One of the reasons that spurred my friends to start exploring our home province was the desire to find off-beat fishing locations, especially for elusive stocked trout. With an old angler's guide and a weak rural internet connection, it's still pretty easy to sleuth out a new fishing hole. There are no real secrets, unfortunately.

But in the good old days, the relationship anglers built with lakes and rivers was a deeply visceral one. Fishing spots were passed down from generations as treasured secrets. They were a source of pride. Sometimes they were found by risk-taking, hard work or knowing the right people. More often, they were found through family and long-time friends.

A few years ago, I set out to find a relatively obscure trout lake in one of my favourite forests. I like to think you can still find a lake to call your own these days. It still takes the right kind of nerve and a whole lot of patience.