Fishing big part of family trip

Fishing big part of family trip

Columns

By: Wil Wegman

When an opportunity arose for the first time in a while for our entire family to spend vacation together, we jumped at the opportunity and began planning.

The timing was perfect – the first week of September when my wife, Loretta, and I could both get off work, my oldest son, Tyler, who is now finished university was off before he joins the full-time work force, and my youngest son, Izaak, was available before he goes to university in January.

Where would we go and what would we do though?

Well, Focus on Fishing readers likely know me well enough by now that you can all guess what activity I had in mind so what about the rest of the family.

Loretta and Tyler enjoy golf and Izaak doesn’t mind going fishing with his dad, so we had the activities covered.

Next was location.

My wife didn’t want to go too far, but at least a couple hours away to make it feel like a real holiday.

After a bit of research, we landed upon Deerhurst Resort on the shores of Peninsula Lake near Huntsville.

We had both been there before for conferences and it would be great to return and really enjoy this first class resort in a more vacation-type setting.

With our two sons now young adults, we could no longer just get a room with two double beds, so we opted to treat ourselves to one of their condo-style units.

It was gorgeous, complete with private outdoor patio, hot tub, two bedrooms, full kitchen, the whole bit.

Upon arrival, I launched my bass boat at a nearby public launch, fished the shore across from the resort, caught a nice three-pound smallmouth bass and was then able to leave the boat safely in the water at one of the private slips at Deerhurst. Not having to launch each day would be a real treat.

The only other fishing I had ever done on Peninsula Lake was 10 years ago when I fished an annual spring pike tournament out of Huntsville.

“Pen” Lake is actually part of a three lake chain that also includes Lake Vernon and Fairy Lake.

All three lakes are known more for their outstanding pike fishing – short stocky northerns that get big and fat on high protein cisco.

I still have a photograph on my office wall of a 22 pounder from Pen Lake I caught during a tournament.

At home, I have a mount of a 24-pound pike taken through the ice in Vernon Lake several years ago.

Ah, but during this family vacation, we would focus on smallmouth and even largemouth bass that are in Pen Lake.

Izaak and I began fishing smallmouth early the next morning while Ty and his mom slept in.

We would all meet at 10:30 a.m. for a delicious breakfast buffet back at the resort.

We managed to catch a few smallies from rocky shoals and points but the largemouth eluded us.

We tried several of the good looking weed patches that should have held largemouth, but obviously these northern fish didn’t read the rule book and had chosen to reside elsewhere in the lake.

That afternoon, while Loretta and Ty golfed, Izaak and I focussed on fishing docks and boathouses and we weren’t disappointed.

Largemouth often prefer the cover of docks and boathouses in the afternoon sun and Pen Lake was no exception.

For the rest of the week, we would alternate between largemouth and smallmouth fishing while Ty and his mom would enjoy more golf.

It was peculiar to see a few other bass boats on the lake each day so I asked Deerhurst staffer Bill Thalor for an explanation.

“Normally, you’d hardly ever see so many fishing boats out there, but this weekend there will be a big pike tournament in Huntsville, so these guys ... myself included are pre-fishing for that,” he said.

Back at Deerhurst, we enjoyed delicious meals as well as a tremendous show called Canada Rocks that covered a musical era both parents and kids enjoyed.
 
The service at Deerhurst is exceptional and although the accommodations and atmosphere may well be more extravagant than most guys are used to during an all boys fishing trip, it is excellent for families and others who wish to treat themselves to a great vacation destination that offers boat rentals, fishing on your own or with renowned professional guide Mike Bertelsen of Captain Action Charters.

There also happens to be a world class golf resort, several pools, a lakefront splash zone, spa, tennis courts, horseback riding, off road tours, indoor sports and many more activities available at Deerhurst. Nearby Huntsville, about two-and-a-half hours away from Georgina, is a pleasant town to visit, with shops, outdoor patios etc.  

For more information check out: www.deerhurstresort.com  

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