I grew up dabbling with landlocked salmon in New Hampshire. It was a big deal when we caught one. They were small too but it was a celebrated event. Wow, if only I knew what incredible landlocked salmon days were coming my way some 50 years later. Last time here at McKenzie River Lodge in Labrador Granny and I had excellent landlocked salmon fishing. This week has been very good. Today with guide Alexandre Levesque was one for the history books!
As you may remember, the top landlocked salmon fishing on the McKenzie River requires some work to reach. We started with the usual short boat ride but next was the 40 minute walk. There we launch a stashed boat and cross a lake and that’s were we start fishing our way downstream. The other day it was cold and the hike was welcome. Today was un-Labrador like hot and hiking in waders and carrying cold weather gear just in case, was a chore. When we arrived we were ready to wade deep, cool off and fish.
The way the mighty McKenzie River flows is that you have a mile or two of river then a lake. The river enters on one side and leaves at the other. It’s where the lake leaves that forms tail-outs that are perfect for landlocked salmon. After our second boat ride Norm and I fished this tail-out hard but didn’t see a fish.
Next Norm went down with Alex to where I caught my big salmon earlier this trip and fished his Stimulator. I fished the Cable Pool which looks amazing but rarely produces a fish other than a pike. Well, despite the location’s reputation, lo and behold, I sank my silver Kreelex in the first salmon of the day. Shortly after landing mine, Alex slid the net under Norms first of the day. We were off to a roaring start!
My salmon was decent and I was very happy to land him. I’d lost three salmon in a row the past few days so it was nice to get one to hand. Norms fish on the other hand was a handful of beautiful landlocked salmon. These fish average about 6lbs and this gorgeous fish fit the bill.
I lost two more fish before lunch time and I’ll admit, I was a bit disgruntled with my performance. Norm hadn’t seen another since the one he caught. We had lunch at what is known as Warrens Pool under a rare rich blue Labrador sky. As we were eating I saw a salmon roll. My sandwich was gone seconds later and soon I was peppering the rise spot with my Chubby Chernobyl.
It didn’t take many casts before I hooked up. There’s something special about these McKenzie River landlocks in that they rise to a big dry fly better than any other salmon I’ve met. My fish was on and went absolutely wild. There were numerous leaps, two long runs and a couple times where I brought her to the net but she took off again. Finally, I tired the fish and Alex was able to net her. This is another true landlocked trophy!
It was all hands on deck after that fish. Norm and I fished every inch of each pool like it was our last. And quite frankly, I don’t know when I’ll get back to the landlocks of Labrador so fishing lackadaisical wasn’t an option. After I fished every inch of a pool with my dry fly, I’d put on the Kreelex for some cleanup work. Because of my extra efforts I caught a second beautiful fish from Warrens Pool.
After my third salmon of the day I kicked back and watched Norm. Could there be a third fish in the Warren Pool? Unless we put on a snorkel someday we’ll never know, but I think there are many. Perhaps ten. Who knows? What I do know is that my rest didn’t last long and soon Norm had a fish in the air.
What’s funny about that fish in the air is that Norm lost him. But as he was stripping his fly back in to check the hook and tippet he hooked another. This one he landed. Perhaps there are at LEAST ten fish in Warrens Pool!
Our last two hours of fishing would be no less than insane. I landed two more salmon for a total of five. What was really cool, was one that took me almost an hour to catch. I was working the pool with my Chernobyl and I had a big fish swirl under it. I tried a lot of things like swinging it on the surface, under the surface, stripping it and the normal drag-free trout presentation to get him to eat but to no avail. Next I tried swinging streamers as well as stripping them. I had another swirl but didn’t connect. Most my streamers have weight and it dawned on me, perhaps I was fishing to deep. I put on a weightless Kiwi Muddler and on the first swing I caught him.
Having an arsenal of tricks for landlocked salmon is something I never thought about but I’ve been well trained in Atlantic salmon the last 15 years. My good friend Vladi Trzebunia from Poland stood beside me as I struggled to learn the swing in Norway years ago. I learned a ton. Next I was with my good Icelandic friend Ingo Helgason. Ingo worked me hard. He stood by my side for endless hours on famous Icelandic Rivers helping me get things to click. And they have clicked. I am grateful for the patience of my European friends and happy for myself that I am getting pretty good at this stuff!
All in all Norm and I hooked eleven landlocks and landed seven. A truly magnificent day that I personally am unlikely ever to beat because I live way too far from Labrador. But who knows, how could I not come back again?
This has been one heck of a fishing week once again here at McKenzie River Lodge. Though it’s been ten years, I’m thrilled to say the fishing is still excellent. The guides, chef, cabins and company is hard to beat. It’s a fact that I did not catch the number of big brook trout like in 2015, but I honestly believe that can be attributed to the low water. Labrador needs rain. All in all, this place surpassed my expectations once again.
The haul back to the lodge late this afternoon was painless. We pointed our sore and tired bodies for the lodge and got there in time for some cold beers outside under the warm northern sun. It was an extra fun cocktail hour because not only Norm and I crushed it, but everyone had superb fishing today.
As with every night, Chef Alex fed us another impressive dinner. Tonight was pork literally falling off the bone. It was a delight. We chased dinner down with sweet vanilla ice cream and finished the rest of Norms red wine. It was a great night. This has been a phenomenal trip.
I’m closing the book on Labrador 2025 with hopes of opening another in a few years. I certainly don’t want to wait ten years again. Tomorrow we begin our long journeys home. I’ll travel to Montreal tomorrow and the next day back to Duluth and on to Hayward. So long Labrador!
For more pics from this amazing adventure tune in to my IG – @jeffcurrier65