I never thought that I would drive 14 hours to chase a fish that you might cast a thousand times to before you get a take, but I did . My father has been making this drive for 15 years and always would come back with awesome stories of battling these acrobats of the Gaspe Bay in gin clear water. He would also speak of all that you had to go through just to fish for these speckled giants i.e. get into a lottery, hope you get a draw and then hope you have active fish in the zec that you do end up winning (not to mention having to tie up these extravagant flies that take 30 minutes or more just to tie one fly). When he came to me last fall and said do you want to go fish for Atlantic’s with me and 4 other guys, I was little reluctant, but I agreed to go and boy am I glad I did. The first day fishing was on a hole with just 2 rods allowed. Dave and I walked down a short gravel path from the parking area to the hole that we were told had about 40 plus salmon in it and did it ever. The water in the York was so clear that you could see the pebbles on the bottom of a 20ft deep pool…it was fantastic. The water was low and the fish were suspended in the middle half of the pool where the current just started to slow. Dave went to the head of the pool and swung wet flies while I fished the back half of the pod of fish with a dry. After about 3 hrs of being ignored and taunted by these large submarines, Dave and I decided that we were not getting the right drift so we crossed the river about 40 yards above the pool. On Dave’s first cast from the other side he got a take and screamed, “FISH ON” , surprisingly this 20 lb. salmon shot out of the water and pop he was off. I was so excited that I made a few more casts with the dry and nothing. Dave tied on another wet fly and swung it through the pool and he screamed again,” FISH ON”, his drag started screaming and at the back of the pool this salmon jumped again POP his line went limp. So while Dave was tying on some heavier tippet of a different brand, I decided to switch to a streamer called an Ed Special. I cast it upstream and watched it tumble in the crystal clear water. Just before the streamer was to start its swing, a salmon blasted out of the suspend pod full throttle and hit my fly ten yards up river from the pod of salmon. My rod bent and the reel started screaming so I counted 1,2,3 and I set the hook “FISH ON”. This fish continued to bust upstream with my line cutting through the water like a hot knife through butter. The fish reached the top of the pool and turned around then proceeded to head downstream jumping out of the water flipping nose over tail at least 5 or 6 times and then tail dancing back upstream over and over . This continued for a good 10 to 15 minutes until the fish tired and we were able to land him. I have to say after that first battle with the atlantic I was hooked for life. Dave, the rest of my group and I repeated that scenario a few more times that special week. I am looking forward to that long drive next year and now understand why my father has not missed a trip for 15 years to fight the atlantic tail dancer.
fishgolf .. what a great fish tale and what a magnificent fish … it is a truth that can not be ignored .. the atlantic salmon is the king of fish … what else would explain why fly fishermen, since the beginning of time, have had such high regard for the atlantic salmon? a large part of fly fishing history is based off the atlantic salmon and if someone does the research online or in museums there is no ignoring the fact that fly fisherman since the beginning of time realize what you just realized .. of course they love steelhead, trout and all other types of salmon but the atlantic salmon, for some reason or another, resides in a class of its own … similar to the tarpon in salt water fly fishing …… in my opinion, these fish are not just a “fad” … these fish are absolutely without a doubt connected to the very soul of fly fishing and that alone commands respect…. another analogy might be this …. Elvis IS the King of Rock and Roll … and whether or not some people like him or some don’t is a mute point … Of course, there are great bands and so many endless examples of amazing rock bands that are legends in their own right … and the youth of todays world would most likely listen to Elvis and say, “what a joke .. that guy stinks … and XYZ band is so much better.” But, at the end of the day … Elvis basically invented rock and roll and there has never been a rock musciian/band with more #1 tracks and so many gold/platnum albums … and witht that said .. my little opinion of what i think about Elvis is really meaningless in the bigger picture … because the stats really tell the collective truth of the matter … and from a statistical perspective (#1 tracks + gold/platnum albums etc..) Elvis IS the king of rock and roll … and the Atlantic Salmon Is the King of fish …
Congratulations on having a successful outing fly fishing in such historically magnificent places for such a historically significant fish. Just imagine all of the footsteps since the beginning of fly fishing that walked the very banks you walked and made the same drifts you made … And, based on your description of events, it seems that the King of fish casted its spell on you too …. and as you said … now you are hooked for life … nice work.
Talk about a kyped jaw, holy crap! you could throw a worm on that and use it for a hook. Great pics, your obviously in the game.
Unreal fish!! I opened up the home page this morning and was totally shocked. What a fish, a fish of a lifetime. Congrats
Fishgolf,
I visit this site often and have seen some great photos of caught fish. In my opinion the fish photographed here is by far the finest fish I have seen on this site. The fact that Atlantics are so elusive speaks for itself on your ability to read the water and perfect the presentation of the fly. I was also taken by the statement “Dave,the rest of my group and i repeated this scenario a few more times.” I know of and have personally experienced days of fishing some pretty good atlantic salmon waters and left them without having even a take. Congratulations on achieving every flyfishers dream. Yes, the fish of a thousand cast, but also the fish of a thousand dreams.
Patm,
Thank you for the compliment. It was an awesome trip. Every fly fisherman should do it once. Dave V (aka 3 peche) loves to take headshots, I give him all the credit for such an awesome photo.
Mickey
I caught my first salmon on a fly and understand what you are saying. Mine however wasn’t as dramatica as yours but I’m hooked for life. the oportunites up here in Washington are alittle more. but nothing could compare to what you describe great time. Fish ON!!!!
Glad you posted those pics of those beauties. They sure are fun to catch.
I believe “pop he was off”was more like “it vanished”
Great story – I was on the trip with phishgolf and Dave and landed 1 in 7 days on the water – what a rush – I couldn’t have put it into words any better – can’t wait until next year…