Long Sault, ON – With a little bit of coaxing, any fisherman will tell you that the joy of fishing isn’t always about the biggest catch – it’s more often a story about finding some of the most beautiful places in the world to sit for a day and reflect in quiet. It’s about waking up to catch the first rays of sunlight and to hear the cracking of the ice as it settles underfoot. It’s about adding just the right number of layers to stay warm and making sure that your coffee thermos is with you for those first sips in your ice hut as you stoke a fire for the day.
For Claude Collette, of Collette’s Ice Hut Rentals in Hoople Creek, fishing represents a lifelong adventure and a retirement dream. At 76 years young, Collette has been fishing for more than half of his life. Other interests have come and gone, but fishing has remained a passion that has grown with the shifting waters of the St. Lawrence River that he calls home.
Many of the people that rent ice huts from Collette have been visiting for years. Like him, they were hooked on the beauty of the area and the lure of fishing in one of the largest natural pickerel fish hatcheries and fishing areas in Eastern Ontario and Western Quebec. It’s a natural paradise second to none.
Most of Collette’s ice huts are rented seasonally, but he reserves six for daily rentals. Aspiring anglers need to bring their own fishing gear for the day, but as a former outfitter who used to lead fishing and hunting expeditions, Collette knows a trick or two about pulling fish out of the river. Ask him and he’ll probably tell you a fish story or two. Just don’t go looking for his website. He says his flip phone works just fine and he’ll be sure to answer when you call him at t. 613-330-5764 to reserve your fishing hut.
Fishing huts come equipped with a fire to keep your feet warm and a pre-drilled hole to access some of Ontario’s best fishing.
Learn more about our region at www.whereontariobegan.ca