjoying our shore lunch. We fished a number of our regular haunts and were able to again land some Pike and Bass, but the weather system had clearly affected the bite. In speaking with some of the other guests, our meagre take for the day was better than others, so we couldn’t really complain. We had a tremendous lunch though, eating Walleye we had brought up from a previous trip.
Our final day, though being cut short because had to travel home, turned out to be our best. We headed out to some locations that held rock islands and shoals, with adjacent deep water. The temps were a bit colder in these locations as well, and as the morning progressed, so too, did the bite.
The key strategy for us on this day was trolling mid sized spoons, and to keep the lines short enough that we could keep them in specific strike zones both in regards to the depth (8-12 ft) and in proximity to structure (they were holding tight). The noise of the boats was not a factor as we ran beside each other at times, and were doing figure eights with the boats in some other locations.
We finished up for the day just after noon, and headed in to pack up the gear and pull the boats. It was too bad the our last and shortest day would prove to be the best weather and the best bite but that’s the way of it sometimes. I had been up to this location the weekend prior (see next post) and had outstanding weather with average fishing. What I didn’t expect was that this trip, at the end of September, would be my last of the season. I normally fish into October for sure, and occasionally in November, but weather and timing were not in my favour.
Here is a video I did on an early trip that shows a cabin and camp walk through of what you can expect when you visit Bayfield Lodge.
As always, if you’d like to stay informed of when I add new posts or learn more about any of the lakes I fish, just sign up and you’ll be notified each week if I have a new post. I’d also be happy to chat about your fishing plans. Just email scott@canadianfisherman.ca and I’ll get back to you!