Thinking back just a matter of 5 months at end of the saltwater fly fishing season. The bass are returning to deeper water for feeding and procreation, people’s thoughts change to pike and over wintered trout. The cold weather is starting to turn the winter mornings are creeping in on us.Then i sit there in Plymouth airport waiting for a plan to arrive, the next thing i know the snow starts falling again and i have an hours drive to newquay airport to connect at Gatwick. Finally I’m in the air saying goodbye to the coldwater of southern England for the last time for 6 months. Creeping through the clouds, my thoughts start to turn to what lays ahead. Landing at Gatwick airport a connection to Heathrow. That’s it the bright lights of London beckon again too many for a Devonian born and bred like me.
The next morning I’m sat in Heathrow it’s -5c and I’m thinking bloody hell this is cold. Once aboard the plan no turning back now I'm headed to north eastern Canada for 6 months, Labrador to be precise. We sit there on the run way for 3 hours waiting to get the plan de iced, finally we are airborne so out pop the fly fishing magazines that i have brought from home for the journey. Watching all of the in flight films they have available. Boredom has set in. Suddenly i see the light shinning from Toronto my next whistle stop tour. Once through there customs and having bags located I’m ready to stay over night well 3 hours before my next flight into Halifax. Off we go again this time it’s only a short 2 hour hop across the country and the straits. Off of that one and then onto the net plane almost immediately, bound for my final destination Happy valley Goose bay.
Arriving at just after lunch local time with major jet lag and no sleep, tired and hungry we are collected my partner’s mother. Settling in through the afternoon, and getting use to being surrounded by stuffed animals, yard spaces you could fit an apartment complex into and traffic jams or so they think that consists of three cars passing them before they can turn out of a junction. The first evening, i meet her younger Brother; first thing i get is “ever been on a skidoo?” To which i reply “what the hell is that when it’s at home?” Snow mobile b’y (pronounced buoy as i discover). Never in my life jump on the back i will show you what your missing. No bear in mind i have only just landed and still getting used to the cold it’s -26c on the first night and i am only wearing a bloody t-shirt. So in bravado i jump on ignoring the fact that i should have grabbed a jacket and gloves. Shooting down the road and onto snow covered tracks and driving over what seemed like a mountain range, he looks back and says hold on this is going to get hairy. WWWWHHHHHHHMMMMMM!!!!! Airborne we land as i glance at the speedometer and it’s touching 165kmp on ice and snow!!! No helmet, jacket, gloves and I’m frozen to the spot then i get ah slob!!
Cool.So i grab on extra tight and starting trying to find religion. Failed on that one back to the church of later day fly fishers it is then. We are riding on sheet ice on a fast moving river on sections that could actually collapse at any time hence extreme speeds to get through as quickly as possible. Returning to the shed to store the skidoo for the night and continue work on the other one for storage. The stove yes wood burning stove in the garage/ shed that is 18 metres by 13 metres long. You look like you need a drink whiskey? I’m starting to like this place already.
Couple of days pass and thoughts start turning to fishing. So sat round of evenings have a beer or a case piece and playing darts, pool in the shed full sized American pool table stove cooking a meal and music blaring. The fishing it turns out here is pretty much trout, salmon and pike unless you nip up the road. Now i think of nipping up the road as an hour or so no they mean a 9 hour drive to fish!! Then they have white fish, several things that i cant pronounce and Lakers, oh and pike that are 80 inches plus long sat on the bottom 30ft from the shore line.
Discussing the fishing back in blighty they are amazed at the amount of tactical knowledge and equipment we use to fly fish there for all species. Catching pike on the fly your insane was one comment. You mean to go after mackerel, bass, Pollock, scad, trout salmon char and anything else with a fly rod??So weeks of in-depth conversation have insured waiting for the ice to thicken enough to fish safely. To kill the time, my brother in law says do you want some rabbit pelts for your fly tying? Yeah that would be great i think. Ok grab you gear and meet me by the skidoo in 10 minutes off we go stopping in a wide open space, “any idea where we are he asks?” me not having a clue just stood there with a blank expression taking in the beauty of the surroundings that i was faced with. “your stood of 40ft of water there b’y if you go through there’s no coming back I’m afraid, 5 minutes later we start sinking through on the skidoo this is where suddenly found that adrenaline was brown and sticky!!
Further down we start setting snares for arctic bunnies, 2 days later returning to collect half a dozen bunnies frozen solid. Back to the meat room with tower bone saws installed and sheet metal all over the walls. Skinned and pelts hung to try what else do you need? Moose, caribou, rabbit partridge, spruce partridge pine martin?No sooner said then i have a whole collection of pelts a fly dressers wet dream sat in front of me. Finally we find that the ice has thickened so off we go with a stick and bloody great ice auger attach a wooden box to the skidoo with my girlfriend sat in there being towed assuring me that it is safe to be in.
