One of the many benefits of being Canadian, is the amazing variety and beauty of the geography and the diversity of people that populate it. In September I had the opportunity to visit the far north of Canada...specifically Iqaluit on Baffin Island...for the first time and was blown away by the haunting beauty of the landscape, the thriving wildlife and multi-cultural nature of the community of Iqaluit itself. My longtime friend Steve Polak put the plan to visit Baffin Island in motion last year.

Steve works for Jazz and oversees ramp operations across the airline's network. As such he had visited Iqaluit a number of times, albeit in winter and suggested we take a trip up there to try our hand at fishing Arctic char and take in the sights, sounds and tastes of the Great White North. It was an easy sell and we coordinated timings and flights (Steve arranged a buddy pass for me which significantly reduced the costs) to correspond with my summer visit to Canada.

As an added bonus, we soon discovered flights to the former air force base (Frobisher Bay) originated from Ottawa and therefore afforded me the opportunity to overnight in Ottawa, get reacquainted with the city that I called home for the four years I attended Carleton University in the early 80s and catch up with some old friends.

We set out early afternoon from Toronto and by 3 o’clock had checked into our hotel and were walking along Bank and Wellington streets on our way to the Market area downtown. Even the cab drive up Colonel By Drive was a trip down memory lane as it wove its way around Carleton U and the Rideau Canal.

Part of the brief tour involved a visit to the Lafayette Hotel (aka The Laff) which was a big university student hangout back in the day and often the final destination of a Rideau Canal skate.

We met up with old friends including Robbie Remus, Ed Bianchi and Hughie McGoldrick (along with his nephew) at The Brig, which turned out to be a decent bar/restaurant. Ed and Robbie stayed on and we went to another bar down the street to listen to dueling pianos...good music and we had an amazing time with lots of laughs.

It didn't go too late as it was a school night and the next morning, after some stressful moments due to load restrictions on the Canadian North flight, we managed to board our flight and were in Iqaluit some 3 hours later.

After settling into the hotel (which at $240/night wasn’t what I would call a bargain) and making a few inquiries we set up the fishing gear, bought fishing licenses and set out for the Grinnell River on the outskirts of town to see if we could haul in a few char. As luck would have it, our timing was off and the char were spawning, and were intent on fighting their way upriver.

As a result, they had zero interest in biting any lures or bait presented, despite the fact that the river was absolutely teeming with them. The locals, or those with 'beneficiaries' (ie married to locals), were allowed to snag them. We weren't...so although we enjoyed the scenery, we didn't catch anything.

We did, however, meet our guide for the next day..Dion. Dion is a conservation officer for Environment Canada who takes care of Grinnell River Park. He hails from Newfoundland and quickly gave us the lay of the land on what was and wasn't allowed for non-local fishing.

After a good dinner and a few cocktails (El Dorado rum...the world's best rum as it turns out) we hit the hay and were up and on the seashore by 0800. Dion has a 24 foot aluminum boat with twin 90s that he has customized to better suit it to the extreme conditions of the area.  The first few hours were quite brutal to be honest. It was cold and wet and the fishing was similarly futile.

Soon, the sun poked through the clouds, it warmed up and we went exploring Grinnell Bay an inlet of some significance on Baffin Island adjacent to the Arctic Ocean. As the fishing wasn’t working out, Dion took the opportunity to seal hunt.

It was a first for both Steve and I and we learned the technique by watching. The way it works is first you have to target the right kind of seal. There were hundreds of Harp seals in the area but it seems they aren't good eating and are too big to hunt casually. Dion was after ring seals which are far smaller and rather than curiously bob up and down surveying their surroundings, they come up and float on their backs. Once you spot one, the idea is to fire off a few shots to force the seal down or ‘breath’ it ie minimize the time it has to draw breath which reduces the time it can submerge. Then move the boat to where the seal was and wait for it to show and repeat the process until you shoot the seal.

Now for those who find the concept of seal hunting unsavoury, understand that in the high north hunting and fishing fill the freezer, feed the dog teams and skin/furs are turned into clothing, mits/hats and otherwise either for personal use or sale. The populations are healthy and well managed. Dion did take a few shots at a ring seal (which are smaller, better tasting than Harp) but it evaded capture. After about 9 hours on the water we headed in and had a great evening.

The bottom line is I absolutely loved the place and Steve and I plan to go back...this time in July/August when the char are more interested in biting than spawning. If you haven't been there, I highly recommend you look into it...expensive but absolutely one of the most enjoyable trips I have had in years.

Thanks for reading...cheers!