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#1
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TR Labrador
I've debated with myself for about four years whether or not to return
to Riverkeep Lodge on the Atikonak River in Labrador. Matt Libby (of Libby Camps in Maine) sold Riverkeep about 5 years ago and after talking to the new owner I decided to once more return to this marvelous fishery, full of large brook trout and land locked salmon more than willing to strike a size 16 Goddard Caddis. I arrived in camp on Saturday morning, suited up and hit the river before lunch time. The Atikonak is BIG - think of a lake with a current. Because of all the run-off and a wet spring, the river was very high, as high as I've ever seen it. If we were to catch any brook trout it would mean casting into the streamside bushes. Under these conditions it is best to find rising fish and target them instead of blindly casting. The water was very cold for July. It measured 52 degrees in several places. Not exactly good for fishing brook trout on this river. A temp above 56 would be more ideal. Our guide, Chris, a Newfoundlander, quietly moved the 18 foot Lund boat with its 40 hp four stroke Honda outboard up river close to the banks of several good runs. We looked for rising fish just inches from shore. There was a large caddis hatch coming off, and some blue wing olives, but no rising fish. Finally, half way up the run called "The Aquarium", we spotted a large brook trout sipping caddis flies in the shallow water, cruising back and forth in a small ten foot area protected by overhanging bushes. Any cast would have to be precise, accurate, and silent. Slapping the water with a poorly cast fly would spook him. My friend Bernard was using a #14 Goddard Caddis while I had on a #16 Killer Caddis (Harry Mason's fly). The drift was only a few feet because of the bushes. If you were not careful, the fly would catch on the overhanging plants. After about five casts the trout took Harry's Killer Caddis. I set the hook and the fight was on. At first I was disappointed in the fight, but as soon as the fish saw me and the boat, he took off on a good run, then came screaming back at me. I wanted to keep him on the reel, but he could swim a helluva lot faster than I could crank the reel. After a good fight, Chris netted a five pound male with the most brilliant colors I've seen on a brook trout. The fish had talon scars on its flanks, evidence of an encounter with a local eagle or osprey After a delicious lunch of beans and franks at the "Lunch Bar", we carefully headed through the "boulder field" to another run that I was familiar with from previous trips. In the past, it was a good place to wade and fish, but now the water was too high, so we fished from the boat. Anchoring in the swift water proved to be difficult, but after several tries the anchor dug in and held us. I had used my 7 weight at the Lunch Bar, casting a fairly large white streamer from my Kamchatka fly collection in hopes of hooking up with a lake trout or a pike. Since we moved very slowly through the boulder field, I trolled the fly without success. After we successfully anchored in the fast water, I saw a very nice brook trout rise close to the boat. I almost missed him because of the fast water, but I did get a glimpse of his tail. Since I had the 7 weight in my hand, I cast the large white streamer in the direction of the rise. The fly no sooner hit the water when I had a strike and a fish on. After a brief battle, Chris netted a five pounder with yet more unbelievable brilliant colors. Bernard landed several land locked salmon by drifting his Goddard Caddis down stream and swinging it in the current. The remainder of the week is a blurr, with very few fish taken. I managed another five pound brookie on Harry's fly, and Bernard took several land locks and a five pound brookie on a dry. He also caught a northern pike in what we considered brookie water. Not a good sign. On Wednesday, Chris had us anchored above the boulder field in the fast fun I spoke of earlier. Suddenly we began to slowly drift downstream toward some big rocks. Chris lowered the Honda and tried to start it. It would turn over, but not start. Before we crashed on the rocks, I jumped over the gunwale into waist deep water and tried to stop the boat. Bernard did the same on the other side, but the wind and the current were very strong. We finally manage to get the boat off to the side in shallow water and get it up stream a bit into water that Chris could lower the motor and once again try to start it. After some cranking, the motor started and he put it in gear. Bernard and I jumped aboard and we got out of Dodge as fast as we could. This whole episode seemed odd to me because in past years these Honda motors proved to be very reliable and would start without pause. On our trip back to the lodge, Chris slowed the boat so we could have some fun with rising white fish. However, before long the motor coughed and sputtered and stopped. Chris had a hard time starting it. That's when he realized we were out of gas. He couldn't believe it (neither could we). He shook the five gallon tank and found that it held a small amount of gas. After hand priming the engine, it started and Chris gave full power. We argued that we should proceed slowly and conserve the fuel. We would go farther at a slow trolling speed than we would with the engine wide open. Well, the obvious happened after about 1/2 mile - we sputtered to a stop. The