Secrecy cloaks private fly fishing oasis
Caledon Mountain Trout Club
The Caledon Mountain Trout Club may have the market cornered on secrecy. Not only will staff and members not utter one word about the club, but the entrance to what is by all accounts a “picturesque” setting is low-key to the point of nondescript.
The driveway to the Caledon Mountain Trout Club has no grand, wrought iron gates with communications systems but instead some humble wooden fencing, which piques very little curiosity as to what lies beyond.
Were you to venture past that point, you would be greeted by the sight of ponds — one lined with mature trees, finger piers and boats. Soaring above on a hill would be a beautiful Tudor-style clubhouse.
“I have been to a number of clubs in the Greater Toronto Area and across Canada, and it is one of the most picturesque. And the history that the club has is second to none. It’s got a storied past and it is a a beautiful club. It’s a beautiful building and the staff are excellent and the setting is something that you would expect to see in the Hamptons,” says an individual who has been a guest.
“It’s like stepping into the National Club or the Albany Club. Again two clubs that have a very storied history and attract a certain demographic. It’s fair to say the Caledon Mountain Trout Club would be of a similar calibre,” the guest says.
According to the 1934 book From Rattlesnake Hunt to Hockey; the history of sports in Canada and of the sportsmen of Peel, 1793- 1934 by William Perkins Bull, “ The Caledon Mountain Trout Club was formed in 1899 by Charles Wilmott, the owner of the property. He incorporated a company and sold stock to shareholders who took over management.”
Bull goes on to write that a clubhouse was built during the next two years and “the property was officially opened in 1902.”
Caledon is one of the more high-profile playgrounds of the wealthy in Southern Ontario, where gated estates with “do not trespass signs” line the dusty sideroads of the rolling countryside.
While the club attracts sportsmen, it is also a haven for wellheeled businessmen — among them Philip Orsino, president and CEO of Masonite International Inc.
But the Caledon Mountain Trout Club also holds a prominent place in the history of Canadian fly fishing.
According to fly fishing experts, the club has a collection of flies tied by Jack Sutton, one of the masters of the sport. The patterns, tied by Sutton and others, “have become the basis for much of what we Canadian fly fishermen now use.”
Fly fishing experts note, “ The club has a unique window on the history of fly fishing in Canada.”