A River For The Ages, Ontario’s French River
Published: Saturday, September 4, 2021
By: Bruce Kemp
Bruce Kemp, The biggest pickerel I ever caught came out of the mouth of the French. We’d picked up three two-pounders since five o’clock that August evening. Then as the light was fading I thought I hooked a log. Cranking and cursing against the weight on the end of my line, I was determined not to lose my tackle. I reckoned my gear was nearing the surface when the fish made its run. That’s when I knew it wasn’t a log.
As I brought it to the boat after a ten-minute fight, my brother, Lloyd, got the net into position. I instantly thought of the line from the movie “Jaws” and in a manic moment giggled, “I think we’re going to need a bigger boat.”
In the water alongside us was a living log. Its black-lacquered back, ghostly opaque eyes and gold sides gleamed momentarily in the half-light before Lloyd got the net under its tail. Scooping forward, it looked like the net’s handle was going to break as he lifted the fish from the water and set it gently in the bottom of our boat.
The fish weighed slightly over eleven pounds. We took a bunch of pictures and then slid it back into the water. Like the fish, the pictures were let go someplace along the way and my brother was lost to cancer a decade later, but I will always have the memory of that fish, which came to me at the outflow of the French River on an August evening.
The French is like that. It carries a lot of great memories for anyone who has spent time on it. But more than just a bit of nostalgia, the French is this great, brawling waterway that’s been important to vacationers, fishermen, and travellers going back to before European contact with the First Nations.
As far as rivers go, it isn’t a big one compared to the St. Lawrence or Detroit. It might even be improper to call the French a single river. It’s more like a conjunction of waterways.
Sometimes described as a string of lakes joined by rapids, the French stretches over 65 miles from its source at Lake Nipissing to its mouth on Georgian Bay just east of Killarney. It’s waters tumble through an amazing Canadian Shield landscape where bare rock forms gorges reaching more than 90 feet above river level. Over the run of the river, it only drops 57 feet from Nipissing to the Bay.
The French isn’t a river you’re going to take a big sport cruiser up. It’s also a river you have to work at, requiring intelligence and skill to run. The areas around the mouth are a nightmare of foul ground and new rocks seem to pop up every spring. There is plenty of safe water for trailerable runabouts, fishing boats and canoes, but it’s a good idea to carry tools, a spare prop, and shear pins for the kicker.
All along the waterway there are good launch ramps and gas pumps. At Noelville, you can resupply at the grocery and liquor stores. All of the lodges in the area have kitchens to serve meals to their guests, but before planning to have lunch at one give it a call to see if the dining room is open after the COVID shut down.
Before setting out on the river make sure you’ve brought enough bug goop and protective clothing for the early evenings and mornings when the mossies and black flies like to bite. In the north woods, tales abound of moose driven mad by bugs. Could be a folk tale, but why take the chance?
Scenery along here is so stunning that from the earliest excursions by Europeans, painters—French priests and professional artists like Paul Kane and Tom Thomson—have tried to capture the country’s magic.
This run of water was an important transportation route. It was the Chippewa who gave it its name because of the French fur traders and explorers that seemed to flood down it as they spread out around the Great Lakes and lands to the west. Because of its importance, the French was officially named a Heritage River in 1986.
For those with masochistic tendencies and a canoe, you can still paddle all the way to the west coast from Quebec City. First by following the St. Lawrence, then the Ottawa and Mattawa Rivers, crossing Lake Nipissing, and finally traversing the French to get to Georgian Bay and the western canoe routes.
Not only did the voyageurs follow this track, but names that later became important—like Simon Fraser, Alexander Mackenzie and David Thompson—made their way west along it. It was the superhighway of its day, remaining important until the 1820s when the earliest versions of the Welland Canals opened.
Today the river is mainly a recreational waterway bordered by the Dokis First Nation, some private cottages, a few resorts, and a wilderness provincial park.
Fishing and wilderness canoeing are the two main reasons people head for French River country (just a little over three hours north of Toronto on a good traffic day). There are dozens of game fish species including: pickerel, northern pike, muskellunge, largemouth bass, smallmouth bass, rock bass, crappies, sturgeon, perch, sunfish, channel cats, and whitefish among others.
Just about every type of bait works. Near the mouth of the river fishermen troll with worm and minnow harnesses as well as deep running lures like Sinking Rapalas. For spin casting, a lot of fishermen use weighted, light-coloured Mr. Twister jigs. The big guy who hit my line took a black and gold jointed Rapala about four inches long.
Muskie over 50 inches and Walleye over 30 inches are caught on the river every year. It’s one of the hotspots for muskie fishermen pursuing a world record. In 2006, a 56.5-inch fish that weighed in at 41.13 lbs broke the 70lb line class record and was taken from the mouth of the river.
Most fishermen hunt for big fish in September when the water starts to cool off. These fresh water sharks prefer 7-15°C (44-59°F). In the warmer summer months they stay in the river’s deeper pools.
Casting is often the best way to catch a muskie. Using either a crank bait or bucktail, fish the shallows along the shore and don’t overlook the weed beds. Trolling for muskies works well with crank baits and shallow diving lures like the Mepps Muskie Killer.
Regardless of your preferred method, make sure you have heavy enough line spooled onto your reel. These guys hit your tackle like a pit bull with a bad attitude and any lighter gear will simply be lost.
For the ultimate in fishing vacations with a minimum of fuss and bother, there are six resort lodges spread from east to west along the river. These offer clean beds, excellent meals, and boats and motors. They also have launch ramps, letting you trailer your own boat to any stretch of the river you think will be productive.
Operating a boat requires the Canadian Pleasure Craft Operator Card or equivalent.
If you plan to fish or camp near Dokis First Nation lands, contact the band office regarding licenses and permits.
You can get to the French from two directions. If you’re coming up Highway 69 from Toronto, the road crosses the river (giving you a terrific panorama) and the exits will let you access the Delta sections up as far as the Dalles Rapids. It’s more difficult getting to the eastern end of the river. You have to come around the west end of Lake Nipissing on Highway 17 (TransCanada) before heading south on Hwy 64, then taking the Dokis Reserve Road to the eastern of the river around the Dokis Reserve.
Important Contacts and Other Info
Coordinates
Lake Nipissing
46°12′30″N 79°49′30″W
Georgian Bay
45°56’26”N 80°54’06”W
Canadian Hydrographic Chart: 6036
French River Fishing Regulations
The area considered to be part of the French River covers three different zones (10, 11 and 14) in the Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources management areas. Check with the ministry for the seasons, limits, and bait options in each zone. The MNR can be reached at www.mnr.gov.on.ca.
Contact Information
French River Provincial Park
Box 218,
Alban, ON
705-857-1630
www.ontarioparks.com/english/fren.html
French River Visitors Centre
www.visitgeorgianbay.com
705-857-3228
Dokis First Nations
www.dokisfirstnation.com
List of French River Fishing Lodges and Resorts
www.frenchriverfishing.com
Tourism Ontario
www.tourismontario.com
Georgian Bay Country
www.gbcountry.com
About the Author:
Bruce Kemp is an award-winning writer and photojournalist who lives in Merrickville on the Rideau Canal in Ontario, Canada. He is also the author of The Fugitive’s Son, Weather Bomb 1913, and the recent The Whales of Lake Erie.
A version of this article appeared in the Fall Issue (September/October) 2021 of Great Lakes Scuttlebutt magazine.
tags: Canada, Destination, Fishing
