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NEWSLETTER #50 -
JULY 2006
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you have access to Microsoft word, open the
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Fly
Fishing Adventures Travel Newsletter, July, 2006
TOPICS IN THIS ISSUE:
MINIPI--IF YOU WANT TO GO, THINK 2008
FIRST PERMIT AND
EXPANDING WAISTLINES
FAVORITE "ON THE
WATER" SNACK
ATLANTIC SALMON
ON THE PONOI AND TOURING RUSSIA -- TRIP REPORT
QUOTE OF THE
MONTH
We are in the fifth year of
publishing our monthly newsletter with updates on
great fly fishing venues, trip reports and insights
for our traveling fly fishers. We want to help you
match the right location with your fly fishing goals
and objectives and properly prepare you to fully
enjoy the experience. We’ve been to most locations
and pride ourselves on our ability to research new
sites. One of our services is to compare and
contrast different lodges/outfitters. Whatever
unbiased information on timing and locations we can
provide comes at the same cost to you as booking
direct – i.e., NO EXTRA COST.
MINIPI RIVER’S TROPHY BROOKIES –
TRIP REPORT
During our second
trip to Labrador’s Minipi River in 1999, we met Dave
Ellis who had been making a two week trip to the
Minipi annually for several years. When I asked him
why he keeps returning, his reply was: “my
brother and I have fished all over the world
searching for opportunities to sight cast to big
trout with dry flies. While New Zealand does offer
some comparisons, we have not found a spot where we
can consistently catch and release 5-to-8 pound fish
with over 90% of them taken on the surface like we
can here.”
Couple Dave’s answer
with the remoteness (we haven’t seen another
fisherman except those with us) and you can
understand why we just completed our fifth trip to
this wilderness destination. This is one spot on
the globe that hasn’t changed. Everything is the way
it’s always been, including the giant brookies and
the massive mayfly and caddis hatches. While
weather can always be an issue in Labrador, we’ve
been fortunate during our five trips, including our
most current one. For further descriptions of the
experience, hit the Labrador button on our website
www.flyfishingadventures.org
Bob Noyes and Lisa,
Jeff, and Bill Reinke joined us (Jim and Andrew Hine
were on their second trip to the Minipi, but had to
return home upon arriving in Goose Bay due to a
family emergency). The guides monitor the fishery
carefully. All fish over 3 pounds (termed “book
fish”) are weighed and the information on where
caught, which fly, and who caught it are recorded.
That information is consolidated into an annual
report which they have published for many years. If
you want numbers of small brookies, you can fish the
faster riffles – however, the only reason that
justifies going that distance is to take a real
trophy brook trout on a dry fly. Some trip
highlights:
-
Bob
bookended his trip with spectacular days starting
with a 6.5# beautiful male brookie in spawning dress
on his first day and wrapping up with five “book
fish” to 5# his last 24 hours, most on small caddis
flies. Bob also had the largest pike at 8.5 pounds.
-
Lisa, a relative newcomer to fly fishing who’s
skills are quickly developing, took a 6# pike on the
surface in some lily pads and had the largest fish
on our last day, a 6.25# brookie near a small inlet
into a lake.
-
Jeff
had the highlight day of the week with three 6+
pound brookies on the surface, in addition to
smaller fish.
-
My
son, Scott, and I had our usual collection of the
good, the bad, and the ugly managing to take 6 fish
over six pounds and several five+ among our mix for
the week. However, for us, the main highlight of
our trips to the Minipi is always just watching
those big fish sipping flies, sometimes small caddis
and at other times large mayflies, on the surface!
When the flies are hatching and the big brookies are on the
surface, this is one of the great hunting and
stalking experiences in fly fishing.
MINIPI – IF YOU WANT TO GO, THINK 2008
The group at the lodge the week before us has been coming for
many, many years – some 30+ years. The group coming
in the week after we left have been regulars for 25
years. Couple the returning clients with the fact
that the main hatches take place, during “normal
weather patterns,” in about a three week period and
you can understand why getting space at one of
Cooper’s three lodges is difficult. 2007 is
virtually sold out during the primary times and some
weeks in 2008 are already full. We are holding
space during three different prime time frames in
2008. One of the reasons you won’t see this sort of
operation advertised heavily by the major fly
fishing travel marketers is there just isn’t enough
space available for them to sell – not worth it for
them (that, by the way, also applies to other unique
opportunities). Give a call or hit “reply” if you’d
like more details.
We do have a slide presentation available for viewing on this
adventure.
FIRST PERMIT AND EXPANDING WAISTLINES
Tom Brutche is somewhat of a Belize mothership veteran,
returning annually for a trip on the Meca. However,
his first permit had eluded him until this year when
he actually had several eat the fly and got his
first one to the skiff. Tom has also pioneered an
approach to dealing with the cooking produced by
Carol on the Meca. He now brings an extra pair of
pants with a larger waist to allow for his expanding
size during the course of a trip – the ultimate
tribute to any cook!!
FAVORITE “ON THE WATER” SNACK
Beef jerky in one of it’s many different forms and flavors.
Why? It doesn’t melt or spoil and mixes well with a
beer of soft drink and it’s easy to transport.
Also, in a pinch, it can take the place of a meal if
the fishing is so hot you just can’t stop to eat….or
the outboard won’t start. We always have a few
packages in our gear bag.
NEXT “SAN FRANCISCO DAY” – AUGUST 17
If you are in San Francisco, we have scheduled August 17 as
our next day in the City. To view a list of the
slide presentations we have available, go to our
website
www.flyfishingadventures.org Under the link for
“Newsletters/Trip Reports” is the list of slide
shows. I am available by appointment to stop by
your office or home for discussion and/or slide
presentations from our library. Also, I’m available
to get together for a cup of coffee almost anywhere
in the City.
atlantic salmon on the ponoi and
touring russia
Jerry Saltzgaber,
Chip Fudge, and Chuck Ferrell spent 2.5 weeks
pursuing Atlantic Salmon on the Ponoi River in
Russia followed by some touring, primarily in
Russia. Jerry’s report:
“It was a great
trip--both the fishing and the touring. I caught 90
fish in five days--76 Atlantic Salmon and 14 sea run
brown trout. We fished mainly with light sink tips
and tube flies, but also caught a few on the
surface. We fished with two and a guide to a
boat--a different guide and beat everyday. There
were 18 fishermen--7 Russians, 8 Brits and us three
Americans. It was a great trip--both the fishing and
the touring. I fished with a Russian every day and
really enjoyed the discussions about our countries.
The camp, tents, food, guides, etc were first
class--and better than the Rio Grande. We toured
Amsterdam, Helsinki ( briefly ), St Petersburg and
Moscow. Saw and did everything first class.”
(note: I don’t
pretend to be an expert on touring Russia – for
these type of combination experiences, we use expert
consultants who know and understand all the options
to provide a quality experience).
QUOTE OF THE MONTH
“The charm of fly
fishing is that it is the pursuit of what is
elusive, but attainable, and a perpetual source of
occasions for hope.” John Buchan
Either phone or drop
us an e-mail if you have questions or would like
more information about any of our destinations.
An enthusiastic traveling fly fisherman,
Don Muelrath
Fly Fishing
Adventures
www.flyfishingadventures.org
888-347-4896
flyfish@napanet.net
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just hit “reply” and let us know – you’ll be removed
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