Pajama-Clad Anglers
EASY FAMILY FISHING FOR CANOEISTS ALONG THE BRIGHTSAND RIVER STORY AND PHOTOS BY JAMES SMEDLEY
W
ith canoes overturned, tents pitched and dinner digesting we watch as Kiri
grabs a fishing rod and skips down to the grassy shoreline. Bathed in the last light of the warm summer evening, the nine-year- old casts into the dark, confused waters fun- nelling between the narrows at the base of our campsite. Francine and I are sitting with Kiri’s par-
ents, Neil and Kathy Simpson, as well as Mike and Anj Cotterill while the rest of the seven children are winding down in their tents af- ter a long day on the water. “I got a fish!” Kiri shrieks, reeling quickly
as a 15-inch walleye is pulled to the surface. Neil rushes to his beaming daughter’s aid, unhooking and admiring the gold and green fish before slipping her back in the darkening water. Donned in their pajamas, the children emerge from their weariness to cast and be similarly rewarded. Te bite dies with the set- ting sun; the good fortune of being camped beside a pool of walleye adds a pleasant fla- vour to the night. We did not choose this campsite for its
angling potential. It was the only one with enough room for our group of six adults and seven children aged five to eleven. And after a full day of paddling, lining and portaging we were quite thankful to find it. It’s our second day of a three-family canoe
trip along a section of the Brightsand River, a waterway park south of the 900,000 hect- are Wabakimi Provincial Park in northwest-
ern Ontario. Via Rail dropped us off near the Allanwater River, 80 kilometres west of the town of Armstrong, Ontario. From here we head south through a series of intercon- nected lakes and rivers marked by the drops, rapids and portages that spell the end of the road for anything but a canoe. Easy fishing is one of the premier ingre-
dients for successful family fishing, and a great diversion for children on a paddling trip. However, when morning arrives it’s my wife who is first to break the silence with a thrashing fish. I wipe sleep from my eyes as I head down to the water where Francine is standing on a large boulder where the gentle current slips past a large eddy.
One by one, pajama-clad children emerge
from tents to form a growing army of anglers. I begin to feel like a soldier loading muskets in battle as I’m presented with a procession of rods needing to be untangled or retied. What a rare pleasure to watch the children catching fish right from shore. By the time the bite dies off, many fish have
I begin to feel like a soldier loading muskets in battle as I’m presented with a procession of rods needing to be untangled or retied.
She is hauling in fish at virtually every
cast. Francine reluctantly follows my encour-
agement to release the fish, until Kathy ar- rives on the scene. Kathy is the only vegetar- ian in the group but she harbours suppressed carnivorous urges. “Oh, wouldn’t a walleye breakfast be nice,” Kathy says clutching her hands together. Tis is all Francine needs to hear to initiate the harvest.
been released and nine walleye lay on the bank for brunch. I clean and cook them on one stove while my daughter, Islay, makes pancakes on the other. A long line of hungry children and adults forms behind the frying pans awaiting the tasty flapjacks and fish, a combination you’d only consider when camping. We travel only 40 kilometres over five days, striking a balance between paddling, play and angling. Each day as we move along the waterway to a new campsite, I’m in awe of how three canoes can
comfortably transport 13 people, two dogs and a mountain of gear. We certainly don’t break any speed or dis-
tance records; with predominantly hot and clear weather our progress is kept in check by the dark, swirling pools at the base of falls and rapids, as tempting for angling as they are for swimming. While some in our party swim, others fish, deftly plucking large wall- eye from the stained water beneath.
www.canoerootsmag.com 53
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64