engine had used every last drop of fuel. So, there we are, two+ miles from camp, in very choppy water with the wind against us. We had two paddles and managed to get into shallow water, but paddling against the wind was futile. I suggested that one of us get into the water and tow the boat. Bernard went first and towed us more that 1/4 mile. I took over and did the same. Chris didn't have waders on, so he just sat and mumbled about the situation. After about a mile of this, we came to a cove that was at least a mile around, so we decided to paddle across the gap, a distance of 200 yards. The water was choppy and it was difficult to control the boat, but we made it to the next point, and bernard jumped in and towed us to the next cove. Back to the paddles. By now we could see the lodge in the distance, its red roof very clear among the black spruce and slate blue sky. After seeing me wading in the Rapid River a few years ago, the owner of my local fly shop gave me a whistle to hang on my vest. He said I would need it some day. I never used it until now when I really needed help. My hips were killing me from towing the boat and the wind made forward progress with the paddles very exhausting. When I wasn't paddling I was blowing the whistle - tweet, tweet, tweet, short pause, and repeated three more times. I may have emphysema in one lung, and interstitial lung disease, but by golly my tweeting and shouting "Ahoy" was heard close to a mile over the water against the wind. Steve heard us and launched another Lund and came to our rescue. He was relieved to see we were ok, but he was not too pleased with Chris, especially after we related all that happened. As it turned out, Steve was putting gas in each boat every morning. That is why Chris said he could go all week on 5 gallons; he didn't know the Steve was topping him off each morning and never bothered to check the gas except on Saturday. He thought Chris was checking the gas level each morning. Lesson learned. Unfortunately that was not our last bad encounter with Chris. The two film makers in camp filming for a TV show on NESN were almost swamped in a boat with Chris. They were on the lake about five miles from the camp Heading toward the "Laker Hole" to catch lake trout, they encountered a strong wind and a choppy lake, Chris put the wind on his beam, causing waves to wash over the gunwales and into the boat. The two TV guys were both experienced small boat sailors and informed him that they should zig zag putting the waves and wind alternately on their bow and stern. It would take longer, but it would be safer. Chris didn't understand the concept and continued in a straight line. They caught some nice lake trout eventually, but were not too happy with Chris. Steve is obviously having a hard time finding capable guides. All a guide needs is a certification from the NF/Lab government. Apparently it doesn't take much to get a guides license. The guides he has had in the past were outstanding, but the iron ore mines in Lab City are booming and paying unskilled workers $28/hour. This boom has cause many qualified guides to migrate to the mines. Wilson, the former head guide of Riverkeep, is an accomplished fisherman and boatman. He knew where the fish were, and what they were taking, and could get you to them in a safe and carefree manner. All of the previous guides were good at what they did. One last bad encounter: On Friday evening after dinner, we headed out for the last time. We checked out the aquarium without much luck. Out of desperation I used my 7 weight with the large white streamer. On the first cast I had a heavy strike and the fish took my fly. Fortunately I had one more and quickly tied it on. Another cast, another hit, and then BAM, I was onto a very big fish. At first I thought it was a brook trout but then realized it was a northern pike *and he was in brookie water.* Unbelievable. This fish shouldn't be here. He should be upstream nearer to the lake. After a good fight, Chris landed a 12 pound pike that swallowed my fly. As it turned out, Chris did not have needle nose pliers. He had a hell of a time removing the fly from deep within the pike's mouth. I told him to cut the leader but he insisted he could get it out with my forceps. Unbelievable! The fish survived but I was not too happy with this ill-prepared so-called guide. Steve has assured me that Chris will not be around after this year. It's sad because Chris is a nice guy, a little rough around the edges, but he means well. Instead, Steve will try to get Maine Guides to come up and get a Labrador guide license. Under Canadian law, at least 1/4 of his employees must be Canadian citizens. That should not be a problem with three Maine Guides and a Canadian cook. Previous trips (4) to this river were far more productive with better fishing. Although this trip lacked in fishing and guiding, the food was nothing less than outstanding. I will return next year. Dave PS See my "Trip from Hell" post on my return from Labrador. |
#2
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TR Labrador
hellfire man, that trip wore me out! all it lacks is a bunch of biting
