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Newfoundland Salmon

4K views 13 replies 8 participants last post by  humberriver 
#1 ·
I hear unbelieveable things about this favorite fishing hole for Lee Wulff. Anyone fished there? I am thinking of going there next summer especially if steelhead is as poor as it was this summer here.
 
#4 ·
Just GO for goodness sake! There are SO many salmon rivers in Newfoundland, and little-no private water. There's lots of relatively-inaccessible water, but it's not private if you can get to the riverbank.

This being said, there are great salmon rivers, easily accessed by road, all over the province. You can get into whatever kind of water that you love. Big water (e.g. Humber, Gander, Exploits), smallish water (e.g. East, Torrent), brawling streams, still pools ... EVERYTHING!

Guides are mandatory, but usually not too expensive. All will know their local water. Some will be excellent by any standard, others - while being fine guides - might challenge your expectations of the guide/sport relationship. If you go with an Outfitter I'd expect your experience would be first rate - with all of the usual bells & whistles.

The most popular spots (e.g. Humber - Big Falls) will be crowded during the summer runs, and the local anglers tend to not rotate through the pools. Still, you can get a good spot at most of the busy places. If you want secluded fishing, just ask your guide. You'll be able to drive a few miles and find your own pools - or river - to fish for the day.

I've fished the Codroy, Humber, River of Ponds, Torrent and Big East, and I loved them all! Other anglers could list up to 50 more rivers as their favorites, and all of their choices would be just as good as mine. Water levels will profoundly affect the smaller rivers. Quite a few of them do not fish well in low water, and the Fisheries can be closed by the Government in season. This is not a problem on the bigger rivers, but you have to be flexible if you hope to fish some of the smaller gems.

I went in early July for several years in the late '90s. I caught fresh-run fish - mostly grilse. This may be changing now, as the MSW fish aren't being netted out of the ocean to the extent that was going on in the '90s. Still, most NF rivers host larger grilse runs than MSW fish. This being said, the late-season fishery on the lower Humber is all about catching the large fish than come in later in the season.

If you go in prime season, it would be hard to not get into fish. It can be slow, but no worse than any other salmon fishery in North America. Best of all, there is another great river up or down every road or shoreline. It's a superb place for a 'plan as you go' salmon trip. And, you will never forget the country! The natural beauty is beyond description and the rivers are spectacular.

Oh ya - don't plan to drive any distance at night! The moose & caribou are a very real hazard on the Rock.

Enjoy your trip!

Jim Corrigan
 
#5 · (Edited)
I'll echo Jim's statement
Two excellent Nfld. sites are (use google search)
Salmon Association of Eastern Newfoundland (SEAN)
and Salmon Preservation Ass. for the waters of Newfoundland. (SPAWN)
SPAWN qslo produces a rather neat annual mag. that will become addictive after you've bought the first one
Cheers
 
#6 ·
Just beware of the fact that they have what I believe is a province-wide rule requiring single, barbless hooked flies. It's a good rule, but one a lot of guys don't know before heading there. Leave your flies tied on doubles and the double and/or treble hooks for your tube flies home.
 
#7 ·
BLOWN OUT

Not by the river, but by what seems to be the bane of my existence lately - my job.

Ah well, the only thing worse is lack thereof. Maybe next year...

I will however be looking for a make-up trip with a vengeance before this season is over.

Chromer, I will fish vicariously in your reports... and will go to newfie as soon as I possibly can pull it off.

>sigh<
 
#8 ·
I live about 15 minutes from the Humber, and for the most part you can experience exceptional fishing from about June 12-oct 15. Only the lower section (below Deer Lake) has a fall fishery (Sept 5-Oct 15), which is catch & release only. But theres much more to the Humber river than Big Falls and spey fishing on the lower humber. There are literally hundreds of fabulous salmon pools on the upper humber. The first pool is in the small community 10 minutes north of Deer Lake. From there on there is easy access to many wonderful pools, wet & dry. Some of the more popular ones can be crowded during peak runs but theres alot of good water which has little to no fishing pressure. Upper sections of the river are much easier to wade and use single handed rods. Last season was a little slow, with a great deal of the season experiencing very high water conditions. High is usually good , but we had about a month where we couldn`t get on the river. But from my experience, its the best river on the island.
 
#9 ·
Don't non-residents require a guide for all salmon waters, and for greater than some short distance (800m?) from a public road/bridge for non-scheduled rivers?

I've been very interested in investigating the salmon fishing in Nfld. for a while, but the guide requirement has kind of put me off of the idea. I always get a guide for one or two days when I visit a new area, to learn about the waters, and contribute a little to the local economy, but I typically like to go it alone or fish with a close friend after that.
 
