Big Water at Brennan Harbour

Your best opportunity to jump on some big water bass fishing on the fly.

Oh boy. This was a fun one. I had never visited Brennan Harbour Resort, let alone fished the Whalesback Channel, or water on the North Shore of Lake Huron before. Let me just start by saying, it was more than I had hoped for. Brennan Harbour is a fishing resort located near Spanish, Ontario. It’s a cozy little spot, with friendly staff, and comfortable accommodations. It’s a drive-up lodge, which makes it exceptionally accessible, and it’s right on this epic water—the North Shore of the mighty, mighty Lake Huron. When we had the opportunity to jump on some big water bass fishing on the fly, we couldn’t resist.

Here are the details behind our weekend fishing and what you can expect when you visit this special little resort, tucked away in Algoma paradise.

First Impressions

brennan-harbour-2

Apart from the classic, terrible Toronto traffic that seems to be unavoidable, the drive from the city was great. Beautiful scenery, straight, simple roads, and perfectly spaced apart coffee stops. Getting up north is always such a relief. Peace and that feeling of, ahhhhh, usually sets in around Huntsville for me. The trees get a little thicker, the people get a little sparser, and things just feel right. On this trip, the excitement really picked up when we rolled into the resort grounds for the first time. The property was well-manicured, well-kept, clean, and tidy. The staff came to greet us right away and made us feel at home and comfortable. Smiling faces, friendly hellos, and instant fishing reports—are exactly what you want when getting to a new place. Right away, you can feel the power of the water. The resort is perched right on the banks of Lake Huron. Cabins sit upon protruding, big smooth rocks, trees are windswept and weathered, and the British flag flown by James, the owner, flutters in the wind gracefully. It’s a beautiful spot and a place we felt right at home.

Comfy and Cozy

Next, we got into our cabin for the weekend and got set up. The cabins are also clean, comfy, and perfect for a weekend fishing getaway. Just what you need in a place to put your feet up at the end of a busy day chasing hungry fish. I picked a room furthest from my friend and So Fly podcast co-host, Yilma. His snoring is just something I try to avoid as much as possible on these trips. I hopped on the bed to give it a quick test. Ah yes, fluffy, soft, perfect. But now wasn’t sleeping time—now was smallmouth bass time.

Big Water, Big Fish

brennan-harbour-4

We head outside and met up with our guide, the amazing Scott Currie. Scott is the owner of Flymart and is a guide in the area. He guides guests at Brennan Harbour often, and we were lucky enough that he was able to take us out and show us the water. We jumped in the lodge boats—Lunds with 50HP tiller motors. We got our setups figured out, and powered off to the first fishing spot. These boats are perfect for this water, which at times can be quite choppy and precarious. 50HP motors made short work of getting to our destination.

We fished for smallmouth and pike while hitting various deep drop-offs under rock cliffs and Huron scenery. It wasn’t long until we were into some big fish. We found a steep drop-off located off one of the many islands, and simple dead drifted and slowly stripped minnow patterns. Here is where we’d find the biggest fish of the trip, a solid four-to-five-pound smallmouth, caught by Yilma.

An Easy, Awesome Trip

brennan-harbour-6

That night, we sat around the BBQ cooking up hotdogs, drinking wine, and enjoying the Huron sunset. We’d have a great sleep with the lake air rolling off and into our cabin and get up the next day to fish again. The best thing about it all? The ease. From the accessibility to the perfectly kept cabins and boats to the BBQ pavilion, ready for you to use, this trip was easy, easy, easy, and oh-so awesome. It wasn’t tough for us to have a great weekend outside the city, enjoying some northern air and catching fish. And that gets an A+ in my books.

About The So Fly Crew

We're a fly fishing podcast here to tell your stories. Our goal is to connect the Ontario fly fishing community one episode, video, and event at a time.