70 years on Big Gull

Jeff Green | Oct 06, 2021

In 2020, Jim Brown and his wife Nancy, as well as their son Steve and his wife Astrid, were unable to travel to Canada. That meant missing their annual two week visit to Camp's Bay Cottages on Big Gull Lake, a family tradition that goes back to the early 1950s.

Jim Brown first made the trek to Big Gull Lake in 1952, from his home in Allentown, Pennsylvania. He was in his early twenties at the time and friends of his said that the fishing was great, up in Canada. It was a two day enterprise getting to the lake, mainly because at that time the road from Allentown to the Canadian border meandered through towns and villages in Pennsylvania and New York State.

He remembers what Big Gull Lake was like at that time.

“It was different from anything we have back home. The water, the trees, the rocks, and the fishing, the air, everything was great,” he said from the resort last week.

Over the 70 years since Jim first came to Big Gull, the world has changed. But when asked what has changed about Big Gull Lake, the response was swift,

“Nothing,” said Jim's son Steve, “look at it, the water is the same, the shoreline is the same, it's the same place.”

“Yes, it's the same as it was when I first came,” Jim said.

And the fishing?

“Also the same, maybe better,” said Steve, “if you can't hook bass in this lake, you can't hook bass. There is also Walleye and some big Great Northern Pike, but we have always fished for bass. We really missed coming last year.”

The return in 2021 has been emotional for the Brown family because Jim is likely not coming back next year, the trip is too arduous for him now that he is in his 95th year.

“This is our last year,” said his wife Nancy, “it has become too much.”

Jim will be missed at the lake, not only by the resort owners Sam and Tammy Lilly, but by many of the other people who come every year to the resort.

Jim is renowned for shutting off his motor one or two bays from the resort after going fishing, and pulling out his oars to row home, with Nancy at the front of the boat, looking out, something he did when he was well into his eighties.

Steve and Astrid, who live in Shreveport, Louisiana now, would haul their boat to Allentown, stay overnight, then they would lead Jim and Nancy, who would also haul their boat, as the family came to Canada in a convoy.

The trip only takes 7 hours on Interstate 81 to the 401, Road 38 and Hwy. 7.

“All of the roads are better than they were when I was young,” said Steve, “except for the last road [Veley Road] which is the same as it ever was.”

The Brown's used to come twice each year, in the spring or summer and in late September.

“Jim liked to come with the family in the summer, and come back for a men's fishing trip, later on,” said Nancy.

Jim had a 40-year career with Nabisco back in Allentown.

“I was a 'biscuit and cookie man'. That's what they called us.”

And he brought a lot of people, acquaintances from Nabisco, fishing friends and others, to Big Gull Lake, which has been a popular destination for Pennsylvanians for decades.

“His daughter and her family were here a few weeks ago. They had a big reunion here,” said Tammy Lilly. With her husband Sam, they have been the owners of the resort for 6 years. They were looking for a change from the restaurant business in Ottawa, and when Camp's Bay came up for sale, “we snapped it up” said Tammy.

It hasn't been easy for them, since the pandemic began. They lost most of their bookings in 2020 and part of 2021 because Americans could not come. And they have had to deal with delayed and uncertain opening dates over the last two years as well, making it hard to deal with booking Canadians in, to replace their regular customers.

“We never had concentrated on markets like Toronto until last year,” said Tammy, “because we were fully booked, but that changed.”

Although it has been difficult, and they have lost business from the late opening, they have gained some new Canadian fans who are looking to come to the resort when there are openings.

“We made it clear when people came last year that our long-time customers, who could not come last year, were still going to have their weeks when they were able to come back,” she said, “but it is good to have a mix. This area is being discovered.”

Even though Jim and Nancy Brown are not planning to return for Jim's 71st year at the lake, Steve and Astrid said they will be back.

“There is no lake like this for fishing,” he said, “every bay has different features, and offers a variety of fishing. It's a busy two weeks visiting all of the spots on the lake that I enjoy. And the shoreline is pretty well untouched because of all the crown land.”

At the back of the cabin where Jim and Nancy stay, there is a deck overlooking the lake, a good spot for a family photo on a sunny, if slightly cool early fall morning. The temperature was in the mid-teens.

“Have you ever thought of coming to Canada for some winter ice fishing?” I asked Steve.

“Isn't this winter?” he asked.

Big Gull Lake is located off of Henderson Road, northwest of Arden. It is home to Camps' Bay and Kirk Kove resorts.