Atlantic salmon are notoriously difficult to entice to the fly especially in high water and I can't complain about the season thus far considering it is shaping up to be one of my best yet but overall it as been a hard year for flying salmon. The water levels have remained very high for the majority of the season allowing salmon a easy path to their destination, keeping them from holding where they are easier to target and more likely to rise to the fly.
Aside from the high water spreading out the salmon it has messed with the schedule and timing is nearly everything . Knowing when and where the salmon are running makes or breaks a season especially when you enjoy hopping from river to river. At the end of last season I made some notes of when and where to start the season this year but the closest I could plan for salmon to the June 5th opener was the lower tribs of Gander River around the 20th.
With two weeks to wait for the first signs of salmon in my area some friends and I went on a tip from late the previous year and headed for the Expolits River hoping to get a early start at the action. It wasn't but a few days before we landed a couple small grilse getting a little bit of video and the monkeys off our back.
Over the next few trips to the Expolits I got plenty of tips on where to start next season even earlier for thicker runs of fish. These places include Point Leamington bridge for some local action and South west brook in the Stephenville area for a opening day 2012 road trip.
Next on the salmon schedule was Jonathan's pond a tributary of the Gander River. Fishing didn't go so well for me on the pond side this year, long waits for little time in the water and distasteful company of ignorant resource destroying fisherman saw me on my way to the upper sections of the trib waiting for fish to arrive.
Eventually they arrived and not without more issues. Groups of salmon far larger than what we were use to filled the run out and for a short time we gloated on our great timing but quickly that theory was rejected.The salmon wouldn't fly although with each and every cast they would jump and role furiously as if to taunt us into what we call the salmon depression. After nearly 7 hours of casting finally I get one in the mouth and after a quick trip into my backing and a rather awkward tailing job I got my first good live release photo of the season.
While releasing that hen I found net marks around her and my suspicions began to rise but not until later when my good bud Chris landed a nice Jack with a cut to his spine did I really get angry. I wasn't long to find out that the poachers were coming from Gander Bay up to J's to do the netting then back to Gander Bay to sell the salmon. With a phone call to a local warden I figure I did my bit stop poaching at least for a few days I hope.
My next noteworthy trip took me back to the Expolits river for a little fathers day fishing. I found what I was looking for that day, a few new flies that are for purchase on the river and a live release photo of a nice looking grilse.
Next on the salmon schedule was Middle brook watershed more specifically the copper kettle restaurant known locally for three things. Cheap rooms, plenty of salmon and the best feed of cod tongues around. In case your wondering the cod tongues may be delivered directly to the salmon hole on request, no joke!
Aside the cod tongues this sweet little spot held in store for me the best turn on the river I have ever had to date. I cast the top of a rip in the brook and see a salmon rise. The next three casts have the same result then on the sixth I slightly strike her lip but no luck setting the hook. I toss back for two more rises then i get a small bump.
The next two castes bring nothing sure the fish had moved on I throw one last cast in the same spot when it happens. An explosion of water and a seriously tight line...Fish on! A respectful fight with several good jumps ensued before she found her way into the rocks beating damn near all her scales off and being the responsible angler I am releasing this girl was not an option so she found her way to the BBQ.
For those of you wondering why that was the best turn on the river I have ever had allow me to explain. Some days a angler may take a thousand casts before he or she interacts with a Atlantic salmon much like a musky. I on that turn interacted with at least one salmon 10 out of 13 casts and for me that is defiantly a highlight of the season.
By now I was starting to feel the need to go further and when a couple buds asked me along on a trip to the northern peninsula I was all over it like a fat trout at a crawler. We drove for 560km and arrived at around 2 AM to set up shop in plum point in the local motel and planed for a early morning trip to the castor river.
Looking for a shot at the spruce pool and the long run I start off on the run while one of my buds got a crack at the spruce pool where he quickly hooked, played and lost two fish. Then when he motioned to me to drop down for a flick myself I got on to a fish nearly right away. He gave me a good few jumps but charged in the the rocky shallows and you know what happened next. So the first day ended with no landed fish for the camera but there was enough long distance releases to keep us kind of crowd happy.
In the evening we took the drive in to cigarette butt pool on the Big East river for a look. Again it was no time before my bud got into the fish with a real nice hen weighing around 12 pounds that I got to tale, revive and release. During the commotion I reached for my camera to find nothing and that's when the depression hit. Finally we found what we have been after for six weeks and no camera, you could say I made up a few new ones in the river on that particular evening.
I get my first chance at the butt pool and start to spot fish everywhere. My line goes tight with out sight of the fish but it doesn't take long to find out what is on the other end. A big black jack leaps in to the air easily weighing 14 pounds and severely pissed off with the dark thunder and lightning piercing his jaw. It doesn't last long has he began to jump turning nose down in less than three feet of water. With nothing to do but watch the line go slack I throw a childish fit while the boy's sit shore side just laughing it up.
We spent the next couple days between the butt pool and the Torrent river mainly shady pool as it was featured in the latest issue of the Newfoundland Sportsman sparking my interest. Sad to say I never got more than one strike on the shady and although it was on a dry fly it was little consolation compared to the big fish we found on the big east.
Later we found out that we had missed the main run of fish on the Torrent and that next year we should come a week or more earlier as well as acquiring the information necessary to rent closer accommodations to the two main rivers. While on the return trip home I did manage to find my camera and get a little footage through the viewing window at the Torrent river salmon interpretation center.
By the time I returned to central the fishing was heating up in Benton and that means it's time to break out the ATV. The first couple trips were uneventful but just the other day I struck a nice hen on the first cast she measured 63 cm and nearly weighed 5 pounds and that's where I will leave it for now with two weeks left to the regular season and the short fall fishery to follow I got to get back to the river before the long four month wait for ice fishing begins in October, till next time keep your eye on the fly...FishinDan
