As you can see from the picture there was no shortage of Atlantic Salmon, only a shortage of catching. Kenny hooked and played a 30 to 35 pounder for about 10 minutes until the leader broke below the knot (see picture). It was quite a display of tail dancing and water works. I stood on top of a rock and watched several Atlantic Salmon open and close kyped jaws of amazing size. There had not been enough rain to allow the fish to move up river and they had become “stale” after laying in the pools over the past couple of weeks. Naturally, the night before we left the rain started.
Before I was home Ann, from Quebec Sporting called to say that a fly fisherman had just caught a 27 lb. Atlantic Salmon in the same pool we were fishing day before. The day before we left for Quebec Canada, I called and was told that the flies that were being used were sizes 12 and 14. This was not the norm in our many previous Atlantic Salmon fly fishing adventures. We had no flies of this size and type, but a friend of ours who owns the Quebec Adventures sporting goods store traveled 50 kilometers and brought us the flies we needed. Very nice people. The 27 pound fish that was caught yesterday was on a size 16 fly! I am going back before the month is over to try again, I just need one fish!
Greg and Kenny,
You guys are hard core. The real deal. Year after year, I listen to the exictment grow as you guys look forward to any of your annual pilgramages into the Canadian territories. With every trip – you are guaranteed NOTHING. You drive far. Very far. You spend hard earned money and you pursue a quarry that is arguably the highest on the todem pole and arguably the hardest to trick. Yes, you and Kenny both know that you could venture elsewhere. You could spend less money and travel less far to the great lakes area and fly fish or spey fish for king salmon, big browns, steelhead and stocked Atlantic Salmon. Your chances of catching fish and lot’s of them, in a 10 day period, would be very good.
However, you choose to forgoe the smaller fish in the trout streams across the nation and the big fish in the oceans and the big fish in the great lakes region. Year after year you are lured to the Wild and remote rivers of Canda that hold one of the last pure great fish in the world.
Let’s face it and call a spade a spade. All great lakes fish are stocked and they are not native to the lakes. Those fish, in their natural habitat, spend much of their lives in the ocean. But, even in their natural pacific ocean environment they are dying fish. The truth of the mater is that the great lakes are big – but by no means are they the ocean and by no means are the fish as magical as the Atlantic Salmon that invade the rivers which bleed into the Atlantic Ocean.
As I grow older, I can see how you have reached the place where you are. Pursuing native fish under fair chase conditions in their pristine environments is hard. You are guaranteed NOTHING and many trips may pass before one of those fish decides to take your fly. You spend hundreds of hours on the water trying to entice these fish and sometimes you hook one or two, sometimes you may land one or two or more and sometimes they win.
So, why – as I grow older – am I more able to understand why you and Kenny do what you do? Well, as the years pass – I find myself finding satisfaction only in the things that are difficult. Because – the more difficult the situation – the more sweet the rewards. I have seen your posts from previous “succesful” trips and I know how much satisfaction you and Kenny feel when you catch a fish. Think about it though – if you caught more fish and fish on every trip than the sense of satisfaction would be lessened – and the great Atlantic Salmon would not be as legendary to you and the rest of the world. There is a reason why fly fisherman from all parts of the world bow down to the Atlantic Salmon and it is mostly because of all the natural elements that make them what they are and make them tough to trick.
So, with that said – I truly admire the dedication and relentless persistance that you and Kenny apply to your Atlantic Salmon pursuits. Because, while the rest of us are pursuing all sorts of GREAT fish in the oceans, great lakes, rivers and streams – you are pursuing a fish in a class of its own. A fish that needs no press. A fish that needs no marketing. A fish that is respected and protected worldwide. A fish that is one of the last remaining legends and a fish that seems to beckon to the fly fisherman at a certain point in his life. And, when the fly fisherman is lured by the Atlantic Salmon – all other fish somehow seem less.
So, when all of us post photos and tell tales of all sorts of fish and fast fly fishing action. A post from you and Kenny in Gaspe manages to rise above all other posts – regardless of whether or not you caught fish. Because even the act of pursuing the Atlantic Salmon, in my opinion, commands more respect than catching any other fish.
Yeah that is pretty hardcore. Not many fly fisherman will invest the time and money in fishing where the probability of falure (to catch fish) is high. I also think sometimes it’s more rewarding to catch a few special fish that a boatload of fish especially stocked ones. Some people wonder why i may fish a whole week for steelhead or red salmon and only catch 1 fish and i do because those fish are so hard to catch especially reds that one of them is as satisfying and double digit kings or silvers. I have a friend here who always tells me the hardest fish to catch in salwater is either a red salmon in small clear streams or an atlantic. Seeing how much i like red salmon fishing i definetely look forward to fishing for atlantics.
Every fall I make my pilgrimage to the rivers of Nova Scotia with hopes of being there on ‘the week’ or even ‘the day’ that everyone will be talking about for the rest of the season. Ideal conditions are only seen on a handful of days each year. Many years the right water conditions aren’t seen until the season is nearly closed. Only a couple of rivers in the province produce fish consistently throughout the season due to larger runs and because they are more tolerant of rising and falling water conditions. Even a week on those rivers could send you home empty handed. I don’t know much about the Gaspe Bay region but many of the rivers with an open season in Nova Scotia could see as few as a couple hundred fish. A far cry from the number of steelies, coho and kings found in the great lakes region or west coast. It’s a lottery. Timing, weather conditions, hours on the water and years experience all factor into your odds of being successful. I have been going for a dozen years now and could probably recall nearly every Atlantic Salmon I’ve ever hooked or landed. Kind of like trying to recall the girls you’ve been with… Some are more memorable than others.
Whether it’s a trip to the rivers of Gaspe Bay, Nova Scotia, Newfoundland or beyond. You may not hook a fish but it is very likely you will come home hooked.
Four years hence and I still remember when I took that picture of Kenny and the dark spot in the river which are Atlantic Salmon. It was for me a great picture and an experience I am dying to repeat! When you see the fish from the take to the landing the experience is never lessened by the number you have caught in the past only heightened. When you have caught 15 Brockie’s thats nice but when you have caught 2 shiny Salmon in a day thats a bloody miracle and you want to light a candle at the nearest church!! It is quite an experience but to know that you have to do it.