Fly Fishing With Still Water Fishing and Tours

I’ve done my share of bass fishing on the Canadian side of The Great Lakes but with that said, I’ve really only scratched the surface. I’ve chased them in Georgian Bay, Lake Erie, from Turkey Point to Port Maitland and some in Lake Ontario and The Niagara River over the last 30 years but that represents only a tiny portion of their range. I think it would take a dedicated angler a lifetime to explore all of the bass fishing that both the Canadian and American waters have to offer.

This past summer, I was given the opportunity to fish with Brian Still from Still Water Fishing and Tours out of their marina near Whitefish Falls, in Northeastern Ontario. I’ve travelled through this area on several occasions and was always intrigued by its beauty and ruggedness, but up until now, I never had a chance to fish it. It’s so vast that I wouldn’t know where to begin so having the opportunity to fish with a seasoned guide was a hard, “Yes"  for me. 

Fishing with Brian is as convenient as it is productive, as he and his wife own and operate a wonderful facility, located at the marina. Among The Trees, as they call it, sports two geodesic domes that can accommodate two people and a larger dome that can sleep four. It’s their idea of “Glamping”, and I can say this about it, if glamping, by definition is “Glamorous Camping”, this is top-tier stuff. The domes have all of the amenities, including propane appliances, BBQ and even eco-friendly toilets that incinerate your poop! They are incredibly charming and comfortable and Brian and Kristen have spared no expense in everything from the bedding to the appliances. There’s even a sauna if that floats your boat.

We headed out of the marina on our first morning in hopes of finding post-spawn smallies, feeding on Brian’s flats. Now I should mention that we knew we were going to be dealing with some weather. The forecast called for high wind for the better part of three days and as a result, my expectations were fairly pragmatic. High winds and fly fishing aren’t the best but if you know how to deal with it, it can be manageable. Further to that, this area of Lake Huron has no lack of islands and bays, so it’s easy to tuck into these for a little break when the need arises.

Despite my guarded expectations, the fishing was far better than I anticipated. It was clear though, that Brian was a little disappointed in the lack of large bass but these things happen and there is nothing that one can do about the weather. The fact is, the fish were simply not in their normal patterns due to the sketchy weather. It really was all over the place and completely unstable, which is never a good deal. Regardless, I felt the fishing was better than good and over the three days, I managed more than I deserved in good, mid-range smallmouth and largemouth bass and just about every decision that Brian made, worked out. We fished flats, various rocky humps on the open water, quiet bays and weed beds and I got to see some absolutely stunning water and coastlines. Lake Huron, for many reasons, is a joy to fish, but among the top, is the water clarity. Sight fishing for trophy bass, pike and musky is as fun as you may expect but the anticipation involved in stalking fish is one of the coolest things that we can do in any angling.

For the pike and musky anglers, this area really shines bright. Although we didn’t hook any musky, we did see two behemoths cruising in about 10 feet of water and that alone, at least for me, was worth it. I did manage a personal best pike with a 44-incher that took my clouser minnow while working a rocky shoreline for bass. That was worth its weight in gold, there!

If you haven’t fished this side of Lake Huron and wish to experience what might be exceptional fly fishing, check out Still Water Fishing and Tours, you won’t be disappointed. Everything about Brian and Kristen is absolutely top notch and they run a professional, tidy and well-managed business. I know The New Fly Fisher is looking forward to getting back there and we think you’ll have the time of your life.

In terms of fly gear for this trip, we used 8 weights for the most part, for the wind, as much as anything, but having said that, you could get by with a 6 or 7-weight fly rod if the weather was cooperative. For pike and musky, you wouldn’t be over-gunned with a 10-weight rod and based on my encounters, I wouldn’t actively target them with anything lighter than a 9. The fly line that I used about 75% of the time was my favourite, full intermediate sink. This “Clearish” line allows you to get your fly down to the fish but doesn’t sink like a stone and gives you the ability to fish the fly how you want to. The forage in this part of Lake Huron is very diverse so expect to have patterns ranging from small, finesse flies, like large aquatic nymphs to much larger baitfish patterns in a variety of colours.

For more information on Still Water Fishing and Tours, visit their website at www.fishmanitoulinisland.com

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