Why I Vacation On The Shore Of Georgian Bay
There’s nothing quite like having a week away to fish, camp, explore, and relax. For the second year in a row, I decided the best way to do all of this was to spend my vacation on the shore of Georgian Bay, in the Pointe au Baril region.
Why did I choose this area? Well, quite simply, I love it there. It’s one of those places that just seems to beckon me – the call of the loon, the rocky islands, the windswept pines, and above all, the vast amount of water hiding all sorts of secrets and incredible fish. The reasons are plentiful and make for remarkable summer memories.
The Camping
When Darrell and I plan our summer vacation, one thing is usually taken for granted – we will be pitching a tent and camping for the week. The Pointe au Baril region of Georgian Bay is home to a wealth of provincial parks – Sturgeon Bay, Killbear, and the Massassauga. This year we again stayed at Sturgeon Bay Provincial Park. I love this park for its small size, generous campsites, and a boat launch that puts you minutes from fantastic fishing spots. During the week, the back loop of campsites at this park stays sparsely populated, allowing us the luxury of peace and quiet. We had an entire corner of the campground just to us until Thursday, when the weekend campers started arriving.
Our campsite.
Considering I was a camping newbie when Darrell and I went on our first vacation together, I think I’m coming along quite well. I can now help set up the tents and sort out equipment. I still enjoy the modern conveniences such as flushing toilets and working showers. Sturgeon Bay provides excellent facilities. Despite these conveniences, there’s still feeling of getting back to nature – you clean up your campsite to prevent unwanted attention from raccoons and bears, and you keep an eye out for the rattlesnakes that are indigenous to the area.
This fella caused quite a stir. So much so that Darrell and I assumed someone had landed a huge fish!
Being able to camp with my boat only a short walk away, with access to an incredible water body, makes my vacation a whole lot more wonderful.
The Scenery
The eastern shore of Georgian Bay has a distinct landscape that one cannot forget. With thousands of islands and shoals, there is rock everywhere you look. The rock in this particular area is stunning – the gneiss rock presents ribbons of colors and and impossibly smooth surfaces that were shaped by tremendous geological forces. My first visit to this area left me enthralled with the rocky landscape, and each return visit reinforces that feeling. The windswept pines that have somehow managed to survive in this rock, indicate the direction of the prevailing wind with their upper branches, almost giving the appearance of a windy day, even on the calmest of mornings.
While I am enchanted with the rocks and trees of the landscape, it is the shoals that impress me the most. Running the boat through 30-feet of water, only to find yourself suddenly in 3-feet and needing to change course absolutely astounds me. A bay can look wide open, but there may be a shoal right in the middle of it that a boat should avoid. Veteran boaters in the area learn the best routes and manage to go through the channels quickly, but those unsure of the area should always take it slow. Looking over a span of water can show you a rainbow of water colors, indicating where the shoals appear. I love watching the larger ships work their way through the water – it takes skill and attention to have a safe journey through here.
I forgot my camera this year and had to settle for taking pictures with my iPhone. It does not do justice to the magnificent scenery, but it allows me to remember some of the amazing sights I witness while travelling around the area.
Our first night.
Our last night.
The Attractions
There is so much to see and do along the shore of Georgian Bay. In the Pointe au Baril region you can make the run out to the lighthouse, and then beyond to the point where a barrel rests – giving the area its name. I remember seeing the barrel for the first time and thinking of the past, and what it must have been like to have made the long voyage through the open waters of Georgian Bay, and to arrive at the barrel and know that you had made a safe journey.
There are a plethora of hiking trails available in the region. If you are a camping in one of the parks, your pass will admit you to the other parks to allow you to make use of their trails.
This year I was able to do something I was eager to experience – take the Island Queen Cruise and explore more of the islands in the area. The Island Queen is a magnificent ship that departs from the town dock in Parry Sound and offers both a two-hour and a three-hour cruise around the Thirty Thousand Islands region of Georgian Bay. We took the three-hour afternoon cruise that explores the outer islands of the area. Passing provincial parks, notable islands, bountiful cottages, and spectacular scenery, the cruise is a fantastic way to spend an afternoon. I will admit though, I was most impressed by the ship’s ability to maneuver through the shipping channels, making tight turns and just fitting between various rock walls and shoals. I spent most of my time looking down, watching how we got through the tight spots, and feeling the power of the ship as it made it’s way through. Absolutely fascinating!
The Island Queen
The towns in this area depend on tourism, so there are many unique shops along the way to stop and explore. If you go on vacation with a tight budget, as I always seem to, make sure you set yourself a spending limit before you walk into any of the shops! There’s a lot to see and do.
The Boats
I enjoy looking at boats. I like to watch everything from small aluminum boats like ours, to the barges and the cruisers. A good portion of my time, whether on the water or standing on shore, is spent watching the boats go by – seeing how they travel, looking at the motors on them, watching how well they run, seeing what people do with them. Darrell and I like to pick out the boats we would like to own in the future, dismissing others as not meeting our needs. When we are in this area, I always find myself thinking that I would like to work at one of the marinas, just so I can look at boats all day.
The Fishing
Of course, the main reason I vacation along Georgian Bay is for the fishing. There are few places where you stand the chances at landing such a variety of trophy-sized fish. Whether it’s musky, our target of choice up there, or feisty smallmouth bass, walleye or hard-biting pike, there is always something to target. Last year we caught so many smallies that we eventually put away our Gulp minnows and used some plain plastics. Darrell even managed to land his first musky in an awesome leap at the side of the boat.
Luck just didn’t seem to be on our side this year. The first few days of our vacation coincided with a cold front that stirred up the water and left it murkier than I had ever seen it. We trolled for musky, set up in prime areas and cast a variety of lures, changed our presentations, and still nothing. We didn’t even notice any follows. The fish of 10,000 casts proved to be elusive on this journey.
The islands and rock shoals of the area are ideal habitat for smallmouth bass, but we managed one lone smallie on this outing. Add in a couple of pike and some largemouth bass, and that just about summed up the unusually slow fishing action.
They can be tough to find in this area, but we have a great spot where the largemouth bass enjoy smashing our frogs. That particular spot also has some awesome gar action. Darrell hooked into a couple but couldn’t get them to the boat.
However, our time spent trolling did reveal some suspended fish on the fish finder. Returning to our waypoint the following morning, Darrell maneuvered the boat into 22-FOW and we lowered our drop-shots. What happened over the next hour-and-a-half can only be described as a crappie slab-fest. Unlike the crappies we normally fish for, with their tentative bites and smaller size, these were aggressive slabs just inhaling our Gulp minnows. Our average size was 10-inches, but there were at least three 12-inchers caught and only a few small ones. I fish for crappie quite often, but I have never experienced such action before. We were both grinning from ear-to-ear and giggling like little kids. This was the action we expected in the waters of Georgian Bay.
Holy slabs! The crappie fishing was unbelievable!
A hair over 12-inches!
There is so much water to fish, even just in the Point au Baril region, that it takes time to learn the area. But the process of learning the water and fishing it is a marvelous one. Even without a fish on my line, I can’t help but be at peace while out on that water.
It is obvious why so many people choose to visit the Georgian Bay area. For my vacation there is no better place to relax, enjoy, and catch some great fish. I needed this year’s vacation even more than I have needed it in the past, and this one exceeded my expectations (although I would have loved to have landed my first musky). I’m already planning my next trip!
argosgirl
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