Fish TV has had the pleasure of filming in many regions in Ontario and the French River/Georgian Bay area has always been a big favourite for us! We have not visited a resort yet that hasn’t been fabulous and the folks who run them are the nicest people around. We have had the privilege of staying at many of these resorts, including West Arm Lodge, Bear’s Den Lodge, Wolseley Lodge, Sand Beach Lodge and Totem Point Lodge, just to name a few. Every time we film a new Fish TV episode at one of these resorts, the show gets great reviews from our viewers. We look forward to filming at many other fine resorts here in the future. You can tune in to watch FishTV on one of our nine networks across Canada and one in the USA. Visit our website at www.fishtv.tv to view our YouTube video library and take a look at some of the fantastic places we have fished and filmed episodes in the past.
On our last trip to the French River, we had the opportunity to stay at Cranes Lochaven Wilderness Lodge on the upper end of the French. The accommodations at this wonderful resort are second to none. Rustic cabins (but equipped with everything you need) make you feel that you are one with nature but then there is also a modern dining room that offers fantastic meals every day. Plus, after a long day on the water and a meal to fit a king, you might want to hit the games room and have a game of pool or darts or just sit and watch sports on their big screen TV before heading to bed to rest up for another fun day.
This area is known for its fantastic fishing and this trip was no different. The first morning, we wake up to a cold front, and when I say cold front, I mean a 20-degree temp drop, cold enough to put long underwear on. We got to our Lund boat tied down at the dock and changed our whole game plan-we were originally thinking walleye or smallmouth but we decided to head for the giant Musky that the French River is known for instead. Time to get the big gear out. We decided that we would target high-percentage areas, like rock points, small weed patches or small rock humps to get one of these monster fish to bite. Running and gunning from spot to spot, we covered a lot of water! We fished the slack side of the cover, what I mean by that is where the current breaks. Don’t forget you are fishing a river, so fish will sit in areas where they don’t have to fight current and use energy, so they sit in the slack water areas near the current so they can dart out and attack their prey.
Well, we fished until our arms were going to fall off and only raised one fish that day. The thing about Musky in the French is if you are hunting for a trophy, you might only get a couple of opportunities to catch one of these beautiful fish. The next day, the temperature came up a few degrees and we decided to run the exact same rotation, same spots, same baits, everything the same. In the first four spots nothing, then in the fifth spot, Leo hooks into a nice Musky and lands it…Wow, what a rush - three guys, two days throwing big baits and one Musky. We were like kids in a candy store, high fives all around and we felt like we just won the Stanley cup! The next few days the weather only got better and we caught some walleye and smallmouth too. So the next time you head to the French River make sure you are prepared for anything and everything. From extra clothes to all your fishing gear to tackle any species, the French have got it all.
The French River/Georgian Bay area has everything you could want on a vacation. If you enjoy fishing for different species then you’ll be very excited to hear that you can catch walleye, northern pike, bass, muskie, catfish and crappies in the area! It has been written that fishing is the number one attraction here and I can definitely confirm that! There are beautiful provincial parks, campgrounds, resorts, guided adventures, wonderful restaurants and, of course, amazing fishing!
