Trevor Barnucz’s angling trail to Zimbabwe anchored in Norfolk County

Norfolk County resident Trevor Barnucz loves angling in many forms, including the unique opportunities and challenges presented in fishing from a kayak. (Jeff Tribe Photo)

Jeff Tribe, Post Correspondent

The four-pound ‘smallie’ was 100 per cent legit bragging rights.

But the 24-inch pickerel may have strayed over that line into the realm of taunting.

“Hey dad, turn around,” called Trevor Barnucz as our three-member party paddled the last 100 metres to our Normandale launch site, children laughing and splashing in the sandy shallows in front of us.

Aquatic ecologist, avid angler, kayak and otherwise, seminar presenter, Pure Fishing ambassador - and proud father - Jason Barnucz did as directed. Grinning almost as widely as the ‘bucketmouth’ he had landed earlier, Trevor showed off the unexpected product of an end-of-the-trail troll.

The teacher had not become the student. But on this sunny Lake Erie morning, both Jason and the newspaper guy had been schooled in the art of kayak fishing by a passionate 18-year-old.

The phrase ‘apple not falling far from the tree’ is front of mind when speaking of Trevor Barnucz. Always a willing fisher, early enthusiasm was anchored more deeply during COVID. At the end of his and Jason’s remote studies and work day respectively, they would head out fishing from their Delhi residence, maintaining sanity in a challenging world through shared, socially-distanced outdoor activity.

That passion has taken Trevor places including Trent University this fall, course offerings in environmental science and its proximity to quality fishing on the Otanabee River and nearby Rice, Buckhorn and Pigeon lakes among others, making it an attractive option.

Opportunity accessed through Ontario Junior Bass Nation (OJBN) (ontariojuniorbass.com) has taken Barnucz considerably further and will take him further yet. In 2025, he qualified through the OJBN high school division’s annual tournament to compete at Clarks Hill Lake near Augusta, Georgia. Subsequently, Trevor was named a member of Team Ontario for the Zimbabwe Youth Invitational, Dec. 7 through 9, 2026 at the African nation’s Darwendale Dam. The three-nation tournament will bring together some of the best young anglers from their respective nations. Its goals extend beyond fishing into developing leadership, sportsmanship, teamwork, cultural awareness and a deeper appreciation for conservation and the outdoors.

Zimbabwe Bass Nation is providing boats and boat captains. Across the three days, Trevor will be partnered with competitors from the host nation, South Africa and Canada respectively. Total weight across three days will decide the champion.

We were working a lot closer to home this mid-July morning, launching from Normandale at 7 a.m. under smoke-tinged blue skies. The opportunity to join a pair of knowledgeable and experienced kayak anglers had been delayed a day due to the threat of inclement weather. When holding forth on one of his favourite seminar topics, be that in his own backyard or at the Toronto Sportsmen’s Show, Jason emphasizes the importance of safety first, particularly when heading out onto ‘big water’. Long Point’s Outer Bay certainly qualifying. My biggest takeaway on the day was the healthy respect both held for wind and water conditions and making sure both were acceptable before heading out on any water, large or small.

The senior Barnucz’ three pillars for kayak fishing are always wearing one’s personal flotation device, being aware of water temperature in terms of hypothermia risk, and finally, weather conditions including wind direction and velocity. The latter relates directly to water conditions both in terms of safety and comfort, the former helps define where to fish, in terms of features minimizing or moderating wind’s effects. One of the advantages of kayak fishing is the ability to go places other watercraft can’t in terms of depth and rocks, for example. They can handle bigger water when safe, and alternatively, pivot to either smaller lakes or streams if not. A forecast of northerly winds expected to die down mid-morning led to our launch destination and route paralleling the scenic bluffs toward Fisher’s Glen and Port Dover.

The Barnucz boys took to the water in sit-on kayaks befitting their commitment to the sport, wide and stable PDL (pedal drive) units locked and loaded with holders for gear including a half-dozen poles apiece, a myriad of tackle options, nets, mounted electronics and matching red flags to help announce their presence to passing boaters. They both carried paddles, but propulsion was mostly from bicycle-style foot pedals driving underwater propellers, both forward and reverse. That style allows anglers to keep their hands free for fishing, rather than paddling.

I was kicking it old school in a sit-in fishing model purchased on an end-of-the-year sale for $450, underlining the approach’s affordability level. There is special joy to be found while tooling across the water at 70 miles per hour in a bass boat, however while lacking that speed and sexiness, kayaks also don’t come with an associated price tag or require gas, oil and maintenance.

Having fished for many years in standard kayaks, including a couple of short, light 25-pound units a son-in-law and I carry a kilometre or so into Lake Superior Provincial Park’s Orphan Lake in search of brook trout, my current basic ‘fishing yak’ weighs under 65 pounds, easy enough to swing onto the roof of a mini-van. It has a pair of rod holders behind the seat and offers significant upgrades in access (a bigger hole for a guy to put a grandchild on his lap or struggle in and out of with a crappy knee and crappy hip), width, capacity and stability. My wife has an equivalent sit-on model, not so much for fishing as ease of access and stability.

‘Getting what you pay for’ translates into a larger platform for more gear on the Barnucz units, more space to change presentation, the stability to stand up and fish should one choose, netting fish more easily, lessening odds of dropping one’s phone overboard, and a much better seat. No matter what you do, it’s been my experience that sooner or later butt comfort becomes an issue on hard plastic.

We paddled north-easterly into a rising sun. Watching and learning from two experts, fishing quickly became fishing. Whether in a kayak or boat, structure is structure, weed patches and lines and rocky bottoms and piles holding bass in three species. As the guy with two rod holders and a camera stuck to a jerk bait and ‘wacky’ options, Jason and Trevor worked their way through a variety of colours and presentations, greater effort and diversity represented in greater success. Both do fish tournaments, including kayak-specific events. This day was not about competition, but if it had been, Trevor would have finished well atop the leaderboard, moving sequentially up through a three-pound ‘largie’ to a three-pound, 14-ounce smallmouth bass, taken on a tiny piece of drop-shotted plastic.

A wind that instead of dying, swung to the east and hung tough pushed us back toward Normandale at noon from a highly educational and enjoyable morning. There is an intimacy to fishing almost directly at the waterline, only enhanced by nature’s surrounding beauty, a Bald Eagle soaring over the Erie shoreline’s unique sand bluffs. More than bragging rights will be on the line for Trevor when he hits the unfamiliar waters of the Darwendale Dam reservoir this December. But the lessons he’s learned in his own Norfolk County backyard will definitely be going with him.

“My goal is to bring home gold. We want to bring home gold for Team Canada,” he concluded. “This is the first time we’ve had a large youth team, and we want to pull out the victory.”

To see an associated video, please search Kayak Fishing With Trevor on the Jeff Tribe The Lost Tribe YouTube channel.