The First Cast on Our Lady Evelyn
Back in September, I got the chance to be the fishing guide on a Lady Evelyn River fly fishing trip through Lady Evelyn–Smoothwater Provincial Park, hosted by Temagami Outfitting Company. In practical terms, that meant helping a wilderness canoe guide lead six guests through the backcountry—and making sure we found fish along the way. For someone who has dreamed about exploring that area since childhood, and who loves brook trout more than most people love their pets, it felt like a dream come true. Spoiler alert: it absolutely was.
We were dropped at the trailhead early Monday morning with enough gear to outfit a small expedition. Two minutes of paddling later, we hit our first portage. The portages were our fishing spots, where the guests cast while our canoe guide, Liam, handled the heavy loads. And when I say Liam loved hauling gear, I’m not exaggerating. At one point he checked his GPS, realized he’d portaged three miles on a single trail, and was genuinely thrilled. I swear I’m not saying this to get out of trouble for carrying the lighter packs—he honestly enjoyed it.
Strangers at the Start of a Lady Evelyn River Fly Fishing Trip
The trip really started the night before, when we first met at Temagami Outfitting. Over dinner, fishing stories started to flow. The group was a complete mix: two guys from Wisconsin who worked for the same company but had never actually met; one angler from Eastern Ontario; another from Brampton; and one from Toronto. Eight strangers, none of us knowing what to expect. What surprised me was how quickly it clicked—before we ever saw our first portage trail, it already felt like a group of friends.
That night, Jim mentioned he was turning sixty-eight the next day. As the conversation unfolded, he shared that as a teenager he’d fished with his grandfather—long days on the water that first sparked his connection to fly fishing and being outdoors. Those memories stayed with him, and was the driving force that led him to this trip. He hadn’t picked up a fly rod in more than forty years, but he’d been practicing in his backyard, excited—and a little unsure—to fish again with a group of fly anglers.
The next morning, at the first portage, everyone agreed Jim should have the honour of the trip’s first cast. And, of course, on that very first cast, a beautiful brook trout rose and smashed his fly. The cast wasn’t perfect and there was slack in the line, so the fish popped off. Jim looked over at me—half shocked, half confused, and somehow more excited than before. I gave him a few quick pointers. He stepped back up, cast again, and this time didn’t miss. I netted the fish, handed him his first brook trout on the fly in decades, and we watched it slip back into the river as Jim grinned ear to ear.
Jim clipped the fly off his tippet, turned to the group, and said, “Well, I had one goal on this trip—catch brook trout on the fly – and I did it. Get in there, boys.”
More Than Brook Trout
Over the next four days, we paddled nine kilometres down—and back up—the Lady Evelyn River. Somewhere in the Temagami wilderness, each of us learned something: about fishing, about nature, and about ourselves. Jim thought he came to catch trout. What he found was reconnection—to the outdoors, and to people. Each night around the campfire, we shared stories, worries, memories, and dreams. Maybe it was being unplugged, or the ancient quiet of the woods. Maybe it was the bottle of McCallum’s that didn’t make the return trip with any liquid in it. Whatever it was, that place brings walls down. Vulnerability comes easier. Laughter gets louder. Strangers become friends.
By day two, we all had nicknames. By day three, I’m convinced our campfire laughter echoed all the way back to the highway. Everyone showed up hoping to catch brook trout—including me—but none of us expected how much deeper the experience would go. We weren’t only on a Lady Evelyn River fly fishing trip. We were connecting—with the land, the water, and each other.
When the Lady Evelyn River Gives You More Than Fish
It was one of those rare trips that stays with you long after the packs are empty and the canoe is back on the rack. Jim arrived carrying more than just a bag of gear. Somewhere along the Lady Evelyn, he left some of that weight behind in the woods. The fish, he later said, meant almost nothing in the end. What mattered was the connection—to the river, to the people around the fire, and to a quieter version of himself he’d been missing for a long time.
I can’t wait to return to the Lady Evelyn for another wilderness fly fishing experience with anglers searching for something special, even if they don’t fully know what that is yet. Because sometimes the trip gives you exactly what you came for—and sometimes, it gives you what you didn’t realize you needed.
If you feel drawn to experience the Lady Evelyn for yourself, you can learn more and join us on a guided wilderness fly fishing trip with Live 2 Fish and Temagami Outdoors.
