Dablemont: Fish Canada Affordably

In late May, we crossed through International Falls, Minn., into Ft. Francis, Ontario. It was about 10 p.m. and we had to pay a $10 toll to cross the Rainy River Bridge. Canada doesn’t miss any chances to collect American money.  The border guards asked if we had tobacco, alcohol or firearms or raw potatoes. All we had was the potatoes, since neither Rich nor I drink or smoke. But Rich’s name is Abdoler, which may have once been Abdullah, since his father’s ancestry is Syrian, and he does in fact look like a Muslim terrorist just a little bit. And I have small eyes and look something like a criminal, so they decided to go through everything we had. Few Americans go fishing in Canada without beer, but they worry about alcohol and tobacco being smuggled in to Canadians who can escape enormous taxes by getting it from Americans.

As for the raw potatoes, your guess is as good as mine!

We eventually drove into Canada and were greeted by this enormous sign saying, “Experience Canada”. At that same time, you are greeted by a tremendous stench coming from a gigantic, smoke-spewing, Canadian paper mill on Rainy River which will nearly gag you. And for miles, driving into Canada, there isn’t much about it, which is pretty. You have to get away from the people, the small towns and Indian reservations, where there is as much poverty as you will find anywhere, to see the beauty of Canada. They have been smart enough to preserve the forests around the waterways where Americans come to fish, but on the rest of the forested land, the paper companies and timber companies are stripping trees in gigantic swaths.  When you fly over Ontario, the land beneath you looks like it has been eternally devastated.

There are tremendous burgeoning numbers of humans on the earth, and the increasing demand for lumber and paper will never cease. Canadian trees grow slowly because of the short growing season, and few of them will ever get larger than 6 or 8 inches in diameter. Logging trucks are everywhere. It’s just the way it is and will always be. I don’t know what effects it has on wildlife, Canadian species like moose and bear, beaver, martens, fishers, and grouse seem to do fine around the lakes where the timber is left uncut by design.  If you don’t leave those waterway forests, you are not going to appeal to American fishermen, and much money is brought in by sportsmen from the states. The fees are high, it costs about $40 in licenses to fish a week, and the fish you are allowed to bring back will probably fit in the smallest cooler you have. I like that idea. Eat all you want, and release all but a small number to bring home. 

A law has been passed making it illegal for Americans to use minnow traps or seines to obtain their own bait, in order to protect bait dealers who charge about $6 a dozen for minnows. In some ways, they are making it harder for Americans to afford to come to Ontario. As Dawn told me, “It is all about the money”.
Her brother Tinker once told me, “Someday our government needs to start trying to find ways to make it easier for people to come up here and fish, not harder. We need to welcome Americans with open arms, and make licenses cheaper, laws simpler.”

But still, fishing and enjoying the beauty of Canadian waterways is affordable, if you find folks like Dawn who have accommodations and the knowledge to tell newcomers where the fish are and how to catch them.
Dawn doesn’t have a Web site, but you can e-mail her at rainbow@escape.ca or phone her at 807-482-2110.

Write to me at Box 22, Bolivar, Mo. 65613, e-mail me at “mailto:lightninridge@windstream.net" lightninridge@windstream.net.  You can view some Canada photos on my Web site, www.larrydablemontoutdoors.blogspot.com