DARIUS SHAHHEYDARI
PONTIAC July 8, 2020
Anglers and hunters are once again able to partake in their interests locally as outfitters in Pontiac have been allowed to relaunch their summer season amidst the COVID-19 pandemic.
Given the provincial government directives, all outfitters are allowed to . . .
have groups of up to 10 customers and no more than three families in each of their accomodatoins. Additionally, the spaces are to be sanitized and empty for 24 hours between customers.
Moose Territory Lodge in Rapides des Joachims reopened a couple of weeks back. They wait three days between groups, disinfecting their cabins after a group leaves.
“Normally the groups that come have quarantined themselves,” said co-owner Todd Grignon. “They know each other so they are kind of responsible for themselves, to feel comfortable coming in.”
Disinfectant is equipped in every room and the outfitter ensures all their boats are cleaned.
“We’ve done our due-diligence on our end to make sure [the customers] come into a safe environment,” said Grignon.
Each of the outfitter’s outposts is situated on a different lake, meaning groups are fully isolated from each other. When a customer arrives, a member of the staff drives them to their outpost, explains how the customers are to live there and leaves.
Grignon said some of his groups have even undergone COVID-19 testing prior to arrival.
“People are very responsible when they come out and very cautious,” said Grignon. “They know the rules of the game and they’re glad that we’re doing what we’re doing on our end.”
To further practice health safety, Grignon only has contact with the customers when they come in to register and need to be presented with the regulations. When staff have business with a customer one on one, like when he is handing out fishing licenses, both the customer and him are wearing masks.
Pourvoirie Domina Gravelle, in Otter Lake, has reopened in the middle of June. Cariette Gravelle, who takes care of registration, said the outfitter uses bleach to wash their floors and wipes off knobs on all their doors. They also wait 24 hours after a group leaves the cabin to allow the next to come in and the groups are not that big to begin with, according to Gravelle
“There’s only about, maybe four [guests in a group] at a time in one cabin, maybe two in another cabin,” said Gravelle, adding that their limit of eight in the cabins is never reached at the moment.
Cabins are once again available for booking after their first weekend back in business, when guests were only allowed to come fish without staying overnight.
“Some of them bring their own tents outside,” she said.
Customers, who the staff at the outfitter have known for a while, are responsible to bring their own masks, gloves and food, which could be stored in propane fridges on the verandas outside the cabins. They are also asked to maintain their physical distance, not mingling with groups in other cabins.
“If they see each other, they see each other outside,” said Gravelle.
These customers use outhouses which have a variable cleaning schedule depending on the number of groups that come in.
“They know the rules and regulations,” said Gravelle. “They are all satisfied to be out on the lake and out of the cities.”
Elsewhere in the MRC, Bryson Lake Lodge reopened on June 1, about a month later than their usual first week of May relaunch.
Cleaning products are distributed across the grounds for customers to use at their will and signs are put up reminding them to come into the office one at a time, if need be.
“We have a station for cleaning the paddles and the oars for people that are going to our speckled trout lakes,” said co-owner Denis LeBrun.
The boat’s batteries and motors are sanitized and products are left inside them for the customer’s use.
Inside the cottages, mattresses and covers are cleaned, with customers being asked to bring their own bedding and food, fishing gear and flotation jacket.
“There’s also extra cleaning products inside of the cottages for the customers to clean,” said LeBrun.
Their shower house and fish hut is cleaned three to four times a day.
Guided services are not offered at the moment either, as these would cause trouble with physical distancing needed between individuals on the tour. Their lodge and games room is also off-limits to customers.
“We don’t want to have any gatherings,” said LeBrun. “Even our staff meetings have been cancelled. We’re just doing one-on-ones, where our workers come in one at a time in the office.”
In the office, counter surfaces and doorknobs are cleaned after each customer and light switches everywhere are also given a wipe.
Hot tubs are not available to guests, who often chose to use them to relax after an ATV ride, according to LeBrun.
One person at a time is allowed in their store, as well and is shown the garments they are interested in purchasing, not being allowed to try them on.
“If they pick it, they have to buy it,” said LeBrun. “They got to make sure they know what they’re getting.”
The outfitter is also not selling fishing licences anymore, so they ask customers to acquire them elsewhere once again prior to their arrival.
“It’s just to reduce the amount of time that the customer’s in the office,” said LeBrun.
When customers walk in, they are provided a sanitized key for their room and are shown good fishing spots and there’s also a glass frame put up at the counter where they interact with staff.
Customers are asked to sign a commitment form prior to their stay, acknowledging they’ve understood the measures they need to abide by at the outfitter.
Masks and gloves are provided only to the staff, who also have their temperatures checked every day when they come in for work. Only about 60 per cent of staff is currently back at work due to a lower volume of customers, according to LeBrun.
“We’ve had to change the positions a bit because there’s a lot more cleaning involved and I don’t need as many guides, obviously” said LeBrun.
Full payments are required to be made in advance, whereas in previous years, they could have a $100 deposit per person when they book, then a 50 per cent coverage of the fee a month prior to arrival, before they would be needing to pay the rest when they arrive.
American customers would usually come up to the outfitter for bear hunting season. Since they can no longer make the trip across the border, this has also affected the business.
“Typically we have about 25 to 30 bear hunters, pretty much 100 per cent Americans,” said LeBrun. “So our bear hunting has been cancelled.”
Moose hunting, which happens later in the fall, could also have about a 25 per cent decrease in customers because of this closure of international borders, according to LeBrun.
After the first two weeks back in business, the cottage was allowed to have groups of up to three different addresses, upping the volume of customers from about 30 per cent capacity closer to 50 per cent, according to LeBrun.
In addition to this, May and June make up about 40 per cent of the outfitter’s annual income, according to LeBrun, so losing May will also be taking a hit on their margins.
“We’ve been renting more and more cottages for less and less people,” said LeBrun. “In our business, we’d like to try and have the [cottages] as full as they can, and obviously that’s been hurting us.”
The outfitter usually has a group of friends, family and acquainted clients from all over the country come up to voluntarily help them open for the summer season. This needed to be cancelled, however, as some of the members live in COVID-19 hotzones, such as Montreal or Toronto.
Nonetheless, LeBrun said he was still able to set up with another source of helping hands.
“We just had our immediate family doing all the work,” said LeBrun. “We have three kids that are old enough to help us out – two boys in their 20s and my daughter is 14.”
Despite these setbacks, the customers are happy to be back in the woods and breathing in the fresh air
“Everyone’s been locked up in their houses, including our own family, for three months,” said LeBrun . “Just to be able to come out in the wilderness has been a real gift.”
Furthermore, he encourages Pontiac residents to do business close to home nowadays.
“Everyone’s been told to shop local and we want everyone to know to fish local,” said LeBrun.