Through the rivers again drilling through 3ft of ice little more assuring though then again the ski doo can weight 1000lbs alone. No fish, so following weekend we try again and nothing everyone around the valley is complaining that they fish haven’t arrived like they should have. Finally we manage to get out again and catch a couple of cracking sea trout, then on the last mark we come across a 20lb plus pike sat on the ice still warm. Christmas!!! Gutting that on the ice with the trout thus far. Returning and having a cracking meal of fish that night. Three days later they are out again catching rock cod. 16 cod and 2 flounder caught in 3 hours how far is this from the uk?? Well we managed to get out again on the Friday night tides and banged in another 25 cod biggest being 22lb this time. All on hand lined Norwegian jiggers and pirks with smelt attached as bait. Following this with a few of us hitting the early tides on the ice and bagging another 31 cod and 4 flounder for our troubles.
Well the biggest thing that i have noticed here is they don’t put anything back if you can eat it then it goes in the pot. When fishing they fish for the family and everything is shared around in equal amounts. Nothing goes to waste be it heads and tails in a broth that actually tastes bloody good. Or the britches (cooked caviar) now this must be an acquired taste the same as seal meat!! Can’t say that i enjoyed that overly much. All goes to good use one way or another. That night we turn to talking tactic for an upcoming trip to Lopstig 9 hours from here for a fishing trip and hunting thrown in.
They have fly anglers that have managed to bag the biggest fish up there for many years though no one here fly fishes my thoughts turn to what sort of fly would work on them then? Clousers in my immediate suggestion this fly has taken more species that any other in existence. So i trip to the local outfitters by my partner the following day and returning with a couple of Clousers in chanteuses and white, costing $12 Canadian bloody hell make them for past time. So what tackle is needed everything from floating 7wts through to T14 shooting heads on 9wt rods to get out and down fast enough to connect with currents up there. So it begins again the fishing has been picking up really quickly now the weather has warmed up considerably. New tackle needed and more hooks to tie up flies ready for the season to begin though.
2 months into the trip i have caught or witnessed, cod, flounder, sea trout, pike, and the biggest rivers i have ever seen in my life. Been accustomed to Canadian single malt whiskey, beers, eating fish heads and cod caviar, shooting partridge in the middle of a road temperatures of -42c in the night time. Doing 130mph on skidoos on ice sinking through ice. Walking through woods collecting snares in pitch black no this is a country surrounded by wolves, coyotes, packs of wild dogs. This reminds me of a visit last week to the original Hudson bay trading company post in north west river. And watching a bloke make traditional snow shoes.
In the past 2 months i have experienced more than i could have ever imagined possible, though through all of this i still yearn on times for the bedrock of Dartmoor, i guess the old sayings are true the rocks of the old moorland will never let you leave for longer than is necessary. If this is fishing country now then what is too come in the next 4 months? God himself only knows on that one........
To be continued.....
The next morning I’m sat in Heathrow it’s -5c and I’m thinking bloody hell this is cold. Once aboard the plan no turning back now I'm headed to north eastern Canada for 6 months, Labrador to be precise. We sit there on the run way for 3 hours waiting to get the plan de iced, finally we are airborne so out pop the fly fishing magazines that i have brought from home for the journey. Watching all of the in flight films they have available. Boredom has set in. Suddenly i see the light shinning from Toronto my next whistle stop tour. Once through there customs and having bags located I’m ready to stay over night well 3 hours before my next flight into Halifax. Off we go again this time it’s only a short 2 hour hop across the country and the straits. Off of that one and then onto the net plane almost immediately, bound for my final destination Happy valley Goose bay.
Arriving at just after lunch local time with major jet lag and no sleep, tired and hungry we are collected my partner’s mother. Settling in through the afternoon, and getting use to being surrounded by stuffed animals, yard spaces you could fit an apartment complex into and traffic jams or so they think that consists of three cars passing them before they can turn out of a junction. The first evening, i meet her younger Brother; first thing i get is “ever been on a skidoo?” To which i reply “what the hell is that when it’s at home?” Snow mobile b’y (pronounced buoy as i discover). Never in my life jump on the back i will show you what your missing. No bear in mind i have only just landed and still getting used to the cold it’s -26c on the first night and i am only wearing a bloody t-shirt. So in bravado i jump on ignoring the fact that i should have grabbed a jacket and gloves. Shooting down the road and onto snow covered tracks and driving over what seemed like a mountain range, he looks back and says hold on this is going to get hairy. WWWWHHHHHHHMMMMMM!!!!! Airborne we land as i glance at the speedometer and it’s touching 165kmp on ice and snow!!! No helmet, jacket, gloves and I’m frozen to the spot then i get ah slob!!
Cool.So i grab on extra tight and starting trying to find religion. Failed on that one back to the church of later day fly fishers it is then. We are riding on sheet ice on a fast moving river on sections that could actually collapse at any time hence extreme speeds to get through as quickly as possible. Returning to the shed to store the skidoo for the night and continue work on the other one for storage. The stove yes wood burning stove in the garage/ shed that is 18 metres by 13 metres long. You look like you need a drink whiskey? I’m starting to like this place already.
