I was a fishing guide on Rainy Lake

I was a fishing guide on Rainy Lake this past weekend. My brother-in-law Tom, and his two sons Kyle and Ben, made their annual pilgrimage to our cabin. They come from Waterloo and Tom has a cottage on Healy Lake just south of Parry Sound.
There are fish in Healy but nothing to match the variety and quality of the fishery of Rainy. Rainy Lake did not disappoint them again this year. For the first two days, we committed to the south end of the lake in the immediate vicinity of our cabin. And each day, everyone caught lots of Northern, Bass and even a Perch.
There was not a walleye to be found in the shallow waters that we were fishing. We understood that. On Saturday we travelled north to Rebecca Island and fished deep humps around the island targeting Walleye. The Perch targeted us and we were all amazed by the size of those orange fish. We kept fifteen.
My future daughter-in-law wondered why they would travel so far to go fishing. She is from Korea and is learning all about Canada. It was easy to explain that the quality of fishing in Northwestern Ontario is world renown. It is why fishermen from across the United States pass through Fort Frances to fish Rainy Lake, Lake of the Woods, Eagle Lake, Red Lake and many of the lakes in between.
The fishing is consistent. And the memories of being in a remote part of the lake and catching a trophy fish to remember can almost be guaranteed. Our guests took lots of photographs holding their trophies. And fall fishing can guarantee some trophies.
Earlier in the week, I had been talking with Shelly Gustafson of the Great Bear. Although the number of fisherman stopping at the store was down, she noted that the older grandparent travelers were dropping in. It is the same every year. The retired couples find the month of September the perfect travelling time to cross Canada. The leaves are turning their myriad of colours; the huge numbers of tourists are now busy back to work and getting their children off to school
They are a travelling group that we often forget about. As I was growing up, my father always insisted that we take a full day to motor to Sioux Narrows in late September to just enjoy the colours. The Maritimes and Central Ontario always promote their fall colors and finding hotel rooms is often a problem. There are even forecasters who promote the best times to view the colours across the Northern US states.
Our fall colour season is shorter, but the forests are as beautiful as ever. On Rainy, the birch leaves were already yellow and the occasional paintbrush of red would stand out on the shore against the birch leaves. Water, fishing, fall colours make for an exciting combination on our lakes. Take the time to enjoy what so many people travel to enjoy in our region every year.