Is Shorelunch a lost art

By Joel Prunty media manager

The past three summers I’ve had the privilege to fish at an Ontario fly-in outpost. And all three times we were the only cabin on the lake and all three times were at least a month into the fishing season at popular destinations.

The common denominator on these trips was we could not find a spot were another group cooked a shore lunch. What? Are you kidding me; fishermen have stopped cooking shore lunch? I know this because we look for well trampled points with level rock pits, offering space between us and the mosquito infested bush and we couldn’t find any.

Why would fisherman skip one of the true highlights of a Canadian fishing adventure? I’m guessing the reasons are many including: it’s a lot of work, it takes too much time, we have to drag all that cooking stuff with us, it’s too dry, it might rain and the list of excuses goes on.

There’s a simpler explanation addressing all these excuses though…the fish fryer back at camp. It’s less work, quicker, your boat isn’t cluttered, it greatly reduces the risk of fire and you’re out of potential rain.

But…at what cost? I admit to using the fish fryer back at camp, but only if necessary. A fire ban is a good reason, sever weather is a good reason, but the rest are excuses and take away from one of life’s great pleasers: battered walleye, panned fried over a wood fire away from everything, on the shores of a Canadian lake. It doesn’t get any better than that.