Couple of days pass and thoughts start turning to fishing. So sat round of evenings have a beer or a case piece and playing darts, pool in the shed full sized American pool table stove cooking a meal and music blaring. The fishing it turns out here is pretty much trout, salmon and pike unless you nip up the road. Now i think of nipping up the road as an hour or so no they mean a 9 hour drive to fish!! Then they have white fish, several things that i cant pronounce and Lakers, oh and pike that are 80 inches plus long sat on the bottom 30ft from the shore line.
Discussing the fishing back in blighty they are amazed at the amount of tactical knowledge and equipment we use to fly fish there for all species. Catching pike on the fly your insane was one comment. You mean to go after mackerel, bass, Pollock, scad, trout salmon char and anything else with a fly rod??So weeks of in-depth conversation have insured waiting for the ice to thicken enough to fish safely. To kill the time, my brother in law says do you want some rabbit pelts for your fly tying? Yeah that would be great i think. Ok grab you gear and meet me by the skidoo in 10 minutes off we go stopping in a wide open space, “any idea where we are he asks?” me not having a clue just stood there with a blank expression taking in the beauty of the surroundings that i was faced with. “your stood of 40ft of water there b’y if you go through there’s no coming back I’m afraid, 5 minutes later we start sinking through on the skidoo this is where suddenly found that adrenaline was brown and sticky!!
Further down we start setting snares for arctic bunnies, 2 days later returning to collect half a dozen bunnies frozen solid. Back to the meat room with tower bone saws installed and sheet metal all over the walls. Skinned and pelts hung to try what else do you need? Moose, caribou, rabbit partridge, spruce partridge pine martin?No sooner said then i have a whole collection of pelts a fly dressers wet dream sat in front of me. Finally we find that the ice has thickened so off we go with a stick and bloody great ice auger attach a wooden box to the skidoo with my girlfriend sat in there being towed assuring me that it is safe to be in.
Through the rivers again drilling through 3ft of ice little more assuring though then again the ski doo can weight 1000lbs alone. No fish, so following weekend we try again and nothing everyone around the valley is complaining that they fish haven’t arrived like they should have. Finally we manage to get out again and catch a couple of cracking sea trout, then on the last mark we come across a 20lb plus pike sat on the ice still warm. Christmas!!! Gutting that on the ice with the trout thus far. Returning and having a cracking meal of fish that night. Three days later they are out again catching rock cod. 16 cod and 2 flounder caught in 3 hours how far is this from the uk?? Well we managed to get out again on the Friday night tides and banged in another 25 cod biggest being 22lb this time. All on hand lined Norwegian jiggers and pirks with smelt attached as bait. Following this with a few of us hitting the early tides on the ice and bagging another 31 cod and 4 flounder for our troubles.
Well the biggest thing that i have noticed here is they don’t put anything back if you can eat it then it goes in the pot. When fishing they fish for the family and everything is shared around in equal amounts. Nothing goes to waste be it heads and tails in a broth that actually tastes bloody good. Or the britches (cooked caviar) now this must be an acquired taste the same as seal meat!! Can’t say that i enjoyed that overly much. All goes to good use one way or another. That night we turn to talking tactic for an upcoming trip to Lopstig 9 hours from here for a fishing trip and hunting thrown in.
They have fly anglers that have managed to bag the biggest fish up there for many years though no one here fly fishes my thoughts turn to what sort of fly would work on them then? Clousers in my immediate suggestion this fly has taken more species that any other in existence. So i trip to the local outfitters by my partner the following day and returning with a couple of Clousers in chanteuses and white, costing $12 Canadian bloody hell make them for past time. So what tackle is needed everything from floating 7wts through to T14 shooting heads on 9wt rods to get out and down fast enough to connect with currents up there. So it begins again the fishing has been picking up really quickly now the weather has warmed up considerably. New tackle needed and more hooks to tie up flies ready for the season to begin though.
2 months into the trip i have caught or witnessed, cod, flounder, sea trout, pike, and the biggest rivers i have ever seen in my life. Been accustomed to Canadian single malt whiskey, beers, eating fish heads and cod caviar, shooting partridge in the middle of a road temperatures of -42c in the night time. Doing 130mph on skidoos on ice sinking through ice. Walking through woods collecting snares in pitch black no this is a country surrounded by wolves, coyotes, packs of wild dogs. This reminds me of a visit last week to the original Hudson bay trading company post in north west river. And watching a bloke make traditional snow shoes.
In the past 2 months i have experienced more than i could have ever imagined possible, though through all of this i still yearn on times for the bedrock of Dartmoor, i guess the old sayings are true the rocks of the old moorland will never let you leave for longer than is necessary. If this is fishing country now then what is too come in the next 4 months? God himself only knows on that one........
To be continued.....
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