flies and skeeters. jeff On 7/29/2011 1:51 PM, D. LaCourse wrote: I've debated with myself for about four years whether or not to return to Riverkeep Lodge on the Atikonak River in Labrador. Matt Libby (of Libby Camps in Maine) sold Riverkeep about 5 years ago and after talking to the new owner I decided to once more return to this marvelous fishery, full of large brook trout and land locked salmon more than willing to strike a size 16 Goddard Caddis. I arrived in camp on Saturday morning, suited up and hit the river before lunch time. The Atikonak is BIG - think of a lake with a current. Because of all the run-off and a wet spring, the river was very high, as high as I've ever seen it. If we were to catch any brook trout it would mean casting into the streamside bushes. Under these conditions it is best to find rising fish and target them instead of blindly casting. The water was very cold for July. It measured 52 degrees in several places. Not exactly good for fishing brook trout on this river. A temp above 56 would be more ideal. Our guide, Chris, a Newfoundlander, quietly moved the 18 foot Lund boat with its 40 hp four stroke Honda outboard up river close to the banks of several good runs. We looked for rising fish just inches from shore. There was a large caddis hatch coming off, and some blue wing olives, but no rising fish. Finally, half way up the run called "The Aquarium", we spotted a large brook trout sipping caddis flies in the shallow water, cruising back and forth in a small ten foot area protected by overhanging bushes. Any cast would have to be precise, accurate, and silent. Slapping the water with a poorly cast fly would spook him. My friend Bernard was using a #14 Goddard Caddis while I had on a #16 Killer Caddis (Harry Mason's fly). The drift was only a few feet because of the bushes. If you were not careful, the fly would catch on the overhanging plants. After about five casts the trout took Harry's Killer Caddis. I set the hook and the fight was on. At first I was disappointed in the fight, but as soon as the fish saw me and the boat, he took off on a good run, then came screaming back at me. I wanted to keep him on the reel, but he could swim a helluva lot faster than I could crank the reel. After a good fight, Chris netted a five pound male with the most brilliant colors I've seen on a brook trout. The fish had talon scars on its flanks, evidence of an encounter with a local eagle or osprey After a delicious lunch of beans and franks at the "Lunch Bar", we carefully headed through the "boulder field" to another run that I was familiar with from previous trips. In the past, it was a good place to wade and fish, but now the water was too high, so we fished from the boat. Anchoring in the swift water proved to be difficult, but after several tries the anchor dug in and held us. I had used my 7 weight at the Lunch Bar, casting a fairly large white streamer from my Kamchatka fly collection in hopes of hooking up with a lake trout or a pike. Since we moved very slowly through the boulder field, I trolled the fly without success. After we successfully anchored in the fast water, I saw a very nice brook trout rise close to the boat. I almost missed him because of the fast water, but I did get a glimpse of his tail. Since I had the 7 weight in my hand, I cast the large white streamer in the direction of the rise. The fly no sooner hit the water when I had a strike and a fish on. After a brief battle, Chris netted a five pounder with yet more unbelievable brilliant colors. Bernard landed several land locked salmon by drifting his Goddard Caddis down stream and swinging it in the current. The remainder of the week is a blurr, with very few fish taken. I managed another five pound brookie on Harry's fly, and Bernard took several land locks and a five pound brookie on a dry. He also caught a northern pike in what we considered brookie water. Not a good sign. On Wednesday, Chris had us anchored above the boulder field in the fast fun I spoke of earlier. Suddenly we began to slowly drift downstream toward some big rocks. Chris lowered the Honda and tried to start it. It would turn over, but not start. Before we crashed on the rocks, I jumped over the gunwale into waist deep water and tried to stop the boat. Bernard did the same on the other side, but the wind and the current were very strong. We finally manage to get the boat off to the side in shallow water and get it up stream a bit into water that Chris could lower the motor and once again try to start it. After some cranking, the motor started and he put it in gear. Bernard and I jumped aboard and we got out of Dodge as fast as we could. This whole episode seemed odd to me because in past years these Honda motors proved to be very reliable and would start without pause. On our trip back to the lodge, Chris slowed the boat so we could have some fun with rising white fish. However, before long the motor coughed and sputtered and stopped. Chris had a hard time starting it. That's when he realized we were out of gas. He couldn't believe it (neither could we). He shook the five gallon tank and found that it held a small amount of gas. After hand priming the engine, it started and Chris gave full power. We argued that we should proceed slowly and conserve the fuel. We would go farther at a slow trolling speed than we would with the engine wide open. Well, the obvious happened after about 1/2 mile - we sputtered to a stop. The engine had used every last drop of fuel. So, there we are, two+ miles from camp, in very choppy water with the wind against us. We had two paddles and managed to get into shallow water, but paddling against the wind was futile. I suggested that one of us get into the water and tow the boat. Bernard went first and towed us more that 1/4 mile. I took over and did the same. Chris didn't have waders on, so he just sat and