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Taking your first steps into the rarified world of Atlantic salmon angling can be daunting, even for the most experienced trout or saltwater angler. Typically, most new salmon anglers are introduced to it by friends and they spend a period of time “apprenticing” with guides and fellow anglers before feeling like they’ve fully joined the elite club.
Grindstone Outfitters, the travel arm of Grindstone Angling (905-689-0880; www.grindstoneangling.com), a long-established fly shop and guide service in the steelhead/salmon, trout and bass country around the Great Lakes in Ontario west of Toronto is offering a more focused entry into the sport. They’ve teamed up with Camp Bonaventure (800-737-2740; www. Campbonaventure.com), one of the premier salmon camps on Québec’s Gaspé Peninsula to offer a four-day all-inclusive package September 18 to 22, 2011. The cost of the package is $4,424 CDN, which includes lodging, guides, meals, transfers to and from the airport in Bathurst, New Brunswick, and all taxes, plus a casting tune up and “What To Expect” seminar on their Ontario waters prior to the trip.
For anglers who don’t live near Toronto, this presents an opportunity to get on the water in Ontario and sample the early-season salmon and steelhead fishing there as a warm-up, to be in top form before tackling the gin-clear waters of the Bonaventure River. The lodge holds eight anglers in four comfortable double rooms, and four rods are still available at this writing. If you choose to take this route onto the Bonaventure, especially if you are a newbie salmon angler, please file a report.