Butt Lake. 

Not exactly the best name for a lake. You had to pick your words carefully when trying to explain to others where you were fishing. 

Strange name aside, this Algonquin Park Lake sported some excellent lake trout fishing and beautiful scenery. It also holds a hidden gem. Actually, it was more of a diamond in the rough. In a deep bay of Butt Lake you will find (or at least you could when I was a kid) a piece of fishing structure, we called, The Stump. 

The stump was an old, gnarly pine log that stood vertical (and somehow anchored) in the dark depths of lake’s bay. Only about a 12 to 18 inches (depending on the water level) of the wooden marker was out of the water and after spending some time just off it’s trunk you would find out why the lonely icon grew on you. 

One reason was that the fishing at the stump was fantastic. It was always a sure thing. I remember as a kid watching fish after fish rise from the dark fathoms of its branches. They were like flashes of bright silver dodging ‘in and around’ the foreboding branches.

Occasionally, the stump would remind us of his reign over the fish in it’s territory. Echoes of disappointment would ring out across the lake as the big fish always seemed to get hung up somewhere in the deep, branch-filled waters. I would not be surprised if its branches were decorated with rusty jigs and spoons. 

The second (and most important ) reason why the stump meant so much to many anglers was the natural way it would draw anglers or every race and creed in close proximity to it’s fish filled branches. It was not uncommon to see 8 – 10 canoes anchored by the stump. Everyone got along. Nobody cared how close the other anglers were in their canoes. Nobody got mad or claimed ownership of the clear fishing waters. Fishing with everyone there was fun! 

It seems to me, the World needs more stumps. Something that draws people together with a common focus and with exciting rewards. 

I propose World Fishing Day for 2011 be held at ‘the stump’. Invite your grumpy neighbour or upset warlord. 

*For those of you checking your Algonquin Park maps for Butt Lake - its name has since been changed to Ralph Bice Lake.