Review: Multi-Species Angler’s Dream Spot

A very comprehensive review from, Ken, a past guest of Brennan Harbour Fishing Resort.

Location:

Whalesback Channel ( on the northshore of Lake Huron)

Easy drive to lodge from central Ohio, approx. 11 hours

Resort and Cabins:

Very well maintained cabins and resort. Brennan Harbour resort is very vibrant and full of life, the owners James and Casey take great pride in their camp and it shows. This was by far the nicest camp we have ever visited.

Staff:

The best experience we have had on any of our Ontario adventures. They go out of their way at every turn to help make your trip a positive and memorable one. Andre' (the dock guy) also went out of his way often to assist in any way possible, always with a smile.

Food:

No comment, we chose the housekeeping route, but the guests that did have their meals prepared by the staff were very happy and full.

Boats:

All were in top shape, safe and were setup for fishing. We selected their top of the line boat, the Lund rebel; well worth the money.

They offer boat insurance and I recommend you purchase it. The insurance is inexpensive and I am glad I purchased it. I am embarrassed to admit this but we blew out our first prop on this trip, James had us up and running again in a couple of hours. Again sorry about that James.

Fishing:

Ah yes on to the good stuff :) Brennan Harbour is a multi-species angler’s dream spot. Close to civilization but seemed very far removed. There were a few local boats that fish these waters regularly, but the channel didn't seem fished out or pressured at all. You could line up with a couple other boats on a walleye drift or easily pop around one of the many islands for seclusion.

Our quest was species specific, we were only there for small mouth bass and northern pike. We were certainly not disappointed. At every turn there seemed to be a spot that not only looked "fishy", but was fishy!

We only attempted for walleye on one early morning just to contribute to the weekly fish fry (which was outstanding by the way). Caught one nice one and managed to not net it properly so it still swims today. The other guests focused on walleye seemed to do well and were happy to share their experience.

NOTE-- The lake/ channel has a slot limit 16 to 22 inch fish go back so there are a fair amount of them to be had.

The pike were abit "off" as we were fishing in the dog days of summer heat but we still had enough action to be satisfied. When anglers don't catch it is usually blamed on weather but I have to take full credit for not hooking into as many as we could have. We had more 28 to 36 inch fish follow our lures back and not hit than we could count, so I know they are there.

We also saw first-hand from a returning guest that the big ones are literally outside your door. We came back to the dock one day proud of our 20 to 28 inch pike we were catching and Rick pulls out a FAT 41 inch Musky he caught in sight of our cabin.

The small mouth bass fishing is also excellent; they certainly lived up to their claim to fame of here today and gone tomorrow. But when they were found they were very eager to slam our lures. The size for the average fish was also above average. These bad boys live fat and happy at Brennan Harbour.

The only problem or negative (if there is one) is the choices you have when selecting a fishing spot. I counted more than 40 spots I had identified on my GPS as places to try that we never even got to. James really helped us out with that one, he suggested just to focus in and give each spot 1/2 a day and sure enough the results followed.

This was also the first resort that truly seemed "wife friendly" there were a few families there and all were having a great time.

The Water:

As part of the river channel it is slightly stained (tannin) in color, if you get rain muddy water was unproductive. You can also access Lake Huron very easily for very clear water fishing and access to close bays (but you don't need to). North and South winds seemed best on this lake for us east and especially west winds can really turn up the waves. But there are plenty of places to hide from wind and waves around the many islands.

The prevailing wind is a south wind; whenever the wind was from the south we had very good fishing days and low/no waves.

Lessons learned on this trip:

Don’t play around with the pike up there-- use a wire leader
Lures- in summer there are lots of weeds- be prepared to go weedless.
expect the unexpected- the Channel used to be a logging route, so every once and a while a new log will be floating around that wasn't there before- eyes opened when operating your boat.
It can get shallow fast don't zoom down the shoreline (sorry about the prop James :))
Give their meal plan a try- it looked and smelled wonderful
Do hire the local guide for 1/2 a day- there are so many options they can help narrow down hot spots- money well spent.
A handheld GPS is a must have
If you look for fishing destinations in Ontario Brennan Harbour needs to be on your must visit list.
Return to Brennan Harbour Resort as often as possible
It can now be officially announced that my son is now a better fisherman than I am, maybe next time I can get him to pay the bill :)