A Toothy Weekend On The Moon River
“I don’t suppose you had any last minute cancellations?” I jokingly asked Bill, the hardworking and supremely capable face of Moon River Cottages. We were in the middle of preparing the boat for launching and heading across the river to find a campsite.
He paused, “We do, actually. I just heard this morning and the one cottage is free.”
I looked at Darrell but knew he would have no objections to spending the weekend in a cottage with working indoor plumbing. He knew it would lead to far fewer complaints on my part.
“We’ll take it for the next the two nights.”
Suddenly, our first camping trip of the year turned into a weekend at the cottage and I honestly was thrilled. After a crazy busy week and the three hour drive to reach the Moon River, all I wanted to do was hit the water and cast a line. To skip the task of taking everything to the campsite, and then setting up camp, seemed like a great idea to me.
In the time it took Darrell and Bill to launch the boat, I had unpacked the truck and was ready to hit the water for an evening fish.
Our blue cottage – all the comforts of home but right on the water!
We had come to the Moon River, at Georgian Bay, Ontario, in search of toothy critters and in need of a weekend away. Ironically, the only weekend we could manage to get away was on bass opener, and while we brought plenty of bass gear, I was hoping to spend more time fighting with pike and possibly a musky.
Moon River Cottages
Our first morning at the Moon was the type of morning any human with blood pumping through their veins should feel honored to witness. The mist was rising off the water, the sky was blue, the water was crystal and still. I could have sat on the dock all morning and just stared. I could hear the eerie, yet beautiful call of the loons, and for that moment, everything in the world just seemed perfect.
I absolutely love this view.
Leave me here to enjoy this. Why did real life have to get in the way and send me back home?
Is there a better place to see the sun rise than over the water? I think not.
The other cottages in the bay.
Fantastic shoreline. There is something different about the trees up north. They’re more spectacular somehow.
Fishing was put on hold first thing that morning, as Bill had told us there was a waterfall not far away, and with the incredible atmosphere that morning, I wanted to see it right away. On the trip to the falls, Darrell kept an eye on the depth finder and couldn’t help but tell me, “We’re in 40ft of water, now we’re going up, only 6ft now, wait, going back down.” One thing about the Georgian Bay area – you keep a lookout for giant rocks and huge shoals that seem to appear out of nowhere.
I could hear the falls before we saw them, and then rocks prevented us from getting close enough so we had to get out and walk over for a better view. What a wonderful way to start the morning – watching the mist rise, hearing the thundering of the falls, despite the fact that it looked more like a gentle cascade than I was expecting, and just getting the chance to admire nature.
First glimpse at the falls.
- The Falls
Darrell, taking a different path back to the boat.
The wonderful boat.
The fishing proved to be a little more difficult than we had anticipated and by the time we headed back to the cottage for a late breakfast, we had only managed a couple of tiny smallmouth bass and a small pike. It’s always difficult to hit new water and get on fish right away. I already felt more relaxed and at peace so the trip was paying off, even without a lot of fish in the boat.
When the bite is slow we usually take to trolling around to see if we can trigger a bite. This is where the confidence lures come into play. Our number one go-to lure is a Rapala Husky Jerk in Tennessee Shad – if we can’t get a bite on this, we won’t get a bite. I tied one on and tossed it out behind the boat. Darrell tied on the second favorite lure – a white spinnerbait. Needless to say, I picked the winning lure. Trolling along a weed edge I started to get hits right away and by the time we made it through the strait, I’d had a few decent pike to the boat. It made my afternoon.
One of the pike
Another pike
We did spend a fair bit of time in search of musky, and I threw more than a few giant lures that had my arms begging for a break. The water temp was very warm so targeted weed beds and rock shoals with close access to deep water. While we could not get a musky to give itself up, I had a lot of fun tossing those big lures.
The Georgian Bay area is full of things to see. I love looking at the cottages and docks, seeing what type of boats are tied up, seeing how many people are actually able to get to their cottage on a given weekend and enjoy it. It’s interesting to watch the boaters with knowledge of the water – they go flying through areas we wouldn’t dream of racing through until we learn the water. Aside from the human activity, there is always the glimpse at various forms of wildlife, and even just drifting along in the boat, watching the water, can reveal all sorts of treats.
I love this boat house!
A great blue heron
The same heron after deciding we had gotten too close.
We spent almost all of Saturday on the water, with a few short breaks to head in for food. I think it was 10PM before we called it quits for the day. Sunday called for another early start as there was rain in the forecast and I was eager to get in a lot of fishing before heading home. As beautiful and sunny as Saturday had been, was as overcast and gloomy as Sunday appeared to be. I had high hopes though, thinking that the weather front may trigger a feeding frenzy.
We headed for an island surrounded by weeds and near deep water. I decided to stick with my Husky Jerk but Darrell tied on a musky-sized top water lure and started casting. Those propellers sure make a racket. For those that use top water lures for bass, you know what a rush it is when you get a hit – so imagine what a riot it was when Darrell had a pike smash his lure. Water everywhere and the two us practically jumping in excitement.
One of my pike on the final morning. Darrell had to hold my fish because I had a severe case of butter fingers and didn’t want to drop the fish.
One of Darrell’s pike.
For about an hour we had a great pike bite. Cast, catch a pike, let it go, try it all over again. This was the action I had been looking for. While we didn’t catch anything close to the size I had hoped for, the adrenaline rush, and time on the water, everything just combined to make for an amazing morning.
I look entirely too happy here. We donned rainsuits when we headed back out after breakfast. It was absolutely pouring at that point, but who cares, there were fish to catch!
We spent another few hours fishing in the pouring rain before deciding we should call it quits and head home. I wish we could have stayed. After loading the boat and packing up the truck, we said goodbye to Bill, said goodbye to the blue cottage, and got on our way. I wish we could have stayed. Every time I go up north I become more convinced that it is where I belong. But, until I find us both jobs up north, or win the lottery, we are stuck where we currently live.
I had a fantastic weekend. We caught plenty of fish, enjoyed the scenery, and got to relax. Moon River Cottages is a great place to stay. There are four cottages available at reasonable rates. It’s one of the few places in the area to launch from. The fees for launching and parking are also very reasonable. If you choose to camp, there are several campsites available on crown land, just a short boat ride away. You can also rent boats and canoes from Moon River Cottages.
I think we’ll have to make another trip to the Moon River, perhaps later in the fall, when the toothy critters may be getting more active again.
argosgirl
Latest posts by argosgirl (see all)
- Book Review: Paddling My Own Canoe by Esther Keyser - October 13, 2024
- Fall Camping at Algonquin Park - October 8, 2024
- Intro to Trolling - September 7, 2024
I’ve been coast to coast to coast in this great country and can honestly say the Moon River Basin is my favorite place of all. Kudos on the cottage and the great catch!
Thanks John! I absolutely loved it there. I spent this past weekend pining away for it and almost loaded the truck up for another weekend away 🙂