It was a cold night at McKenzie River Lodge up in the north of Labrador. Yesterday’s rain subsided during the night but then the temperatures dipped down into the upper 30ºs. Each cabin has a woodstove but Norm and I didn’t light ours. There are extra blankets in the room. Lucky for this baby snowshoe hare, he looks naturally equipped.
The rain was replaced by not only cold temps but also strong wind. The forecast was for steady wind 16-20 mph with gusts up to 36 mph. I’m not sure exactly what it ended up being but there were a few times where my fly line and fly stayed in the air when I tried to land a cast.
Norm and I fished with Thomas again and this time we went to the furthest reachable downstream section of the Mckenzie River. This is what the McKenzie folks consider their best landlocked salmon water. The only catch is that to get there is a short boat ride to the trail, a 40-minute hike to the next boat, a short ten-minute boat ride, then you fish your way down a mile or so to another boat. Last, you take the third boat across the river and fish your way down to the famous Elbow Pool. Then it’s time to walk and boat your way all the way back. The lower McKenzie is a commitment but with the cool temps and cold wind, we couldn’t have asked for a better day for lots of foot travel.
After our big breakfast we were on our way. 8 am. I like a good hike to start a fishing day and even with my waders on I enjoyed this mornings. Maybe it was the conditions but Norm, Thomas and I knocked the 40 minute one out in 30 minutes and didn’t break a sweat. Soon we were launching Mckenzie’s second stashed boat to get to our first cast.
I remember this section of river well. Granny and I did well here – especially Granny. Granny didn’t know it at the time but she’s very good at swinging a fly without overworking it. When a streamer or dry fly gently swings through the tail-out of a pool leaving a slight wake, salmon often take a bite. When you move it too much, they don’t like it. Unfortunately, no matter what we did at the pool where we anchored the second boat, not a fish came out to play.
The next couple pools were different however. First, I picked up about a 30” pike on the Cable Pool. This pool rarely produces anything according to Thomas so I was happy with a pike. The next one however, “The Leg” can hold fish. I kicked back and watched Thomas walk Norm through the tail-out first. This is Norms first time fishing for landlocks and Thomas showed him the swing. Meanwhile, I was fishing a Chubby Chernobyl Ant on a long cast on the far bank. A massive landlocked gobbled it off the surface.
Almost at the same second you hook a landlocked salmon, it jumps. And these fish jump high, twisting and doing anything they can to spit the hook. This fish did not disappoint and it turns out; the salmon was incredibly large. Both Thomas and I screeched, “Holy crap! Monster salmon!”.
The fight was on. These fish are hard to land. They typically jump so many times that eventually they dislodge the hook. If acrobatics don’t free them, they find other ways. These fish can sprint into your backing and have a way of finding rocks and running rapids. Sometimes you hang on for dear life while your buddies cross their fingers for you.
Lucky for us, this gargantuan landlocked didn’t fight dirty. Likely due to its size and age, the fish only jumped twice. And when it threatened to run away down the rapid below this pool, it only went about 20 ft and then swam back up to me. Most of the fight ensued in the pool I hooked it at and I managed to get it to the net in about 8 minutes. Not bad considering I was using my Winston 6-weight. But I will tell you, I used straight 20lb SA Fluoro and I’m not afraid to bring on the heat!
This landlocked is huge. I grew up catching landlocked salmon in Lake Winnipesaukee in New Hampshire and never saw a fish close to this. Nor did I last time here at McKenzie. Furthermore, Thomas was quick to say it was possibly the biggest taken at the lodge. Honestly, it doesn’t really matter to me, all I know is that it was a beautiful fish and far surpassed any of my expectations. Thomas estimated it to be slightly over 20lbs. That’s a big threshold to call without a scale but I can tell you I have a lot of experience eyeing big salmonids, this one is every bit 17lbs.
I don’t need to tell you I kicked back after that lifetime “PB” of a fish. I told Norm he was first in every hole for the rest of the day. I watched, listened and learned as Thomas stood at Norms side for the next few pools. Things were changing though. Thick clouds filled the sky. And just because it was lunchtime, the rain started falling sideways. It wasn’t only lunchtime, but Thomas made some thick coffee and boy was it delicious.
After lunch with the cold wind and rain, the skies eased up on us. The weather changes fast in Labrador. The clouds were beautiful but the wind still blew. It wasn’t easy to cast and it wasn’t pleasant to have the windburn on your face. But we kept at it. Thomas and Norm worked several holes diligently all the way to the Elbow Pool but no sign of a fish.
When it’s your day in fishing, it’s your day. Anyone who fishes a ton knows what I mean. While Thomas took Norm to the Elbow Pool I hung back and messed around. First, I got on another landlocked salmon. The salmon wasn’t like earlier but it also was big. This one played dirty jumping at least six or seven times. It went for rocks upstream then downstream. I had very little control until about five minutes in. Thomas heard the commotion and was soon by my side with the net. Three times I had the beautiful fish near the net but he didn’t like it. Off he went again. And this time, I lost Mr. Landlocked. He hung on a rock only inches from the net and shook my fly. But this big brookie moments later will do!
After the brook trout I went right back to the same trough and caught another. That was it. I reeled it in. The fish gods were great to me today and I wasn’t going to abuse today’s success. I truly kicked back, rested my back and watched Norm fish until it was time to make the long trek back to the lodge.
Norm would end up hooking a salmon. It was a beautiful eat on a size 10 Stimulator on our way back upstream to the second boat. Like I said earlier, the landlocks are hard to keep on. Norm had this fish on for about a minute before the flashy fish shook the hook. That was it for our day.
The hike back was long but by no means brutal. Again, the forest here is beyond beautiful and if you relax, observe and appreciate its pristineness, the hike is outstanding. That’s exactly what we did and in no time, we were sipping ice cold beers back at the lodge waiting to enjoy another scrumptious dinner prepared by Alex. Another day in Labrador at McKenzie River Lodge.
For more pics from this amazing adventure tune in to my IG – @jeffcurrier65