#10 ·
Yes, a non-resident must fish with a guide every day that they are on Newfoundland waters. I paid about $130 per day back in the late 90's.

When you add up all of the costs of salmon fishing, it costs about the same to fish Newfoundland inexpensively as it does to fish any other salmon fishing location in eastern Canada.

In Quebec, a non-resident doesn't need to have a guide on most waters. However, you will probably be paying at least $70 (or considerably more) per day to access the fishing pools on the river of your choice.

In New Brunswick, a non-resident must have a guide (@ $100-300 per day). There is public water in NB, but it can be difficult for non-residents to get on good pools without help from a local. So, you probably will be paying a lodge or land owner for access to their pools on top of your guide's fees.

Nova Scotia is the economy anglers spot ... no guide requirements for non-residents and no water access fees on most rivers. However, their most popular river (Margaree) is quite busy (very busy in prime time). Most of the rest of the salmon rivers in NS are spate rivers and/or have limited fishing opportunities.

PEI ... I've not fished it ... Salmon Chaser can give all of the details. I believe that there is no guide requirement or water access fees in the province. However, your river options are quite limited on PEI.

Obviously, a guide will provide a major benefit to any angler fishing unfamiliar waters. I'm not advocating a 'go it alone' approach, just stating the legal requirements for each province.

The angler needs to travel to the location of their choice, and pay to stay, eat, etc. once they are there. For the economy angler, relatively cheap restaurants and motels can be found in every province. Travel might be a bit more expensive to the Rock than to NS or NB, but probably not too much more than getting to the Gaspe or North Shore of Quebec.

So, I figure that 'economy salmon fishing' ends up costing about $200 per day in any eastern Canadian province. One pays for different things in different places, but it all shakes out about the same at the end of the day.

I talked to several experienced salmon anglers that know their way around Newfoundland. They hired their guide, dragged him around to where they planned to fish and they did their own thing with fly and pool choices. Yes, they had to pay him. However, most guides will be flexible - if you want to use their expertise, they are ready. If you've got your own plan, they'll be quite content to accompany you and let you call the shots.

Unless the angler is already a resident in one of the Canadian provinces that is blessed with salmon water, the guide requirement won't end up making the cost of fishing in Newfoundland very different from any other eastern Canadian location. On the MAJOR upside, there is no private water in Newfoundland, they've got about 170 salmon rivers, the people are great and you will see some amazing pools. Oh ya, you will get fish if you go for a week in season.

Jim
 
#12 ·
For about $150 a day you can get a guide. When in any communities surrounding the rivers ( Deer Lake or Corner Brook for the Humber), just ask at the hotel counter, or look on posting boards in the hotel or local stores, very easy to get a qualified guide and as stated previous, someone very flexible to meet your needs. I think for the money, even the most experienced fly fisherman will gain tremendously from some local knowledge. At least when you step on the pool you can apply your skill if your fishing good water with a pattern that is proven. Certain pools at certain water conditions can play such a major factor, you will elinimate that with some local knowledge. Hell, call me, I`ll be there everyday from June 10th on.
 
#13 ·
Ok, I'll bite...

Besides the Humber, name some rivers that would be worth checking out (no secret honey holes required, but I hate fishing in crowds or rotation). The fish don't have to be massive, but reasonable catch rate would be nice. Gaspe hasn't been kind to me my last two trips :rolleyes:

I'm currently scouting out vacation ideas for me and my wife. She loves hiking, camping, etc, but not so keen on the fishing. We were considering Newfoundland as one possible destination, but I'd need to narrow down the areas on the island to think about, it's a big place...
 
#14 ·
In my experience fishing NL, if I were to recommend fishing anywhere other than the Humber River, I would head to the Northern Peninsula, and fish either Portland Creek, the Big East River, River of Ponds or The Torrent River, my preference though is the Torrent. Theres campground and cabins located alongside both Portland Creek, River of Ponds and the Torrent, with the big east within a couple minutes drive of the torrent. Great runs of grilse in all these rivers, and local guides can also bring you to some wonderful secluded pools. There is a tendency in primetime to get some crowded pools though. Biggest advantage to fishing the Humber is its such a large water system theres a better chance of getting free of the crowds. All the rivers mentioned here in cluding the Humber, are within 200 kms of each other. If you decide to do this I could probably refer some guides on all rivers. For the best fishing though, no matter what the water conditions, go to Deer Lake and fish the Humber.
 
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