'Specks' plentiful at pay-as-you-fish retreat
-Grant Hopkins

Within a two hour drive of Ottawa and 35 minutes from Kingston there is a great speckled trout fishing getaway - and anglers who have been there would like to keep it a secret.

That's not unusual, of course. Good fishing locations for this prized species have dwindled over the years, partly because their pristine-water habitat has been gradually spoiled by logging, mining, cottage development and other human activity.

The surprising thing about the Bing Retreat, however, is that it is a privately stocked natural lake and anglers have to pay for a day's sport.

Bing is not a typical commercial fishing pond where trout are raised on a daily handout of food pellets and taste like liver.

This retreat is located on a post-card setting of rocks and pines on Horseshoe Lake, 16 kilometres south of Westport.

Ninety-foot depths provide the cool water that trout need to survive in the summer. The lake is small enough for anglers to cover in a day by canoe and yet large enough to offer privacy from other fishing parties. Gas-powered motors aren't allowed.

"The idea of paying to fish trout is new to people in Ontario, but it's catching on," says Bing owner Chris Fisher. "And with government cutbacks in stocking programs, where are people to go for speckled trout?"

Fisher, a 43-year-old former Ottawa carpenter, has been stocking the lake for the past 13 years, but last year was the first anglers were allowed to test the fishing.

The results were spectacular. A number of trout over five pounds were landed and individual catches of a dozen or so fish in a day were not unusual (an angler can keep only two fish of any size daily). Fisher says that no one was "skunked" last year.

Although there are no restrictions on the type of fishing gear used, the retreat has become a haven for the fly fishermen.

There are many places to cast out of the wind and the fish often favour flies over other types of lure or bait. One experienced Ottawa-area fly fisher told me he spent an entire day last summer trying to find a fly that the trout didn't like.

Fisher admits, however, that on the cold and windy days that typified this spring, the lowly worm hooked on the back of a spinner was the only way to get action.

This year, Fisher expects the fishing to peak in early June, but should still be good throughout July and August, based on last year's experience.

Later in the season, which extends until the end of September, fly fishers do best with sinking lines and weighted flies.

A five-bedroom pine cottage over-looking the lake is available for families and groups. Arrangements can be made for renting a small boat. Fisher believes his rates are very reasonable.

"Hardcore fishermen will travel great distances for trout. Many of them will spend hundreds of dollars to fly into a lake and because of poor weather or other factors, come out with only a few small ones."

And he notes that trout charters on Lake Ontario run at $400 a day. And at the Bing, he adds, there's no risk of sea-sickness.