mumbled about the situation. After about a mile of this, we came to a cove that was at least a mile around, so we decided to paddle across the gap, a distance of 200 yards. The water was choppy and it was difficult to control the boat, but we made it to the next point, and bernard jumped in and towed us to the next cove. Back to the paddles. By now we could see the lodge in the distance, its red roof very clear among the black spruce and slate blue sky. After seeing me wading in the Rapid River a few years ago, the owner of my local fly shop gave me a whistle to hang on my vest. He said I would need it some day. I never used it until now when I really needed help. My hips were killing me from towing the boat and the wind made forward progress with the paddles very exhausting. When I wasn't paddling I was blowing the whistle - tweet, tweet, tweet, short pause, and repeated three more times. I may have emphysema in one lung, and interstitial lung disease, but by golly my tweeting and shouting "Ahoy" was heard close to a mile over the water against the wind. Steve heard us and launched another Lund and came to our rescue. He was relieved to see we were ok, but he was not too pleased with Chris, especially after we related all that happened. As it turned out, Steve was putting gas in each boat every morning. That is why Chris said he could go all week on 5 gallons; he didn't know the Steve was topping him off each morning and never bothered to check the gas except on Saturday. He thought Chris was checking the gas level each morning. Lesson learned. Unfortunately that was not our last bad encounter with Chris. The two film makers in camp filming for a TV show on NESN were almost swamped in a boat with Chris. They were on the lake about five miles from the camp Heading toward the "Laker Hole" to catch lake trout, they encountered a strong wind and a choppy lake, Chris put the wind on his beam, causing waves to wash over the gunwales and into the boat. The two TV guys were both experienced small boat sailors and informed him that they should zig zag putting the waves and wind alternately on their bow and stern. It would take longer, but it would be safer. Chris didn't understand the concept and continued in a straight line. They caught some nice lake trout eventually, but were not too happy with Chris. Steve is obviously having a hard time finding capable guides. All a guide needs is a certification from the NF/Lab government. Apparently it doesn't take much to get a guides license. The guides he has had in the past were outstanding, but the iron ore mines in Lab City are booming and paying unskilled workers $28/hour. This boom has cause many qualified guides to migrate to the mines. Wilson, the former head guide of Riverkeep, is an accomplished fisherman and boatman. He knew where the fish were, and what they were taking, and could get you to them in a safe and carefree manner. All of the previous guides were good at what they did. One last bad encounter: On Friday evening after dinner, we headed out for the last time. We checked out the aquarium without much luck. Out of desperation I used my 7 weight with the large white streamer. On the first cast I had a heavy strike and the fish took my fly. Fortunately I had one more and quickly tied it on. Another cast, another hit, and then BAM, I was onto a very big fish. At first I thought it was a brook trout but then realized it was a northern pike *and he was in brookie water.* Unbelievable. This fish shouldn't be here. He should be upstream nearer to the lake. After a good fight, Chris landed a 12 pound pike that swallowed my fly. As it turned out, Chris did not have needle nose pliers. He had a hell of a time removing the fly from deep within the pike's mouth. I told him to cut the leader but he insisted he could get it out with my forceps. Unbelievable! The fish survived but I was not too happy with this ill-prepared so-called guide. Steve has assured me that Chris will not be around after this year. It's sad because Chris is a nice guy, a little rough around the edges, but he means well. Instead, Steve will try to get Maine Guides to come up and get a Labrador guide license. Under Canadian law, at least 1/4 of his employees must be Canadian citizens. That should not be a problem with three Maine Guides and a Canadian cook. Previous trips (4) to this river were far more productive with better fishing. Although this trip lacked in fishing and guiding, the food was nothing less than outstanding. I will return next year. Dave PS See my "Trip from Hell" post on my return from Labrador. |
#3
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TR Labrador
On 2011-07-29 15:31:37 -0400, jeff said:
hellfire man, that trip wore me out! all it lacks is a bunch of biting flies and skeeters. jeff Wore you out? Hell, it damn near killed me a couple of times. And, yes, the skeeters and black flies are bad. A buff around the neck and ears, a little deet on the forehead and cheeks, long sleeves with gloves, and you are protected. Buffs are a must. They burn mosquito coils in the camps. It's funny seeing a mosquito flying along and suddenly going into a nose dive. Very cartoonish. And, a mosquito net is used over the beds. Comfortable digs with a wood stove and lots of hot water. Dave |
#4
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TR Labrador
ah, I should have been patient with my other reply. This was the fishing
part.....thanks for the report. Tom |
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