We’re Going To Canada

Besides fishing for relaxation my father also bowled in the fall and winter. While bowling he met Norm, who loved to fish. Norm had a cottage north of Toronto that he rented when not in use. Once Norm told my father of the good fishing it was an easy sell. My father signed up for two weeks in July. This was major as I do not remember ever taking an extended family vacation.

Starting in 1965 we made yearly trips with the last one in 1970 when I went to college. Looking back I now realized we were fish out of water (pun intended) on the first trip. Up to that point the fishing my father and I did was from a pier with a worm or minnow as bait. Now the Canadian trips would involve fishing from a boat trolling, drifting, or casting lures. Not only that but we would now fish for musky, walleye, and bass. Leave the carp, sheepshead, and catfish behind. We did catch some fish that first year. The walleye in the picture are proof.

The body of water we fished was called Deer Bay Reach, now renamed Lower Buckhorn Lake. In the heart of cottage country, Deer Bay Reach is located in the Kawartha Lakes region of Ontario. It is part the Trent-Severn Waterway. The drive from Cleveland took almost eight hours. Back in the 1960’s the speed limit was much lower and the roads, especially through the Toronto area, were not as developed. Once we passed Toronto it was as though we entered a wilderness area. Each town we drove by was smaller than the last. Once we drove by Peterborough every turn put us on a smaller road. The road leading to the cottage was barely wide enough for a station wagon. For someone who grew up in and around Cleveland I felt like we were in the middle of nowhere.

Fast forward to today and using internet mapping I can pinpoint the exact location of the area we visited. I’ve attached a screen grab of the area. It has been built up and appears as though the small cottages have been replaced with larger homes.

I've also attached a photograph of the shoreline. This was taken in the morning with an old box camera that my mother used. I always thought that was a great photo, capturing the best part of the day. We always liked waking up early to fish when the water was like glass.

More to come.

Go out and fool a fish!