TROPHY LAKE TROUT ON THE FLY

A DAY ON THE RIVER by Jocelin LeBlanc

We just finished are last group of anglers for the spring lake trout season.We had 4 days to go before are brook trout Clients got in the camps so I told my brother Lucas lets go try our luck on fly rods.

It was a cloudy cool day for this time of year so we got dressed quite warm for the boat ride of about 10 miles all the way upriver to the 2 miles rapid pool. It’s a pretty nice ride upriver in the wide Outardes River until you notice the river getting narrower, and then suddenly rising up 150 ft toward the sky a huge sand filled bank a remnant of the last ice age. The shoreline is covered in young small Jack pine all of them the same size and height proof of the last forest fire that ravages the area every 10 to 15 years.


We Zig Zag in the narrow channel of the river until this wide opening with two small cold streams enter the river the area is called Two Spring brook pool. We dock the boat next to an old 15000 Year old Native Portage trail. I shout to Lucas tie up the boat to that old black spruce. I will get my rod ready this is a great spot for some serious fishing. I chose my powerful right angle anti reverse reel with intermediate sink line matched up with a Gatti FR 107 (#7 10 ft). MY choice of flies is a long Magog smelt tied tandem. My brother chooses a STH turbine reel and a Loomis GLX #8 9 ft with a slow sink line and a huge Blue Gorges fly.


I point out to the fish I see holding about 2 ft behind a big rock, my brother shoots his line upriver above the rock and make the fly swim right in front of the fish nose without even making the fish twitch. I tell Lucas to make is fly stripped the closest to the rock as possible make the fly run past the trout. Like a fine tuned predator the trout turns around and grabs the fly firmly and voila you got him keep your tip up he is big. I can see my brother is getting worried because the reel is getting empty. Tight up that disc drag I tell him it will slow down the fish a lot faster and give it some side pressure. Finally the fish slows down and he reels it in slowly then out of nowhere he bolts again upriver this time. My brother runs with him to catch up the fish finally stops in the next pool upriver called the big rock pool. I yell to Lucas to send him my way I have the cradle ready and the fish seems pretty big.


I check my watch its been 15 minutes I yell to Lucas he responds “ I know my forearm is hurting “ He’s almost here show him the way over here I will cradle the laker. But he had another idea when he saw me he jetted down river again to the Two Spring brook pool.


My brother run's again with the fish and positioned himself on the steep point that extends in the pool and tries to bring the fish in the calm bay where I can finally cradle the big fellow.


He weights in at around 18 pounds a nice river lake trout indeed.This is and excellent spot for large Northern pike and Lake trout that are here for the rendezvous with the black and red dace that make their spawning run.