From Atlantic Salmon to a River of Loggers and Kids
By Chris Chin
I find it fascinating, the rich history which seems to attach itself
to rivers and waterways. I suppose in some ways, it's because
they used to be the main system of communication. Knowing a
bit about the culture and heritage of a river adds to any angling
experience. Heck, when Joan and Jed were here, I think she
knew more about the area than I did!
Being a tad passionate about Alantic salmon, as well as a bit of
an Internet bug, I use a miriade of search engines to keep up to
date on news and such from around the world. Imagine how my
curiosity was peaked when the same articles started coming up
with ALL of the same key words.
In fact, as I was reading up on Eastern Canadian Atlantic salmon
rivers, I ran across the Humber River in Western Newfoundland.
Wow!
"Known for its scenic beauty as well as great salmon fishing.
The Humber River is the #1 ranked Atlantic salmon river in North
America and its recreational salmon fishing industry. During the period
1764-1767, Captain James Cook surveyed the Bay of Islands, naming
the river the River Hamberg. The Humber River, 153 km long, drainage
basin 7680 km2, is the principal river of western Newfoundland. Named
for the English river, it rises in the LONG RANGE MOUNTAINS west
of White Bay and flows southeast and then southwest to Deer Lake, where
it is joined by a tributary draining the 100-km-long GRAND LAKE. The
Humber flows southwest from Deer Lake into Humber Arm at CORNER
BROOK and on into the Bay of Islands, having fallen nearly 660 m from its
sources. The river is rich in ATLANTIC SALMON and was, from the 1800s,
a waterway for European trappers. Though its mouth had been charted by James
COOK in the 1760s, there was little permanent settlement in the region until the
mid-1800s. Flowing through great stands of timber, the Humber has been used
by loggers since the late 1800s." - Author Robert D. Pitt
The Humber River flows into the bay at Corner Brook Newfoundland
As I read up more and more on this river, I started getting more
and more "hits" about it pertaining to forestry, land use, forest
management planning, …' and then Kids! Huh?
Well, it seems as though a long series of events led to a bunch
of foresters in Corner Brook getting involved in a fund raising
initiative in their neck of the woods.
Corner Brook Pulp and Paper Woodlands' staff, contractors and
employees first got involved in fundraising in 2001, bringing the
Log A Load For Kids Canada program to Newfoundland.
In reality, the staff used to donate hockey pool winnings to the program,
then the 2004-2005 lockout in the NHL put a damper on that. What to
do? …well, they organized a hockey tournament to raise funds,
(initially it was the staff going head to head with the loggers!).
Some other innovative fund raising ideas have resulted in an increased
awareness of the Program in that Province.
- They have donated loads of pulpwood;
- had raffles on chainsaws and tractor-trailer loads of birch firewood;
- hockey pools; a mini-log race down the Corner Brook Stream;
- lumberjack challenges;
- harvested timber and pre-commercially thinned blocks to
donate their earnings;
- and raced down the Humber River on inner tubes.
As the salmon run starts in early June, guess when these folks
race down the river in inner tubes? In May! The water is a tad
chilly at that time of year, but wet suits and a good cause help
to make up for it.
All this work and fun has resulted in a total contribution of
approximately $130,000 to the Janeway Children's Hospital
by CBPP Contractors, staff, employees and friends since 2001!
This represents one-third of the total money raised across Canada
to date through the Log A Load For Kids Canada program.
In 2008, the 4th annual tournament raised $20,520 for
contribution to the Janeway. At the opening ceremonies,
Maurice Saunders, a Janeway Child and Maurice's family
representing the Janeway Foundation was presented with a
Cheque for this amount. This brings Corner Brook Pulp and
Paper Woodlands' fundraising effort through Charity Hockey
Tournaments to over $ 74,000. Corner Brook Pulp and Paper
Woodlands, a supporting member of the Canadian Woodlands
Forum, hosted the weekend tournament. 130 players, making up
10 teams competing in two divisions, attended the tournament.
As of this writing, every one of the 20+ Corner Brook Pulp
and Paper Woodlands Contractors and 1,000 employees
have contributed in this fundraiser. - Just image that.
Through an even more strange turn of events, I had the wonderful
opportunity to meet the Woodlands staff this past October in
Corner Brook. A finer bunch of professionals is a rare find these
days. It is entirely possible, that I'll just have to find a reason to
get back to the Humber in early July next year!
Some of the Woodlands staff in Corner Brook (and visitors) with the
Humber River Valley in the background.
If you would like more information about the activities in Corner Brook, contact:
Bruce Yates, Corner Brook Pulp and Paper Woodlands
at (709) 637- 3331 or mailto:byates@cb.kruger.com
~ Christopher Chin, Three Rivers Quebec.
About Chris:
Chris Chin is originally from Kamloops,
British Columbia. He has been fly fishing
on and off ever since he was 10 years old.
Chris became serious about the sport within
the last 10 years.
"I'm a forest engineer by day and part time
guide on the Ste-Marguerite River here in
central Quebec. I've been fishing this river
for about 10 years now and started guiding
about 5 years ago when the local guide's
association sort of stopped functioning."
Chris guides mostly for sea run brook trout
and about 30% of the time for Atlantic Salmon.
"I often don't even charge service fees, as
I'm more interested in promoting the river
than making cash. I like to get new comers
to realize that salmon fishing is REALLY for
anyone who cares to try it. Tradition around
here makes some of the old clan see Salmon
fishing as a sport for the rich. Today our
shore lunches are less on the cucumber sandwich
side and more toward chicken pot pie and Jack
Daniel's."
Chris is 44 years old as of this writing. He
is of Chinese origin although his parents were
born and raised in Jamaica.
To learn more about the Ste-Marguerite River,
visit Christopher's
website. You can email Chis at: Flyfishing.christopher@gmail.com.
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