These days I sit in my air conditioned office staring at a computer all day drinking coffee. I work exactly eight hours a day and go home right after. Seems like a pretty normal scene. The only unusual thing is a framed picture of me holding my very first lake trout which came in at 34″. This was a relic from my time working at a fishing lodge in northern Manitoba.
I recently watched a Jay Siemens video focused on guiding life in the north. It brought back some memories, pleasant and unpleasant. So I figured I’d talk about my own experiences working in the north. As a teenager, it was my dream to work at a fishing camp. It seemed amazing to be able to fish all the time while earning money. Well after some effort and grinding my teeth in fast food, I eventually found myself in the north. I will say it definitely had an impact on my fishing career and I’m glad I did it. I will say that there were many things that I did not expect. So I will share my experiences working in the fishing camps and give some tips on how to survive up there.
Preface
To give a bit of history of my life in the camps, I tried to apply to all the lodges I could around 10 years ago. Figured that I wouldn’t have the skills to do guiding, which is what I really wanted to do at the time. However I would be happy just being a camp worker and maybe I would at least get to fish during my time off.
I eventually ended up as a dishwasher at a very high end resort in northern Manitoba. We’re talking like $5k USD for four days, not including tips. I did that work for two seasons until I got sick of it. Mostly due to lack of opportunities to fish, though the pay was really, really good for the work (ultra wealthy Americans tip well). It would drive any passionate angler crazy to be living on world class fisheries and not getting to fish it. I definitely terrorized the dock fish hard.
At that point, I just quit with no plans in mind. I decided that being a passionate angler, I would try to be a guide at all costs. Money didn’t matter, if I was ever going to captain my boat, I would need people to teach me. So I applied to many places, unfortunately was generally rejected due to my lack of experience. I eventually settled on a budget fishing lodge in northern Manitoba where I would do work around the camp and sometimes guide. The pay was far lower and the accommodations were rougher but I was happier and most importantly I spent more time on the water. Though that would be the last season in the north as it was not meant to be my long term career path.
So that is my background in the industry. I will say others will have different outlooks depending on their positions and their work environment. Looking at others I’ve met, some think it’s the greatest lifestyle ever, others will say it is absolutely miserable. These are just my own opinions based on my experience.
Away from Home
There are not many jobs where you have to leave home for months at a time, not seeing anyone for months. For me as an introverted young adult, didn’t really care if I didn’t see my family for months. I had no significant other to see. So the decision to leave wasn’t too hard for me.
Turns out that even for a hardcore introvert, I did miss home in a sense. It kind of added to my depression watching my friends back at home travelling, fishing and making connections. Even to this day, I still wonder if it was truly worth leaving home from a couple summers. Financially, I definitely out earned my peers on a monthly basis but it came at a steep cost. It’s definitely something you need to be prepared for.
On the brighter side, being away from home means that you cannot spend money as easily. Food and board is covered so the only expenses are your bills back home. Aside from some online shopping and the camp store, there isn’t really anything to buy. So I ended up earning more than I realized due to the dramatic spending reduction.
The Long Hours
Due to the way fishing lodges work and depending on your position, you don’t often get time off. I don’t ever recall getting a day off. There are no weekends, you work non-stop from May to October depending on the camp. The hours are long too, I likely averaged around 10 hours a day of work, sometimes more if there were some special circumstances.
It does put a toll on your body since you are doing physical labor, whether it’s yard work or cleaning cabins. Plus you’re likely dealing with the weather every day which also takes a toll. Weight loss is pretty common so make sure you eat well.
Now there is a benefit to this. Due to working so much within a season, your monthly earnings are pretty good even if your daily earnings are not great. This is great for university students who can’t or shouldn’t be working while studying. I probably earned just as much or more than many of my peers who worked part time throughout the year in the span of three months.
Coworkers are Family
You’re essentially stuck with the same people for months, it’s important that you get along with everyone else in the camp. Unlike traditional work where you go home at the end the day, you still see your coworkers throughout the rest of the waking hours. There really isn’t a separation between work life and personal life.
This leads to some strange dynamics. You will have a pretty diverse cast of personalities who end up in the camps for a variety of reasons. There’s always some weird camp drama that happens. I’ve seen physical fights, breakups and things that I really don’t feel like talking about on a public blog. It never really involved me though as I have a tendency to avoid conflict and stay on people’s good side. I will say the stress of working every single day can add to the depression. Do negotiate for some sort of break with your manager if you can.
Though I actually learned to be more social in these situations. Being completely introverted can really make your camp experience miserable. When there are parties, do make an attempt to participate (though don’t go too hard if you work the next day). When there is little separation between work life and personal life, bonding with your coworkers is more important than a traditional work environment. So be a pleasant coworker. Work hard, be positive and socialize. To this day, I still maintain contact with some of the people I worked with years ago.
The Learning Experience
Going into any job with the mentality of always wanting to learn will do you a lot of good. Crazy mistakes will always happen and you just need to learn from it and not let it bother you. I actually learned how to back up a trailer up north. I did back guest luggage into the lake by accident but I got better. If it weren’t for that experience, I wouldn’t have the confidence to own a boat and this whole site would not have been started up.
If you can become a guide, it will absolutely do wonders to your fishing skills. You are forced to fish every day regardless of the conditions so you learn how fish behave unlike most casual anglers. You get to talk to other guides and get their insight, especially the veterans who have been guiding for decades. Being the backseat angler can allow you to observe why some people catch and others don’t. Many lodges allow you to fish after work for free so you can put more time into learning. You’ll also learn how to clean fish quick and cook (though I’ll admit that’s my least favorite part of guiding).
As with any customer facing job, you’ll likely need to learn how to interact with people. A big part of making a guest’s day go well is to be pleasant and be able to talk about non-fishing topics. There aren’t many jobs out there where you spend hours with your clients at a time. I personally learned to not get too worried and not be too disappointed about the fishing results.
Would I do it again?
It’s a question that I sometimes ask myself when I look at that picture of that lake trout. I sometimes have hard times in the office as well dealing with meetings and complex problems.
I would say I would probably never go back. I like the easy lifestyle of working a stable job where I don’t work too hard within a day under the harsh weather. I’m not sure how well I can handle being away from civilization for so long. Plus I enjoy doing fishing at my own pace for different species all the time. I don’t really think it’s in my nature to just learn one lake in a lot of detail. Though who knows, maybe if I somehow lose my current job, the north might be calling me. Surely by now I should have enough skill to guide at a high end resort if I had to.
I do not completely regret spending the time up there even though there were some rough times. It was that experience that made me realize how little I knew about fishing and to this day, it’s part of what motivates me to be a better angler. I learned many skills regarding fishing and boating which gave me the confidence to own my own boat.
If you are a young person looking to do some part time work and loves the outdoors, do consider working in a camp. It doesn’t have to be your long term goal. Build some skills, make friends and try to have fun.
