Hello all,

During the week of Sept 10-18, I did a driving tour of the periphery of the Gaspe penninsula with my significant other. I've previously lived in Quebec for a long period of time, and have fished in most other parts of the province.

Spectacular weather combined with great food and hiking to give us a fantastic time. The excursion was not intended as a fishing trip since my lady-friend is not into fishing (although she always lets me go whenever and where ever I want). That said, I couldn't be in the Gaspe region without taking a rod along. I booked two days (15th and 16th) at a lodge situated on the Grand Cascapedia just before leaving Boston.
I've caught a lot of Ouananiche (land-locked Atlantic salmon) in the far north of Quebec, but had never fished for sea-run fish. I ended up fishing the CRYSTAL clear waters of the Petite Cascapedia for two days. The water had been low for much of the summer, but post Katrina rains had freshened the flow and brought new fish into the river.
To make a long story short, there wasn't another soul on the public section of river, and there were loads of willing salmon. My first day, nicely overcast, I landed a grilse and two salmon of ~10 and 12 pounds. All nice jumpers and fighters.

The second day, bright and sunny, had slower fishing, however I did get some heart-stopping bumps and turns by big males (~25lbs) while fishing one run. Two huge males of ~35 pounds showed up in a large pool near where I was fishing. They were very active; jumping, porpoising, and inspecting every leaf that came down the current. They were incredible to watch, and could be clearly seen (I could see the bottom of a 25 foot deep pool, the water is that clear!). This day, I only firmly hooked one fish, but it was a nice hen that gave a great fight with several leaps before I landed her.

I gotta say that I had a blast. Although the style of fishing is a little monotonous, it certainly jolts you awake when you hook one of these fish. Interestingly, the public water I was fishing for an economical non-resident fee of $88 Can per day was coughing up more fish than the hallowed and famous pools on the Grand Cascapedia that my lodge-mates were fishing for much higher fees daily. And not another person around me for miles either!

Here's a few pics...



This is one of the salmon from the first day.



This pool was stacked with nice fish. The water in the foreground was waist deep (!) that's how clear the water is! (and cold too).



My nicest fish of the trip. The guide broke the leader trying to unhook it. After we snapped a very quick photo, it was removed and she was right back into the water.