news&views Winter 2022 | Page 19

Author ’ s wife Adrienne and fishing guide Pat Babcock , Cree River , Saskatchewan
I ’ ve always been an avid angler ; consequently , I ’ ve long had a travel bug to experience Canada ’ s diverse fishing opportunities that are unparalleled in the world . With either my wife or my son , I have ventured to the far reaches of Canada and America in search of the ultimate fishing hot spot . These trips have taken us to places we would have never ventured to otherwise , such as the stunning wilds of the Northwest Territories , Nunavut , Yukon , and the Atlantic and Pacific oceans . We ’ ve not only had trips of a lifetime during these fishing adventures ,
we also learned a lot about Canada ’ s Indigenous peoples who have very close ties to the land , some of whom have been our fishing guides . We ’ ve enjoyed local cuisine such as bannock , Arctic char sashimi , caribou and muskox roasts and steaks , along with shore lunches of Arctic grayling , lake trout , pike , and walleye . Furthermore , there ’ s nothing quite like the jubilant look on the face of someone holding a trophy fish , or posed with a signature landmark to capture the moment for the family scrapbook .
Whenever my wife and I travel to Ottawa to see our daughter and son-in-law , we try to visit local nature attractions . The Ottawa river pathway , the glorious Dominion Arboretum , and the Gatineau ( federal ) Park across the Ottawa River are family favourites . We ’ ve also made a few trips to the nearby Kenauk Reserve in Quebec , where we ’ ve stayed in cosy , rustic cottages beside or close to lakes that abound with fish . Also nearby is Mont-Tremblant , Quebec ’ s answer to Banff , which is a wonderful natural area in the Laurentian Mountains that we ’ ve visited as a family . It ’ s the family connection with our daughter and son-in-law that has been the catalyst to actually make such rewarding excursions happen when out east .
A travel bug took the author on a flyangling adventure on Pitt River , BC
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