The Wild Harvest

The joy of bringing game and fish to your table

Touch base with tradition on your next hunting and fishing adventure. The harvest of wild game and plentiful fish is exhilarating to be sure, but it also serves an important conservation role by maintaining a sustainable balance in nature. Most of all, bringing your bounty from the wild to the table completes the circle of being responsible for your own food.

By Shel Zolkewich

North America’s largest freshwater fish is waiting for you at River Wrangler Sportfishing in Chilliwack, B.C. White sturgeon can grow up to four metres long and weigh 500 kilograms—it’ll be the toughest fight of your life so start lifting weights now. River Wrangler also gives you the chance to catch five species of salmon at various times of the year. Take your pick from Chinook, sockeye, chum, Coho and pink. — riverwranglersportfishing.com

For a taste of true north in the unspoiled region of Nunavik in Arctic Québec, head to Arctic Adventures where for over half a century, visitors have been treated to unparalleled angling experiences and authentic hospitality. Arctic char is king from the home base at the Payne River Camp on the 60th parallel, 1800 kilometres due north of Montréal. From the Tunulik II Fishing Camp, on an exposed granite bluff overlooking the Lagrevé River, wild brook trout swim the pools above and below camp. — arcticadventures.ca

The full services of Club Odanak in La Tuque, Québec include six lakes and ponds offering unmatched angling for brook and speckled trout along with moose, grouse and bear hunting. Visitors can choose one of 48 cozy rooms nestled in three pavilions. For hearty appetites, The Odanak Club restaurant offers traditional Québécois and French dishes in its picturesque dining room. — clubodanak.com

Cree guides lead the way to the very best fishing spots surrounding Pourvoirie Camp Louis Jolliet on the Rupert River in Mistissini, Québec. Here you’ll cast for brook trout, lake trout, walleye and northern pike all day long, then join your fellow anglers in the dining room overlooking the majestic river for a meal expertly prepared by camp chefs. Retire to one of eight cabins in camp for your well‑deserved sleep. — mistassinilake.ca

Just north of Québec City, the Laurentides Wildlife Reserve promises an unmatched wilderness experience, but it’s the legendary hospitality of the Huron-Wendat Nation that makes Secteur Tourilli so special. Fish for brook trout on the swirling waters of the Tourilli River and hunt for elusive white-tailed deer, black bear, moose and small game. Then tuck into a cozy cabin for nightfall and listen to that tumbling river. — tourilli.com

Ontario’s Manitoulin Island is an anglers’ paradise with walleye, northern pike, rainbow trout, lake trout, smallmouth bass, rock bass, perch, whitefish, sturgeon and musky in abundance. Make Island Sunrise Cottages your home base with a stay at their cottages or farmhouse. And for hunters, the white-tailed deer season includes bow, muzzle-loader and rifle seasons to make the most of the fall harvest. — islandsunrisecottages.ca

When it comes to angling, going where the fish go is a safe bet, and that’s exactly how Wasse-Giihik Tours and Accommodations operate. The Manitoulin Island outfitter specializes in tours for the spring rainbow trout run and summer salmon fishing around the island in Ontario. They offer down rigging for salmon, rainbow and lake trout and flat line adventures for walleye, northern pike and musky throughout the area. Throughout winter, ice fishing packages are available. —wasstours.com

Whether it’s a guided hunt in a blind over a pond, a lakeshore hunt in a boat or a cornfield hunt in ground blinds, JR Wetlands Outfitters promises to deliver all the thrills and limits of your best day of waterfowling. Located on Lake St. Clair in southern Ontario, the outfitter offers meals, accommodations for the hunts and guided fishing trips. — jrwetlands.com

Make your home base Castaways Cabins & Campgrounds on the southern shore of Great Slave Lake near Hay River in the Northwest Territories. From there, explore Canada’s second-largest lake and the 10th largest in the world. This vast lake is teeming with ancient lake trout, delicate arctic grayling, delicious whitefish and feisty northern pike. — castawayscottagesnwt.com