Glenn
Dunning is a member of New England Outdoor Writers Association
(NEOWA) and contributes monthly to Outdoors Magazine
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Outdoors Magazine, April '05 Issue, Traveling Outdoorsman Column Submitted by: Glenn Dunning |
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The Quest For Trophy Char Fishing In Quebec's Far North |
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| Each year thousands of American hunters invade northern Quebec's tundra region to hunt caribou. The land mass surrounding Ungava Bay, known as Nunavik hosts the annual migration of nearly a million animals as the Leaf River and George River herds converge southward toward their mutual wintering area just north of the Caniapiscau Reservoir. The allure of this region dotted with Inuit villages where time has all but stood still for thousands of years goes beyond hunting, for Nunavik also features some of the best sport fishing available in North America. While the cold lakes and streams are home to big brookies, lake trout and Atlantic salmon, it is Sea-run Arctic Char that challenges an elite group of sportsmen & women who venture into the barren landscape a thousand air miles north of Montreal to intercept this fierce fighting member of the salmon family as it makes its bi-annual runs from fresh water to Ungava Bay and back. Arctic char are technically a fresh water fish spending most of their lives in the large lakes inland from the bay's rugged coast. Every two years mature fish will swim out to sea in the spring and early summer months to gorge themselves on shrimp and other sea-life for 6 weeks before returning upstream in August to spawn in fresh-water. Those who have experienced the thrill of a 15 pound char running up stream and peeling the line off of a fly reel down to the backing will attest to the strength and tenacity of this species. One such angler is Howard Johnson of Newport Center, Vermont. Howie, who with his wife and two sons fished Arctic Adventure's Payne River camp last August, describes his adventure as truly "the trip of a lifetime". The Johnson's, as a family, are not novices when it comes to adventure travel. Howie has been taking fishing vacations in Canada for 40 years and since his sons Bruce and Kurt were old enough to hold a rod, he, wife Lorna and the boys would pack up each summer and head north. The Payne River trip was special even to such a veteran group. According to Howie, the fishing was beyond imagination with catches of 40 to 50 char a day in the 8 to 12 pound range. "The real trick to fishing the rivers and fiords of Ungava Bay is dealing with the tides" explained Howie. With a 40 to 50 foot difference between high tide and low only the Bay of Fundy on Nova Scotia's west coast has greater tidal swings. "We had to get up at 1:30 in the morning in order to catch the high tide when we could launch our boats. At low tide, the water recedes to a point some two miles from camp. We would get out on the water in the pitch dark and start fishing at first light. The action was fast and furious but our schedule demanded that we head back in with the day's second high tide in order to get the boats back to camp." Payne River camp operated by Arctic Adventures is located halfway up the bay's west coast. A full week, American plan package with airfare, meals and guides costs in the $5,000 range but according to the Johnson's, the quality of the fishing and the level of customer service provided by camp hosts Carole and Calvin made the trip worth every penny. Safari Nordik also offers excellent char fishing opportunities at two locations in Nunavik for a somewhat more modest price of $3500 for 5 day American plan packages. Inukshuk Lodge located at Black Point on the eastern coast of Ungava Bay gives the angler an opportunity to catch char in salt water during the middle of the summer before they make their runs back up the rivers. The fish literally stack-up along the rocky coast in advance of their migration to the lakes offering serious action for anglers fishing from boats or from the boulder strewn shoreline. At Finger Lake Lodge char are fished in the lake right after ice-out each spring as they congregate prior to their run to the sea. Then in August when the char are returning to fresh water to spawn they can be caught in the river as they fight their way back up the rapids. With all of North America's great sport fishing opportunities, for the adventure-minded angler, few experiences compare to chasing sea-run char in the waters of Ungava Bay. |
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