Epic battle with giant lake trout - McKenzie River, Canada

[Bucksnbows]

I have fished with a group of great guys and some gals for the last 22 years.  We call ourselves the Trout Louts and have an annual fly fishing trip to the West Branch of the Delaware every spring.  Many of us fish together on additional trips all over the world throughout the year.  This was the McKenzie River Lodge in Labrador, Canada and we had to drive 24 hours from Warwick, NY to Labrador City and fly a turbo Otter in to camp which was about 45 minutes.

The angler here is my buddy Rick who now lives on the East Branch in Hancock, NY, and he is hooked into a monster lake trout on the fly.  We had a storm front moving in as you can tell, but nobody had any idea it was going to be so bad to the point of dangerous hail and lightening.  The guide is on Rick's right side in these photos I took during the fight.  The rain and hail was falling so fast, the guide couldn't see to net the trout even though Rick had fought it into net range several times.  At one point, a bolt of lightening hit the low ridge near us and I turned and quickly tossed my fly rod onto the willows along the shoreline.  No need to stand in a river with a 9 foot long lightening rod in hand.  In the end, the big fish won.  The 4X tippet finally parted and the laker swam off.  One of the most epic fights I have ever been there to witness.  It really didn't matter that it wasn't landed, the experience left us all shaking.  It was either that or the fact we were now soaked through and all had to quickly double step the caribou trails back to camp for dry gear.  This lodge is one of the best we've been to as far as fishing. It's not fancy, and neither are we.  But we caught pike, lake trout, whitefish, landlocked Atlantic salmon, and brook trout.  All native and stream bred.  All on fly rods.  Dries, streamers and nymphs throughout the week.  Can't say enough good things about the experience or their staff!   

https://mckenzieriverlodge.com/

[Bucksnbows]

Some random photos from the same trip.....I managed the lodge's first Grand Slam of the year.  One of my buddies joined me the last day of the trip.  That's catching a brook trout, Oananiche (landlocked Atlantic salmon), whitefish, northern pike, and lake trout on the fly.  I only caught one whitefish, but many of the other species including more brookies and landlocks than one could count.  We even had an epic dry fly day to Hendrickson mayflies in mid July!    

[mowin]

Wow, that looks like one hell of a trip.  

What's the story of kissing the fly rod?

[Bucksnbows]

21 minutes ago, mowin said:

Wow, that looks like one hell of a trip.  

What's the story of kissing the fly rod?

That’s a “shot ski” only we used a Cortland fly rod and donated it to the lodge when we left. We see the crew each year at the Edison, NJ Fly Fishing Show in January and they tell us every group since we left has used it. The shot glasses are fake plastic shotgun shells with a magnet glued to the bottom and corresponding magnets glued to the rod and one to the rod handle. 

[Bucksnbows]

27 minutes ago, mowin said:

Wow, that looks like one hell of a trip.  

What's the story of kissing the fly rod?

We are seldom without one while together. Guides on the upper Delaware know to find us at cocktail hour (5pm sharp) and put their clients on top bourbons or Scotch. Always good for their tips that day. 
 

The Trout Louts are carpenters and judges, shrinks and pastors, nuclear physicists and firemen, salesmen and DPW crews and others. And on the river, we are all just anglers that enjoy each others company. 

[mowin]

9 minutes ago, Bucksnbows said:

That’s a “shot ski” only we used a Cortland fly rod and donated it to the lodge when we left. We see the crew each year at the Edison, NJ Fly Fishing Show in January and they tell us every group since we left has used it. The shot glasses are fake plastic shotgun shells with a magnet glued to the bottom and corresponding magnets glued to the rod and one to the rod handle. 

Didn't notice the shot glasses.  Neat tradition that every group uses it. 

[Ogee]

 

Nice pics!

If you want to read a really interesting book about that area; find a copy of “Great Heart”. Cheap to find used on Amazon.

Back at the turn of 1900, that area and to the northeast  was considered one of the last great unexplored-unmapped places on earth! To leave his mark, a guy convinced several people to back his trip financially for publication. What followed was just an epic story of heartbreak and survival.

The author lived in Rhinebeck, NY in the Hudson Valley, and retraced much of the steps in researching the book. Since you have been there, it will give you a good insight to the physical area.

In the mid 90’s to mid 2000’s I fished a pile of times all over Quebec and Labrador with a partner. He got married and went back to England, I ended up hunting and fishing in some other far flung places; but those trips were epic, and are fond memories.

[left field]

Look great.

Haven't fished Labrador yet. I did bring  rod to St Johns for the weekend and caught trout in every body of water I saw, including a tiny creek behind a downtown cafe where I pulled out sea-run browns.

Love this old TV episode of Lee Wulff and Curt Gowdy flying up to Minipi for brook trout. 

 

Have you ever fished the Sutton River in Northern Ontario? Another dream destination.